Roasted Mushrooms With Smoky Pomegranate Sauce

By Alexa Weibel

Total Time: 50 minutes
Rating: 4(338)
Notes: Read community notes

For the very best roasted mushrooms, this recipe employs a steam-roast method, which allows the mushrooms to caramelize and crisp while retaining a surprising amount of moisture. They’re tossed on a sheet pan with olive oil, poultry seasoning and granulated onion for flavor, then covered tightly with foil and set in the oven to steam in their own juices until tender. Finally, they’re broiled just until their edges crisp, and their natural essence becomes more concentrated with deep nutty notes. An easy pan sauce made with pomegranate juice, peppercorns and ancho chile provides a burst of tanginess and brilliant color — and it is easily made vegan with the use of vegan butter.

Featured in: The Best Vegetarian Thanksgiving Looks as Good as It Tastes

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

For the Mushrooms

¼teaspoon poultry seasoning
¼teaspoon granulated onion
1½teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
1teaspoon black pepper
4tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
3pounds oyster mushrooms, torn into small clusters, or other mushrooms (see Tip)
6small fresh rosemary sprigs

For the Pomegranate Sauce

3tablespoons unsalted butter or vegan alternative
1large shallot, minced
1dried ancho chile, torn into big pieces, seeds and stem discarded
2large garlic cloves, minced
4teaspoons whole black peppercorns, coarsely crushed using the flat side of a knife
Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
1teaspoon vegetable stock concentrate (such as Better Than Bouillon), optional
2cups pomegranate juice

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Heat the oven to 425 degrees and set a rack closest to the broiler.
Step 2
Prepare the mushrooms: In a small bowl, stir together the poultry seasoning, granulated onion, salt and pepper. Lightly brush 2 large sheet pans with olive oil to coat. Divide the mushrooms among sheet pans. Drizzle each batch with 2 tablespoons olive oil, then gently toss to coat. Sprinkle the mushrooms evenly with the spice blend and toss to coat again. Tuck the rosemary sprigs among the mushrooms, wrap tightly with aluminum foil and set both sheet pans in the oven to tenderize the mushrooms, about 25 minutes.
Step 3
While the mushrooms steam, prepare the pomegranate sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium until melted. Stir in the shallot, chile, garlic and peppercorns. Season with ¼ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the stock concentrate (if using), then pour in the pomegranate juice and cook over medium-high, whisking occasionally, until the liquid is the consistency of maple syrup and thick enough to coat a spoon, 15 to 20 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pushing on the solids to extract any liquid. You should have about ½ cup sauce, which will keep, refrigerated, for up to 2 days.
Step 4
After the mushrooms have steamed, heat the broiler to high. Pull the mushrooms from the oven and remove the foil. Working with 1 sheet pan at a time, return the mushrooms to the rack nearest the broiler and cook, uncovered, until browned and caramelized at the edges, 4 to 6 minutes.
Step 5
Discard rosemary and season mushrooms to taste. Arrange the mushrooms on a serving platter. Drizzle lightly with pomegranate sauce, passing the remaining sauce at the table.

Tip

You also can use a mix of mushrooms that total 3 pounds and are prepared so they’re all about the same size. If using fresh shiitakes, stem and halve them. If using creminis, trim and quarter them.

Ratings

4 out of 5

338 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Pat1 year ago

Would pomegranate molasses instead work and be less time-consuming?

Traci1 year ago

Poultry seasoning is primarily a blend of sage, thyme, rosemary, and marjoram, sometimes with a touch of black pepper and nutmeg. As a vegetarian, I keep most of the individual herbs on hand, although you could also substitute with za'atar, Herbs de Provence, or any spice blend of your choice with earthy flavors.

A Different Pat1 year ago

Yes. Pomegranate molasses is essentially reduced juice. Add a small amount of liquid to make it more pourable and easier to coat the mushrooms evenly.

Sg1 year ago

For Kev - Sure, vegetarians might have poultry seasoning around. It is just a savory herb blend. Come to think of it, I’ve never used it on poultry at all! Just in stuffing, etc. Like, you use chili powder for things other than chili, curry powder for things other than curries, etc.

Maggiesara1 year ago

I love the look of this recipe, but I don't think it can be made ahead -- the mushrooms would lose their crispness and that just-broiled tastiness -- and dedicating the entire oven to the broiler at the last minute, the oven that needs to be keeping stuffing and brussels sprouts hot, is not an option. It looks like a lovely recipe but not for Thanksgiving.

Rachel1 year ago

I didn't even make any of the rest of this recipe, only the mushrooms. I'm just commenting to say that this is the best way to roast mushrooms!

Jude1 year ago

Poultry seasoning is just a name. it's a blend of herbs that can be used on many things other than poultry. No need for anger.

Katie1 year ago

My mother made this for Thanksgiving (braising a day or two ahead of time and then pop in the broiler after the turkey is out) and it was so good I made it again for everyone at Christmas (braising before the rib roast went in the over and then broil while it was carved). 10/10 will make again. And again.

Alice Lake1 year ago

For my vegan friends, I followed the recipe but seasoned with a veggie seasoning and it turned out better than I’d imagined.

Alethea Patton1 year ago

I can't wait to try this recipe. It features two of my favorite foods, mushrooms & pomegranate. The addition of ancho chile makes the recipe especially enticing.

HF1 year ago

Whoa! Way Too Much black pepper in the pomegranate sauce! Totally overwhelms the otherwise lovely flavor. Possibly inedible. Next time will try cutting to 1 teaspoon of peppercorns, or maybe two, as I was tempted to do. (Good reminder to go with my gut…)

Bay Area2 months ago

This is so delicious. I've made as described with a couple of pantry subs - don't have fresh rosemary so skipped that. Used pomegranate molasses instead of reducing the juice. Skipped the chiles for kid-friendliness. It's so good, and I made it a second time just to keep a jar in the fridge to sprinkle over salads and stews.

TanteStacey6 months ago

This was delicious. Did not have Pomegranate juice but had Pomegranate glaze. I believe it cut down on the reduction time. Couldn’t find Ancho Chilis so I added a a couple or dashes of Cayenne and chili powder. Made my own poultry seasoning. A 1 Top of the Heap!

Suzanne6 months ago

I made this dish with unsweetened pomegranate juice and vegan butter and it didn’t thicken well; is that because of the butter substitute or does this recipe call for sweetened pomegranate juice?

Tiffany Hunter7 months ago

You could definitely utilize the air fryer (if you have a "boujie" one, instead of the broiler... Works great!

Ben S.8 months ago

Absolutely save the solids strained from the sauce -- they make a lovely flavorful paste.

joanidV1 year ago

I have made this a few times and love the pomegranate sauce. It’s a good vegan dish and I use white miso instead of stock concentrate. I also like a variety of mushrooms. I find maitake and shiitake crisp up well.

Rachel1 year ago

I didn't even make any of the rest of this recipe, only the mushrooms. I'm just commenting to say that this is the best way to roast mushrooms!

Katie1 year ago

Wendy B1 year ago

This was SUPER tasty. Loved even by my non-vegetarians. I steamed them ahead of time, then a quick broil right before serving. Because they’d shrunk while steaming, I combined them on one tray to broil, so cut down on cooking time.

NoelP1 year ago

We loved this-- the vegan daughter was "obsessed"-- used a mix of mushrooms. Next time I will definitely use less black pepper.

Jeannie1 year ago

Made as directed with a mix of mushrooms. Both mushrooms and sauce were delicious and a nice contrast in texture and complementary flavor to the rest of the Thanksgiving plate. I loved the steaming/broiling technique with the mushrooms so I’ll definitely try that again on other occasions.

HF1 year ago

Kristen1 year ago

For the do ahead question, I think it would work if you shortened the steam time by 10 minutes and then let the pans cool for ten minutes covered on the counter. You would need warm them in the microwave before roasting. As for day of, the turkey needs to rest 30 minutes before carving so you could cook them while it's resting and using the microwave on warming drawer to hold dressing, etc.

J1 year ago

Where can I get pomegranate juice? Is it sweetened?

Marsha1 year ago

Can this be made ahead or started before the big day?

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