Love mushrooms? This scrumptious, satisfying and simple, warm mushroom salad is a must-try. With garlicky sautéed mushrooms, spinach, cool tangy feta and subtle sour notes of pickled beetroot drizzled with a creamy miso/tahini dressing, this isn't one of those flimsy salads that leaves you searching for a snack a couple of hours later. What's more, with just 20 minutes of cooking and prep time it's an excellent weekday dinner or lunch.
Want more scrumptious and satisfying salads? You should try my Best Red Skin Potato Salad, Beluga Lentil Salad and Meatless Burrito Bowl. Or for another tasty mushroom dish, try my Risotto Ai Funghi (Mushroom, Garlic and Parmesan Risotto).
The post contains additional information and helpful tips to ensure the recipe turns out great the first time. Please use the link above to jump to the recipe card at the end if you are in a hurry!
4 reasons why you'll love this recipe:
- Packed with umami yumminess - nutty brown rice with garlicky fried mushrooms, soft wilted spinach, cool tangy feta and subtle sour notes of pickled beetroot drizzled with a creamy miso/tahini dressing.
- Ready in 20 mins - when you use pre-cooked rice. Perfect for a weekday lunch or dinner.
- Super nutritious - each bowl gives you vital vitamins, protein, calcium and antioxidants.
- Satisfying - this salad is a substantial meal that will keep you full for a while.
🛒 Key ingredients:
This tremendously tasty and super satisfying salad is made with everyday ingredients. You will be able to find all of them at your local store.
- Brown rice - I often make this salad with pre-cooked microwavable brown rice. Of course you can also cook the rice from scratch.
- Mushrooms - I like to use mixed mushrooms because I like the different flavors and textures they bring to the salad, but most mushroom types will work well so feel free to pick your favorites.
- Spinach - I urge you to opt for fresh over frozen. Frozen spinach is great for soups and stews, but is likely to add unwanted moisture to a salad.
- Feta - adds cool tanginess to the salad
- Pickled beets - adds a welcome tanginess that complements the other savoury flavours in the salad.
- Crunchy onions - optional but highly recommended as they bring a satisfying crunch amongst the softer chewier textures in the salad.
Substitutions:
Note that the recipe has not been tested with all the substitutions and variations below, so the results cannot be guaranteed.
- Brown rice: wild rice and farro are also good options because they have a chewy texture that goes well with the mushrooms.
- Spinach: kale, green beans or broccoli will also work well.
- Feta: you can also use ricotta or goat cheese or omit the cheese to make the salad vegan.
- Pickled beets: You can swap this for pickled cabbage or a small amount of pickled onions.
Variations:
- Grains: switch the brown rice for farro or quinoa or omit and reduce the amount of dressing to serve as a side salad.
- Add cooked chicken for extra protein.
- Scatter toasted nuts and seeds on top .
- Change up the dressing. Swap the miso tahini dressing for another dressing like a balsamic or simple lemon dressing.
- Use marinated or pickled mushrooms instead of sautéed.
🧑🍳 Recipe steps:
Step 1: Make the dressing by mixing the miso paste, tahini, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic powder, sugar and water in a small jug or bowl and set aside.
Step 2: Place a frying pan on a high heat and add the butter. When it melts and starts to sizzle fry the mushrooms for a few minutes until they begin to brown. Then reduce the heat and add the garlic, cook for one more minute and set aside. Add the spinach to the pan, cook for a few minutes until it begins to wilt and set aside.
Step 3: Place the rice into a bowl and add the cooked mushrooms, wilted spinach, feta, and pickled beets. Toss it all together and serve immediately drizzled with the tahini miso dressing and top with crunchy spring onions.
Expert tips
- Use microwaveable pre-cooked rice - it takes 20 minutes to cook brown rice on the stove but microwaveable rice is ready in just 2.
- Get the dressing to a thick but pourable consistency - add a little more water if you need to.
- Don’t overcook the spinach - remove it from the pan as soon as it starts to wilt. Don’t let it get moist and slimy.
Serving suggestions
This warm sautéed mushroom salad is wholesome and satisfying and can be enjoyed as a meal in itself or as a side for cooked meat and fish like Panko Chicken, Rare or Medium Rare Ribeye Steak or air fryer panko crusted cod.
If you are hosting a summer barbecue or other large gathering you might want to serve it alongside some other tasty salads like my red-skin potato salad, canned corn salad or arugula and parmesan salad.
🙋 FAQs
The quickest and best way to cook mushrooms is to fry them in hot melted butter on a medium to high heat for 4-5 minutes until they begin to brown.
This depends on the type of mushroom. Most varieties like enoki, chanterelle, porcini, chestnut and white button mushrooms have tasty stems. Shiitake mushroom stems, on the other hand, taste woody and you’ll probably want to remove them. However, they are good for adding umami flavour for soups stews and broths.
It’s not necessary to peel a mushroom. Just make sure you wash or clean them first with a mushroom brush or paper towel to remove any dirt.
This is a topic of debate, with many people claiming that washing mushrooms causes them to become slimy and lose their flavor. The Mushroom Bureau advises cleaning mushrooms using a damp cloth. However, others argue that the amount of water they absorb is minimal as is the impact on taste. Mushrooms often have dirt on them so need to be washed, a wipe with a damp cloth or kitchen paper or a quick rinse is fine. If you decide to rinse make sure you dry them before you cook them, so they do not add additional moisture to your dish.
Most mushrooms are safe to be eaten raw including white mushrooms, enoki and portabellas, although it’s unlikely you would want to because they are tough and lacking in flavour. Most find the soft umami delicious flavour of cooked mushrooms wins hands down.
It is safe to reheat mushrooms as long as they have been stored properly. Put leftover mushrooms into a covered plate or bowl or plastic container and refrigerate them as soon as they are cool for up to 2 days. Reheat thoroughly in the stove or in the microwave.
📦 Storage
The warm mushroom salad tastes best when eaten fresh but leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Place the salad in the fridge as soon as it is cool and ensure it is covered. Ensure you reheat it thoroughly on the stove or in the microwave. The salad is not suitable for freezing.
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📖 Recipe
Warm Sautéed Mushroom Salad With Spinach
Equipment
- frying pan
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1 tbsp (9 oz) miso paste
- 1 tbsp tahini paste
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp water
Salad ingredients
- 250 g (9 oz) cooked brown rice Pre cooked recommended (Note 1)
- 15 g (1 tbsp) butter (Note 2)
- 150 g (1.5 cups) mushrooms cleaned and chopped (Note 3)
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 80 g (3 oz) spinach leaves (Note 4)
- 100 g (3.5 oz) feta crumbled (Note 5)
- 80 g (½ cup) pickled beets chopped (Note 6)
- 2 tbsp crunchy onions optional
Instructions
- Combine the dressing ingredients in a small jug or bowl and set aside.
- Place a frying pan on a high heat and add the butter. When the butter starts to sizzle add the mushrooms and fry for a few minutes until they begin to brown.
- Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic, fry for a minute or two until fragrant and remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside.
- Add the spinach, cook it for a few minutes until it starts to wilt and remove it from the pan and set aside.
- Assemble the salad by spooning the rice into bowls and add the cooked mushrooms, wilted spinach, pickled beetroot and crumbled feta.
- Drizzle with the dressing, top with crunchy onions and serve.
Notes
- Brown rice: 2 portions of cooked brown rice are equivalent to 150g (or 5oz) of uncooked dry brown rice. Wild rice and farro are also good options because they have a chewy texture that goes well with the mushrooms.
- Butter: Substitute with neutral oil for a vegan salad.
- Mushrooms: Most mushroom types will work well, so feel free to pick your favourites. Remove any dirt by wiping them with a damp cloth or kitchen paper. If you rinse them make sure you dry them before you cook them, to avoid adding additional moisture to the salad.
- Spinach: It's best to opt for fresh over frozen. Frozen spinach is great for soups and stews, but is likely to add unwanted moisture to a salad. You can substitute spinach with kale, green beans or broccoli.
- Feta: Substitute with ricotta or omit to make the salad vegan.
- Pickled beets: Swap for pickled cabbage or a small amount of pickled onions.
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