Sometimes the best dishes are the simplest. My Sautéed Lemon Basil Mushrooms is one of those recipes. With just a few ingredients and you will have your house smelling like a gourmet restaurant.
All you need are 8 simple ingredients. First, start by chopping your mushrooms into as even-sized bites as possible. This helps them cook evenly.
Gather the olive oil, lemon or lime, salt, garlic, shoyu, and black pepper. Heat the oil and spread around the bottom of a large skillet. You will get the best results if your mushrooms are in one layer and can spread out as they cook. They will shrink a bunch as they release their juices. Also, adding a pinch of salt and the lemon juice gives the mushrooms the most amazing aroma and flavor. The biggest trick to having these come out like a restaurant is to not stir them until they get a nice brown color on the bottom. If you stir them too often you never develop the great caramelization that makes this dish so special. You must be a little patient. It happens after the mushrooms release their juices and then start almost getting dry in the pan. You need to watch them to make sure they don’t burn. If you wait though, you will be amazed at how different the flavor is. One of the best things in the whole world.
Once you achieve the browning on one side of the mushrooms, stir them so more of the uncooked sides are on the pan. Again, wait for the juice to be released and then brown those babies. When the juice is mostly evaporated add the garlic and shoyu and toss to coat. Cook just a bit longer to cook the garlic and shoyu into a delicious sauce.
Turn off the heat and throw in the basil and freshly ground black pepper. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary. Mmmmmmmm! These are so good.

Sautéed Lemon Garlic Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 24 oz. Mushrooms, chopped use whatever you have button, crimini, portobello
- 2 t. Olive oil extra virgin is best
- 1/2 Lemon, juiced
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 T. Garlic, minced
- 1 T. Shoyu
- 2 T. Italian Basil, chopped finely
- 1/2 t. Black pepper, freshly ground
Instructions
- Begin by chopping your mushrooms into 1/2” pieces.
- Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.
- Add mushrooms, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Let cook until the mushrooms begin to release their juices. You want to avoid stirring the mushrooms so that they develop a brown coating, about 6-8 minutes. After they begin to brown, stir to allow more of the mushrooms to develop the browning effect, another 5 minutes or so.
- Once the mushrooms are tender and cooked through, add garlic and shoyu. Stir to combine. Allow this to cook a couple of minutes.
- Remove from heat and add black pepper and basil.
These mushrooms are so versatile you can eat them with roasted or mashed potatoes, over brown rice or polenta, or with my Vegan Basil Spinach Pesto Linguine.
How do you like to eat mushrooms? If you make these or have any questions, please let me know in the comments.
Aloha,
Ashley
Looks great!
Thank you! Simple yet delicious. Thanks for stopping by.
Aloha,
Ashley