Mushroom Puff Pastry Tarts
These are mega flaky mushroom puff pastry tarts with tangy gorgonzola cheese, fragrant thyme and rosemary, and a dash of slightly sweet balsamic vinegar. You’ll enjoy all of these robust and rich flavors on a golden delicious cloud of buttery puff pastry layers! The tarts are fabulous as a vegetarian appetizer or snack, or you can serve them as a hearty side dish at your holiday gatherings.
Here’s Why You’ll Love These Mushroom Puff Pastry Tarts
- Positively packed with robust flavor
- Ultra crisp and buttery
- Meat-free option that works as an appetizer, side dish, or even a fall dinner recipe (great alongside a serving of maple-roasted squash kale salad!)
- You can use store-bought puff pastry or homemade
- Use your choice of cheese (gorgonzola was my favorite here)
- Did I mention flavorful?
Mushroom Tart Ingredients You Need & Why
You’ll need to briefly cook the mushrooms on the stove before layering on the shaped pastry. Here are all of the best ingredients to use and why:
- Puff Pastry Dough: Homemade rough puff is my favorite, but you can use store-bought frozen puff pastry. You’ll need 1 standard box, which is 2 sheets. Thaw before shaping.
- Egg Wash: Just 1 egg with a splash of milk helps the pastry develop a golden-brown color (like pie crust), seals its shape, and helps prevent it from turning soggy underneath the topping.
- Butter: For cooking the mushrooms.
- Shallots: Subtly sweet shallots, my choice when making this apple cider chicken, are a fantastic contrast to the earthy mushroom flavor and salty cheese.
- Mushrooms: I tested the mushroom tarts several times, and used a variety of mushrooms that all worked very well. Sliced shiitake, baby bella (cremini) mushrooms, or any sliced white mushrooms are great; you can also use a mix.
- Garlic, Salt, & Pepper: Flavor, of course.
- Fresh Herbs: Rosemary and thyme are my choices here, the same I use on this full-size butternut squash tart. You can use dried herbs instead if that’s all you have.
- Balsamic Vinegar: Stir in 1 Tablespoon after you remove the mushrooms from heat. Taste testers and I found the overall flavor a little flat before I added this to the next batch.
- Gorgonzola Cheese: Top choice here, but I know it may not be everyone’s favorite cheese. Gruyère is another fabulous choice, or use goat cheese, gouda, or a sharp white cheddar.
You Can Make the Crust From Scratch
Like I mentioned above, you can use store-bought puff pastry or homemade. The pictured mushroom puff pastry tarts use the same handmade 5-ingredient rough puff pastry dough we use for berry turnovers. Hundreds of readers have tried this dough and have been pleasantly surprised with its ease. If you find a few hours (that can be broken up over a couple days!), try the homemade dough. It’s so worth it!
What is “rough puff” pastry? It’s become a popular method for making homemade puff pastry because it produces bakery-style puff pastry with lots of flaky layers without the same time commitment that laminating dough (such as for croissants) requires. And there’s no yeast needed. The trick is to work large pieces of cold butter into dry ingredients and then hydrate it all with ice-cold water. Sometimes bakers grate butter into the mix or use a food processor—there are many ways to make it.
I use it so often that I created a separate page for rough puff pastry with a video tutorial just in case you want it for other recipes that call for it—like butternut squash tart, cinnamon palmiers, cranberry brie puff pastry tarts, apple turnovers, or even this honey pear tart.
Let’s Talk Assembling
Once you have your store-bought dough thawed, or the homemade dough refrigerated (after the second refrigeration as detailed in the rough puff pastry post), it’s time to shape it. Roll it out to a large rectangle, about 10×17 inches. If using store-bought, which comes in two pieces, lay one piece over the top of the other before rolling. Slice the rectangle down the center using a sharp knife or pizza cutter:
Slice each into 5 rectangles, which end up being around 3.5×5 inches in size:
Brush with egg wash, and then crimp the edges with a fork, exactly how you crimp pie crust:
Top with cheese, followed by the cooked mushroom mixture. You’ll bake the mushroom puff pastry tarts on lined baking sheets, and parchment paper sheets are always handy here. I usually use (affiliate link) this brand of pre-cut sheets.
Bake until golden brown; I find 20 to 22 minutes to be plenty. When the mushroom puff pastry tarts come out of the oven, they’ll be magically layered like little puff pastry pillows for the cheesy mushroom topping! You can finish them off with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, extra herbs, or a little more cheese. If you have some balsamic glaze (you can either buy it or make it yourself!), you could add a drizzle of that too.
Check out these crisp layers:
Mushroom Puff Pastry Tarts
Ingredients
Method
- Dough: Prepare homemade rough puff pastry dough through 2nd refrigeration. If using store-bought frozen puff pastry, make sure it’s thawed. Keep either dough in the refrigerator until step 4 below.
- Topping: Over medium heat in a large skillet, cook butter and sliced shallots, stirring often, until shallots begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, and rosemary. Stir and cook until mushrooms are soft, about 5–6 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in balsamic vinegar. Set aside to slightly cool as you roll out the dough.
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- On a lightly floured work surface using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll pastry dough into a rectangle about 10×17 inches in size. The dough will be around 1/8-inch thick. (If using store-bought, place the edge of one sheet over the other and use a rolling pin to adhere them together. Roll the whole thing out into a 10×17-inch rectangle.) Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, cut down the middle so you have two 5×17-inch rectangles, then cut across so you have 10 rectangles, each about 3.5×5 inches in size.
- Egg Wash & Assemble: Brush egg wash all over puff pastry rectangles. Crimp edges with a fork. Carefully transfer dough to lined baking sheets, 5 tarts per sheet. If dough loses shape, use your hands to reshape into rectangles. Sprinkle each with about 1.5 Tablespoons cheese. Spoon the mushroom topping, about a scant 1/4 cup for each tart, over the cheese. Lightly press down on mushroom topping with the back of a spoon so it sticks to the cheese.
- Bake tarts for 20–22 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown all over.
- Remove from the oven and, if desired, garnish with flaky sea salt, more fresh herbs, a little extra cheese, and/or a drizzle of balsamic glaze. Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave, or cover with foil and bake in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 8–10 minutes.
Notes
- Make-Ahead Instructions: If using homemade dough, see the detailed rough puff pastry recipe instructions for make-ahead and freezing details. You can prep the dough 48 hours in advance or freeze for up to 1 month. You can also make the mushroom topping ahead of time. Complete step 2 and then cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day before assembling the tarts. (No need to bring to room temperature before using, but you will notice the butter slightly solidifies in the refrigerator—that’s ok.) You can also assemble the individual tarts ahead of time, through step 5. Cover and place the tarts in the refrigerator for up to 1 day before baking. No need to bring to room temperature before baking.
- Freezing Instructions: You can freeze the baked and cooled tarts for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and reheat (covered with aluminum foil) in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 8–10 minutes before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Rolling Pin | Pizza Cutter | Pastry Brush | Flaky Sea Salt
- Mushrooms: Use any mushroom variety that you enjoy. I tested the mushroom tarts several times, and used a variety of mushrooms that all worked very well. Sliced shiitake, baby bella (cremini) mushrooms, or any sliced white mushrooms are great; you can also use a mix of mushrooms.
- What Other Cheese Can I Use? Gorgonzola was the top choice here, but it may not be everyone’s favorite cheese! Gruyère is another fabulous choice, or use gouda, goat cheese, or a sharp white cheddar. It’s a 1:1 swap.
- Full-Size Tart: Follow the exact instructions here, only do not cut the rolled-out dough into individual rectangles. Use the egg wash, crimp the edges with a fork, and scatter the cheese and mushroom topping all over. Increase the bake time to about 35–38 minutes. The process is similar to my butternut squash tart.
