Creamy Mushroom Sauce (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

This mushroom sauce is so tasty and versatile. It goes well with meat, pork, chicken, or turkey, and it’s perfect as a topper for root vegetables or cauliflower puree or as a gluten-free pasta sauce.

This creamy mushroom sauce is a healthy alternative to any store-bought brown sauce and can successfully replace gravy.

A clean and healthy sauce

My husband is Danish, and for him, brown sauce and cream sauces are an institution. He can’t conceive a festive meal without one, and even though I can go without, I have to admit that this sauce brings any meal to another level of goodness.

Sauces have a reputation for being unhealthy, but I promise you this one is not only clean and delicious but is healthy for you. This easy vegan mushroom sauce is gluten-free, lectin-free, dairy-free, and whole 30 compliant.

Mushrooms are a powerhouse of nutrition

• provide important nutrients: such as selenium, copper, phosphorous, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, and more
• provide fiber and protein and are very low in calories
• may have anti-aging effects, and studies have linked the consumption of mushrooms with cancer and heart disease prevention
• studies have demonstrated that cremini mushrooms protect against gut permeability (leaky gut)

What goes into this creamy mushroom sauce recipe

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 200 grams (1/2 lb) brown cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme (use the leaves)
• 8-10 leaves fresh sage, chopped
• salt and black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon black garlic powder or granulated (you can skip if not available)
• 2 tablespoons coconut cream
• 1 cup vegetable stock (chicken stock or bone broth can be used), plus 1/4 cup
• Optional: 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

If you’d like to use wine, you can use a little bit of white wine to deglaze the pan before you add the coconut cream.

More recently, I created a recipe for homemade bouillon cubes, and now I add them to everything, but they work particularly well with soups and to make vegetables stock. They are easy to make and a great meal prep hack to help you cook more flavorful and nutritious food with less effort.

To make quick and easy vegetable stock, use one or two homemade bouillon cubes for one cup of hot water.

How to make creamy mushroom sauce

• Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the shallots. Sautee on medium heat until translucent and fragrant.
• Add the sliced mushrooms, garlic, herbs, and spices and sautee, stirring from time to time, until the mushrooms soften and start browning.
• Add the coconut cream, combine and cook for about 30 seconds.
• Now start adding the vegetable stock, bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low and cook for about 5 minutes, or until some of the liquid evaporates. Taste and adjust if anything else is needed.
• Save a few mushroom slices for garnish and texture, and blend the sauce until creamy. Put the cream back into the skillet, add the remaining 1/4 cup of stock to the blender, and blend. This way, no sauce will get stuck to the blender. Add the content to the skillet, and cook on low heat for a few minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar. If you prefer a thinner consistency, feel free to add more stock.
• Garnish with the saved mushroom slices and fresh thyme leaves. Serve immediately or store in a jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. It can also be frozen.

Consistency and substitutions

This sauce is creamy and thick, with a little texture from the saved mushroom slices. But I want to mention that the consistency of this mushroom sauce can be adjusted in different ways:

• You can blend just half of the quantity
• You can add more vegetable stock, even after you have blended it, until you get the desired consistency
• You can add more coconut cream and not blend it at all (I do sometimes prefer it chunky)
• If, for any reason, you can’t have coconut cream, you can either replace it with heavy cream or skip it

If you don’t like to make vegetable stock or can’t find a healthy one to buy, I recommend this powdered vegetable broth you can mix with hot water and create an instant vegetable stock. It’s full of nutrients, delicious, and so easy to use:

How to store and serve this creamy vegan mushroom sauce

You can serve this sauce immediately, prepare it in advance, store it in a glass jar in the refrigerator and reheat it. It can also be frozen.

This creamy sauce will elevate roasted meat, pork, chicken, or turkey (think chicken breast, pork chops, roast beef or pork etc)

It will work so well as a pasta sauce. Heat the sauce, mix it with the cooked pasta, garnish with grated Parmigiano and a few basil leaves, and serve. We recommend this amazing Sorghum Spaghetti, which are gluten-free and lectin-free.

You can use it as a topper for these delicious root vegetable purees (or mashed potatoes) for extra nutrition and umami flavor:

• Root Vegetable Puree with Cauliflower
• Mashed Cauliflower, Celeriac, and Parsnip
• Creamy Celeriac Puree (Dairy-Free, Vegan)

This sauce can be served as a vegan mushroom gravy for cauliflower steak.

Or you can transform it into a dipping sauce or spread for your favorite bread. We love to dip in it with our Gluten-Free and Lectin-Free Sourdough Bread.

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