Get it Right Every Time: The Best Way to Prepare Mushrooms for Pizza

Hey there! Are you curious about how to prepare mushrooms for pizza? 

We’ve got delicious tips for all you mushroom lovers out there!

If you want to add mushrooms to your next pie, you must ensure you prep them properly.

Here’s how we like to do it:

Mushroom pizza is becoming increasingly popular. Why? 

Mushrooms offer a savory flavor and add to the pizza’s overall appearance. If you haven’t tried a mushroom pizza yet, it’s time to do so!

Furthermore, mushrooms are one of the healthiest toppings because of their minerals and vitamins. 

Therefore, whether on a diet or not, everyone can have a mushroom pizza because it contains zero calories. Is there anything more you want in life?

However, preparing mushrooms can be complicated for beginners. 

First of all, get the freshest mushrooms you can. We love going to the farmers market, where they have a fresh variety of mushrooms of all sizes and textures and fresh tomatoes.

So, here is how to start.

How to Cut Mushrooms for Pizza

To cut mushrooms for pizza:

1. Start by removing any dirt or debris by patting them dry with a paper towel. 
2. Remove the stems from the mushrooms by gently twisting them off. If the stems are difficult to remove, you can cut them off carefully with a paring knife. 
3. Once the stems are removed, slice the mushrooms into thin, even slices using a sharp knife. Cut the slices in half or quarters to create smaller pieces using large mushrooms. 

When cutting mushrooms for pizza, it is important to slice them thinly so they cook evenly and do not overpower the other ingredients.

You can also slice the mushrooms in advance and store them in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them.

How to Precook Mushrooms for Pizza?

Saute

You can adequately cook mushrooms by grilling or sauteing. But not everyone has a grill in their home, right? 

So to saute the mushrooms, you must preheat the pan with extra virgin olive oil. 

Then add the mushrooms to a large skillet pan at medium heat and sauté. Be patient for the mushroom to soften. Mushrooms contain water, making your pizza soggy if you don’t properly cook them. 

So, we usually cook them in a cast-iron pan at high temperatures to ensure the water evaporates.

Here you can make your mushrooms more flavorful by adding more of your favorite slices, like minced garlic.

After some minutes, add some salt and black pepper.  We love adding onions and fresh herbs.

Cook for a few minutes at medium-high heat until golden brown, then place the sauteed mushrooms on top of the tomato sauce on your pizza dough with the other toppings.

You can now place your pizza dough with sautéed mushrooms and the rest of the ingredients in your preheated oven.

Grilling

Don’t hold back on your grilling expertise; you can also grill your mushrooms for those interested. Grilling is another excellent option for cooking mushrooms because these fungi have water. 

Grilling lets the water in the mushrooms evaporate. The flavor intensifies when mushrooms lose water, including every other ingredient added. 

Soaking your mushrooms in an oil-based marinade in a large bowl some hours before or for the whole night will add flavor to your mushrooms before grilling.

However, flavoring should continue throughout the grilling process.

You can involve other family members in making pizza by asking them to hit your grill for a few minutes and placing your mushrooms on it. 

For the smaller mushrooms, like cremini, you can skewer them across the cap before placing them on the grill. 

That is because smaller mushrooms are harder to turn on the grill. They can fall between the grills.

On the other hand, you don’t need to skewer large mushrooms like large shiitakes and Portobello.

Do you know how sometimes food gets stuck between the grills?

You can reduce that by brushing olive oil on the mushrooms and adding salt.

Common Mistakes People Make When Prepping a Mushroom Pizza

The flavor and appearance of your toppings contribute to the overall taste of the mushroom pizza.

That means you must avoid mushroom mistakes to master cooking your homemade pizza.

1. Do not wash your mushrooms. Mushrooms contain water and act like sponges, soaking up any liquid. As a result, they become waterlogged when you soak them. Just use paper towels to remove all dirt.
2. It would help if you did not cook mushrooms on low heat. The water in the mushrooms quickly evaporates before they touch the pan due to the high heat. However, using low heat will steam the mushroom, giving you a soggy mushroom in the end.
3. It would be best if you did not slice every mushroom. Small mushrooms are great when you precook them as a whole. On the other hand, wilder-looking mushrooms with great texture are tasty when torn.
4. Overcrowding the pan and not using enough oil make your mushrooms soggy. Overcrowding your pan or using a little oil will reduce the mushrooms’ space for water to evaporate. Therefore, your mushroom will simmer, giving you a soggy mushroom. If you also use a little olive oil, the spongy mushroom will soak up the olive oil in the pan.
5. Don’t undercook your mushrooms. Leaving the mushrooms on your stove for a long time will give the mushrooms enough time to get rid of the excess water. It would be best to eliminate the excess water to increase its flavor.

HOW TO PREPARE A MUSHROOM PIZZA

How to Prepare Fresh Mushrooms for Pizza?

Preparing fresh mushrooms is different from precooking. You must clean your mushrooms and chop them into pieces before cooking. 

We don’t recommend washing your mushrooms with water. Why?

Before slicing, you can wipe the mushrooms with a dry paper towel or bristle brush. 

Mushrooms are porous and can absorb more water when you clean them with water. We also don’t want your pizza to be soggy and tasteless.

If some of your friends or family don’t like the inconsistent flavor or texture of the stem, you can remove them. 

Remember, we are removing the stem because of people’s preferences. 

Hold the mushroom by the cap and loosen the stem sideways.

Otherwise, the stem is also edible!

You can remove them while the mushrooms are still whole.

Then, twist to detach the stem from the cap completely. You can keep them for other meals, like mushroom soup. 

However, you should assess the stems because mushroom stems are woody and need cutting.

Chopping

What size of mushroom do you prefer?

Some people like chopping their mushrooms into halves, quarters, or slices. 

You can also chop your mushrooms, depending on the type. The size of the slices will also influence how long you cook the mushrooms.

How to Prepare Shitake Mushrooms for Pizza?

Shitake mushrooms require cleaning, plucking stems, and slicing before cooking. 

Like any other mushroom, you would love to know about its many nutrients. 

Besides, they are more popular because they have rich, earthy, and umami flavors. Before the preparation stage, you should ensure that your Shitake is plump and firm without wrinkles or slime.

For a tasty result, you should follow these steps when preparing Shitake mushrooms:

Step 1: Trim the stems. Shitake is one mushroom that has woody stems. You don’t want the crunchiness or sour taste of the mushroom stem on your pizza. So, trim them with a knife or twist them using your hands.

Step 2: Wipe your Shitake! Since Shitake is muddy, you can wipe them with a paper towel or a wet kitchen towel.

Step 3: Slice them up. Since Shitake has massive crowns, you can slice them into small pieces or chop them. Your thinly sliced Shitake is now ready for precooking.

Step 4: Precook your Shitake by grilling or sauteing before placing them on your pizza. 

This same process applies to oyster mushrooms.

How to Prepare Portobello Mushrooms for Pizza?

Portobello mushrooms are large, and you need to trim the stem, remove the gills and chop them into pieces.

If you have watched children’s stories, you must have seen the large Portobello mushrooms with gills below. 

Portobello are Cremini, or baby Portobello that grew. We think the creminis are the best mushrooms for pizza. Their stems are usually tough and woody.

Besides, they also contain gills that contain a solid musty or muddy flavor that can overpower the mushroom taste.

While shopping for Portobello, checking whether they are fresh is vital. The Portobello should have dry gills but not be squishy or soggy. 

Therefore, are you ready to follow these steps in preparing Portobello?

Step 1: Trim the Portobello stems. Start by using a knife to cut out the woody Portobello stems.

Step 2: Remove the gills. You can use a spoon to scrape the gills inside the crown. Rotate the spoon as you remove the gills to make your work easier. Also, perfectionists, you don’t have to get every single gill.

Step 3: Wipe the surface. Remove the dirt or mud by wiping the surface with a paper towel or wet kitchen towel.

Step 4: Grill or saute; the Portobello mushroom and place the cooked mushrooms on your pizza topping for baking.

How Do You Prepare Canned Mushrooms for Pizza?

You can follow these simple steps to prepare your canned mushrooms:

Step 1: Open the canned mushrooms and pour the contents into a bowl. Separate the mushrooms from the liquid.

Step 2: Dry the mushrooms. Canned mushrooms come in cans full of saltwater. You don’t want all that water on your pizza; the excess water can make your crust soggy. 

Wipe the mushrooms with a damp kitchen towel or rinse them. Remember, mushrooms soak up water for too long when you leave them in water.

Step 3: Cut the mushrooms into pieces. Depending on the mushroom type, you can slice them or chop them into halves, quarters, or small bits.

Step 4: Place the mushrooms on your pizza without cooking. Some companies cook mushrooms before packaging, so you don’t have to cook them. Your mushrooms will become rubbery if you cook them a second time.

Step 5: Add to your pizza toppings and bake.

Here are the Best Canned Mushrooms for Pizza

How to Add Fresh Mushrooms to Pizza?

When you add fresh or raw mushrooms to your pizza, you risk your crust getting soggy and your pizza getting a watery topping. 

They also give many people a raw mushroom taste, which is very subtle or has more of a bland flavor. 

For this reason, we don’t recommend adding the raw mushroom, but if you have to, do it at the end.

Mushrooms contain a lot of water, and losing moisture takes a long time. 

So, you can add the mushrooms to your toppings during the last minutes of the pizza baking in the oven for those delicious flavors.

Therefore, your mushrooms will not have enough time to release all the water onto your pizza toppings and crust.

FAQs

The Last Slice

Now that you’ve learned to love mushrooms. Are you ready to create your mushroom pizza recipes?

Before adding the mushrooms to your pizza toppings, we hope you understand how to prepare them for pizzas and pre-cook them. 

You should be aware of some typical mistakes resulting in soggy mushrooms. 

Remember to top your mushroom pizza with fresh or raw mushrooms at the end. 

Why don’t we, on the other hand, promote fresh mushrooms on pizza?

Yes! Cooking raw mushrooms on pizza for an extended period can result in wet toppings and a soggy pizza crust. 

Now that you know how to prepare fresh, Shitake, Portobello, and canned mushrooms, it is time to start pre-cooking them.  Pair them with your favorite pizza sauce, either white sauce or tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese for the best mushroom pizza. Don’t forget to garnish with some fresh herbs.

The tips in this article will assist you in creating a mouth-watering mushroom pizza recipe and baking the most incredible mushroom pizza your friends and family have ever tasted. 

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Enjoy!

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