Ragout is a French style, slow-cooked stew of meat and vegetables. Cut out the meat, replace it with flavorful mushrooms, and you have a mushroom ragout that tastes simply delicious. Serve this versatile vegan stew over pasta or mashed potatoes or use it as gravy with your favorite entree.
The French have given us such wonderful stews as cassoulet and bourguignon. One more amazing stew born in the land of haute cuisine or nouvelle cuisine or heck, simply fantastique cuisine, is ragout. Today, I have for you a vegan version of this gorgeous dish: mushroom ragout.
This is an easy, one-pot stew, and no, you don't need to slow-cook it for hours because mushrooms are not meat. In fact, it takes about 30 minutes to make. The recipe can easily be made gluten-free and it is already soy-free, nut-free and vegan.
What is mushroom ragout?
Mushroom ragout is a vegan adaptation of a well-seasoned, slow-cooked French stew called ragout, which is usually made with meat or fish and vegetables. Ragout means "to stimulate the appetite" and this mushroom ragout recipe definitely does that with lots of garlic, savory herbs like rosemary and thyme, and a glug of alcohol. To add more flavor and wonderful texture, I use a mix of fresh cremini mushrooms and dried wild mushrooms.
Ragout vs ragu
If you are as confused as I was about the difference between ragout and ragu (both pronounced the same way), here's a quick primer: ragout is French, ragu is Italian. A ragout is a stew, whereas a ragu is a pasta sauce made with ground meat, veggies and sometimes tomatoes. There are many, many ways to make both but the consensus is, both are delicious!
My secrets for a full-flavored mushroom ragout
Using two kinds of mushrooms - fresh and dried - adds lots of delicious texture and flavor to the ragout. I use dried wild mushrooms because they are cost-friendlier than fresh wild mushrooms and you get that wonderful mushroom stock when you reconstitute them. The stock is precious and loaded with flavor: don't discard it, use it instead of water to thin out the ragout stew.
I also like using lots of fresh thyme and rosemary in this recipe. The rosemary adds a wonderfully smoky flavor. Sage would be a nice substitute.
Ragout recipes usually include wine, which serves to deepen and concentrate the other flavors (the alcohol cooks out). I use a dash of amaretto, an almond liqueur, instead, because I think it adds even more complexity. You can use white wine.
Ingredients
- Mushrooms: Use a mix of fresh cremini mushrooms and dried wild mushrooms for maximum flavor and texture. Using dried mushrooms, which are easily available in supermarkets and Asian markets, keeps the recipe affordable and the reconstituted mushrooms are delicious! You can make this recipe with only fresh mushrooms (see FAQs below for more on this).
- Extra virgin olive oil and vegan butter (optional). Extra virgin olive oil adds terrific flavor to the mushroom ragout, and the vegan butter, stirred in at the end, gives it a velvety, creamy finish that's divine. You can leave the butter out, but I highly recommend using it.
- Aromatics: garlic, onions, fresh rosemary and fresh thyme. You can use shallots or leeks instead of onions. Rosemary can be substituted with sage. If you don't have fresh herbs, you can use dried rosemary and dried thyme, but less. More on the substitution quantities in recipe card below.
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour or rice flour, if gluten-free. The flour creates a roux that thickens the stew and makes it creamy without the use of actual cream.
How to make mushroom ragout
Soak mushrooms in 2 cups boiling water for 30 minutes to reconstitute them. Strain out the mushrooms and reserve the stock for use later.
Place olive oil in a pot or Dutch oven and add garlic. Turn on heat to medium and saute the garlic until it begins to color lightly.
Add onions to the pot along with some salt and ground black pepper. Saute until the onions are softened, 2-3 minutes.
Add the reconstituted, dried mushrooms to the pot and saute a couple of minutes.
Stir in the fresh mushrooms and mix well.
Mix in the herbs and the liqueur or wine. Cook a couple of minutes until the alcohol has evaporated, leaving only flavor behind.
Add flour to the pot and mix...
...until it has absorbed into the vegetables and there is no visible flour.
Add the stock from the reconstituted mushrooms to the pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes until mushrooms are tender.
Stir in the vegan butter, add more salt and ground black pepper to taste, and turn off heat. Garnish with parsley before serving.
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Serve
I love serving this mushroom ragout over a bed of pasta. Ribbon pasta like fettuccine, tagliatelle, linguini or pappardelle are all perfect, but you can also use smaller pasta shapes. This time I served the ragout over chickpea fusilli for a satisfying, protein-rich dinner.
You can also serve the ragout over mashed potatoes, polenta or couscous, or use it as gravy with vegan steaks. My favorites to serve it with are tofu steaks or lentil and quinoa steaks.
Tips for success
- Dried mushrooms, when reconstituted, drop some grit into the bowl. Pass the stock left over from reconstituting the mushrooms through a fine-mesh strainer before using, or very carefully pour the stock portion into the pot, leaving out any grit that may have fallen to the bottom of the bowl.
- The stock left over from reconstituting mushrooms adds delicious umami to the ragout. If you decide to use only fresh mushrooms in this recipe, use a good mushroom stock or broth or vegetable stock to make a full-flavored ragout sauce.
- Tweak the amount of garlic and herbs to your taste. I like a lot of garlic and fresh, herby flavor in the mushroom ragout, but you can add less or more according to your personal preference.
Mushroom Ragout FAQs
To make the ragout with just fresh mushrooms, double the quantity of fresh mushrooms and use a mix of domestic and wild mushrooms. So you can, for instance, use half button mushrooms or cremini mushrooms or portobello mushrooms and half chanterelles or oyster mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms. Since you won't have any stock from reconstituting dried mushrooms, use mushroom stock or vegetable stock for the gravy.
You can add two sticks of chopped celery and a carrot along with the onions to the pot. Add another "meaty" vegetable like eggplant to the ragout for more flavor and nutrition.
Yes! You can add cubed, baked tofu to the ragout. I would add it along with the fresh mushrooms and allow it to cook in the mushroom broth so it absorbs all the wonderful flavors in the pot.
Mushroom ragout tastes delicious the next day. Store it in the fridge for up to four days. For longer storage, freeze the ragout in a freezer-safe container for up to three months.
Mushroom Ragout
Equipment
- Dutch oven or large pot
Ingredients
- 1½ cup dried mushrooms (about 1.5 oz)
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4-6 cloves garlic (minced or put through a garlic press)
- 1 medium onion (or two shallots, finely chopped)
- 1 pound cremini mushrooms or button mushrooms (cut into ⅓rd inch slices. Sliced portobello mushrooms are also a great choice)
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary (finely chopped. Substitute with 1 teaspoon dried rosemary)
- 2 teaspoon fresh thyme (strip leaves from stem, then chop. Substitute with 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 2 tablespoons amaretto liqueur (or ¼ cup white wine)
- 2 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour (or gluten-free flour)
- 1-2 tablespoon vegan butter
- 2 tablespoon parsley (chopped, for garnish)
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Reconstitute the dried mushrooms
- Soak mushrooms in 2 cups boiling water for 30 minutes to reconstitute them. Strain out the mushrooms and reserve the stock for use later.
Make the mushroom ragout
- Place olive oil in a pot or Dutch oven and add garlic. Turn on heat to medium and saute the garlic until it begins to color lightly.
- Add onions to the pot along with some salt and ground black pepper. Saute until the onions are softened, 2-3 minutes.
- Add the reconstituted, dried mushrooms to the pot and saute a couple of minutes.
- Stir in the fresh mushrooms and mix well. Mix in the herbs and the liqueur or wine. Cook a couple of minutes until the alcohol has evaporated, leaving only flavor behind.
- Add flour to the pot and mix until the flour is absorbed into the vegetables and there is no visible flour. Add the stock from the reconstituted mushrooms to the pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes until mushrooms are tender.
- Stir in the vegan butter, add more salt and ground black pepper to taste, and turn off heat. Garnish the ragout with parsley before serving.
Nutrition
More delicious mushroom recipes
* Updated from a recipe first posted in July 2015.
Holly
Perfect! Wouldn't change a thing.
Tanya
Made this for dinner yesterday, and there were no leftovers. It was just my husband and me but we LOVED it! Thanks for another fantastic recipe, Vaishali!!!
Vaishali
Hi Tanya, so happy you loved it! ❤️
Cherie
This is SO delicious! I wonder how it would freeze. Has anyone tried cooking up a big batch and freezing?
Vaishali
Hi Cherie, you can freeze for up to three months.
Ana
Absolutely delicious! I'm going to make this often.
Vaishali
Ana, so glad you liked it!
Anonymous
We had this on new years eve. It was delicious!
Natalya
This looks great! For how long do you typically soak cashews? And do you use the same water they were soaked in for making paste or different? Never used this before!
Vaishali Honawar
Soak the cashews for 30 minutes, no more. And yes, do discard the water, rinse the cashews, and add more water to blend.
Natalya
Thanks so much!
Sabitha
Is there something else I can use to substitute for the cashew cream? I typically don't like mushrooms but this recipe is enticing enough for me to give them another shot!
Vaishali
Hi Sabitha, sorry I missed your question earlier. Can you use another nut paste, like almonds? You can try blending some silken tofu but it won’t give the same richness as the nut paste.
Cozinhar Sem Lactose
Sounds wonderful!
Athanasia
It looks delicious. I make something pretty much the same but we call it mushroom stroganoff, our substitute for beef stroganoff. That has the creamy sauce. I always think of ragu (Italian) as being tomato based. I do not know of ragout. Is that French?
Vaishali Honawar
Hi Athanasia, a ragout is French (ragu is Italian) and it's a thick, rich stew with veggies (and sometimes meat) in it. Hope that clears it! 🙂
Gita Jaishankar
Cute pictures of Jay and Opie...we too went for a short vacation to San Francisco and Yosemite, didn't go to the beach though.....love this recipe Vaishali, must have been tasty and flavorful, going to prepare this without the wine soon 🙂
Vaishali Honawar
Sounds like a lovely vacation, Gita. I haven't been to Yosemite, and look forward to very much some day.
geetha
Hi Vaishali,
This looks delicious.Since some in my family do not drink any wine,is it possible to replace the wine with some other ingredient?Thank you.Jay looks so happy.:) and Opie is super cute.:)
Vaishali Honawar
Hi Geetha, just skip the wine. You can use vegetable stock instead of plain water in the following step to add more flavor.