Preheat oven to 425°F. Set oven racks in the top two positions.
Prepare mushrooms: Wipe mushrooms with a damp paper towel to clean away any dirt. Cut larger mushrooms in half or quarters lengthwise. Place the mushrooms in a large bowl and drizzle with about 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss by hand until mushrooms are coated in oil. Sprinkle with Parmesan and panko and toss gently but thoroughly to coat. Transfer mushrooms to baking sheets, spreading them out in even layers. Transfer to oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until mushrooms are browned and crispy.
Prepare salad: Moments before the mushrooms are done, place the arugula into a large salad bowl. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of balsamic. Add a sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper. Toss gently.
To serve: Divide salad between 4 plates. Remove mushrooms from oven. Scrape them off the pans using a spatula or flat lifter. Add equal quantity of mushrooms to each salad. Add a sprinkle of black pepper and a tiny bit more grated Parmesan.
Serve immediately with additional balsamic and more grated Parmesan, if preferred.
Crispy Mushroom Salad
Ingredients
For the mushrooms:
2 pounds oyster mushrooms
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup panko crumbs
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
For the salad:
6 cups baby arugula
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
sprinkle sea salt flakes
sprinkle black pepper
Garnish:
grated Parmesan
freshly cracked black pepper
Optional:
drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar
Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F. Set oven racks in the top two positions.
Prepare mushrooms: Wipe mushrooms with a damp paper towel to clean away any dirt. Cut larger mushrooms in half or quarters lengthwise. Place the mushrooms in a large bowl and drizzle with about 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss by hand until mushrooms are coated in oil. Sprinkle with Parmesan and panko and toss gently but thoroughly to coat. Transfer mushrooms to baking sheets, spreading them out in even layers. Transfer to oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until mushrooms are browned and crispy.
Prepare salad: Moments before the mushrooms are done, place the arugula into a large salad bowl. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of balsamic. Add a sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper. Toss gently.
To serve: Divide salad between 4 plates. Remove mushrooms from oven. Scrape them off the pans using a spatula or flat lifter. Add equal quantity of mushrooms to each salad. Add a sprinkle of black pepper and a tiny bit more grated Parmesan.
Serve immediately with additional balsamic and more grated Parmesan, if preferred.
Crispy Mushroom Salad
5 / 5. 6
Baby arugula tossed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, topped with crisp, oven-baked oyster mushrooms in a panko and Parmesan coating…
Perfect as a first course or light meal, try this appetizing CRISPY MUSHROOM SALAD WITH PARMESAN.
This is one of those salad recipes that checks off all the boxes: easy to make, has few ingredients, and works as an appetizer, first course or light meal. But our CRISPY MUSHROOM SALAD WITH PARMESAN has one final all-important claim to fame; it’s exceedingly delicious. A friend says she likes to think of it as the best arugula salad, with benefits!
It’s so tasty, we know you’ll be making it again and again, so best to PIN the recipe to a favourite salad page or BOOKMARK this tab for easy access. SHARE it with friends so they can tell the world about it too. We’d also appreciate seeing pics of the salad when you make it. Use #weekendatthecottage when you post on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks!
We know you’re excited to try it at home or the cottage, so here are a few tips to guide you when making our CRISPY MUSHROOM SALAD WITH PARMESAN:
Only 8 ingredients are needed to make something so delicious!
INGREDIENTS
Only eight ingredients are needed to craft this mouthwatering, freshly prepared salad recipe, and that includes basics such as oil and vinegar and salt and pepper. So essentially, you’re just adding Parmesan, panko, arugula and oyster mushrooms to your shopping list. Let me just say at the outset, the second I finished my portion of salad, I wanted another, so consider purchasing more ingredients than the recipe calls for, just in case.
Look for oyster mushrooms at your favourite grocery store or speciality food market.
OYSTER MUSHROOMS
Although you can make this recipe using button, cremini, portobello, shiitake mushrooms, or any other wild mushrooms, we found OYSTER MUSHROOMS worked best. Head HERE to learn more about this mushroom, considered one of the most popular cultivated mushrooms in the world. Oyster mushrooms have a mild, earthy flavour that’s sometimes nutty and almost seafood-like, as well as a velvety, dense texture.
The peppery flavour notes pair perfectly with the almost nutty flavour of the mushrooms.
For this recipe, give the mushrooms a gentle wipe with a damp paper towel. Cut the larger ones in half or quarters lengthwise. You can leave the smaller-sized ‘shrooms as they are – watch this VIDEO to see how we did it. Interestingly, when coated in the panko and Parmesan and oven-baked, the edges of the mushrooms turn perfectly crispy.
For best results splurge and pick up a superior quality Parmesan for this recipe.
COATING
As mentioned above, the coating for the mushrooms is an equal combination of panko crumbs and fresh-grated Parmesan cheese. We first tested the recipe using bread crumbs, and although they did brown, they didn’t hold their crispiness as the panko crumbs did.
Toss gently but thoroughly making sure the mushrooms are completely coated in the cheese and panko.
Regarding the Parmesan, this is the recipe where you splurge at the cheese store or deli and buy a good one. An aged Parmesan with that hallmark level of saltiness adds layers and layers of flavour to this salad.
Spread the mushrooms out evenly across the baking sheet.
OVEN-BAKE
We considered topping this salad with mushrooms sautéed in garlic, butter and white wine, but in the end, felt it would be too heavy. The goal here is to add light, crispy, flavourful ‘shrooms. We found that oven-baking them is the best way of achieving that goal. For that to happen, the coated mushrooms are baked directly on a sheet pan. No parchment here, as they stay soft.
The mushrooms get all golden and crispy… perfect!
This way is a bit messy and you will need to use a spatula to scrape the baked mushrooms free from the pan, but boy do those mushrooms crisp up to perfection. The panko not only stays crisp, it also blends perfectly with the golden brown Parmesan and mushrooms. I guess I’m just apologizing in advance about the cleanup of the baking sheets, lol. Totally worth it.
Easiest dressing… ever!
DRESSING THE SALAD
Unlike many of the salads listed in our BEST SALAD ROUND UP, this one doesn’t have a specific dressing, per se. So hurray, you can put away the small bowl and whisk, and return the lemon and mustard to the fridge. Instead, it’s a drizzle of olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar plus a sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper; that’s it. The direction on this is don’t overdo it. Less is more, and remember to toss the arugula gently; it needs to be light and airy. Pro-tip; similar to my call for quality Parmesan, the same goes for the olive oil and balsamic. Extra virgin olive oil or a watered-down balsamic just won’t cut it. Use the good stuff and you will taste the difference.
Perfect as a first course or on its own as a light meal.
ASSEMBLE
Assembling the salad is easy too. We suggest dressing and tossing the arugula moments before the mushrooms come out of the oven. Once dressed, divide the salad into four portions, placing each onto salad or luncheon plates. Then add the crispy mushrooms followed by a sprinkle of sea salt flakes, freshly cracked black pepper and a soft sprinkle of more grated Parmesan. Don’t dawdle; serve this mushroom salad right away.
Make it tonight!
ENJOY
As mentioned, serve this delicious salad as the first course at a dinner party, or as a standalone meal for a light lunch or dinner. It pairs really well with our ASPARAGUS SOUP if soup and salad is your vibe. It’s also nice served with our freshly baked SOURDOUGH BREAD or these FLAKY TEA BISCUITS.
This CRISPY MUSHROOM SALAD WITH PARMESAN is, quite simply, perfect!
Preheat oven to 425°F. Set oven racks in the top two positions.
Prepare mushrooms: Wipe mushrooms with a damp paper towel to clean away any dirt. Cut larger mushrooms in half or quarters lengthwise. Place the mushrooms in a large bowl and drizzle with about 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss by hand until mushrooms are coated in oil. Sprinkle with Parmesan and panko and toss gently but thoroughly to coat. Transfer mushrooms to baking sheets, spreading them out in even layers. Transfer to oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until mushrooms are browned and crispy.
Prepare salad: Moments before the mushrooms are done, place the arugula into a large salad bowl. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of balsamic. Add a sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper. Toss gently.
To serve: Divide salad between 4 plates. Remove mushrooms from oven. Scrape them off the pans using a spatula or flat lifter. Add equal quantity of mushrooms to each salad. Add a sprinkle of black pepper and a tiny bit more grated Parmesan.
Serve immediately with additional balsamic and more grated Parmesan, if preferred.
