There’s more than one way to skin a cat, and there’s more than one way to reheat mushrooms. But in today’s post we’ll be focussing on the 4 best ways to do that (the mushrooms, not the cat…)! Whenever you reheat mushrooms, you run the risk of them drying out, losing some of their moisture, and even ruining their taste and texture.

But around here we don’t like food waste, and just because you might dry out those leftover mushrooms when you use them next, doesn’t mean you will. Besides, our foolproof ways to reheat mushrooms today will include a bunch of tips and tricks to make sure you have the perfect reheated mushrooms every time! Ready to find out more? Then read on below to find out everything you need to know.

How To Reheat Mushrooms

Like we said before, there are lots of options, but for us, the 4 best ways involve being able to reheat the mushrooms quickly, whilst still keeping the same food quality. There’s nothing worse than dried-out mushrooms you know the ones, the tiny little bullet-like bits of nastiness that you’ve been subjected to in the past? And even if you haven’t suffered dry reheated mushrooms, we’re sure you can imagine how unpleasant they are.

But don’t worry, with our 4 techniques, you won’t have to even think about that. So, let’s get started on the list, and we’ll start first with the method we think is most convenient, but also the one most likely to annoy culinary snobs. Because, why not, right? You’ve got to get your kicks where you can!

(Culinary snobs, please note, we get steadily posher as we go in this article, so you might want to skip the first step and avoid hurting your eyes with our suggestions, and just head towards the bottom.

Hint: we even talk about a bain-marie. That’s pretty posh for us.)

Reheat Mushrooms In The Microwave

OK, let’s kick things off with an oldie but goldie, because we know that even the most highly trained chefs in the world rely on the good old microwave from time to time, and if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for us.

Now, when you first think about using a microwave to reheat mushrooms, we’d understand why you might be a little bit cautious. Microwaves are notorious for drying out foods and making them less pleasant. But the trick really is in knowing how to use your microwave effectively to get the most out of the food you’re reheating, which, in this case, are your mushrooms.

Remember that mushrooms are like 90% water. Not factually, but you get our point. They retain a lot of liquid, so whenever you’re reheating, no matter how you’re reheating, you need to do everything you can to help them keep hold of their moisture. When you’re using a microwave to reheat mushrooms, here’s what you need to do:

• Make sure the microwave is on the lowest heat setting – you want to warm them gently, not blast them with fiery energy
• Place your mushrooms in a microwave-safe container or dish
• Cover the dish with a damp paper towel – damp, not wet, you’re trying to help create a little steam, not give your mushrooms a bath
• Microwave initially for one minute
• Take them out and check the temperature
• If you need to, microwave in 30-second intervals until hot enough to serve

The paper towel trick is what will save your mushrooms in the microwave. But even with the damp towel, you can still overcook them and make them less than enjoyable – that’s why the 30-second intervals are so important. By sticking to short bursts, you’ll be able to get your mushrooms out at the perfect time, rather than risk them becoming overcooked, dry, and unpleasant.

Trust us, the microwave will work just fine. But if you’d rather use different methods, then we’ve got some more suggestions for you.

In The Oven

Let’s move on to the oven and make things a little more chef-y. Again, your focus needs to be on preventing them from drying out, because even though you’re using an oven now, this is still a possibility. Especially because this method will be the longest method by far in terms of cooking time, and the longer mushrooms are reheated for, the more chance there is of them drying out.

Whilst this might be more time-consuming, this is also the perfect way to reheat fried mushrooms without having to add much more oil or essentially cook them twice. Here’s everything you need to know:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Whilst the oven is preheating, take your mushrooms out of the fridge and allow them to reach room temperature.
• Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil.
• Once the mushrooms are at room temperature, scatter them on the foil evenly.
• Spray the tops of each one with a little cooking spray or oil to help them keep their firm texture Bake the mushrooms for 10-15 minutes.
• Flip them halfway through.
• Check the temperature after 10 minutes to ensure they’re hot.
• If not, leave them for 5 minutes more, but be careful not to overcook.

The oil will help them keep their texture in the oven, and the aluminium foil will help them get hot quicker, meaning less time in the oven, and less chance for the mushrooms to lose their liquid and become too dry. In terms of holding on to the mushrooms’ taste, especially if they were flavored and cooked beautifully originally, reheating them in the oven is the best method.

But don’t worry, we’re not stopping there, because we still have 2 more ways to reheat your mushrooms, and we still haven’t spoken about the bain-marie yet, so things are about to hot up pretty quickly.

In A Closed Saute Pan

Before we talk about a bain-marie, let us just hit you with a little saute suggestion. After all, whenever you saute food, you have to cook it quickly. That’s what saute means, to fry quickly. In fact, the French term saute literally translates to jump or bounce because of how quickly you throw the food in, get it cooked, and get it back out again. Why are we telling you this? Because time is of the essence if you want to keep a juicy, delicious mushroom when you reheat it, and that’s why using a saute pan is such a great idea.

This might be the quickest way to reheat them of the lot, and because of how quickly it gets warm again, it’s probably one of the best ways to guarantee the mushrooms won’t be dry. And here’s how to do it:

• Get your mushrooms out of the fridge and to room temperature (this will speed up reheating).
• Once warm, preheat some oil in a saute panover a medium heat.
• When the oil is hot, throw in your mushrooms.
• Place a lid on top straight away – this will speed up reheating further, allowing the mushrooms to hold on to more of their moisture.
• Cook for around 2 minutes, moving the pan to stop the mushrooms from sticking.
• Once hot, serve.

Closing the saute pan with a lid and getting things nice and hot is the key to success here because it’ll allow the mushrooms to stay juicy and tasty because of how little time it takes to get them hot enough to eat. This method essentially allows you to fry the mushrooms twice, and you know what’s better than fried mushrooms? Twice-fried mushrooms. So using a closed saute pan is certainly one of the ways we’d recommend to reheat your mushrooms. But what about all this bain-marie talk?

Au Bain-Marie

Normally we wouldn’t recommend using a bain-marie to reheat food, because really they’re designed to keep things warm. However, with already cooked mushrooms, this is perfectly safe. If your mushrooms have been kept in the fridge (for no more than 5 days, or else they may have gone bad) then they’ll be safe to consume and all you’re really trying to do is get them warm enough to eat. There aren’t any bacteria you need to kill with high heat or anything like that when mushrooms are stored correctly. Reheating them really is just for enjoyment rather than safety. So, a bain-marie works well.

And for those who don’t know what a bain-marie is, it’s basically a device that sits over simmering water. The steam heats the pan, and the pan heats the contents. Usually, it heats things quite gently, which is why it’s excellent for keeping things warm, rather than making them hot. However, there is a way you can use it to reheat your mushrooms in a much more gentle and juicy-mushroom-friendly way:

• Preheat your bain-marie to the hottest setting (remember, we’re trying to reheat here, so it doesn’t matter if it cooks the mushrooms a little),
• Take your mushrooms out of the fridge and allow them to get to room temperature.
• Once the mushrooms andbain-marie are ready, place the mushrooms inside the pan.
• Add a touch of water to help create a little steam to warm things up and create moisture.
• Cover with a lid, and leave for at least 10 minutes.
• Check the mushrooms to see if they’re warm enough to enjoy.

This method is the most gentle method of them all, so it’ll guarantee quality. However, we also think it compromises a little on the heat side of reheating, meaning you’ll have deliciously juicy mushrooms that are warm, not hot. This might not be to everyone’s liking, so we thought it was important to point out.

However you decide to reheat the mushrooms though, they can be delicious and juicy so long as you stick to the tips and tricks we’ve provided throughout this post. Just remember that you need to focus on either reheating them quickly, reheating them gently, or reheating them with moisture in mind to get the most out of reheated mushrooms.

And all that’s left for us to say is we hope you find one of the 4 methods above useful, and we hope we’ve helped you with your mushroom reheating woes!