Full of the rich umami taste of mushrooms and toasted walnuts, this vegan mushroom pâté recipe is the perfect party appetiser. Your guests will love how delicious it is, and you’ll love how easy it is to make!
This vegan mushroom pâté is full of meaty mushroom flavour without the meat. We first made mushroom pate when we catered for a friend’s wedding in Austria – vegan style! We made 4 different kinds of dips – hummus, baba ghanoush, tsatsiki, and mushroom pâté. At first the pate was the least popular (it’s not exactly the most attractive with it’s grey/brown colour) but word soon got out about how AMAZING it tasted. The massive bowl of it was empty in a flash!
Proof that this vegan mushroom pate is loved by omnivores and herbivores alike.
What kind of mushrooms work best in this pate?
You can simply use button or chestnut mushrooms for this vegan mushroom pate recipe. The herbs, soy sauce, onions, garlic and walnuts ensure that it is fully flavoured even with everyday mushrooms.
By using wild mushrooms you can vary or enhance the flavour even more. For the version that we photographed here, we used a mixture of Porcini, Chanterelles, Parasol, and Hedgehog Mushrooms. It’s the perfect recipe for using up a variety of wild mushrooms after a foraging trip! Just make sure for any wild mushrooms you use you are 100% sure of the ID and they are safe to eat. We don’t want this mushroom pate to be your last meal… though it is so delicious I might die quite happily if this was the last thing I ate!
How to make this vegan mushroom pate
It’s pretty simple. Clean and chop your mushrooms. Then in a frying pan with some good olive oil, fry some diced onions for a bit, then add the garlic, salt, mushrooms and herbs. The mushrooms will shrink considerably and given off their juice. (If your mushrooms are a bit dry, add a splash of water to start them off) Wait until the mushroom liquid has evaporated, remove from the heat and then add the soy sauce. In a dry frying pan, toast the walnuts until golden brown.
When the mushroom mixture and nuts have cooled down enough, blend them in a blender or food processor with water until you have a uniform texture. The amount of water you will need may vary depending on how much mushroom liquid you have leftover, just add enough so it blends easily.
Serving your vegan mushroom pate
Here are some ideas (If you don’t wanna just dive into it with a spoon like we do!)
- Spread generously on sourdough bread or toast
- Make into cute canapes by topping crostini with this pate, a walnut half and a sage leaf
- Use as a dip for vegetable crudités
- Serve alongside hummus and other spreads to liven up a vegan party platter
If you liked our vegan mushroom pate recipe, we think you’ll like these too!
Vegan Chanterelle Recipes
Creamy Chanterelle Soup
Vegan Mushroom Pate
Ingredients
- 2 cups mushrooms chopped
- 1 onion
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp soy or tamari sauce
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 1/2 tsp dried sage
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- salt to taste
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Dice the onions, finely chop the garlic and chop the mushrooms
- In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and then add the onions and fry for a couple of minutes until they are starting to turn translucent.
- Add the garlic, mushrooms, pepper and herbs.
- Continue to fry until the mushrooms have shrunk down and their liquid has evaporated. (If the mushrooms are a bit dry, add a splash of water to start them off)
- Remove from the heat, and stir in the soy or tamari sauce
- In another pan, toast the walnuts over a medium high heat until they are golden brown. Stir frequently.
- When the nuts and mushroom mixture have cooled down enough, combine them in a blender. Blend whilst gradually adding the water until you have a spreadable uniform texture. The amount of water you need may vary, so start off slowly.
- Salt to taste and blend once again before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
With love from the woods!
Sophie and Paul
We are staying in Eastern Austria for a house sit and the parasol mushrooms are abundant right now, as are local walnuts. This was delicious!
Hi Zac,
Lucky you! It’s a good time for mushroom and walnuts right now… Where abouts in Eastern Austria are you staying? We were in the west of styria when we made this pate. So many mushrooms, of so many different kinds!
Did you know you can dry the stalks of parasols and grind them up into mushroom powder? Add a tablespoon to any dish for a bit of extra umami flavour. Yum!
And isn’t it SUCH a rewarding thing to cook delicious foraged food??
Thanks for your comment! :)
Love, Paul & Sophie