This mushroom tart with caramelized onions and thyme is one of my favorite puff pastry appetizers. This recipe is perfect for serving at holiday parties, or as a main dish for brunch. It’s so easy to make and is absolutely delicious!
I recently attended one of Amy Pennington‘s cooking classes. Specifically, her Croatian cooking class. (I will post the deets on this lovely class later!). Amy was so friendly, funny and warm and I absolutely loved watching her cook. I love puff pastry appetizers, so when I found this recipe on her blog the other night, I immediately ran to the store to get some puff pastry to make this.
Mushroom Tart with Caramelized Onions and Thyme
Amy’s recipe calls for onion and thyme but I love mushrooms, so I adapted her recipe a little bit.
The mushroom tart is freaking delicious. Absolutely wonderful. It is so simple to make and it incorporates my absolute FAVE thing… I am currently addicted to puff pastry appetizers!
How to make perfect puff pastry appetizers
I have been switching between the Aussie Bakery and Pepperidge Farms brands of frozen puff pastry. To be honest, these are the only two brands that are available at the grocery stores closest to me. Only QFC carries the Aussie Bakery brand. However, you can find Pepperidge Farms puff pastry sheets pretty much everywhere. I have not looked at Trader Joe’s, PCC, or Whole Foods yet but I’m told I need to purchase the good stuff.
Making the best puff pastry appetizers requires using all butter puff pastry dough. The frozen puff pastry dough that I think costs like $10 (All butter Dufour). For as often as I bake and eat puff pastry, I can’t afford to buy the good stuff every time. Although, you can bet I will be testing some recipes soon with the all butter puff pastry. I mean, how can I not?
If you have a brand that you use all the time and love, please tell me about it! This mushroom tart deserves the best puff pastry possible.
If you want to make some of my other favorite savory tart recipes, try these:
- Asparagus Goat Cheese Tart
- Baked Ham and Cheese Tart
- Asparagus Gruyere Tart; Featured on The TODAY Show
To my puff pastry lovin’ friends. You must try this mushroom tart recipe. You will thank me later. I hope you enjoy!
Mushroom Tart with Caramelized Onions and Thyme
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large yellow onions cut into thin half moons
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 to 3 cups mushrooms sliced; try to use cremini or baby portobello mushrooms
- 5 to 7 sprigs fresh thyme leaves stripped and chopped
- 2 to 3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 sheets frozen puff pastry defrosted but kept cool
- freshly grated cheese: like Parmigiano-Reggiano or Gruyère
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and stir continuously until softened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle in the salt, add the sliced mushrooms and continue stirring until the mushrooms release their moisture and the pan becomes more and more dry. When this happens, add half of the thyme and the balsamic vinegar and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook the veggies, stirring occasionally, until caramelized and golden, for about 20 to 25 minutes or so. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Adjust the oven rack to the center position.
- Unfold the sheet/s of defrosted puff pastry on a parchment-lined baking sheet. I used 2 so that my tart would be a little larger and just attached the puff pastry dough; you can just use 1 sheet if desired. Fold all the edges over to create the pretty border around your tart. Top the center of the rolled out puff pastry evenly with the onion, mushrooms, thyme mixture.
- Bake the tart for about 25 to 35 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and flaky. When there is about 3 to 5 minutes left, if you are adding the cheese, sprinkle on the freshly grated cheese and continue baking for the remaining time. Remove it from the oven, sprinkle the remaining thyme over the top, and let it cool for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Amy Pennington. I added the mushrooms because I simply LOVE them.
I’m going to make this gorgeous tart soon. I love puff pastry and mushrooms so this is a winning combination in my opinion, especially since it’s so simple to put together. I laughed when I read your tweet to Pepperidge Farms – you crack me up, woman! Hopefully they try to woo you back by giving you free stuff 😉
Haha! Thank you, Nancy! 🙂 I was kinda just playing around. . but not really. . seriously, I don’t know what they have in Vancouver but spend a little extra and get the good puff pastry! 🙂
Dang woman, this is amazing. Love the photos. So inviting, just want to grab a slice through the screen.
Haha, thank you, Kim!!! 🙂 You just made my night with that comment! 🙂 Thank you so much!
Beautiful Alice!! That looks incredibly delicious!! The possibilities are endless with the toppings!
Thank you!! Re: possibilities with the toppings- Yes, I know! Isn’t this great?! and I absolutely love puff pastry. . not only is it yummy but it’s pretty too! 🙂
This is my fave! I love mushroom and add them in almost any kinds of meal. That looks soooo delicious and I’m glad it’s not rocket science to create one. Yay for simply delicioso!
Thank you! Yea for simply delicioso- love that! 😛 I’m glad you liked it, Linda! 🙂 and yes- super simple!
Beautifully done. I bet that tart was indescribably delicious.
It was. . 🙂 Thank you so much, Richard!
There are lots of mushrooms there. Must be really yummy. Maybe I should try doing this one of these days and see how it turns out. Thanks for the recipe.
Yup, I love mushrooms so went a little crazy. . you should give it a try. The recipe is super simple! Thank you for the comment! 🙂
I am in love with puff pastry! Isn’t it amazing? Your caramelized onions and mushrooms look amazing too! I can see an onion mushroom and thyme tart in my future!
Hi Stacy, I do hope you give this recipe a try. . it’s amazing and so simple! 🙂
Nice
Thank you!
What a neat savory pastry dish! Mushrooms are such a great ingredient to put on the pastry. With thyme, I bet it is so fragrant and delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Holly! Yes, this pastry was seriously wonderful, fragrant and delicious! 🙂 I hope you give it a try!
WOW! This is absolutely gorgeous! A winning flavour combination, for sure. I also love the suggestion of the use of Crimini mushrooms…they are my favourite! Thanks for sharing another wonderful recipe.
-Shannon
Thank you so much, Shannon! I also LOVE cremini. These are my favorite mushrooms too! 🙂
Hi Al! I’ve made this twice now. The first time I made the mistake of buying fillo and really didn’t like that texture at all. Second time, I made it with puff pastry and enjoyed it much more.
Both times, I felt like the mushroom filling needed some acid, so I poured some balsamic vinegar in it while it was almost done caramelizing. The bv totally kicked it up a notch! I made it tonight for a friend that has become a new vegetarian… Going vegan soon, actually. He’s been doing it for over two months and he looked amazing! I swear he looked ten years younger since I last saw him three mos ago. His face was literally glowing.
This was my menu:
Onion, mushroom, thyme tart (with bv)
Veg chili with boca veg burgers, black & kidney beans
Acorn squash stuffed with celery, onions, walnuts, dried cranberries, & sage (very thanksgivingy)
It was my very first vegetarian meal ever and it was yummy! We watched “Fat, sick, and nearly dead” after dinner and I made them a green juice after watching it. The entire night was a micro-nutrient love fest!
My Green Juice:
Baby greens (red & green Swiss chard, spinach, tat soi, & arugula)
2 apples
1 lemon
Tiny knob of ginger
Green grapes
P.S. love you girl and can’t wait to see you next month! Please let MJ & I know when you’ll be in town!
Girl, LOVE it! I will totally try this!!! And we are definitely going to see you next month! 🙂
This looks so good I would like to make it for Thanksgiving but am unfamiliar with puff pastry. Pretty sure that this is a dumb question but by two sheets did you mean one on top of another or did you attach it longways? Hope I at least give you a laugh!
Thank Kate
Hi Kate!! not a silly question at all!! I attached them both longways and folded up the edges all the way around the tart. If this will be the first time baking with puff pastry, you have picked a great recipe! I highly recommend all butter frozen puff pastry. . it is a lot more $$ but worth it. If you can’t find all butter puff pastry, the one by Pepperidge Farm works just fine, but this one is not all butter. Let me know how it works for you!!
This looks really great and I would like to make it for Thanksgiving but am unfamiliar with Puff Pastry. This is probably a dumb question but did you mean placing a second sheet on top of the first, or somehow attaching it lengthwise? Hope I at least gave you a laugh!
Thanks Kate
Hi Kate, looks like I got your comment twice. Here’s my answer again:
Hi Kate!! not a silly question at all!! I attached them both longways and folded up the edges all the way around the tart. If this will be the first time baking with puff pastry, you have picked a great recipe! I highly recommend all butter frozen puff pastry. . it is a lot more $$ but worth it. If you can’t find all butter puff pastry, the one by Pepperidge Farm works just fine, but this one is not all butter. Let me know how it works for you!!
Looks great and will try it. The only commercially available all-butter puff pastry is not available here. Dufours was, but Whole Foods bought out the store that sold it and have Aussie brand. I cannot find out what the fat ingredients are…some sites say palm oil and other shortening. Is it really all butter as your recipe suggests? If so I’ll save myself work and buy it, otherwise it’s back to the pastry slab…
Thanks
RM
Made this today – was amazing! So simple yet so delicious!! Thank you for the recipe. Great way to use up ingredients in the fridge.
Thank you so much!!! So glad you enjoyed it, Aneta!!
Thanks for a great recipe, Alice! I made this yesterday to bring to Thanksgiving dinner, and have passed along the link for the recipe to our hosts. I was excited to discover an all-butter French puff pastry at Trader Joe’s–apparently it is a seasonal item, so I need to get another package while it is still available.
Hi Julia, oh great!!! Thank you for sharing!! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I didn’t even know TJ’s had one! Going to check it out, thank you!
Sounds amazing. I’m so trying this for my next cooking class.Thanks for sharing this with us.
It’s in the oven now and I can hardly stand the wait! It smells soooo good!
Hooray!
If you are like me who likes to save money of deals, I would stock on all butter puff pastry from Trader Joe’s during their seasonal holiday time (Nov.-Dec). It’s good quality and much cheaper price. It seasonal item so grab some while you can.