Wild Mushroom Stuffing

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Wild mushroom stuffing is a must for the holiday season. The combination of mushrooms, nuts, a little bacon, herbs, and onions, bound with some egg, makes a satisfying side dish all winter long.

A casserole dish of wild mushroom stuffing, ready to eat.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

My favorite stuffings (or dressings, depending on your preference) are those with mushrooms, a little meat, and some sort of nut — in this case, chanterelles, salami and bacon, and some wild pine nuts. These ingredients work well together and form the backbone of this riff off a classic stuffing.

You can make this wild mushroom stuffing as easy or as complicated as you want. I generally take a middle ground by using store-bought stuffing croutons, and I will often use mushrooms I have previously sauteed and frozen.

Technically speaking this is a wild mushroom dressing, not a stuffing, because it is not stuffing anything. “Dressing” is served in a casserole alongside other things.

Almost no one stuffs birds anymore, largely for food safety reasons, but this recipe can work either way. If you do use it as a proper stuffing, make sure it’s cool before you stuff the bird with it.

Variations

As with most mushroom recipes, you can use whatever mushroom your heart settles on to make this stuffing. I used chanterelles here, because I like their color and texture in the stuffing. But in this case, any edible mushroom will work — even dried ones.

If you go with dried mushrooms, rehydrate them by pouring a few cups of boiling water over them. Strain any debris out of the soaking water and use that instead of, or in addition to, the stock you use in the stuffing.

I prefer pine nuts in my wild mushroom stuffing, but, like the mushrooms, you do you. Pecans, hickory nuts, walnuts or butternuts are all good options, as are pistachios or even cashews.

Vegetarian Wild Mushroom Stuffing

I start this stuffing with bacon and/or diced salami, but you can skip that and use butter instead, or oil if you want to make it vegan.

Obviously you’d want to use vegetable or mushroom stock instead of a meat stock, too.

Mechanics

Here are some tips for a better wild mushroom stuffing:

  • Pack the mixture into your casserole. This compacts it enough so you can serve it in squares, and, later, fry leftovers in butter!
  • Toast the nuts beforehand, or fry them in the bacon fat or butter.
  • Cook the stuffing longer than you think. You want some browned bits on the edges and top. People fight over these.
  • Egg is your decision. I like adding egg to stuffing because it’s a nice binder, but many people skip it. So long as you compact the stuffing in the casserole dish, you should be OK.

You can make a wild mushroom stuffing up to a few days before you serve, then reheat it in its casserole dish at 350F for about 30 minutes. You can freeze it, too.

Leftovers are excellent reheated in a toaster oven or fried in butter or oil.

Two morels in the woods.
Photo by Hank Shaw

Ideas for Serving

Normally I would serve wild mushroom stuffing alongside something like roast duck, roast grouse or roast pheasant, because I associate stuffing with birds.

But this would also be good with poached wild turkey breast, an elk roast or roast haunch of venison, or, if you are having an intimate holiday dinner, with some roast quail.

If you liked this recipe, please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below; I’d love to hear how everything went. If you’re on Instagram, share a picture and tag me at huntgathercook.

A casserole dish of wild mushroom stuffing, ready to eat.
5 from 8 votes

Wild Mushroom Stuffing

Any mushroom you like, fresh or dried, will work here. Ditto for the nuts. I prefer chanterelles and pine nuts. You can make this stuffing a few days in advance, and you can freeze it if you want.
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine: American, British
Servings: 8 servings
Author: Hank Shaw
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 4 cups stuffing croutons
  • 2 cups stock chicken, game, vegetable or mushroom
  • 4 slices bacon
  • 1 medium onion, minced
  • 1 rib celery, chopped
  • 1 pound chanterelles or other mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 ounce salami, diced small (optional)
  • 1/2 cup pine nuts, or other nuts
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme or savory
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Instructions 

  • Soak the bread croutons in 1 cup of stock. Chop or tear the chanterelles into medium-sized pieces; leave the small ones whole. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat for a minute or two. Add the chanterelles and dry sauté them, shaking and stirring them constantly, until they give up their water. Rehydrated dried mushrooms don't need this step, but most fresh ones do.
  • When most of the mushrooms’ water has cooked away, remove them from the pan and add the bacon. Cook until crispy, then eat a piece. Chop the rest for the stuffing.
  • Add the salami (if using), onion and celery and toss to combine. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are translucent. Sprinkle them with salt. Add the mushrooms back to the mix, along with the thyme and pine nuts and cook for another 2 minutes.
  • Pour the contents of the sauté pan into a large bowl and mix with the bread croutons and the parsley. Add the other cup of stock, and the beaten eggs, if using. Mix well. Fill a casserole with the dressing, cover and bake 30 minutes. Take the cover off and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, or until the top browns.

Notes

If you want to make this vegetarian, use butter instead of bacon fat and a vegetable or mushroom stock. 
If you want to use dried mushrooms, rehydrate them by pouring a few cups of boiling water over them, then strain that water and use it in place of the stock. 

Nutrition

Calories: 203kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 207mg | Potassium: 483mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 350IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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About Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet’s largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

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3 Comments

  1. I made a turkey beast roulade for holiday dinner, using oyster mushrooms and pecans, covered the whole thing with bacon…pretty much what you have here although moderately rearranged. Made a folded omelet stuffed with leftover dressing for brunch this AM…a great second day use i am gonna repeat. I love the instruction to eat a piece of the bacon while prepping…i did that too!

  2. I had several varieties of dried wild mushrooms I had gifted to my mom (oysters, hens, chants) and she wasn’t sure what to do with them. They’d been sitting in the back of her cupboard for almost two years. I pulled them out and made this delicious dish on Christmas Eve and it was a huge hit. I doubled it, used the eggs, and didn’t bake it until Christmas Day. A great way to use up bits and pieces of dried mushrooms. Pecans are better than pine nuts IMHO.