This herby and garlicky Mushroom Toast will sate your protein cravings at breakfast while providing a lot of vitamins and minerals.
Originally Posted: March 5th, 2025
Total Time: 1 hour
Jump to RecipeIntro
If you’ve seen my other recipe posts, you may already know that I’m a huge fan of mushrooms: I love making mushroom gravy for things like pot roast, mushroom soup, and I plan on experimenting with a mushroom-poblano soup and a mushroom-poblano gravy eventually.
I’m also a huge fan of avocado toast, but sometimes I want something a little different than that. When I first started seeing recipes for mushroom toast as a breakfast food online, it seemed perfect for me.
This is one recipe among many, but I’ve based it on some other mushroom recipes that I’ve cooked or encountered over the years.
Inspiration
Aside from my love of mushrooms and of avocado toast, the flavor profile I wanted to go for with the mushrooms is based on the winning entry at a mac and cheese competition I entered once: a mushroom and thyme mac and cheese. Coincidentally, this was at the same party as the rib contest I entered; I won that portion of the contest with my smoked char siu ribs.
Since then, I’ve just found that thyme plays well with mushrooms. I also include it in my mushroom soup recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Mushrooms of your choice (I used cremini or “baby bella” for this one)
- 3 – 4 sprigs Thyme, leaves removed and finely chopped
- Your choice of bread for toasting (I like sourdough)
- A base-layer schmear to keep the mushrooms on the toast. Some ideas include:
- One fried egg (or poached egg) per toast
- Butter or oil, as needed for toasting/sautéing
Equipment
- Knife
- Skillet
Written Instructions
Total Time: 1 hour
Prep
Break stems off mushrooms, then slice them along one direction. I like to take these slices and slice them in half once more; smaller cuts of mushroom seem right for topping toast.
Take 3 – 4 sprigs of thyme and remove the leaves. Finely chop these leaves and then set them aside in a prep bowl or something similar.
Toast your slice(s) of your chosen bread either in a toaster or in a buttered skillet, then set toast aside until ready to assemble.
Sauté
Preheat skilled with butter or oil and sauté sliced mushrooms.
Adding a little water and covering the skillet will speed up the rate at which the mushrooms release liquid.
Once this happens, stir in the chopped thyme and continue cooking uncovered until most of the liquid has cooked off.
Set mushrooms aside once most of the liquid has cooked off.
Cook Egg & Assemble
Wipe out the skillet you used to cook the mushrooms, then add some butter or oil. Once heated, fry an egg in the skillet. Alternatively, you can poach an egg.
Assembly your mushroom toast: add your schmear of choice to the toast, followed by a decent amount of sautéed mushrooms. Top with your fried or poached egg, and serve.
For a quick handheld breakfast version, simply omit the egg and use less mushrooms, as in the picture below. I made this for myself before going on the hike to Joshua Tree that also wound up being when I proposed to my girlfriend (now fiancée!).
Listed Recipe
Mushroom Toast
Equipment
- 1 Knife
- 1 Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb Mushrooms of your choice
- 3 – 4 sprigs Thyme leaves removed and finely chopped
- Choice of Bread for Toast per toast
- Choice of Base Layer of Schmear Whipped cottage cheese, toum, savory cream cheese
- 1 Egg per toast, fried or poached
- Butter or Oil as needed, for toasting/sautéing
Instructions
- Break stems off mushrooms, then slice them along one direction. Take these slices and cut them in half once again.
- Remove the leaves from 3 – 4 sprigs of thyme. Finely chop them, then set them aside in a prep bowl or similar.
- Toast your bread, either in a toaster or in a buttered or oiled skillet. Set aside until assembly.
- Preheat skillet with butter or oil and add sliced mushrooms. Add a little water and cover until the mushrooms released their liquid.
- Stir in chopped thyme, then continue to cook the mushrooms uncovered until most of the liquid has cooked off. Set cooked mushrooms aside.
- Wipe out skillet, then add more butter or oil. Fry an egg in whichever style you prefer (alternatively you can poach your eggs).
- Assemble your mushroom toast: add your schmear of choice, then a layer of sautéed mushrooms, then top with an egg.
Spread #1: Whipped Cottage Cheese
Whipped Cottage Cheese with Herbs, Garlic, and Shallot
Equipment
- 1 Food Processor
Ingredients
- 24 oz Cottage Cheese
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 3 Green Onions rough-chopped
- 1 small Shallot or 1/2 large Shallot
- 2 – 3 sprigs Rosemary leaves removed from stems
- 12 leaves Basil rough-chopped
- Juice of 1/2 Lemon
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Anything else you want, such as peppers, avocado, more herbs, etc.
Instructions
- Prep ingredients: Take rosemary leaves off their woody stems, and roughly pre-chop/pre-slice the larger herbs, shallot, green onion, etc. You can leave the garlic cloves and rosemary leaves whole if you want.
- Add all the flavoring ingredients to a food processor and blitz until they reach the texture of jarred minced garlic.
- Scoop the entire container of cottage cheese into the food processor and blend until everything is smooth.
- Add salt and pepper to taste, blending between additions and tasting as you go.
- Add the juice of half a lemon and blend into the mixture.
- Scoop the entire mixture into the original container and enjoy.
- Store in the fridge until the original container’s expiration date.
Spread #2: Toum
Toum
Equipment
- 1 Food Processor (Note: Using a food processor with a drip cup is easiest, but I've seen people make this with a blender as well)
- 1 Spatula
Ingredients
- 1 cup Garlic Cloves (~150-160g)
- 3 – 4 cups Canola Oil (675-900mL; any neutral oil will work)
- 1/2 cup Lemon Juice (125mL)
- 2 tsp Salt (4-5g)
- 1 spoonful Mayo (To help start the emulsion process)
Optional Additions
- 6 sprigs Rosemary (19g; just the leaves)
- Powdered Wasabi
- Basil
- Sumac (to sprinkle as a topping)
Instructions
- Add garlic cloves and salt to food processor and pulse until minced and mixed.
- Add a spoonful of mayonnaise, or a spoonful of a previously made batch of toum, then mix further. This helps to form a stable emulsion.
- Set the food processor to its low setting, then begin pouring ½ cup (112.5mL) of oil into the drip attachment. Go slowly to make sure that a stable emulsion begins to form. Allow the oil to drain from the drip attachment into the emulsion.
- Once the oil has drained from the drip attachment, add 2 tsp. of lemon juice. Continue blending until smooth.
- Alternate between ½ cup of oil and 2 tsp. of lemon juice until both are gone.
- Add optional extra flavorings between the end of step 3 and the beginning of step 5.
- Spoon into a food-safe container and store in the fridge covered only in a paper towel for about the first 12 hours. This helps pull excess moisture out.
- After 12 hours, put airtight lid on food container.