This creamy mushroom sauce for steak is rich, silky and packed with flavour. Quick and easy to make, it’s the perfect way to turn any steak dinner into something seriously special.
And when I say ‘quick’, this dish comes together, start to finish, in 20 minutes or less. And for how delicious it is, and for how few ingredients it uses, it really has no business being so delicious! Follow me…
Ingredient Notes
The other thing about this recipe is that you only need a handful of ingredients. Nothing fancy, but they all work together to make the most glorious dinner. The full quantities are down in the recipe card, but just to quickly go over what we’re using:
- Steaks – you can really use any steak you fancy – here I’ve gone for a couple of Sirloins. The steaks themselves are actually important in creating the sauce, both from the flavour left in the pan after frying them, and also the resting juices you can pour in at the end.
- Basting ingredients – we’ll be basting the steaks in butter, rosemary, thyme and garlic. Again, this infused butter will add heaps of flavour to the sauce.
- Mushrooms – you’ll want to use baby mushrooms and slice them up, just so they blend through the sauce nicely.
- Sauce – the sauce itself is made up of white wine (to deglaze the pan), then equal parts beef stock and cream.
- Shallots – the shallots add some sweetness to balance out the other richer flavours.
Cooking the steak
Whilst the star of the show is the sauce, it’s all in vain if it’s poured over a sub-par steak. As such, here are some quick tips to get the best out of your steak before we start the sauce:
- Room Temp – When frying any meat, you want to bring it to room temperature before you cook it. If you chuck it straight in the pan cold, it’ll seize up and be chewy. You also want to pat the steaks dry to get rid of as much unwanted moisture as possible. This will give you a better sear on the outside.
- Season Well – Bring out the best in your steaks by giving them a heavy seasoning of salt and pepper before you add them to the pan. Rub into the meat with olive oil to give it an even coating.
- Hot Pan – If you ignore all of my previous points, for heaven’s sake, make sure the pan is scorching hot before the steak goes near it. To give it the perfect sear and properly caramelize the outside (without cooking the inside too much) the pan needs to be very hot. When you place the steak, don’t move or press down on it.
- Baste – When you flip the steak, add butter, rosemary, thyme and garlic and baste away to add some more gorgeous flavour to the steak.
- Rest – Once cooked, let it rest undisturbed for at least 5 mins. This will ensure as much moisture is retained in the steak as possible.
Process shots: bring steak to room temp (photo 1), coat in oil and seasoning (photo 2), add to hot pan (photo 3), fry then flip (photo 4), add butter, garlic and herbs (photo 5), baste (photo 6).
Creamy Mushroom Sauce
The sauce starts where the steak leaves: right in the same pan. You’ll likely notice some ‘fond’ in the pan (crusty bits of char). This is flavour, so do not wipe out the pan! Plus, you’ll have all that gorgeous infused butter in the pan, ready to rock and roll.
A few tips for making the sauce:
- Herbs/Garlic – I like to keep the herbs and garlic in the pan as I fry the mushrooms and shallots, just so they can keep adding flavour.
- Slice thinly – So the steak doesn’t go cold, you’ll want to essentially ‘flash fry’ the mushrooms. Slicing the mushrooms very thinly will ensure they cook quickly.
- Reduce wine – The wine is there to deglaze the pan and cut through the richness of the sauce. So it doesn’t end up too sour, you’ll want to reduce it right down until it mostly evaporates, or at least until the boozy smell vanishes.
- Simmer to thicken – The sauce will be pretty watery at the start, but just keep simmering away, and it’ll reduce and thicken up. Don’t leave it watery, it won’t cling to the steak, and the flavour won’t be condensed enough.
- Resting juices – As the steak rests, you’ll notice a pool of juices form around it. Don’t waste this – it’s extra flavour. Stir it through the sauce for some added depth.
Process shots: remove steak (photo 1), add mushrooms (photo 2), fry (photo 3), fry shallots then reduce wine (photo 4), add stock and cream (photo 5), simmer to thicken (photo 6).
Making the sauce without the steak
You can do this, but as I mentioned, you will miss out on the gorgeous flavours from the pan juices from the steak. If you are frying other meats, i.e., pork or chicken, then use those meat juices to start the sauce. If you’re going from scratch, then fry the mushrooms/shallots in 1 tbsp butter and infuse with the garlic and herbs stated in the recipe below.
Serving Suggestions
The sauce will thicken further as it rests, so be sure to serve it up right away. If it does overthicken, just stir through a splash more stock. Below I’ve served with Asparagus and Roasted Baby Potatoes, but here are some other Sides that go specifically well with this sauce:
- Chips or Onion Rings (for a classic side)
- Dauphinoise Potatoes or Duchess Potatoes (for something a little fancy)
- Roasted Broccolini or Garlic Green Beans (to sub for the asparagus)
- Creamy Mash (for full comfort)
If you want to go a little lighter, you could always opt for a simple salad and some crusty bread (there will be plenty of sauce to mop up!).
Alrighty, let’s tuck into this creamy mushroom sauce recipe shall we!?
How to make Creamy Mushroom Sauce for Steak (Full Recipe & Video)
Creamy Mushroom Sauce for Steak
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Paper Towels (for drying steak)
- Heavy-Based Pan & Tongs (like a cast iron skillet)
- Wooden Spoon
- Jug (for stock)
Ingredients
Steak
- 2 Steaks of choice, at room temp & patted dry with paper towels (see notes)
- 1 heaped tbsp Butter
- 2 small sprigs Fresh Rosemary
- 2 small sprigs Fresh Thyme
- 2 cloves of Garlic, skins on & lightly crushed with palm of hand
- Olive Oil, as needed
- Salt & Pepper, as needed
Creamy Mushroom Sauce
- 3.5oz / 100g Button Mushrooms, very finely sliced (see notes)
- 2 small Shallots, very finely diced
- 1/4 cup / 60ml Dry White Wine
- 3/4 cup / 180ml Beef Stock
- 3/4 cup / 180ml Heavy/Double Cream, at room temp
- Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Pat the steaks dry to remove excess moisture, then coat in a drizzle of oil and a generous helping of salt and pepper.
- Place a heavy-duty pan or cast-iron skillet over high heat, then once smoking hot, lay down your steaks. Don’t push down or move the steaks. For medium rare with a steak approx 3/4" thick, fry for 2 minutes, then flip and fry for 1 minute. Add the butter, thyme, rosemary & garlic and baste for another minute. Remove steaks from the pan and leave to rest to one side (important).
- Lower temp to medium-high. Add the mushrooms and fry until golden, then add the shallots. Fry for another couple of minutes until they turn soft and golden, then pluck out the herbs & garlic.
- Pour in the wine and allow to simmer and reduce until it mostly evaporates and the boozy smell vanishes (important otherwise the sauce will be too sour). Pour in the stock and cream, then lower the heat to medium and simmer until thickened (it will thicken, just keep simmering and stirring away). Stir in the resting juices from the steak, simmer to re-thicken, then check for seasoning and adjust to taste.
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
Creamy Mushroom Steak Sauce FAQ
You can, just make sure you incorporate the steak’s resting juices when you reheat so you don’t miss out on any flavour. Just allow to completely cool, then tightly store in the fridge for up to a few days. Gently reheat in the same pan you made the steak until piping hot, adding a splash more stock or water to thin out if needed
Realistically, you can use any mushrooms you fancy, just make sure you slice them nice and thinly so they brown quickly.
Yes! The wine helps balance the rich sauce, but if you’d rather leave it out, simply replace it with extra beef stock. The sauce will still be delicious.
Looking for more steak sauces? Check out these beauties:
Steak Sauce Recipes
- Cowboy Butter
- Blue Cheese Sauce
- Whisky Cream Sauce
- Creamy Peppercorn Sauce
- Garlic Cream Sauce
- Chimichurri
Hey, whilst you’re here why not check out my other dinner recipes for two?
Date Night Dinner Recipes
- Honey Garlic Pork Chops
- Chicken Avocado Pasta
- Pan Fried Cod
- Baked Gnocchi with Bacon
- Pistachio Crusted Chicken
- Steak Pasta
Can this sauce be made the day before and reheated?
It’s best made with the steak juices so I recommend making it fresh!
This tutorial and all of these tips are AMAZING! What a helpful guide to cooking the perfect steak! That mushroom sauce looks so good, too.
Thanks so much Marlynn 🙂
Making this for dinner tonight! Absoluely love steak and creamy mushroom sauces.
Amazing! Enjoy 🙂
This looks like a very fancy meal, but the way you have explained the recipes makes it very doable. I would love to make this for my hubby for a stay at home date night. You don’t need to go out to have a great meal!
So true! Absolutely perfect for date night!
This is my kind of dinner recipe! So heartwarming and hearty; can’t wait to make this for my family!
Thanks Sara! Enjoy 🙂
Looks delicious! This is one of my husband’s favorite meals, I can’t wait to try this one.
That’s awesome! Enjoy!