‘Tis the time of year to celebrate togetherness, good cheer, and quite notably, appetizers. Pop a Cheesy Mushroom Puff Pastry Bites into your mouth, and let’s rejoice!
The holidays are prime season for dips, chips, and all sorts of cute little morsels made to be munched in a single chomp.
Whether you’re hosting a soiree, feeding surprise guests, or drifting from party to party in your light-up snowman sweater, the appetizer spread is a critical component of any holiday event.
My go-to easy appetizer: puff pastry anything.
The Best Puff Pastry Appetizers
Ever since making these Cranberry Brie Bites, I’ve been smitten with puff pastry as the ideal vehicle for all manners of tasty toppings.
Flakey, buttery, and universally appealing, frozen puff pastry is effortless and irresistible.
While I love using a baby biscuit cutter to stamp my puff pastry sheets into bite-sized rounds, feel free to use any size you like.
Don’t have a round cutter? Slice the puff pastry into squares instead. Cheesy mushroom puff pastry bites are scrumptious in any shape.
Puff pastry can be used to make stuffed pockets of joy, but an even quicker, easier option is to treat the puff pastry like a mini-pizza crust and smother it in tasty toppings.
For today’s cheesy mushroom puff pastry bites, I added a small dollop of zippy whole grain mustard to each puff pastry round, then sprinkled on a delectable combo of sweet caramelized onions, garlicky mushrooms, fresh thyme, and gooey Gruyere cheese.
In the oven, the cheese melts, the caramelized onions crisp slightly, and the pastry becomes puffed and golden.
The bites are light, earthy, and addictive.
Cheesy Mushroom Bites Make Ahead Tips
- To Make Ahead. Fully bake the cheesy mushroom puff pastry bites. Place them in an airtight storage container, separating any layers with parchment or wax paper, and freeze for up to 2 weeks.
- To serve, reheat directly from frozen in a 400 degree F oven for 5 minutes, or until hot.
- Alternatively, the mushroom onion topping can be prepped and refrigerated 2 days in advance. Top the cut puff pastry just before baking.
More Tasty Appetizers for Parties
Now, go bake some cheesy mushroom puff pastry bites!
Cheesy Mushroom Puff Pastry Bites
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1 large yellow onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 16 ounces baby bella mushrooms sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup shredded Swiss Gruyere, or similar cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces)
- 2, 10- inch square sheets frozen puff pastry thawed
- 1 egg beaten
- 3 tablespoons whole grain mustard
- Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Place racks in the upper and lower thirds of your oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Set side.
- In a large skillet over medium low heat, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and add the onions and salt. Sauté the onions until beginning to brown, then reduce heat to low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until deeply golden and caramelized, about 25 minutes total. Remove the onions to a large bowl and set aside.
- In the same skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon olive oil over medium low and sauté the mushrooms until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, and black pepper and sauté 1 additional minute. Place in the bowl with the onions. Stir in the cheese.
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the puff pastry into an even 10.5-inch square. With a 2-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut the pastry into rounds (alternatively, you can slice the puff pastry into squares). You should have approximately 5 rows of 5 rounds (25 total rounds per sheet). Transfer the cut puff pastry to a prepared baking sheet, then brush lightly with the beaten egg. Prick each round with a fork to allow air to escape, then top each round with a scant 1/4 teaspoon of the whole grain mustard, then 1 tablespoon of the mushroom and onion filling. Repeat with the second pastry sheet.
- Bake for 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden and crisp, rotating the pans 180 degrees and switching the positions of the baking sheets on the upper and lower racks halfway through. Let bites cool 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- TO MAKE AHEAD: Fully bake the Cheesy Mushroom Puff Pastry Bites, place in an airtight container separating any layers with parchment or wax paper, and freeze for up to two weeks. To serve, reheat directly from frozen in a 400 degree F oven for 5 minutes, or until hot. Alternatively, the mushroom onion topping can be prepped and refrigerated 2 days in advance. Top the cut puff pastry just before baking.
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Awww man! I now feel the need to rush out and get a light-up snowman sweater so that I can casually drift among the parties with it on as I enjoy these! haha. But no, seriously, I’m in love!
Can we wear matching sweaters please Angie? :) Thanks!
LOVEEEEEEEEEE all these pictures!!!!!! These are the PERFECT appetizer. Puff pastry for the win again!!
You had me at puff pastry, ha ha! Love these Erin, although I think I’d have trouble not eating half the batch on the way to whatever holiday event they were destined for ;)
Denise, I’ve doubled recipes before, for that very reason!!
I love these, perfect party food!
What do I NOT love about this? Nothing. It is perfection. Love you photos, the easy peasy recipe, and that you are supporting such a great cause. I am clicking through to help out.
Thank you so so much Katie, both for your kind words, and for clicking through to help donate to families in need. You are the best!
This looks so delicious! Two questions: I found this recipe by pinning it from your original pin on Pinterest. I hope this contributes to the sharing of the post. Secondly, I have never worked with puff pastry dough before but does it really get that puffy from that flat of dough? If so, that’s awesome! I can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Shay! First of all, thank you so much for sharing this recipe on Pinterest! That really means a lot :-) Also, puff pastry really is that flat, and yes it really does puff up that much. The trick is to keep it as cold as possible. When the butter in the dough stays cold, it expands much better when it hits the hot oven, which is the secret to all flaky baked goods. It’s one of the many reasons why I love it so much, and I hope you do too!
Now I want to puff pastry everything :-) Those are the best little appetizers ever…and since my kids won’t touch the mushrooms with a ten foot pole…I get the whole batch!
If these don’t get in my mouth soon I might scream. They look so good…pretty enough for a party but tasty enough for any time!
You have totally stolen my heart with this awesome appetizer, Erin! Love puff pasty, love mushrooms, and love Gruyere… such a winner! Pinned!
I wish this had been posted on AOL during the time $1 dollar would be donated, but unfortunately 12/21/14 was a tad bit later than 12/12/14. Love the Cheesy puff pastry mushrooms idea. I am looking forward to making them.
Thanks so much Chris! I hope that you love them too.
I made these for Thanksgiving 2015, which goes to show … This appetizer is a timeless hit. It was delicious, and everything you promised. The combinations of flavored garnish it a perfect five stars. I’ll be making this again, and again, and again. Although… What can I do with all the odd shaped scraps?? Hmmm. Maybe some butter, sugar and cinnamon…
Giselle, I am so happy to hear how much you enjoyed this!! For the scraps, cinnamon and sugar sounds perfect. You could also sprinkle them with a bit of extra cheese for a more savory twist. Another alternative is to avoid scraps all together by cutting the dough into squares with a knife so that you use 100% of it, instead of cutting out the circles (though personally, I’m a sucker for how cute they the round ones look!)
Hello,
Love this recipe! I’ve worked with puff pastry only once before and it really got puffy. Is there a trick to keeping it on the smaller side of puffy like your pictures above? Thank you!
Hi Kelly! It might just be a difference in brands (I usually get my puff pastry from Trader Joe’s). Definitely be sure to prick a small hole as described in the directions too. I hope you enjoy them!
Hi ! We put up a list of the TOP 100 best Christmas recipes for 2015. Your recipe was also included on this list. Go check it out at: http://ohmydish.com/100-best-christmas-recipes-2015/ Greetings, Veronique and Marco from ohmydish.com
Can we make it eggless ??
Hi again Mahak! I spoke too soon. I think you could try brushing the pastry with cream instead of the beaten egg. It would be an experiment, but if you really want to try the recipe, I *think* it would work. I hope that helps!
I know this is an older post and I hope u can answer this before tomorrow’s New Year’s get together!
I only have Sharp, Mozzarella, Provolone and Parmesan cheese here! Will one of those work??
Becky, you can really use any cheese you like! I think sharp cheddar would be great (it melts nicely). Otherwise I’d do provolone with a bit of extra Parm (those 2 are a great combo). Mozz doesn’t have as much flavor, so the others would be my top picks. I hope you enjoy them!
I made these exactly as instructed, and they were terribly bland, hardly any flavor. A light sprinkling of salt perked it up some, but not enough to make again. They did, however, look really good!
Hi Linda, I’m sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy these. Others have enjoyed the recipe as written, but everyone has different tastes! I know it’s disappointing to make a recipe and not enjoy it, so I truly wish you would have loved these!
Beautiful but bland.
Hi Zena, I’m sorry to hear the recipe wasn’t to your taste. I know it’s disappointing to try something new and not enjoy it, so I truly wish you would have loved these!
Hello, can you make the mushroom puff pastry bites in advance like the cranberry brie or no?
Hi! You can fully bake the Cheesy Mushroom Puff Pastry Bites, and place them in an airtight container separating any layers with parchment or wax paper, and freeze for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to serve them, you can reheat directly from frozen in a 400 degree F oven for 5 minutes, or until hot. Alternatively, the mushroom onion topping can be prepped and refrigerated 2 days in advance. Top the cut puff pastry just before baking. I hope you love the recipe if you try it!
These turned out great. I wanted to leave a review because someone commented that these were bland. Far from it! That little bit of mustard dabbed on the bottom gave these bites great depth. (I used Edmond Fallot seed style mustard from France) I brought these to a dinner party of picky eaters and they disappeared in no time. I experimented on a few and used only mustard and the gruyere cheese. They were fabulous too! My puff pastry puffed more than these pictures so I would suggest two fork pricks rather than one. A side note: I was led to this recipe because I had paid $1.50/each for similar bites for a catered party I gave. Thanks for posting this delicious recipe.
Thank you for sharing this kind review, Karen! I’m so happy to hear that the recipe was a hit!
I can’t wait to try this recipe for Christmas.
I hope you love it!