Mini Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pies

Mini Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pies are wonderful holiday appetizers or an extra-special side dish. Make them in a mini cupcake pan!

Mini Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pies

Fall and winter holidays are well on the horizon. So I’ve been exploring savory bites that will make nice appetizers and party food. These little wild mushroom pies fit the season perfectly. And they’ve checked all the boxes on my requirements list. They’re cozy, tasty, and look seriously inviting on a serving tray.

Do some foraging (at your grocery store!).

I’m not ashamed to admit that I do all of my wild mushroom foraging at the grocery store. It’s the safest way to go, and usually there’s a wide variety available. Any combination of wild mushrooms will work. Choose your favorites! We used lobster mushrooms, chanterelles, morels, and oysters. Chop and cook the mushrooms down with rosemary, thyme and white wine. After the mushrooms cool a bit, combine them with a mixture of goat cheese and cream cheese… mmm-hmm!

Mini Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pies

Cut your kitchen time.

This recipe is written with a shortcut, which is refrigerated pie crusts. But you can use your favorite scratch-made pie crust dough if you prefer (see my all-butter favorite here). Cut the dough into mini crusts using a 3.25-inch cutter for the bottom crust and 2.5 inch round cutter for the top. If you don’t have these cutters, you could make templates from parchment paper or find lids or bottle caps the approximate size to use as cutters.

The large dough rounds are pressed into every other cup in a mini cupcake pan, and the smaller rounds are crimped on top. The top crusts were with a 1/2-inch round cutter, which I think looks cute and it also provides a little window to see the filling inside. If you don’t have a cutter this size, you may vent the top crusts by making a slit with a small knife.

Mini Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pies
Mini Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pies

You’ll be surprised to find these mini pies a potent, hearty bite. The goat cheese gives them an obvious tang, and the mushrooms paired with rosemary and thyme give them an almost meat-like flavor and texture. There are earthy notes and nutty flavor as well. These would make nice Thanksgiving dinner appetizers, and I know they’ll also carry over well to December holidays. My husband suggested adding them as a surprise addition to our pre-dinner cheese board, which I think is a great idea. I can imagine them now sitting next to the smoked gouda and fig jam (my favorites!).

Related recipe: Gorgonzola Walnut Tartlets

Mini Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pies

Heather Baird
The goat cheese in these pies gives them an obvious tang, and the mushrooms paired with rosemary and thyme give them an almost meat-like flavor and texture.
5 from 4 votes
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Servings 20

Equipment

  • Muffin pan

Ingredients
 
 

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large shallot finely chopped
  • 8 oz. wild mixed mushrooms, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1/3 cup white wine
  • 3 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
  • 3 oz. goat cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 packages refrigerated pie crusts/ four 9 inch pie crusts or 2x this scratch crust
  • Egg wash: 1 large egg with 1 tablespoon water lightly beaten
  • Flaky sea salt for garnish
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C.
  • Melt butter with olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook until slightly transparent, stirring often, about one minute. Add mushrooms and stir. Cook until they are tender and lightly browned. Add garlic, rosemary and thyme; stir until fragrant, about one minute. Next add the white wine and cook about 2 minutes until the liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Mix in goat cheese, cream cheese, fine sea salt and pepper. Mix until thoroughly incorporated.
  • Unroll pie crusts on work surface, and cut out 20 dough rounds using a 3.25 inch cookie or biscuit cutter. Cut out 20 more dough rounds using a 2.5 inch cutter. Cut a vent in the centers of the 2.5 inch rounds using a 1/2 inch cutter, or use a knife to make slits in the dough. Remaining dough can be combined and rolled out once if more crusts are needed, or to make decorative elements for the tops of the pies.
  • Coat two 12-cup or one 24-cup mini muffin pan with cooking spray (we used olive oil cooking spray). Lightly press a 3.25 inch dough round into every other muffin cup in pans, leaving a small overflow edge at top; this will allow room to crimp the dough edges when the top crusts are added. Wipe out the unused muffin cups with a paper towel or clean cloth to prevent cooking spray from scorching. Whisk together egg and water and brush on edges of each crust. Fill each dough cup with about one tablespoon of mushroom mixture. Top each filled cup with the smaller 2 and a half inch dough rounds, and crimp top and bottom edges to seal the pies.
  • Brush tops of pies with egg wash, and sprinkle each with a pinch of flaky sea salt. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool five minutes. Garnish with fresh thyme and you are ready to serve!

Notes

Recipe inspired by a Southern Living Kitchen recipe.
Keyword egg wash, flake sea salt, mini pan pies, ready made pie crusts, wild mushrooms
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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Jess K
Jess K
5 years ago

These look incredible and I love the mini version. Thanks for the recipe, pinned!

AliceK
AliceK
5 years ago

Do you have to roll the crust thinner for mini-pies than for a atandard pie?

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
5 years ago
Reply to  AliceK

Hi Alice! You can roll them the same thickness. Usually this is about 1/8 inch.

Unknown
Unknown
5 years ago

Hi Heather, can the pies be made a few days in advance before baking?

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
5 years ago
Reply to  Unknown

Yes! You could assemble these maybe one or two days ahead of time and then bake them. Just be sure to cook down the mushrooms until they are pretty dry before folding in the cheeses.

Cyndi
Cyndi
1 year ago
Reply to  Heather Baird

Next time I’m totally going to make extras and bake few each day. 🙂
I think I’ll try freezing, too, bc we always have surprise overnight company.

Robyn Lane
Robyn Lane
1 year ago
Reply to  Cyndi

Has anyone tried freezing them? Would you cook them or freeze before the bake?

Bronya Seifert
Bronya Seifert
5 years ago

These look scrummy. Thank you for sharing, will definitely be making these.

Melissa S
Melissa S
5 years ago

Could these be made in large batches and frozen then pulled out as needed over the holidays?

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
5 years ago
Reply to  Melissa S

Yes! I think that's a wonderful idea and a great time-saving tip. You could freeze the unbaked pies in the pans, and then turn them out to gallon zip-top bags for freezer storage. If you prefer to bake these and then freeze them, you might consider covering the pies with foil before reheating so the crusts don't over-brown. We found the refrigerated pre-baked pies re-heated well popped back into the mini cupcake pan. It took about 10 minutes to heat at 350F, but from frozen it might take longer (maybe 15). Again, consider the foil to prevent over-browning.

Colette (Coco)
Colette (Coco)
4 years ago

How in the world I missed these beautiful little sweeties is a big mystery!
I can't wait to make them, even if my li'l love doesn't like mushrooms! Kids…sheesh!

o
o
3 years ago

Has anybody tried making as a large pie like as an entree? Any suggestions to do so?

Cyndi
Cyndi
1 year ago
Reply to  o

I am sure that would be delicious and worth a try… but I sure do like all that extra crust in each mini pie. The filling is so rich that I think having a lot of crust makes it balanced.

Cyndi
Cyndi
1 year ago

5 stars
These were fabulous!! My son made them for my birthday brunch, and I was shocked at how delish they were! So rich, flavorful and the perfect ratio of crust in the mini pan. He just used white mushrooms, yet they were still phenomenal! This is a keeper – Thank you!

Paige DeBlieux
Paige DeBlieux
9 months ago

5 stars
Made these and they were delicious and so easy! Will definitely be making them again.