Recipes
Chicken Mushroom Tartlets
2025-12-15
Chicken and mushroom tartlets are one of those reliably crowd-pleasing appetizers for a holiday spread — bite-sized, easy to eat standing up with a drink in hand, and popular with just about every age group at the table.
The trick to a good filling is cooking off the liquid the mushrooms release before adding the cream — skip that step and the sauce turns watery, which softens the pastry shells fast. A light roux-based cream sauce keeps the filling creamy without being runny, and it works equally well with the mushrooms and the chicken.
The filling itself can be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge, but it’s best to fill the tartlet shells shortly before serving, or at most a couple of hours ahead — otherwise the crisp pastry softens under the moist filling.
The cheese on top isn’t strictly necessary, but it gives the tartlets an appealing golden crust and a slightly richer flavor once baked. Store-bought tartlet shells are available at almost any supermarket, which makes this an easy option when you need to pull together a holiday appetizer without dealing with pastry dough from scratch.
Ingredients
- 12 store-bought shortcrust tartlet shells
- 300 g chicken breast
- 250 g button mushrooms
- 1 small onion
- 2 tbsp butter
- 150 ml heavy cream (20%)
- 1 tbsp flour
- 50 g hard cheese, grated
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- fresh herbs, to serve
Instructions
- Cook the chicken breast (poached or pan-fried) until done, let it cool, and cut into small cubes.
- Finely chop the mushrooms and onion.
- Cook the onion in butter until soft, add the mushrooms, and cook over medium heat for 7-8 minutes, until the liquid they release has evaporated.
- Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, then pour in the cream and cook until the sauce thickens.
- Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat.
- Spoon the filling into the tartlet shells and top with the grated cheese.
- Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 8-10 minutes, until the cheese is golden.
- Serve warm, garnished with fresh herbs.
Share via email