This mushroom paté is tender, meaty, and so buttery, you will want to use it everywhere! Spread on bread, toasts, or use in your favorite sandwiches! Plant-based, easy to make, and so flavorful!
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📘 What is Paté
Traditionally, paté consists of a mixture of seasoned ground meat that is served on top of bread, crackers, or toasts. It is usually seasoned with dried herbs, black pepper, and sometimes some brandy or wine.
This version swaps the meat for mushrooms and cashews for a delicious plant-based alternative!
⭐️ Why You Are Going To Love This Recipe
- Rich and meaty: This paté is incredibly rich, it's soft and spreads perfectly.
- Simple ingredients and process: Only 10 ingredients plus a few spices required!
- Versatile: It can be used everywhere! From sandwiches, to toasts, tarts, and savory pastries.
- Delicious: The combination of sautéed mushrooms, soy sauce, black pepper, and cashews with thyme and rosemary yields a super flavorful paté!
🥣 How to Make Vegan Paté
Preparing this paté is easy and requires basic ingredients you most probably already have on hand. Here is what you will need:
- Mushrooms - All types of mushrooms work here, I usually go with cremini mushrooms, but you can use oyster, king oysters, or portobello. Mushrooms are responsible for the main flavor here.
- Onions and garlic - For a natural sweetness and a deeper flavor. If you are not a fan of onions, feel free to use shallots.
- Soy sauce - For saltiness and umami. Use coconut aminos for a gluten-free version.
- Cashews - Cashews help create a richer texture and improve the overall texture. Use raw cashews, not the roasted ones.
- Vegan butter - For richness, you can use homemade vegan butter or store-bought.
- Cacao powder - Optional, cacao powder gives the paté a slightly darker and more appetizing color. Don't worry, you cannot taste it!
- Sandwich bread - It helps thicken the paté a little bit and improves the mouthfeel. Again, if you want to make this paté gluten-free, use GF sandwich bread.
- Rosemary, thyme, ground black pepper - To season.
Preparing the Paté
It starts with the onions that are cooked until caramelized. This step will bring a ton of flavor, so make sure you cook the onions until they really start to brown. Once done, add the garlic and mushrooms and sauté for a few minutes.
Next, you want to deglaze the pan with soy sauce, and season with ground black pepper.
Next, for texture, we have raw cashews that add a subtle nuttiness as well as richness. Blend the cashews until you get cashew flour. It's okay if some larger pieces remain, it will only add to the texture of the paté.
Once the cashew flour is done, add the sautéed mushrooms, melted vegan butter, rosemary, thyme, and salt to the blender. I also added a couple of slices of sandwich bread. The addition of bread to the mixture gives this paté a meatier texture and a better mouthfeel in my opinion.
Cooking
Once you have blended everything into a very slightly chunky texture, transfer to clean jars and bake for about 20 minutes. Alternatively, if you want a moister paté, you can steam it in a bamboo steamer basket for 25-30 minutes.
🥖 Where to Use Vegan Paté
- Sandwiches: for a quick, fresh, and flavorful sandwich, spread a generous spoonful (or two) of paté on sandwich bread, top with fresh tomato slices, salad, a few slices of your favorite vegan cheese, and you're ready to go!
- Toasts or crackers: spread this paté on toasted bread or small crackers for a delicious appetizer.
- Tarts: Use the paté as a base for the bottom of a tart. Spread a thick layer on paté on a pie crust and top with vegetables before baking.
- Bánh mì: If you love bánh mì, paté is mandatory!
This paté is best eaten chilled, although you can let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes if you want it to soften a bit.
💬 FAQ
- What can I substitute for the cashews? You can use other raw nuts like almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, or pine nuts.
- Can I add brandy or wine to the paté? Yes, you can add 2-3 tablespoons of cognac, rum, or brandy if you want a deeper flavor.
- How long does vegan paté keep? Vegan paté will keep for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
I hope you are going to love this vegan paté! It's super meaty, creamy, and so flavorful! It has become a staple here and I use it everywhere!
📔 More Vegan Savory Spread Recipes
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Paté
Ingredients
- 2 slices of sandwich bread
- ¼ cup almond milk
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 medium onions thinly sliced
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 4 cups chopped mushrooms (of your choice)
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¾ cup raw cashews (or almonds)
- ¼ cup melted vegan butter
- 1 and ½ teaspoon cacao powder optional, for color
- ½ teaspoon maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon each: rosemary, thyme
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Roughly chop the two slices of sandwich bread and place it in a bowl. Add the almond milk (or water) and mix to combine. This step will soften the bread. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions and garlic, and cook until onions start to brown. Next, add the mushrooms and cook for another 5-7 minutes.
- Pour in the soy sauce and stir to coat the mushrooms with the sauce. Add the ground black pepper, and cook for one more minute. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Add the raw cashews to a blender and blend until you get a coarse flour. Add the sautéed mushrooms, soaked sandwich bread, melted vegan butter, cacao powder, maple syrup, rosemary, thyme, and salt. Blend, scraping down the sides from time to time, until you get a very slightly chunky texture. If you want your paté to be smoother, blend longer.
- Transfer the paté mixture to two small jars, or one larger, and bake for about 20 minutes.*
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely at room temperature before transferring to the refrigerator.
- This paté is delicious eaten chilled with toasted bread, or spread on bagels, sandwiches, etc! Paté will keep for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
What do you think of steaming this recipe in an Instant Pot? I'd cover the jar with a loose fitting lid.
I think that would work, steam for 15-20 minutes.
If anyone can come up with a delicious pate, it will be you!
During baking: jars open or closed? Thanks Thomas and best regards
Regina
Jars open!
The paté turned out very good! I used some dried yellowfoot mushrooms, which are very strong and quite bitter in taste, but worked well in this paté. I used white wine instead of almond milk and almonds. Didn't turn out as pretty as yours ;), but the taste was right on spot! Thank you!
Awesome! Glad your paté tasted great! 🙂
So happy I just found your website! Your recipes look fantastic and very creative in different! Any suggestions for how I could sub for the mushrooms? I can't eat any mold, used, or fermented products. I don't mind if it changes the flavor of the recipe oh, just not sure what would make sense to sub
Thanks Deborah!
That's a tough one as mushrooms are the main ingredient here. I guess you could try using a combination of cooked eggplant flesh and chestnuts for more texture.
I have a tree nut allergy. Can I omit the nuts or add something else for more flavor? We are very, very new the plant base diet and still trying to learn. Thank you in advanced.
Yes, you can simply omit the nuts!
Hi Joe
I sub seeds like pumpkin (pepitas) or sunflower in recipes for a similar texture. In my experience pepitas have a better taste but add green colour to the food, while sunflower seed are softer and sometimes a bit flat or towards a bitter taste.
If you think what purpose the nuts have I a recipe, you'll find it easier to sub them. In this recipe I figured it's texture and some creaminess. So think along those lines and you might have some idea of what might work for you.
Just found your site. Everything looks so good! I'm wondering about this recipe and the sandwich bread. Do you make your own bread? I eat some gluten free bread, but it is not usually vegan. I'm tryng to learn how to make gluten free vegan bread. Not easy!
Hi Sally,
I don't consume enough bread to justify making my own, but I made some a few times. It was not gluten-free though.
Most of the vegan gluten-free breads that I tried are usually a bit dense/dry, unfortunately.
Yes, eggs are king in bread, but I don't tolerate them. So it goes. I did make your miso forbidden rice bowl last night. Very tasty. Especially the miso sauce! I also made your chocolate chunk buckwheat blondies. Very tasty and so easy and quick. I'm afraid they will become my best friend now. Thanks for being so talented! Now, on to the vegan pate.
Thanks Sally! 🙂 I'm so glad you liked these 🙂
Just made this today in preparation for tofu bahn mis’ tomorrow. The pâté came out perfect and really brought me back to my decadent meat eating days. This is a great little go to app - I prematurely put some on toast with salt and pickled red onions - so good!!
Awesome! Thanks so much for your feedback Cassidy!
This is the best pate recipe. I have been making some mushrooms pate for several years now and this recipe is far superior to anything else out there: it is refined, subtle, delicious.
Thank you
Thanks so much Rebecca! 🙂
Love the sound of this but am Whole Food Plant Based ....oil free...yes can saute etc no prob, but could I sub the 1/4 cup butter with stock or is it just a matter of experimenting??
Well, oil gives richness to the paté, you could use stock or simply omit but your paté will not have the same creaminess I'm afraid.
Hi ! I recently chanced upon your site and would like to thank you for sharing these wonderful recipes. I am excited to try one asap. Haha ! All the best to you Thomas !
You're welcome Cuci! 😉
Well I must say, I was suspicious....but OMG did it deliver...served it to unsuspecting omnivores who said it was the best Pate they had ever had...they asked 'what was the secret' to which I replied -'nothing was killed in the making of this wonderful dish'...thank you Thomas.
That's awesome non-vegans loved this paté 😉 It's also one of my favorite savory spread!
Thanks for your feedback Paul.
This was fantastic! In addition to eating it on crackers, I used it to line a beet Wellington for Christmas. I still had lots leftover, so I put it in ravioli to have with green onion pesto. So incredible and versatile, thank you!
Thanks for your feedback Christa! 🙂
Ravioli ay? Now THAT sounds awesome!
Hi Thomas,
I can't eat gluten so am wondering what the purpose of the bread is in this recipe so I can come up with a substitute ☺️ suggestions are also welcomed.
Hi,
The purpose of bread in this recipe is to help thicken a bit the paté, and give it a better and slightly meaty texture. You could simply leave it out.
Use gluten-free bread.
I've never baked anything in jars before... do you use a water bath?
Can't wait to try this!
Thanks!
No water bath! Just like you would bake a gratin in a dish.
Hello, what a wonderful recipe, I can’t wait to try it! I would love some clarification over what you consider ‘sandwich bread’ as it varies so much from culture to culture. A picture would be so helpful!! Additionally, would carob work in place of cacao or would it be entirely different?
Best,
Lily
Hi Lily,
When I mean a piece of sandwich bread, I mean a slice of the already-cut bread you find in all supermarkets. It's sold in a transparent plastic bag and mostly used to make sandwiches and grilled cheeses.
Hi Thomas,
Huge appreciation for all the work you do and share so we can eat fabulous food.
I have three of your cheeses in my little wine refrigerator set at 12 degrees ripening for Christmas.
My question is how long can this pate be stored? Frozen?
Thanks
Hi Doris,
Thanks for your kind words 😉
The paté will keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator. It can probably be frozen, but I have never tried.
Delicious, just out of the oven as I had to try it. Looking forward to trying it cold. I baked the Patè in 3 small pie dishes and will experiment with freezing 2 of them. I will thaw after a week and let you know the results.
Great! Thanks for your rating Jackie!
I took the patè out of the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge and it was equally as good as the one that wasn't frozen. Could make preparation for Christmas easier knowing it can freeze.
This was easy to make and really good, made a small change to reduce fat (replaced butter with silken tofu) and it was perfect. Btw it did not need baking /steaming - we had half as it was and half baked. We love you recipes btw :), thank you and all the best in 2022!
Great! Thank you so much for your great feedback Bela 😉
Hmmmmm! Absolutely delicious. Love the texture and the "meaty" mushroom taste. I will try the Rillette next. It was my absolute favourite when traveling to France in my omnivore days, but I wanted to try your Pâté first.
Thank you Thomas!
Thank you Feli! 😉