This savory Mushroom Chicken Tart is easy to make and bakes up beautifully. Serve it as a hearty appetizer or light meal.
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Why You Will Love this Recipe
This savory appetizer tart is delicious, easy to make, and versatile. Not only is it a proven crowd-pleaser, but pair it with a salad and you've got a delightful light lunch, brunch, or dinner.
Made with common, fresh ingredients, this chicken tart recipe is super easy to put together. If you're planning to serve it for a party or brunch, the three components - shell, filling, and topping - can be made in advance, and then assembled in just few minutes when you want to bake it.
If you want to spice things up, try leaving out the rosemary and making it with leftover barbecued chicken, hot chicken, or Buffalo chicken. Once you learn the basic tart recipe technique, you will find yourself coming up with all sorts of new combinations!
What Goes into this Recipe
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Chicken: Seasoned rotisserie chicken, home-roasted chicken or, the equivalent in leftover chicken.
Mushrooms: Use fresh, firm, high-quality mushrooms. We recommend a combination of crimini and white (button) mushrooms.
Puff pastry: Frozen puff pastry is one of the few premade ingredients we regularly purchase and use. It is such a time-saver!
You can definitely make this recipe with homemade puff pastry if you want to.
Walnuts: If you happen to own an old-fashioned nut chopper, that is the best tool for grinding the nuts to the perfect texture. Blitzing them in the blender also works.
Almonds, hazelnut, and pecans also work well in this recipe.
Rosemary: Use fresh if you have it. You can substitute ¾ teaspoon dried rosemary for the fresh rosemary.
If you change up your chicken (i.e., use something like barbecued chicken or Nashville hot chicken, etc.) consider trading out the rosemary for complementary herbs or spices.
Cream cheese: Full-fat or lower-fat Neufchâtel both works equally well int his recipe.
Orange Zest: Orange flavor pairs perfectly with fresh rosemary. The zest is optional, but it really brightens the flavor of the tart.
How to Make this Recipe
Preheat oven to 375°F | 190°C.
Tart Shell Prep
Thaw the puff pastry sheet by covering it with plastic wrap and letting it defrost in the refrigerator for about 4 hours, or on the counter for 40 minutes. Once the puff pastry is thawed, it is important to work quickly while it is still cold.
Line the bottom of a 10-inch tart pan with parchment paper.
Roll the thawed puff pastry sheet out until it is about 13x13: big enough to fully line the tart pan up and over the sides.
Lay the rolled out puff pastry dough in the prepared tart pan. (A shallow pie dish works well, too.) Gently press the dough to form it to the rim, and then trim the edges using the edge of a rolling pin rolled across the top.
Put the prepared shell in the freezer while you prepare the filling.
Chicken Mushroom Filling
Melt the butter and olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.
Add onions and sauté until they lose their moisture and begin to become translucent; about 5-6 minutes.
Add sliced mushrooms and continue to cook until they release their juices; about 5-7 minutes.
You can add a pinch of salt to the mixture to encourage the process.
When the mushrooms have cooked down some, add the chicken, chopped walnuts, rosemary, and garlic, and cook until any remaining liquid is absorbed.
Add the wine and deglaze the pan, continuing to cook up til the liquid has once again reduced.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
It is important that the filling be cooled before adding it to the pastry shell.
To cool the filling faster, line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the filling across it. Pop it in the freezer for 5 minutes and it will be ready to use.
Cream Cheese Topping
In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese, eggs, orange zest (optional), salt, and pepper together until smooth.
Tart Assembly
Remove the tart pastry from freezer and fill the shell with the cooled chicken mushroom mixture.
The mix should be about level with the top of the tart rim, or just below it.
Using a spatula, "frost" the top of the tart with the cream cheese mixture.
The cream cheese mixture should be about the consistency of slightly thinned buttercream frosting; it should spread across the top of the chicken mixture, but it shouldn't absorb into the chicken.
If you'd like, you can decorate the top with sliced mushrooms, rosemary sprigs, puff pastry cut-outs, or whatever strikes your fancy.
Bake the tart for 30-35 minutes; until the top begins to brown and the egg mixture is firm.
Remove from oven and cool slightly before cutting.
FAQs & Expert Tips
I used rosemary sprigs to decorate this particular tart. After baking, it has that rustic vibe we like: but just FYI, the needles were very dry. If I use rosemary in this way again, I'll dip the rosemary in a little olive oil before I place it on the tart.
I also took a little knob of butter and ran it lightly over the mushrooms while they were still warm to give them a little more color.
Despite the "chicken" in the title, you can easily make this recipe vegetarian-friendly.
To do so, simply omit the chicken and substitute with one of the following:
• Double the amount of mushrooms
• Use 1½ cups of faux chik'n, chopped. (Morning Star Chik'n strips work well in this recipe.)
You can make all three components up to a day ahead of time, and assemble it all when you are ready to bake it.
1. Prep the shell and freeze until you are ready to fill it.
2. Cook the filling and refrigerate it up to 24 hours.
3. Mix up the topping and refrigerate it up to 12 hours.
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Mushroom Chicken Tart
Equipment
- 1 10-inch tart pan
Ingredients
- 1 sheet sheet puff pastry dough
Filling
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon light olive oil or canola oil
- 1 medium onion chopped; about 1½ cups / 8 ounces
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 8 ounces rotisserie chicken meat chopped
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ⅓ cup white wine or white grape juice, or water
- Salt & pepper to taste
Topping
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon fresh orange zest optional
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F | 190°C.
Tart Shell Prep
- Line the bottom of a 10-inch tart pan with parchment paper.Roll the puff pastry sheet out until it is about 14x14: big enough to fully line the tart pan up and over the sides.
- Lay the rolled out puff pastry dough in the prepared tart pan (a shallow pie dish works well too) and trim the edges using the edge of a rolling pin rolled across the top.Put the pastry in the tart pan in the freezer while you prepare the filling.
Chicken Mushroom Filling
- Melt the butter and olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until they lose their moisture and begin to become translucent; about 5-6 minutes.
- Add sliced mushrooms and continue to cook until they release their juices; about 5-7 minutes. You can add a pinch of salt to the mixture to encourage the process.
- When the mushrooms have cooked down some, add the chicken, chopped walnuts, rosemary, and garlic, and cook until any remaining liquid is absorbed.
- Add the wine and deglaze the pan, continuing to cook up til the liquid has once again reduced. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- It is important that the filling be cooled before adding it to the pastry shell. To cool the filling faster, line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the filling across it. Pop it in the freezer for 5 minutes and it will be ready to use.
Cream Cheese Topping
- In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese, eggs, orange zest (optional), salt, and pepper together until smooth.
Tart Assembly
- Remove the tart pastry from freezer and fill the shell with the cooled chicken mushroom mixture.
- Using a spatula, "frost" the top of the tart with the cream cheese mixture.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top begins to brown and the egg mixture is firm.
- Remove from oven and cool slightly before cutting.
Serving
- Tart can be served warm or cold.
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
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Originally published October 15, 2015
Sara Welch says
This was such a hearty and delicious tart! Definitely unique and unexpected; my whole family loved it!
Sandra says
This tart baked up beautifully and the chicken mushroom filling was delicious. The instructions were easy to follow.
Jess says
Such a delicious and savory dish!
Deepika says
I love anything mushrooms and this tart is perfect. Saving it for later. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Andrea says
Oh my, this sounds marvelous. Chicken, mushrooms and cream cheese for a topping. My family is going to love this.
Louise says
Looks like you're still delighting us with quick and easy creative dishes, Renée:)
I'm not back to blogging full time yet but oh my, I sure am missing these tasty meals! Thanks so much for sharing...
Geoff says
It looks like a pizza that's good for me!!! Whaaaa?!?!
Kelley says
Do you have a tart pan that you recommend? I have a pie pan, but I love the fluted edges so much.
Marlynn [UrbanBlissLife] says
This looks so tasty, Renee! Looks like a great dish to make for a girls' weekend brunch.
Dawne says
love how easy this looks and such a great meat alternative for the fall. thanks for sharing.
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