French Escargot-Stuffed Mushrooms

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Total: 25 mins
Servings: 6 servings

This easy appetizer for escargot stuffed mushrooms will make your guests think you worked away in the kitchen for hours. The recipe is a tradition in the Burgundy region of France, which draws a great deal from its German heritage. It also pairs well with the region's excellent and famous wines.

You can prepare the snails ahead of time, even the day before, and refrigerate them until you're ready to make the mushrooms. As an added benefit, you'll seal in the snails' flavor if you actually freeze them a day or several days before your guests arrive. 

French, Escargot-Stuffed Mushrooms

The Spruce / Kristina Vanni

Ingredients

  • 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

  • 2 teaspoons finely chopped shallots

  • 1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped

  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped celery

  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground ground black pepper

  • 12 large mushrooms, cleaned with stems removed

  • 1 (7 3/4-ounce) can snails, 12 large snails

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    French, Escargot-Stuffed Mushrooms ingredients

    The Spruce / Kristina Vanni

  2. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Mix together the 6 tablespoons of softened butter with the shallots, garlic, celery, parsley, salt, and pepper.

    Mix together the softened butter with the shallots, garlic, celery, parsley, salt, and pepper

    The Spruce / Kristina Vanni

  3. Place a small spoonful of herb butter and a snail in each mushroom cap, then brush the exterior of the mushroom with a bit of the herb butter.

    mushroom caps stuffed with butter mixture with escargot on top

    The Spruce / Kristina Vanni

  4. Arrange the mushrooms in a shallow baking dish.

    stuffed mushroom caps in a Dutch oven

    The Spruce / Kristina Vanni

  5. Bake them for 15 minutes and serve hot. Enjoy!

    French, Escargot-Stuffed Mushrooms in a Dutch oven

    The Spruce / Kristina Vanni

Tips

  • You can cut your preparation time a little if you use canned snails, allowing you to spend even less time in the kitchen and more time with your guests. Cleaning and preparing fresh snails for cooking can take 30 minutes or more and should be done right before cooking. You can also buy snails frozen, but some professional chefs consider canned snails to be the best if you can't lay your hands on the fresh version or you don't want to spend a king's ransom for them. 
  • You won't want to pop the snails directly from the can into the mushroom caps, however. Wash them before beginning this recipe. Then soak or cook them sous vide to tenderize them and to lift traces of that metallic aftertaste that can linger from the cans. Sous vide involves simmering them over very, very low heat for an hour to 90 minutes. If you opt to soak the snails, seal them in a plastic bag, and place them in a warm water bath for about four hours. Make sure the water's temperature maintains at about 155 F. 
  • Whether you simmer or soak, don't just plop the snails in water. Get creative. Try a few spoonfuls of stock, and add your choice of garlic cloves, thyme, lemon zest, and parsley. Use the same stock mixture in the plastic bag for soaking. 
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
144 Calories
12g Fat
3g Carbs
7g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 144
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 12g 16%
Saturated Fat 7g 37%
Cholesterol 49mg 16%
Sodium 207mg 9%
Total Carbohydrate 3g 1%
Dietary Fiber 1g 2%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 7g
Vitamin C 2mg 11%
Calcium 12mg 1%
Iron 2mg 10%
Potassium 249mg 5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)