There are definitely many right ways to make stuffed mushrooms. It’s an extremely easy dish to make and to improvise with whatever you have. With the simple guideline of “top mushrooms with filling,” the possibilities are endless.
This dish makes a great appetizer, side, snack, or even a small meal. We made a similar version of these mushrooms for a dinner party a few weeks ago with the only real difference being the cheese we used. They’re great for parties whether you are the host or you are bringing them with you. Make ahead and pop them in to the oven 25 minutes before you’re ready to enjoy.
recipe:
about 2 8oz packages of baby bella mushrooms
2 cups frozen spinach
1 roasted pepper
4 cloves roasted garlic
1+ cups cheese (sharp cheddar, havarti, swiss all work well)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8- 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper powder or cayenne
handful of toasted pine nuts (optional)
1/4 cup bread crumbs toasted with butter
Prepare your roasted pepper and roasted garlic ahead of time. Preheat oven to 425°. Lightly brush pepper with oil, wrap a head (or half) of garlic drizzled with a little olive oil in tinfoil and place both on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 – 45 minutes, flip pepper half way through. Allow to cool before handling.
Meanwhile prepare the filling. Thaw spinach and drain excess water- if you are using fresh spinach sauté it for a moment to wilt. Grate the cheese; we used cheddar for this recipe, but last time it was havarti. It’s ok to switch things up. Both were delicious. Toast a handful of pine nuts — dry toast them in a small pan with no oil, shake them around over the heat until they’re nice and toasty. Dice the roasted pepper and peel the garlic. Combine all of these ingredients along with spice and salt to taste. Set aside.
Clean mushrooms and pop off stems. Place mushrooms caps cup side up in a glass baking dish. We use a shallow 8 x 12 glass baking dish. Use whatever you have — a couple of pie dishes or a lasagna dish would work well too. The filling should be enough to top 2 8 oz packs of mushrooms. The size of the mushrooms and the amount of room on your baking dish may vary the proportions. Disperse filling into the caps.
Finish the stuffed mushrooms off with bread crumbs. For this recipe we used panko bread crumbs and fried them up with a little butter, probably about a tablespoon or so. You can add some parmesan to the mix if you want. If you are interested in making your own bread crumbs from scratch, check here for some inspiration.
Bake at 350° for about 25 minutes.
Try out our recipe or make up your own! If you don’t have all of the ingredients we used consider what else might taste nice here…. artichoke hearts, olives, goat cheese, tomatoes, Parmesan, carrots, edamame, kale, walnuts… no onions… this list could go on for days- you get the point.
Joe says
Now I’m hungry for mushrooms!