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Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms are an easy appetizer or side dish
I think you most often see mushrooms like these Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms served as appetizers. That is kind of selling them short though. Mushrooms make a great side dish with grilled or roasted meats, like these Chipotle Maple Chicken Thighs. And, if you’re sticking with veggie only options, they would be yummy with Cheesy Quinoa and Veggie Bake. Or, as you might expect, they do make a very fine addition to a selection of appetizers or maybe game-day snacking.
Most often, I think you see stuffed mushrooms containing some kind of smokey or spicy meat, like bacon or sausage. These Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms can be considered a vegetarian option though, because they don’t contain meat. I made this batch with white button mushrooms, but any kind will work. For mushrooms with tough, inedible stems, like shiitakes, you’ll need some extra mushrooms to add to the filling.
Clean the mushrooms with a damp paper town, to remove those little chunks of dirt that seem to attach themselves so firmly to mushrooms. You can wash the mushrooms if you want to, but unless they are very dirty, a damp paper towel will suffice.
I like fancy mushrooms – morels, oysters, shiitakes, portobellos. All delicious and we eat them often. But white button mushrooms have their place too – like in this recipe. They go really with the other flavors in there giving the dish a nice balance.
Prepare the caps
After cleaning the mushrooms, gently ease out the stems and set those aside – they will be part of the filling. Place the caps, open side up, on a parchment-lined baking sheet that has a cooling rack placed inside. [see the recipe for the equipment that I like] Put the sheet pan in a preheated 350° oven for about 15 minutes. This will start the mushrooms cooking, and also pull excess moisture into the caps, where you can dump it out so that it doesn’t make the filling soggy. The end result is much better if you take the time to do this part.
Make the filling
Meanwhile, roughly chop the previously removed stems. You want about 1/4 inch pieces so that they combine easily with the other filling ingredients. Put the chopped stems in a saute pan, that has some butter in it, along with onion, and garlic. Saute over medium heat for a few minutes, until the onion becomes translucent and soft. Increase the heat to medium-high for about 5 to 7 minutes, until most of the liquid from the stems has cooked away. Stir every minute or so.
Finish the filling
Add the breadcrumbs, salt and pepper and herbs to the filling, and saute for a few minutes more, stirring so that nothing gets too browned.
Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the cheese. I used feta cheese in this batch, but this is also very good with Asiago or shaved Romano. These cheeses hold their shape nicely during the final baking. If you want something more melty, try cheddar, colby or gouda.
Remove the mushroom caps from the oven. I just pick up the whole rack, and place it across my sink, where it sits level nicely. Turn the caps over and allow them to drain. Spray the bottoms lightly with avocado or olive oil spray, which will keep them from looking too dried out. You don’t need the rack for the final cooking – just lay the mushroom right side up on the sheet pan, which still has the parchment paper on it.
Fill the caps
Use a teaspoon to fill the bottoms of each cap, pushing the filling to the inside edges all the way around. Then, use something like a small cookie scoop to heap up the tops, making sure to press the filling down a bit. You want them mounded, but not so top-heavy that the filling topples over. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until the filling is nicely browned. They should look like the photo, below.
Serve them right away, while they are still nice and hot.
Here’s how to make Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 24 ounce package medium-sized white button mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 grinds fresh black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs
- 3 ounces crumbled feta cheese
- avocado oil [optional]
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a heavy sheet pan with parchment paper, and lay a cooling rack on top of the parchment.
- Clean the mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Gently remove the stems and set aside for the filling.
- Place the empty mushroom caps, open side up on the cooling rack, and put the pan in the preheated oven, for about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the filling. Chop the mushroom stems into about 1/4 inch pieces.
- Melt the butter in a large saute pan, over medium heat and add the mushrooms, onions, and garlic. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and saute until the onions are translucent and soft.
- Raise the heat to medium-high, and continue to cook off the excess liquid - about 5 minutes. Stir every minute or two.
- Remove the pan of mushrooms from the oven [don't turn the oven off]. Suspend the rack, with the mushrooms on it over the sink [unless you have a very large sink, the rack should sit on it ok]. Turn over each cap and allow them to drain for about 5 minutes. You can spray the bottoms with avocado oil spray, which will prevent them from looking too dry.
- Add bread crumbs to the skillet and stirring every so often, continue to cook until the bread crumbs begin to toast.
- Remove from the heat, and stir in the cheese.
- Place the mushrooms, open side up on the parchment-lined sheet.
- Use a teaspoon to fill the bottom of each mushroom cap, making sure to get the filling all the way in the corners. Then use something like a small cookie scoop to mound the filling on top. Press the filling down a bit, You want them filled, but not so much that they are top-heavy.
- Return the pan to the oven and continue to bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until the bread crumbs look nicely toasted.
- Serve immediately or these can be kept warm in a low oven for about 30 minutes.
Notes
You can keep Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms in a warm oven for about 30 minutes if you have other things to get ready before serving. For a party, they will stay warm in a chafing dish.
For other appetizer ideas, check out my Easy Guacamole, or Cheese Crackers.
Classic Potato Salad
Asiago Herb Spread
Guinness Beef Stew
Honey Lemon Winter Squash
Beet and Horseradish Relish
Brussels Sprout Colcannon
Creamy Spinach Feta Soup
Coconut Lime Mini Muffins
Stovetop Macaroni & Cheese
Rainbow Veggie Slaw
I am loving that you used feta cheese in these stuffed mushrooms. They sound amazing!
Thanks Kathleen – the feta is such a great combo with mushrooms – hope you love them when you give them a try. ♥
I’m a sucker for stuffed mushrooms so I had to try this. My goodness the stuffing had great flavor. Thank you!
Thanks Ned- glad to hear that!
The combination of the earthy mushrooms and gooey melted cheese was a match made in heaven. I loved how easy they were to make and how impressive they looked. Definitely a new favorite appetizer!
I’m glad that you enjoyed them Gianne!
I love stuffed mushrooms and your cheese filling is incredible. I’ll be making these a lot!
Thank you Jackie! 😀
Love this recipe so so much! It was the perfect addition to my family’s apps for dinner night!
So glad that you all enjoyed them Kerri!
I just made these and they were so tasty! Gone so fast!
They do go awfully fast, Lima – but we can always make more!
The combination of the earthy mushrooms and creamy cheese was delightful. The recipe was easy to follow and the end result was a hit at my dinner party. I’ll definitely be making these again!
We loved these! They’re super flavorful and so easy to make. Perfect for entertaining!
I think so too Dana – thanks!
Love this recipe! The filling is so good and super easy to make.
Thank you Sky!