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Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Meaty Portobello Mushrooms are stuffed with a cheesy spinach filling and then baked until tender. These can be served as appetizers or a side dish paired with protein.

Calling all veggie lovers here. Stuffed Portobello mushroom is a delicious meatless dinner that can also steal the show as a hearty side. The meaty texture of the mushrooms pairs perfectly with a decadent, creamy spinach and cheese filling. Stuffing mushrooms is an interesting way to have them, with endless possibilities of filling ideas. It is not only portobello, you can make an amazing appetizer by stuffing regular Button mushrooms.

I mostly use mushrooms in pasta or make a quick butter garlic mushroom. But portobello mushrooms because of their meaty texture taste better when grilled with a simple seasoning. Baking or roasting enhances the earthy flavor. My daughter isn’t a big fan of grilled portobello but adores these stuffed mushrooms ( all thanks to the cheesy filling).

Ingredients

Mushrooms– Look for large portobello mushrooms, as they shrink considerably. They need to be firm to touch without any black marks on them.
Spinach– fresh spinach chopped. baby spinach will also work. Frozen spinach is great if would like to save some time in cleaning and chopping.
Cream Cheese – At room temperature spreadable consistency, so that it is easy to mix the stuffing.
Mozzarella – Shredded mozzarella
Onion, Garlic – finely chopped, so that you won’t be able to bite into chunks of onion
Seasoning – Paprika, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. You could also use the fresh herbs of your choice.

I have mentioned more on different variations in stuffing below in FAQ section.

Steps to Stuff Portobello

Detailed recipe along with measurements in the recipe card.

1.Prep Portobello

Clean dirt on the mushrooms with a kitchen brush or a damp kitchen towel. Snip off the stem and then use a small spoon to scoop out the gills.

Brush with olive oil on both the sides and season with salt and pepper only on the outside

2. Bake seasoned mushrooms

The mushrooms need to be pre-baked before filling them with stuffing. This is to avoid overbaking the stuffing. Keep the portobello cap side down and bake for 10 minutes.

While the mushrooms are in the oven, start prepping for the stuffing. Chop the stems and keep aside.

3. Prepare cream cheese spinach stuffing

Saute onion and garlic in oil. Then add chopped mushroom stems and cook until it is caramelized. Then add chopped spinach and cook until all the water has evaporated and the mixture is dry.

Mix and stuff Mushrooms caps

Cool down cooked spinach onion mixture, add cream cheese, 3/4 th mozzarella and seasoning. Fill generous mound of the spinach cheese stuffing to the baked mushroom cups. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese on top and bake just until the cheese melts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it mandatory to bake portobello before stuffing?

Yes, The mushroom need to be pre-baked. Becuase of you bake the mushrooms along wih the stuffing, the spinach cheese mixture will dry out by the time the mushroom are cooked through.

Can these be air-fried instead of baked?

Absolutely, these can be made without an Oven. Air frying will give just good result as an oven.

What other stuffing variation for this recipe?

You can play with the stuffing and add different flavours. Chopped red bell peppers, sundried tomaotes are a couple of things that will work with the above stuffing. You could add some parmesan cheese to the stuffing mix as well. For crunch top it with parmesan and panko bread crumb mixture before baking it.

Tips

Make sure you clean the mushrooms well.
Pick large portobello mushrooms, becuase they shrink considerbly after baking. Also you can stuff well in large mushrooms caps.

Storage instruction

Refrigerator– Leftovers stores well for upto 2-3 days. Just reheat in a microwave before serving.

Freezing – These can also be freezed after stuffing and topping them with shredded cheese. You will have to increase the baking time to cook it through.