Stuffed mushrooms are always a crowd-pleaser! They’re a great way to take a bunch of delicious and complementary ingredients and serve them up in a buttery mushroom bite. And these baby bellos stuffed with sassy Gorgonzola are always a favorite at our house!
So here we go with the first of a few great appetizer recipes that you’re going to see over the next week! I’ve been missing these in a big way. We just haven’t been making small bites around here the way we used to – mostly because we’re not entertaining. But lately, the holidays have me missing the fun of passing plates of little bites around the friends and family hanging around the kitchen island, sipping wine, catching up, and keeping me company as dinner finished.
People tend to think of appetizers as the stuff of old-fashioned dinner parties, I think. But they really do a great job of both taking the edge off people’s appetites and giving you some relief if dinner just happens to be taking a little longer than planned {hey, it happens to all of us}. I like to have a couple bowls or plates of things out when people start coming over, even if it’s just a couple of veggie trays or seasonal snacks like my candied pecans.
Hot apps are great to have around, too. They’ll warm up your tastebuds and in a pinch, if you have last minute guests and not a large main dish planned, you can serve up a bunch of appetizer plates, a salad, a good bottle {or a few} of wine, and call it a tapas night and you’re good to go!
Stuffed mushrooms can come across as a little stodgy, but I like to have some fun with mine by stuffing them full of sharp and feisty Gorgonzola and smoked paprika, along with onions, panko crumbs, spinach, and herbs. People usually expect cheddar or Parmesan, so the Gorgonzola is a fun surprise. Also, using baby bello {small 2″ Portobellos} introduces a heartier, meatier mushroom with more flavor and texture than what people are used to.
This version is vegetarian, but you can always add some chopped bacon in there if you’re in the mood {and honestly, pretty much everyone in this house is always in the mood for bacon}.
What you need is pretty simple:
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 16 baby bella mushrooms, stems removed, stems finely chopped
- 2 cups Panko crumbs
- 1/4 cup fresh spinach, finely chopped
- 4 oz Gorgonzola cheese, finely crumbled
- smoked paprika to taste
- 2 tbsp parsley, fresh and finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil and more for brushing
- salt and pepper to taste
Let’s make these beauties!
- Clean the mushrooms to start. Pop off the stems and scrape out remaining stems and gills with a spoon. Pat the insides clean with a paper towel.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the 3 tbsp butter. Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft and fragrant, or 2-3 minutes.
- Add the chopped stems and cook until golden brown, another 1-2 minutes.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and place in a bowl. Add the Panko crumbs, parsley, spinach, salt, pepper, paprika, and Gorgonzola cheese. Mix until well combined.
- Fill the mushroom caps with the mixture. Brush the outsides of the mushrooms with olive oil.
- Heat additional olive oil in a saucepan until it shimmers. Saute the filled mushroom caps until tender, 5-7 minutes.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Gorgonzola Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 yellow onion small, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 16 ea baby bella mushrooms stems removed, stems finely chopped
- 2 cups panko crumbs
- 1/4 cup fresh spinach finely chopped
- 4 oz Gorzonzola cheese crumbled
- smoked paprika to taste
- 2 tbsp parsley fresh, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil plus more for brushing
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Clean the mushrooms to start. Pop off the stems and scrape out remaining stems and gills with a spoon. Pat the insides clean with a paper towel.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the 3 tbsp butter. Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft and fragrant, or 2-3 minutes.
- Add the chopped stems and cook until golden brown, another 1-2 minutes.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and place in a bowl. Add the Panko crumbs, parsley, spinach, salt, pepper, paprika, and Gorgonzola cheese. Mix until well combined.
- Fill the mushroom caps with the mixture. Brush the outsides of the mushrooms with olive oil.
- Heat additional olive oil in a saucepan until it shimmers. Saute the filled mushroom caps until tender, 5-7 minutes.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Nutrition
Scott and I also think this filling would be awesome as a steak topping. We’re debating whether or not to try it on the next ones he smokes or do use it as a substitute in my steak and Gorgonzola open faced sandwiches!
I’m hosting a backyard happy hour for a couple friends soon, and these guys will definitely be on our menu! These go great with a hearty Malbec or Cabernet Sauvignon for my red wine drinkers out there, but for my white wine drinkers, I can see this going nicely with a Chenin Blanc.
Happy weekend, all!
