I definitely love stuffed mushrooms and often have them as a side dish or sometimes a meal. This recipe takes the same concept but uses much smaller mushrooms, perfect for finger food. The sausage makes the appetizer even heartier, making it great for a hungry group or heavy-app party! I used spicy sausage in half the mushrooms and mild in the other. Just make sure to garnish differently so your guests (and you) can tell them apart. I garnished the spicy ones with a red smoky paprika and the mild ones with dried mint, which adds a great earthiness.
Notes
- Instead of sausage with mozzarella and parmesan, try it with chorizo with pepper jack and cotija cheeses.
Ingredients
- 1 large package white button mushrooms - or cremini, about 24
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup sherry wine
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 8 ounces ground sausage
- ½ cup Panko breadcrumbs - regular breadcrumbs will work too
- 3 cloves garlic
- salt - to taste
- pepper - to taste
Instructions
Prepare the mushrooms:
- Remove the caps from the stems by just popping them off.
- Discard the stems and put the caps in a large bowl.
- To the mushrooms, add the 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1/4 cup of sherry wine. You can add more if needed. Just makes sure there is enough to coat each mushroom.
- Toss the mushrooms around in the bowl and set aside.
Brown the sausage:
- Brown the sausage over medium-high heat. If you get sausages in a casing, remove the casings before browning. Make sure the sausage is fully cooked.
- Remove the sausage from the pan with a slotted spoon to strain off any excess grease, and place it in a medium mixing bowl.
- Allow the sausage to cool slightly, for about 5 minutes.
Finish the stuffing:
- To the sausage, add 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, 3 minced garlic gloves, and season with salt and pepper.
Stuff the mushrooms:
- Stuff each mushroom and place on a greased baking sheet...just spray with cooking spray so they don't stick.
- Sprinkle each mushroom with some more breadcrumbs to add a little more crunch when you take a bite. If you are doing a variety of spicy and mild, make sure to garnish differently.
Bake and serve:
- Bake the mushrooms for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees until the cheese is melted and bubbly! Be careful, they will be piping hot.
- Enjoy with festive cocktail napkins at your next party!