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.
1large packagewhite button mushroomsor cremini, about 24
¼cupolive oil
¼cupsherry wine
1cupshredded mozzarella cheese
½cupshredded parmesan cheese
8ouncesground sausage
½cupPanko breadcrumbsregular breadcrumbs will work too
3clovesgarlic
saltto taste
pepperto 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!
Notes
Instead of sausage with mozzarella and parmesan, try it with chorizo with pepper jack and cotija cheeses.