If you are crazy about the rich and meaty taste of mushrooms, you will love these stuffed portobello mushrooms. They have a delicious filling of oven roasted tomatoes and goat cheese making a fantastic dinner party appetizer, meatless meal or vegetarian main course served with a green salad. They are the perfect side dish for a meaty steak or pork chops..
Mushrooms and Umami
When I learned about the fifth taste called umami, I began to understand my love of mushrooms. Umami is a term borrowed from the Japanese language conveying a pleasant, delicious, savory taste. It's a singular taste that cannot be called sweet, sour, salty or bitter. Find umami in other foods like asparagus, tomatoes, soy sauce and truffles, shellfish, and Parmesan cheese.
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Ingredients
These oversized stuffed mushrooms are so good! Let me show you how tricks to clean the mushroom caps, stuff them, and bake them.
- 1 recipe of oven roasted tomatoes (link here, they are easy)
- 4 Portobello mushrooms about 4″ across
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Shallot
- Garlic cloves
- 4 ounces plain goat cheese
- Fresh chopped parsley (optional)
- Fresh chopped chives (optional)
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 1 pound grape or cherry tomatoes
- Fresh thyme
About Portobellos
Portobello (also spelled Portabella) mushrooms are mature Cremini mushrooms. The only difference is size. The caps are about 4” across. They are dark brown in color and unlike smaller mushrooms they are purchased with the gills showing.
Portobellos have a foresty, earthy smell and meaty taste and texture. Most people leave the gills in but I scrape them out. When you do, the big jumbo caps make a great vessel for filling, plus they look better and are more appetizing without the gills.
How to Buy
Choose large fresh mushrooms with firm, moist caps that are not broken. Portobello caps are about 4” across.
How to Clean
In the kitchen of a steakhouse restaurant, I worked along side prep cooks cleaning mounds of Portobello mushrooms. They trimmed off the tough mushroom stems, then scraped out the chocolaty colored gills on the inside of the mushroom with a spoon creating a clean mushroom to grill or fill. It was a great idea.
Note - Discard the stems of the mushrooms as they are woody and unpleasant to eat.
Gently wipe the outside of each mushroom cap with a damp paper towel to remove any surface dirt. Next, pop out the stem by pushing it from side to side. It should come out clean. If not, remove any extra with a paring knife so the inside is flat. Next, use a teaspoon to gently scrape out the dark brown mushroom gills from inside the cap.
Stuff and Bake
Brush with olive oil, broil for a few minutes, then fill with roasted tomatoes, crumbled goat cheese and herbs. Place on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper in a single layer and bake for 12 minutes.
Make Roasted Tomatoes
Make these ahead to save time. Find the recipe for the oven roasted tomatoes here. They take about 25 minutes and will last a few days in the fridge. You need a pound of cherry or grape tomatoes, fresh thyme, olive oil, salt, and pepper. For exact ingredients see the bottom of the recipe card.
Slice the tomatoes in half, place in a medium bowl and toss with the olive oil, garlic and lots of fresh chopped thyme. Roast on a rimmed baking sheet covered with parchment paper and roast 25 minutes
To Serve
These are delicious just as they are, but if you'd like, sprinkle them with a little bit of dairy Parmesan cheese or vegan parmesan cheese. A drizzle of good balsamic vinegar is tasty too. As an optional garnish, sprinkle with a little chopped fresh parsley.
Variations
All of these variations have so much flavor, so be creative and do what sounds good. Next time, try one of these:
- Don't have time to roast the tomatoes? Chop them, drain them off some of the juices, and use them as is.
- Swap the goat cheese for grated mozzarella cheese and top with marinara sauce before baking (almost like a pizza).
- To add protein, add a little cooked and crumbled Italian sausage. Tip: for sausage links, chop roughly and run it through a food processor to refine it. I like to use the pre-cooked links from this brand.
- To add some "green", add chopped fresh spinach
- Add a little thinly sliced red onion
More Recipes and Nutrition
Need more of a reason to eat mushrooms? Read this terrific post on the science backed health benefits of eating mushrooms and try these steakhouse style mushrooms.
📖 Recipe
Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms With Tomatoes and Goat Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 recipe of oven roasted tomatoes LINK BELOW
- 4 large Portobello mushrooms about 4″ across
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon finely chopped shallot optional
- 1 large garlic clove finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 ounces plain goat cheese
Optional Garnishes
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives
- 4 teaspoons Balsamic vinegar
Instructions
Roast Tomatoes (can be made ahead)
- If you have not made the oven roasted tomatoes ahead, do them first. They take just a few minutes of prep time and 20-25 minutes in the oven.
Prep Mushrooms
- While the tomatoes are roasting, clean the mushrooms by gently wiping the outside of the caps with a damp paper towel or brushing any dirt off with a soft brush. Next, pop out the stems by pushing them from side to side until the snap out. Then with a teaspoon, scrape the gills out until the underside is mostly clean. Place them on a foil lined rimmed baking sheet.
- Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, shallot and garlic. Brush mushroom caps inside and out with the olive oil mixture (or plain olive oil). Sprinkle each cap with salt and pepper.
Broil Mushrooms
- Pre-heat the broiler. With the oven rack on the second to the top level, broil the mushrooms for 3-5 minutes until they are hot and the edges are starting to brown. They will start to release moisture and get juicy. Remove from the oven.
Bake Mushrooms
- Pre-heat the oven to 375 (190C). Fill the caps with the roasted tomatoes and dot with the goat cheese. Sprinkle with the fresh herbs. Bake for 12 minutes or until hot and the cheese has softened. Brush with a little extra olive oil on the edges to make them shine. Serve.
MandyE says
Oh, and next time, I think I'm going to try something with crab meat in it. 🙂
MandyE says
I pinned this a week or so ago, and I've made it twice now. The first time, I used feta cheese and parsley. Tonight I made the mushrooms into "mini pizzas" with feta, diced tomatoes, and pepperoni. I'd actually wanted to use pancetta, but couldn't find it at the grocery store today.
Thank you so much for the idea! This will definitely be a staple dish for us...so easy and nutritious...easy to play around with depending on what you have on hand...and the whole family loved it!
Carol says
I have a a similar recipe using sundried tomatoes, gruyere cheese, fresh herbs and pine nuts. Just fixed them on the grill last night. Yummy!!!
Stacey says
Made this tonight for dinner for my family and everyone loooooved it! We will defiantly be making this again soon. The instructions were very easy to follow too. =)
Sally says
Yeah! Glad to hear it Stacey! Thanks for reporting back!
Alyson L says
I made these tonight with a bit of a change up and they were wonderful. We had two sausages we had to get cooked in the next few days so I added them in on a whim and WOW!!! I had to fight my 14month old for the last bits then he stole my bowl to clean it out. And he is a super picky eater!!
I am going to make them again as a side dish when my family comes. I loved this. And so simple to make.
Aninas Recipes says
Love the combination of ingredients in this recipe. I think your post is most informative. Thank you!
Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com says
That looks ridiculously good! I'm a mushroom-holic. Do you think that filling would work well for regular mushrooms?
Sally says
Hi Natasha, sure it would work with regular mushrooms. Just get the biggest ones you can find for plenty of room and pop the stems out to make a hollow area to fill. I'm a mushroom-holic too!
Amelia says
Looks delicious, I love mushrooms! Is there some reason why you remove the gills? Is it just for space?
Sally says
Hi Amelia. Yes, cleaning out the gills gives extra space. I think it's more appetizing as well. You can try it with the gills in if you prefer.
Beth @ Aunt B's Kitchen says
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. I've featured it in my News of the Day today.
Val @ Tips on Healthy Living says
These are so luscious and pretty darn healthy! I bet they'd work in the grill too. I might grill the cap side then fill them up and put them back on the grill.
Peggy says
These look amazing! Keeping them in mind for next meatless Monday =)
A Table in the Sun says
These look like the perfect appetizer for a retirement party I'm throwing. How can you lose with goat cheese, tomatoes, and portobellas!
Shut Up & Cook says
These look fantastic!
Looking forward to meeting you tomorrow at the BlogHer dinner at Canlis. If you've never been you're in for a treat!
Carrie says
These are so lovely. I adore stuffed portabellas of any type, and I'm loving the goat cheese/oven roasted tomato combination here. So pretty.
Madonna says
Your attention to detail makes your food look so appetizing. Thanks for another recipe to try.