Healthy, low carb stuffed portobello mushrooms! Your clean eating menu is about to get even more delicious with this healthy twist on classic stuffed mushrooms. These portobello mushrooms are stuffed with vegetables and just enough sweet Italian sausage to make them decadent.
As a child, there was no savory appetizer I anticipated more than stuffed mushrooms. They only came around at special occasions, served in miniature form, stuffed with Italian sausage, spinach, breadcrumbs, and ricotta cheese and slathered with melted mozzarella. Greedy little brats we were, my brother and I would load up a plate with at least a dozen, then run to the basement or garage to stuff them into our faces before we could be scolded for our gluttony. To be honest, I don’t think our mother really cared all that much – there were worse things we could have gorged on. Had you separated most of those ingredients we were unlikely to touch them, even when prodded with the heftiest of bribes – especially the mushrooms. But baked together until gooey and golden brown we gobbled them up like nobody’s business.
This recipe for Sausage and Vegetable Stuffed Mushrooms is a grain-free, veggie-packed, entree-sized version of the Italian cocktail party classic. They’re part childhood homage, part desperation to use up the half-pound of sausage in the fridge before it went bad. They’re also easy and filling, and come together in less than 45 minutes. Dinner is served y’all.
Sausage and Vegetable Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe Notes
Sweet or Hot Italian Sausage is acceptable here. If you’re feeling feisty, try kale instead of spinach, or sweet onions instead of leeks. It’s all good. I really don’t recommend skipping the cheese. Without a binder like cheese or breadcrumbs, the stuffing’s gonna fall apart. Also, cheese is delicious and you should consume it at every opportunity.
These scale down to an appetizer pretty seamlessly. To do so, start by substituting 12-18 (depending on size) crimini mushrooms for the portobellos. Instead of pre-roasting, simply prepare the stuffing, stuff the mushrooms, top ’em with cheese, and roast them at 400 until the mushrooms are soft and the cheese is bubbling (about 10-12 minutes).
Sausage and Winter Vegetable Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 2-3 tbsp avocado oil
- 4 large portobello mushroom caps stems removed and diced
- 1/2 lb sweet or hot italian sausage casings removed
- 1 large or 2 medium leeks halved and thinly sliced
- 2 celery rib thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 cups fresh spinach coarsely chopped
- 3/4 c. grated parmesan cheese divided
- 1/4 c. chopped pecans
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400. Brush both sides of the mushroom caps with oil, sprinkle with salt and roast, gill side up, for 10 minutes. Flip and roast until the moisture has cooked off and the mushrooms are mostly cooked through, and additional 8-10 minutes.
- While the mushrooms are cooking, prepare the stuffing. Heat a skillet over medium-high. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up the pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned, 6-8 minutes.
- Add the leeks and celery to the sausage and saute until soft, 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, 1 minute.
- Deglaze the pan with the apple cider vinegar, then add the spinach to the pan. Saute, stirring continuously, until the spinach is wilted.
- Remove from heat and fold in 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, pecans, and parmesan. Stuff each mushroom with 1/4 of the stuffing (more like mounding on top, less like "stuffing"). Top each mushroom with an additional one tablespoon of cheese each, then transfer to a baking sheet and place until the broiler until the stuffing is bubbling and the cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
This sounds like the best meal ever. Seriously. I love it! Sausage and mushrooms are meant to be together.