Gooey Mozzarella Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Jumbo-sized portobello mushrooms baked in the oven and filled with crunchy Parmesan breadcrumbs, gooey melted mozzarella cheese and surrounded with colorful roasted vegetables. Serve the mushrooms as an appetizer, side, or vegetarian main dish.
I have a lot of hearty mushroom recipes on this site, but if you’re looking for a dish that will “wow” everyone at the table, these stuffed mushrooms are an easy win.
Big portobello mushrooms topped with melty mozzarella cheese and surrounded by savory vegetables look effortlessly beautiful together. Plus, all the ingredients bake together on a sheet pan and can be served hot out of the oven or at room temperature.
About the ingredients
- Portobello mushrooms: Large portabella or portobello mushrooms are actually oversized cremini mushrooms (which are sometimes called “baby” bellas). The generously sized caps are thick and meaty-textured, which makes them the perfect vessels for stuffing.
- Breadcrumbs: I like stuffed mushrooms with that perfect ratio of stuffing to mushroom, without feeling too heavy to eat. Panko breadcrumbs are my choice as a filling base, because they have a pleasing crunchy texture and a light, airy crumb. You can also use coarse (not fine) breadcrumbs (homemade or store-bought).
- Cheese: Who doesn’t love warm, oozy cheese?! You’ll need two kinds of cheese for this recipe: Grated Parmesan for seasoning the breadcrumb stuffing, and mozzarella cheese for the topping. Substitute the mozzarella with another soft melting cheese, such as fontina or provolone.
- Vegetables: A mixture of cherry tomatoes, red bell peppers, zucchini and red onion give this dish a summery Mediterranean flair. Make the dish extra-colorful by using a mixture of yellow, red, or orange pepper and tomatoes.
- Herbs: Fresh chopped parsley enhances the stuffing. Dried thyme (or oregano) complements the earthy vegetable flavors in the dish, and smells delicious as it bakes. If you have fresh herbs, use 1 tablespoon instead of a teaspoon of dried.
Stuffed portobello mushrooms: Recipe rundown
Prep the mushrooms: Wipe or brush off any dirt from the caps with a damp paper towel. Gently pull on the stems with your hands to remove them. Tip: save the stems to make my creamy mushroom soup or broth. The gills can weep dark liquid as the mushrooms bake, so I like to remove them. Use a spoon to scrape out the gills — don’t worry too much if some of it remains.
The cleaned caps make a natural “cup” ready to be stuffed! For the filling, combine the panko with Parmesan, olive oil and parsley.
Put the vegetables, garlic, chili flakes, olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt on a rimmed baking sheet. Toss the vegetables to combine, then spread them out on the pan.
Arrange the caps gill-side up in the pan, nestling them into the vegetables. Fill each cap with some of the breadcrumb mixture. Bake the stuffed mushrooms at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, until the crumbs are golden and the vegetables are softened.
Put on a pair of oven mitts and take the pan out of the oven. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the mushrooms. Bake about 5 more minutes to create a creamy melted blanket of cheese.
Ideas for serving
- Serve the warm mushrooms as a starter or appetizer, drizzled with fresh basil pesto.
- Make it the main course of a meatless meal on a cozy dinner, along with a lemony kale salad.
- For entertaining, bake the mushrooms in a pretty baking dish instead of a sheet pan for a swoon-worthy centerpiece.
- The baked mushrooms can be prepared 2-3 days ahead. Top with the shredded mozzarella cheese and pop into the oven 5-8 minutes before you’re ready to serve.
Gooey Mozzarella Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Make the best stuffed baked portobello mushrooms! The caps are filled with crunchy Parmesan breadcrumbs, gooey melted mozzarella cheese and bake in the oven surrounded by colorful roasted vegetables. Serve the mushrooms as an appetizer, side, or vegetarian main dish.
Equipment
Ingredients
Breadcrumb stuffing
- 1 cup (16o g) panko crumbs
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, plus a little more for serving
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Mushrooms
- 6 portobello mushroom caps, about 1½ pounds with stems removed
- 8 ounces (225 g) cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper, sliced into ½-inch dice
- 1 small (150 g) zucchini, sliced into half-moons
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon grated or finely chopped garlic
- ¼-½ teaspoon crushed red chili pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme, or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- Kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 6 ounces (170 g) mozzarella or fontina cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400 (200 C) degrees.
Mix the stuffing:
- Put the breadcrumbs, cheese, olive oil and parsley in a bowl. Stir to combine and moisten the crumbs.
Prepare the baked mushrooms and vegetables:
- Pull the stems off the caps. Scrape out the gills with a spoon.
- Combine the tomatoes, bell pepper, zucchini, red onion, garlic, crushed chili pepper, thyme and 1 teaspoon salt on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss everything around to coat.
- Nestle the mushroom caps, gill side up, into the vegetables so they lay flat in the pan. Sprinkle with salt to taste. Evenly spoon the breadcrumbs into each cap, using about ¼ cup for each one.
- Bake the mushrooms 25 minutes. The vegetables should look shriveled and the breadcrumbs golden brown.
- Distribute the cheese evenly over the top of the mushrooms. Return to the pan to the oven. Bake about 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted.
- Sprinkle with some additional parsley and serve warm or at room temperature.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- The baked mushrooms and vegetables can be made 2-3 days ahead. Top with the shredded mozzarella cheese and pop into the oven 5-8 minutes before you’re ready to serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 353kcal Carbohydrates: 30g Protein: 11g Fat: 22g Sodium: 374mg Fiber: 3g Sugar: 5g
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
Leave a comment and star rating
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Unbelievably delicious. My daughter made this without the tomatoes for me. I have allergies. Savoring each bite, It was heaven on a plate. Thank you!
I absolutely loved this recipe, it was so good!! I wouldn’t change a thing!
This was delicious!!! The veggies gave the portobello a delicious flavor. Definitely will make this again!
That was a terrific recipe. What a great way to use Portabello Mushrooms. Very tasty. Only thing I changed was that I added onions to the vegetables. I don’t know how this could feed 4-6 people as my husband ate 3 of the mushrooms himself!! Will definitely make again. Looking forward to checking out more of your recipes.
Oh my goodness! Double up the recipe next time I think! This is more of a light main dish, perfect with additional sides or a big salad.