Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Crispy Goat Cheese
Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms topped with marinara, sautéed spinach, and crispy panko goat cheese medallions. A delicious and easy vegetarian stuffed portobello mushroom recipe that is a reader favorite!
Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
It has been nearly four years since I shared these amazing stuffed portobello mushrooms with you. These stuffed portobello mushrooms remain one of my favorite vegetarian recipes on this blog to date. It was high time they deserved some love and attention.
I’ve tested and re-tweaked the original recipe and procedure to make this dish easier to prepare (one less pot to clean!), as well as updated the post with new photos. These mushrooms have gotten a major facelift and I’m feeling it!
If you’ve never tried this recipe or are new to the site, be sure to bookmark or pin it for later. It has been a reader favorite for years!
These vegetarian portobello stuffed mushrooms are filled with marinara sauce (store-bought or homemade), sautéed spinach, and a crispy panko breadcrumb coated goat cheese medallions.
The trick to the crispy topping is to lightly sauté panko breadcrumbs with melted butter, finely chopped shallots, and garlic. What’s not to love, right?
Find my tips for recipe success, step-by-step instructions on how to make stuffed portobello mushrooms, and helpful equipment notes below.
How to Cook Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms:
Before filling portobello mushrooms, it is important to cook them through and remove some of their natural moisture.
All mushrooms, particularly portobello mushrooms, have a very high water content. Cooking them prior to filling allows the moisture to evaporate and concentrate their flavor.
This step also reduces the amount of liquid they will release later during the final reheating stage. For this recipe, the portobello mushrooms are roasted for 20 minutes at 450 degrees Fahrenheit, stem side facing up, on a standard sheet pan.
It is a very fast and efficient way to cook the portobello mushrooms and ensures that we don’t have one more pan to clean later.
While the mushrooms are roasting, you’ll want to prepare the mushroom filling components: the sautéed spinach and the crispy panko breadcrumb mixture.
How to Pick Portobello Mushrooms:
When picking portobello mushrooms, look for completely firm caps and gills. The skin should be dry and unbruised. Shriveled, bruised, or moist mushrooms should be avoided as they are past their prime.
While you can adjust this recipe to work for any size portobello mushroom, I recommend finding large portobello mushrooms that are roughly 4-inches in diameter and have slightly deeper caps for filling. This will make them easier to stuff.
This recipe calls for 8 large portobello mushrooms. The mushrooms will shrink considerably once cooked.
If you’re serving these as a main course, I recommend at least two stuffed portobello mushrooms per person.
If you’re serving these mushrooms as a side dish or with grains, etc., you can halve this recipe and serve one mushroom per person. It really depends on your appetite!
Tips for Recipe Success:
- If you do not enjoy the texture of mushroom gills, you can remove and discard them prior to roasting.
- To make this recipe extra time-friendly, use a high quality store-bought marinara sauce (thicker is better!). I highly recommend Rao’s Homemade brand. You can also use homemade marinara as well. Please see recipe notes for a basic recipe.
- Be sure to use chilled soft goat cheese (4-ounce log) for this recipe. Keeping the cheese chilled allows it to be more easily sliced into medallions and coated in breadcrumb mixture. I love the tangy, unique flavor that goat cheese lends to this recipe, but you can substitute with other favorite cheeses, such as mozzarella or whole fat ricotta.
- Make This Recipe Gluten-Free: Replace the panko breadcrumbs with a gluten-free breadcrumb mixture.
Tools I Used For This Recipe:
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- standard aluminum half sheet pan
- cooling rack that fits within a sheet pan (*optional, but using one will ensure the mushrooms do not sit in any liquid released during cooking)
- Rao’s homemade marinara sauce (the only brand of store-bought sauce that I enjoy and love)
- panko breadcrumbs
Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Crispy Goat Cheese
Ingredients
For the Mushrooms:
- 8 large (4-inch wide) portobello mushrooms stems trimmed (*see notes)
- extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Sautéed Spinach:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot finely sliced
- 6 ounces baby spinach
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Crispy Breadcrumb Topping:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 shallot finely diced
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 garlic clove finely minced
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For Assembly:
- 1½ cups (12 ounces) high-quality store-bought (or homemade) marinara sauce I recommend Rao's brand (*see recipe notes)
- 4 ounce goat cheese cold from the fridge
Instructions
- Roast the Portobello Mushrooms: Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C) with a rack in the center position. Lightly spray or brush a standard sheet pan with olive oil. Distribute the portobello mushrooms, stem side up, on the baking sheet and brush or spray lightly with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 to 25 minutes (*this time will vary depending on the size of your mushrooms, check after 10 minutes or so to be sure), or until tender. If any moisture collects in the mushroom caps, carefully drain and discard. Set mushrooms aside on a large plate as you prepare the filling and crispy panko breadcrumb topping.
- Prepare the Sautéed Spinach: Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the sliced shallots and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, or until soft and translucent. Add the baby spinach, increase the heat to medium-high. Sauté until just wilted, stirring continuously. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Prepare the Crispy Breadcrumb Topping: Melt the butter in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Once the butter is just beginning to sizzle, add the chopped shallots and a pinch of salt and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Add the panko breadcrumbs and minced garlic, and toast for three to four minutes, stirring constantly to prevent the breadcrumbs from burning, or until the breadcrumbs are very light golden in color. Transfer to a shallow bow and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Assembly: Reduce the oven temperature to 425°F (220°C). Line the same sheet pan with parchment paper (*note: if you have a baking rack that can be set within a baking sheet, I prefer to place the mushrooms on this, as it helps prevent the mushrooms from sitting in any juice that releases during cooking).
- Distribute the roasted mushrooms, stem side up, on the sheet pan, in the center of the sheet pan so that they are just touching each other. Fill each mushroom with a large spoonful of marinara sauce. Distribute the sautéed spinach evenly among the mushrooms, spooning it on top of the sauce.
- Slice the goat cheese into ½-inch thick slices (roughly half an ounce). It may crumble a bit, but do your best to keep it in a roughly round slice. Carefully press the goat cheese slices, on both sides, in the panko breadcrumb topping and place on top of each mushroom. Sprinkle the mushrooms with the remaining breadcrumb mixture.
- Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through and the breadcrumbs are golden brown and goat cheese is just beginning to soften. Be careful to ensure that the breadcrumbs do not burn. Serve immediately.
Video
Homemade Marinara Sauce:
- Using large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once the oil is warm, add the 4 cloves roughly chopped garlic, stirring continuously for 30 seconds, making sure that the garlic does not brown (this is essential). Add 2 tablespoons tomato paste and stir over low heat for a minute or so, stirring continously. Add 2 dried bay leaves and 1 tablespoon dried oregano to the pan, and 1 (28 ounce) can Italian crushed tomatoes, stir together, and bring to low simmer. Cover and simmer sauce for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Tips for Success:
- When picking portobello mushrooms, look for completely firm caps and gills. The skin should be dry and unbruised. Shriveled, bruised, or moist mushrooms should be avoided as they are past their prime. While you can adjust this recipe to work for any size portobello mushroom, I recommend finding large portobello mushrooms that are roughly 4-inches wide and have slightly deeper caps for filling. This will make them easier to stuff.
- If you do not enjoy the texture of mushroom gills, you can remove and discard them prior to roasting.
- These stuffed portobello mushrooms are hearty enough to be served on their own with a simple salad. I find that 2 stuffed mushrooms per serving work well. If you serve these as a side, you can get away with just 1 stuffed mushroom per person.
182 Comments on “Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Crispy Goat Cheese”
I made these for dinner last night and they were so good. Appreciate the detailed instructions especially about cooking them first before stuffing and then cooking on a rack. They were perfect! My husband suggested sprinkling the with pine nuts before serving. I will definitely make them again.
I am literally eating this tonight- one of my favorites too!!!
I followed this recipe and it was excellent!! I used arrabiata sauce and it was so good! I will definitely be making again!!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review.
This was delicious! Full of flavor. I did double the goat’s cheese.
I used leftover classico pizza sauce for the marinara sauce. I put the garlic in with the sautéed shallots and spinach instead of with the breadcrumbs. We enjoyed these !
This is one of the best things I have ever eaten! Thank you so much for this recipe! This will be a new staple in our house!
Easy to make. Great ingredient list. Loved that I could make ahead of time. I did remove the gills of the mushrooms – it does provide more room for sauce and spinach mixture. LOVE the crispy goat cheese. Huge hit! Definitely will make it again!
You responded to a reviewer to first cook the mushrooms cap side up and that you modified the recipe to reflect this. When I went to print the recipe, it said stems up. Which is it?
No stars yet since I haven’t made these but looking forward to giving this a try.
Hi! Wow – you looked super far down in the comments, haha. I think (to be honest, that comment reply is nearly 5 years old so I can’t recall what I was thinking) that I misspoke or mistyped based on how quick the response was. This recipe, years prior, was developed with grilled portobellos and was later adapted to use JUST the oven, so it also could have been me mixing up how I’ve made it in various ways over the years prior. Definitely unintentional!
I responded to someone else fairly soon after saying the correct method for the oven, which is also consistent with what is shared in the full recipe and also instructional video included. Always look to my recipe card for detailed instructions and details, those are without fail going to be the right answer. Hope this helps!
Don’t discard the mushroom juices, a nectar which nature provides for us. Let the bread stuffing soak it up.
We also add finely chopped shiitake ‘s and a little thyme to the mixture but being vegan prevents the fabulous goat cheese.
I made this for dinner tonight, and my husband said, “How have we lived this long without these in our lives?!” These stuffed mushrooms were absolutely delicious! I served it with a side of roasted asparagus and couscous. A perfect meal! Thank you for the recipe!
This is wonderful! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review and I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it.
I took this idea for sides and so also served with couscous(1 cup could have halved it) and asparagus (1lb boiled.)
My daughter is not keen on goat cheese so used cheddar for her mushroom. 4oz (100g) of the goat cheese was still easily enough for the other mushrooms.
Quite a bit of effort to make this meal but worth it! The layerings on the mushrooms were really tasty. Did 6 large field mushrooms which was just right for 2 adult 2 teenagers. Fabulous, thanks.
Thank you for this delicious recipe, Laura. I followed the instructions to the letter with perfect results. I will definitely make this again!
This was so amazing, I can’t even put it into words. I followed the recipe to a T and it was fantastic!! We will define making this again. Amazing!
These are amazing!! They were so simple to put together, quick to make, and beyond tasty. I split the recipe as it’s just two of us which was an easy conversion. We will be making these regularly! Thank you!!!
I’ve been making stuffed portabello mushrooms for years and they’ve never been so good.
I used gluten free crackers ground up in place of breadcrumbs — otherwise prepared in the same manor. So delicious. Served on a bed of arugula.
Oh yum! I love mushrooms! This is on my appetizers list for Christmas dinner.