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 started cooking in the early 70s in the UK when there was a famous quote: “Life is too short to stuff a mushroom”. Not these mushrooms! Delicious recipe with lovely fresh flavours well worth the small amount of time to make. Just wish I’d found it sooner!
Tasty but a little longer than an hour prep if you’re not an experienced cook. Also, watch the salt 🧂 if you aren’t used to Kosher you can easily over salt, as I may have. I substituted Feta that may have added to the saltiness as well. Overall, very satisfied with my end product. 😊
Did you use Diamond Crystal? It is actually the least dense – but if you used Morton’s that would be problematic! But feta is substantially more salty than goat cheese, so I’m guessing that was the main contributor. Glad you liked them!!
I’m in the middle of eating these delicious stuffed mushrooms. A pretty easy recipe to create a very nutritious meal with a salad on the side. I didn’t have portobello mushrooms in my fridge and because I live in the country and did not want to go for a drive to the local grocery store, I used regular mushrooms and made 10 stuffed mushrooms for 2 people. I actually just finished 5 of them! (my share) My husband better hurry home soon or his will be gone too! lol Thank you so much Laura for this amazing recipe!
I love this! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
Tasty. I made to recipe and served over birds nest pasta. We loved it, but found the goat cheese a little overpowering. I’ll either use crumbles next time or a different cheese. We were absolutely stuffed with 2 4” mushrooms
Absolutely delicious! Made this exactly as the recipe stated and it was perfect to the last bite. This will a go-to for us! Thanks so much for the awesome recipe.
Thanks so much Lisa! I’m thrilled to hear that you enjoyed it!
Amazing! We have made this recipe many times, everyone loves it. Sometimes I add a layer of spicy Italian sausage (removed casings, crumbled and fried) between the marinara and spinach layers. Either way this recipe is one we will make again and again, it’s just so fantastic! Thank you!
THIS IS AMAZING!! Always the go to for family meals. Thank you so much!
These were so delicious and amazing!
Loved it! I actually added a can of cannellini beans to the spinach to add a bit more protein and it was delicious!
Yum! This is a great idea.
Hi there!
Curious as what you might pair with these? Some pasta?
Thanks!
They’re honestly very satisfying and filling on their own with a big salad or maybe a crusty loaf of bread. But something like a simple orzo would be good too!
If you’re making these as a first course for a dinner party can you pre-assemble them and refrigerate until you are ready to heat and serve? Really looking forward to trying you recipe.
I think you definitely could – but I would wait to add the panko/goat cheese until just before they go into the oven, so that the breadcrumbs don’t get soggy. Hope this helps!
This was absolutely amazing. I was able to get the pickiest of eaters in my household to enjoy this dish. Thank you so much for this delightful tasty healthy recipe. I will definitely be coming back to your site for more fun dishes. Loved it. I can taste it as i write this, YUM.
Can you use artichoke hearts instead of spinach?
Sure! That would be great. I’d chop them up!
Hello and big thanks, my version is different but majorly benefitted from your descriptions. Especially the part of roasting the mushrooms to dry them. After that, I used some balsamic to replace your marinara, and proceeded with sautéed spinach with the chopped mushroom stems, and the chèvre slices covered in the toasted panko. Kudos to you, just brilliant. We shared a baked potato and for a weeknight meal felt very treated. Thanks again, celesta
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe. It’s now my favorite way to prepare portobellos. I also appreciate your thoughtful recipes notes, especially regarding cooking times.
Hey Laura,
Tried your stuffed portobello mushrooms for dinner last night and they were absolutely delishhhhhhh `!!!! Followed your recipe exactly and my daughter loved it – so a huge thank you. It’s so easy to make so its definitely going on the menu when my large foodie family visit me in August.
Will definitely try out your other recipes.
Can I use pasta sauce instead of marinara sauce?
They’re basically the same thing, just make sure it isn’t a super thin one!
Amazingly delicious and also beautiful! This is def 5 stars, thank you!
Yum!Yum!
Excellent! Since I’m a strong believer in the power of culinary herbs, I added a teaspoon of dried basil (California sweet) and enjoyed tremendously! Thank you for sharing…