Stuffed mushrooms with blue cheese are golden, juicy bites with a creamy, tangy filling and a crunch of toasted sunflower seeds. Blue cheese and cream cheese mash together into a savoury stuffing that melts into the mushroom caps as they bake. Twelve appetisers, one baking dish, and everyone hovering around the oven.
The toasted flavor of the sunflower seeds nicely complements the blue cheese in this stuffing. This version is more cheesy and just as delicious.
SERVES 4
2 tablespoons (30 ml) raw sunflower seeds
12 large mushrooms
¼ cup crumbled blue cheese
¼ cup cream cheese
2 tablespoons (30 ml) milk
2 tablespoons (30 ml) fine bread or cracker crumbs
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Put the sunflower seeds in a baking dish large enough to hold the 12 mushrooms (to save you from dirtying an extra pan) and toast them in the oven until lightly golden, about 7 minutes.
- Remove the stems from the mushrooms and reserve for another use. Wipe the mushroom caps clean with a damp cloth.
- Mash the blue cheese, cream cheese, and milk in a medium bowl until smooth. Stir in the toasted sunflower seeds and bread crumbs.
- Fill each mushroom cap with this mixture. Butter the baking dish and arrange the mushroom caps within. May be prepared to this point up to 24 hours in advance, covered, and chilled. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden on top and juicy. Serve immediately.
Pro Tips
- Toast the sunflower seeds in the same dish you'll bake the mushrooms in — it saves washing up and the toasty flavour carries the blue cheese beautifully.
- Wipe the mushroom caps with a damp cloth instead of rinsing them; mushrooms act like sponges and waterlogged caps steam instead of roasting.
- Save the stems for stock or an omelette — they're perfectly good, and the caps need the room for the filling anyway.
- Assemble up to twenty-four hours ahead and chill. They bake straight from the fridge in the same fifteen to twenty minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I use instead of blue cheese?
Goat cheese gives a similar tang, or feta for a saltier bite. Cream cheese alone makes a milder filling for blue-cheese skeptics.
Can I make these vegetarian-styled without cheese?
The filling is cheese-based, but a mix of mashed avocado and sunflower seeds with lemon juice makes a surprisingly good dairy-free stuffing.
How do I know when they're done?
Fifteen to twenty minutes at 400°F — the caps should be juicy and yielding, and the filling golden on top with a little bubbling at the edges.
Can I freeze stuffed mushrooms?
Freeze them unbaked on a tray, then bag them. Bake from frozen, adding five minutes — the filling holds up beautifully.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Put the sunflower seeds in a baking dish large enough to hold the 12 mushrooms (to save you from dirtying an extra pan) and toast them in the oven until lightly golden, about 7 minutes.
- Remove the stems from the mushrooms and reserve for another use. Wipe the mushroom caps clean with a damp cloth.
