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Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms are the perfect finger food appetizer for the holidays. There are so many ways to stuff them, and they’re always a crowd pleaser! I load mine up with chickpeas, walnuts, and cheese to make a healthy protein-packed app that’s full of flavor and crunch!
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These vegetarian meatless stuffed mushrooms are such a great holiday appetizer and they are so easy to make! I love serving them on a platter for a finger food option, or you can serve them with a side salad as part of a sit down appetizer.
Recipe at a Glance
Cuisine Inspiration: American
Primary Cooking Method: Oven-Baking
Dietary Info: Gluten-free, Vegetarian, Vegan option
Key Flavor: Savory with slightly earthy and umami flavors
Skill Level: Intermediate
Why They’re So Good
- Versatile ingredients: This recipe allows room for customization with lots of substitution ideas that I list below or based on what you have on hand.
- Eye-Catching Presentation: How cute is a platter of stuffed mushrooms? It’s so festive and they’re small size makes them so appealing for dinner parties.
- Make-Ahead Party Appetizer: Make the stuffing up to 2 days in advance, assemble them up to 2 hours in advance and then you can just pop them in the oven 20 minutes before your guests arrive.
Ingredients to Make Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms
- Mushrooms: Use medium-size mushrooms like white mushrooms or crimini (baby bella) mushrooms. Look for pretty smooth mushrooms without blemishes or soft spots.
- Chickpeas: Creates a flavorful base for the filling, adding protein and satisfying texture. Use canned chickpeas or cooked chickpeas.
- Walnuts: Adds a nutty crunch and richness to the veggie stuffed mushrooms to thicken it and it balances the chickpea paste texture. Try other nuts like pecans, almonds, or pine nuts. Toast pecans before adding them to bring out the nuttiness.
- Parmesan cheese: It adds a savory and cheesy flavor to the mushrooms, but also gets crispy when based which gives it a nice crunch. Make it vegan by skipping the cheese or try nutritional yeast instead.
- Onion and Garlic: These are our aromatics that really flavor up the mushrooms
- Olive oil: For cooking the stuffing.
- Herbs: I use fresh thyme and parsley but this would be great with sage and rosemary as well.
- Balsamic vinegar: I originally listed balsamic vinegar as optional, but after recently making this again I think the tangy sweet flavor just rounds out the dish so well, so don’t skip it!
How to Make Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms
These vegetarian stuffed mushroom caps start with preheating the oven with a baking tray inside. Then, sauteed mushroom stems, onions, and garlic join forces with a blend of chickpeas, walnuts, and thyme and are baked to golden brown perfection.
Tips for Making the Best Meatless Stuffed Mushrooms
- Choose mushrooms that are the same size. You can usually find “stuffing mushrooms” during the holidays that are the perfect size and even. If you don’t, just try to pick ones that are as similar as possible so they cook evenly.
- Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp paper towel. Don’t rinse your mushrooms. If you rinse them, their spongy texture will soak up too much liquid which makes for soggy mushrooms.
- Cook mushroom stems, onions, and garlic before adding walnuts and herbs. It’s tempting to throw everything together in a pan and fry it to make the stuffed mushrooms. But the walnuts will get powdery if you add them to the pan immediately. Keep them and the herbs until the end for the best texture and flavor.
- Skip the parchment paper. I know that adds to the clean-up, but it’s best not to use the parchment paper so the mushrooms don’t sweat too much. Plus, when you add the mushroom caps on the hot baking sheet, it creates a nice sear on the bottom and prevents sogginess.
- Keep an eye on the mushrooms as they bake. Once the cheese is melted and the mushrooms are tender, they are ready to be pulled out of the oven. Overbaking mushrooms will make them rubbery and will dry out the stuffing.
Frequently Asked Questions
I like to use medium sized mushrooms for stuffing – nothing too big like a portobello as I want them to be served as finger food, and nothing too small so that I can load them with the stuffing! Crimini (baby bella) or white mushrooms both work well. If you want to serve this as a sit-down appetizer with a salad, you can then of course use a portobello mushroom.
Yes, just cook the stuffing up to 2 days in advance and then a couple hours before you’r ready to serve them, you can stuff the mushrooms and cook then or wait until 20 minutes before guests arrive to cook.
You can also make three months in advance and freeze them. Stuff the mushrooms, but don’t bake them. Freeze them on a baking sheet, and once frozen, you can transfer them to a freezer bag and store. When ready to enjoy, bake them from frozen adding a few more minutes to the cook time.
Store them in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, place the mushrooms on a baking sheet and heat in the oven until they are warmed through. You can also reheat in the microwave in 30-second intervals, but I recommend the oven method to help maintain the crispy texture.
These veggie stuffed mushrooms feature a delicious blend of sauteed vegetables, mashed chickpeas, and nutty walnuts, resulting in a savory and satisfying stuffing. With these balanced textures and flavors and the convenience of making it in advance, these stuffed mushrooms will be an irresistible addition to your holiday table.
More appetizer recipes:
- Sautéed Mushrooms with Garlic
- Vegan Mushroom Gravy
- Mushroom Tartlets
- Baked Brie Holiday Appetizer
- Greek Spanakopita
- Mac and Cheese Bites
- Cauliflower Fritters
- Crostini with Roasted Tomatoes
- Baked Feta Dip
If you try this feel good Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories.
This vegetarian stuffed mushroom recipe was originally published on November 22, 2019. It has been updated with new photos and step-by-step images. The recipe has not changed.
Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 18 medium mushrooms destemmed and stems diced
- Cooking spray
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup small onion minced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ cup walnuts chopped
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme cleaned, chopped
- ½ cup can chickpeas
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese divided
- 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt plus more for salting the mushrooms
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F with a baking tray inside.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the onions, mushroom stems and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes or until fragrant and slightly reduced. Add the walnuts and thyme, and cook for 1 minute to toast the walnuts lightly. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the chickpeas, ¼ cup of parmesan, parsley, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and use a fork to combine and mash to form a paste-like texture. Transfer the walnut mixture on top of the chickpea mixture and stir to combine.
- Carefully place the mushrooms on the hot tray, spray with cooking spray and season lightly with salt. Spoon the filling into the mushrooms, and top with the remaining parmesan cheese.
- Bake the preheated oven until the mushrooms are cooked through and the cheese has melted, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.
Notes
- Instead of walnuts, you can use any other nuts.
- Instead of chickpeas, you can substitute other legumes like white beans.
- Make them vegan by omitting or substituting the parmesan.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
A truly vegetarian recipe does not have parmesan cheese. Parmesan cannot be made without killing an animal.
Hi Rachel, there are several brands that use microbial rennet, made from plants which is vegetarian.
Liked by all, even the carnivores. I used wonton wrappers with some leftover filling, and that was a huge hit too. Time-consuming, but worth it.
Ooo, the stuffed wontons sound amazing with this filling; great idea!! Thanks for sharing!
The recipe is OK, but for the love of cooking, please add a recipe jump. In most cases, the first thing a person ever cooks isn’t going to be stuffed mushrooms, and we don’t need a novella, just the recipe. I know you’re trying to make as many slots for ads as possible, but honestly, it’s too much.
Hi Laura, I understand the frustration of having to scroll when you just want to get to the recipe. I actually do have a “Jump to Recipe” button on all of my posts just for that reason. It’s a black, square button at the top of the page next to the sharing options that says “Jump to Recipe.” I hope that helps you navigate the page easier.
These mushrooms were delicious. And the mix of textures from the chewiness of the mushrooms and cheese to the crunchiness of the toasted walnuts worked so well together. It’s definitely a repeater!
Thank you so much! That is perfect. Hope you continue to enjoy!
Made these for a holiday party this year, and they were ok. They were pretty bland, I added in the balsamic dressing and took the advice of another reviewer and added sun-dried tomatoes to the chickpea mash. Still it was lacking much flavor. The recipe itself is also missing directions – had to go back to the “story” to read when to add the balsamic dressing and how to split up the parm cheese.
Thank you for your feedback! When you cook the onions and mushrooms, you can add in more ingredients/ seasonings then because this is where all the flavor in the dish comes from.