Classic Stuffed Mushrooms

By Craig Claiborne

Updated Oct. 23, 2024

Classic Stuffed Mushrooms
Craig Lee for The New York Times
Total Time
40 minutes
Rating
4(1,131)
Comments
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This classic hors d'oeuvres recipe first appeared in The Times in a February 1981 column by Craig Claiborne on the then-popular topic of no-salt cooking. Mushrooms, he said, are “the one basic ingredient best suited to a no-salt cookery,” noting a “depth of flavor” and “a meat-like consistency.” We may have relaxed our beliefs regarding our salt consumption, but this more than 30-year old recipe remains a reader favorite. It's also blessedly easy to make. After removing the stems from the mushrooms, you simply sauté the caps with a little butter, lemon juice and black pepper (we won't tell if you add a little salt). Make a simple stuffing of chopped mushroom stems, shallots, garlic, celery, thyme, egg, bread crumbs and shredded Gouda. Stuff the mushroom caps, drizzle with butter and bake for about 15 minutes. See? The 1980s weren't so bad.

Featured in: Soupe aux Champignons (Mushroom soup)

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 1¼pounds mushrooms
  • 4tablespoons butter
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Freshly ground pepper to taste
  • ⅓cup coarsely chopped shallots
  • ½teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1cup coarsely chopped celery, optional
  • ¼teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1small bay leaf
  • ¼cup coarsely chopped parsley
  • 1egg, lightly beaten
  • ¼cup fine fresh bread crumbs
  • ¼cup grated cheese, preferably low-sodium cheese, such as Gouda
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

124 calories; 9 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 366 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

  2. Step 2

    Remove and reserve the mushroom stems. There should be about two cups. Chop the stems coarsely.

  3. Step 3

    Heat one tablespoon of the butter in a saucepan and add the mushroom caps. Sprinkle with the juice of half a lemon and a generous grinding of pepper. Cook, stirring often but gently so as not to break the caps. This is to remove the moisture from the caps. Cook about two minutes. Remove the caps to a platter.

  4. Step 4

    Add one tablespoon of butter to the saucepan and add the shallots and garlic. When they've begun to soften, add the chopped mushroom stems and juice of the remaining half a lemon. Add the celery, thyme and bay leaf. Cook, stirring often, about five minutes. Remove the bay leaf.

  5. Step 5

    Spoon and scrape the mixture into the container of a food processor. Add the parsley and process to a fine puree.

  6. Step 6

    Return the mixture to a saucepan and cook, stirring often, about five minutes. Add the egg and bread crumbs. Cook about 10 seconds, stirring, and remove from the heat. Stir in cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

  7. Step 7

    Stuff the caps with an equal amount of the filling. Smooth over the tops. Arrange the caps as they are stuffed close together in a baking dish. Sprinkle with two tablespoons of melted butter.

  8. Step 8

    Place the mushrooms caps in the oven and bake 15 minutes.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,131 user ratings
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Comments

Lksmith

No need to re-try this recipe; we've been making it for 30+ years. For a heftier filling add crumbled cooked sausage, either pork or healthier chicken and stuff the giant Costco mushroom caps. It becomes a lovely summer patio dinner with heirloom tomatoes and fresh garden greens.

AnnieM

I use 1/2 olive oil and 1/2 butter at each step that calls for butter. I've found that using just half the butter still keeps the needed buttery flavor.

Tracymar

It's so much easier - and just as tasty to make your cheese, onion, garlic etc. stuffing (I've just always made it without the celery or egg, and wiihout a food processor - it all melts together anyway) for large portobello mushrooms. Just spoon out the inside gills of the mushrooms, prepare your stuffing, add it to the mushrooms and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Jennifer

These were so good! A perfect appetizer ... they almost didn't make it out to the guests.

GreenSageSJ

Amusing that Chef Claiborne worried about salt, then loaded up the recipe with 4 tbls butter! I used half olive oil, half butter. Was working with what I had on hand, which happened to include Irish cheddar and ginormous white 'shrooms that had surprised me in the local market. Subbed second splash of lemon with white wine. Took everything out of the pan before adding egg and cheese. Perfect for St. Paddy's weekend!

Carolyn

Made this for Christmas Eve, worth the extra effort - what a difference sweating the mushroom caps makes, removing the moisture really makes these super meaty and flavorful. There was a generous amount of filling which was cohesive enough to pile high in the caps, not sure if this was due to longer stems on the mushrooms or the celery. Overall they were delicious and a big hit in our house. This is a keeper.

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