We are heading into the time of year when I start making a lot of appetizers. The holiday parties are going to be starting. You always need apps for before Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners. And New Years is all about the appetizers to me. I’m just warning you that there will be more appetizers here from now until the end of the year!
And these mushrooms – ladies and gentlemen – are a recipe that you want in your holiday arsenal. Believe me – you will make these and watch them dissappear. And you will be the most popular person at the party. I’m not even kidding you.
You might wonder why these are so good – the ingredients are quite basic, and probably not very different than a lot of stuffed mushroom recipes out there. But I’m going to give you the big secret – and please don’t get grossed out because it totally makes a difference.
You don’t drain the fat from the sausage.
That sausage fat is the secret ingredient. It’s what keeps these mushrooms moist and full of flavor. If you take that out, you’ll end up with dry, run of the mill mushrooms. Please just trust me on this one.
The other secret ingredient? This cheese. I have actually made these mushrooms dozens of times over the years, but this is the first time I have added the grated cheese to the top. But I recently discovered this cheese – and I’m not kidding you – it is now one of my favorite cheeses ever. I recently had the honor of accompaning a small group of bloggers to a local dairy farm here in Utah. This same dairy farm started making their own artisan cheese a year ago. (More on this coming up tomorrow!!) We were able to taste test several different cheeses, and let’s just say – I could never live without cheese, and ate way more than my fair share of those samples.
I couldn’t leave without purchasing 2 of my favorites that I tasted that day – a juustoleipa (which is amazing when it is lightly fried on a griddle), and this aggiano, which is a hard, aged cheese. Kind of like a Parmesan, but oh, so good.
I thought and thought about what I wanted to do with it. I knew I needed to incorporate it into a recipe somehow, or I’d just end up eating the whole thing just plain. And all of a sudden, these mushrooms popped into my head. Which is kind of funny, because I don’t normally top them with any cheese. But more cheese is never a bad thing! I loved the nutty finish the cheese brought, and thought that these were one of the best batches of mushrooms I had ever made!!
An easy and crowd pleasing appetizer - fresh mushrooms are stuffed with sausage and cream cheese.
Ingredients
- 12-16 oz sausage
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 teaspoon ground sage
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
- 1 1/2 - 2 lbs mushrooms, stems removed and cleaned
- 3-4 tablespoons grated Aggiano (or any hard, aged cheese, such as Parmesan)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- In a medium skillet, cook the sausage until browned and cooked, through, breaking it up as it cooks. Do not drain.
- In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, sage and parsley. Pour the sausage over the top (including the grease) and mix until combined.
- Place the mushrooms, top side down, in a large baking dish. Fill the center of each mushroom with a large scoop of the sausage mixture. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, top evenly with the grated Aggiano, and return to the oven for about 5 more minutes.
- Allow the mushrooms to sit in the pan for 5-10 minutes to soak up any juices before serving warm.
More stuffed mushrooms that I want to make:
Southwestern Stuffed Mushrooms with Black Beans, Brown Rice and Red Pepper from Cookin’ Canuck
Enchilada Stuffed Mushrooms from Lauren’s Latest
Bacon and Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms from Mountain Mama Cooks
I LOVE mushrooms. A few people have told me I’m weird b/c of how much I love mushrooms.
Always love to see new, yummy recipes with them like this! Such a great appeitzer for the holidays!
@Colleen @ What’s Baking in the Barbershop?!, I am a mushroom lover as well. I could eat them every day!!
I love stuffed mushrooms. and that cheese…oh my!
@shelly (cookies and cups), that cheese is seriously life changing!!
Favorite. Food. In. Life. Ever.
@Bev @ Bev Cooks, you are my kind of girl!!
I am a ‘late bloomer’ when it comes to mushrooms, only starting to like them a couple of years ago. Maybe it was cuz I was never served them with cheese, sausage and sausage grease! ; ) Must make these soon!
@Heather of Kitchen Concoctions, I’m so glad you changed your ways, because you’d totally be missing out without these mushrooms in your life!
We make stuffed mushrooms every year for Thanksgiving. We’ll give this recipe a go! Sausage and Mushroom, I’m sipping Pinot Noir with that!
@Matt mmWine Horbund, these would make the perfect addition to any Thanksgiving meal!
And now I want these for breakfast. Thanks a lot.
@Emily, believe me – if I had any left over, I would have eaten them for breakfast!!
This reminds me somewhat of an old stuffed mushroom recipe I used to make for parties. I need to find that one and do it again – it was so good! And you’re so right about the fat from the sausage. It surely does keep the finished mushrooms nice and moist.
I LOVE mushrooms! And you know that anything “stuffed” is a plus in my book! I can’t wait to make this at my next dinner party – the guests will be so impressed!
I love stuffed mushrooms, these look incredible!
I love that you just used a few flavor packed ingredients to make these yummy mushrooms!
I *have* to make these soon! They look incredible!
ohhhhh!! My mom’s all time favorite app!
My parents always made stuffed mushrooms with sausage for holiday appetizers…the best!
This recipe looks and sounds amazing! I love anything with mushrooms, and couldn’t live without cheese either. One of my favorite cheeses is Pecorino Romano. It is a staple in my house. I must confess, though, I have never heard of this cheese, but will be on the lookout for it now. Thanks for sharing!
Anita
Your picture of that cheese…I love it. I also love appies season!
Mmmm…I love it when sausage fat is the secret ingredient.
I’ve tried so many stuffed mushroom recipes but never with sausages! This one is up next.
I love all things mushroom, and couldn’t live without cheese, either. One of my favorites is Pecorino Romano, which is a staple in my house. I have to confess though, I have never heard of this one. I’ll be looking for it. In the meantime, this is a recipe after my own heart, so I will be making it soon.
Thanks for sharing!
I’m not afraid of a little sausage fat! These look amazing and that cheese didn’t last long in my house. I ate it with sliced apples and peanut butter for days in a row until it was gone. So darn good.
Oh my gosh. I’m totally making this for dinner tonight.
These are definitely going on my holiday menu! YUM! Thanks for sharing these wonderful little appetizers.
-Shannon
Gorgeous! And appetizers are definitely my favorite thing to make for Thanksgiving. I mean the turkey is cool too, but it’s the appetizers where you really get to have fun.
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I’m definitely adding sausage to my stuffed mushroom recipe and I will make sure to add the sausage fat too. Wow!!!! We usually make these when we have friends over and always on Christmas Eve. I can’t wait now!
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I made these for Thanksgiving, and they were a hit! I’m making them again for a holiday dinner party tomorrow, but I’d love to be able to do everything the day before, refrigerate the uncooked pre-stuffed mushrooms, and then pop them in the oven right before dinner. Would it turn out the same if I did it this way?
@Elaine, sorry I didn’t get to your comment sooner! I haven’t tried making them ahead of time, so I’m not sure how they would work. Please let me know if you did try so I will know for future reference!
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