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    Home » Recipes » Italian Appetizers

    Baked Italian Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

    Published: Jul 21, 2023 · Modified: Aug 29, 2024 by Vinny · This post may contain affiliate links · 3 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    THESE baked Italian stuffed portobello mushrooms are filled with sweet Italian sausage and covered with a parmesan and mozzarella mixture. Then they are topped with roasted red peppers, fresh basil, and balsamic glaze. What an AMAZING appetizer to serve your guests!

    Try some other stuffing options like using Rice Dressing with Sausage!

    Close up of baked Italian stuffed portobello mushroom stuffed with sausage and topped with cheese, roasted red peppers and basil

    Looking for some more delicious appetizers? Try our Pepperoni Bread (Stromboli), Air Fryer Garlic Parm Wings, or Easy Steamed Artichokes!

    Jump to:
    • Why this Appetizer
    • Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
    • Stuffing Variations
    • How to Make Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
    • Balsamic Glaze
    • Pro-Tips
    • Recipe FAQs
    • What to serve these with
    • More Amazing Mushroom Recipes
    • 📖 Recipe
    • Reviews

    Why this Appetizer

    Sometimes we need a filling appetizer. Not just a couple of pieces of finger food. Stuffed mushrooms are my family's favorite. They are so flexible. You can make them with all sorts of different stuffing varieties.

    The BEST stuffing is always sausage. At our house, we stuff our turkey with sausage (I know that's frowned upon, but you try telling my mother that), we stuff our mushrooms with sausage, and we even stuff our bread with sausage.

    The key to good Italian sausage is fresh seasoning. I like to get mine from the butcher or make it myself. We make an INCREDIBLE homemade sausage.

    Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

    Ingredients for the recipe.

    Sausage. The best sausage for this recipe is sweet Italian sausage. But this is all up to your taste. The glaze and roasted red peppers go best with a sweet variety. You could use our sweet Italian sausage recipe or our chevalatta sausage recipe. Just skip the stuffing of the sausage into the casings step.

    Portobello Mushrooms. These mushrooms vary in size. Try to get similar-sized ones so that they all cook at similar times. I like to take a wet paper towel and wipe them down instead of rinsing them. Too much water can get caught up inside them if you rinse them.

    Balsamic Glaze. The balsamic glaze is easy to make. But if you have a favorite store-bought variety, that will work too.

    *Please see the recipe card below for more information on ingredients.

    Stuffing Variations

    • I love spinach, feta, and olives in a roasted mushroom similar to our Grilled Stuffed Pork Chops.
    • An all-time favorite is chopped broccoli rabe, roasted garlic, and mozzarella.
    • One that I haven't had yet but would love to try is tomato sauce, risotto, and parmesan.

    How to Make Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

    You can have this on the table in under 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425℉.

    the sausage browned with crust

    Step 1: Bring a large saucepan to medium-high heat. Add your ground sausage to the pan. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes to develop a crust. Then stir the sausage and repeat.

    Continue to stir the sausage until it browns and you can't see any pink anymore. Then remove it from the pan and set it aside. The sausage will be finished in the oven.

    mushrooms with stems removed

    Step 2: Prepare the mushrooms, by removing the stem and wiping them down with a wet paper towel.

    mushrooms stuffed with sausage

    Step 3: Place the hot, cooked sausage into the mushroom caps.

    stuffed mushrooms topped with cheese

    Step 4: Then top with the parmesan and mozzarella mixture.

    baked stuffed mushrooms right out of the oven

    Step 5: Place directly in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

    Balsamic Glaze

    balsamic glaze simmering

    Step 6: While the mushrooms are baking, add the balsamic vinegar to a small saucepan and bring it to medium heat. Once the balsamic vinegar starts bubbling add the brown sugar. Stir constantly until you no longer feel the grit of the sugar.

    balsamic glaze thickening with lazy trail left behind after spatula dragged through

    Step 7: Continue to let the vinegar bubble until it reduces by half. You'll notice the sides along the pan will thicken up first. Use your spatula to keep stirring the thickest parts of the glaze back into the mix so that it doesn't stick to the pan.

    Once you can drag your spatula through the glaze and it leaves a lazy trail of liquid, remove it from the heat and transfer it to a heat-safe bowl.

    Step 8: Remove the mushrooms from the oven and top with sliced roasted red peppers. Drizzle with balsamic glaze and garnish with basil.

    Pro-Tips

    1. Balsamic glaze process: One BIG mistake I made when making the glaze is that I poured the balsamic vinegar into the pan while the pan was hot. The sugar particles basically turned to dust! Start with the vinegar in a cold pan and then once it is hot, add the brown sugar.
    2. You can cool the balsamic glaze in the fridge so it will thicken and not leak through the mushroom.
    3. Chop up the mushroom stems and add them to the ground sausage while cooking to avoid any WASTE.
    finished product: mushrooms are baked and topped with red peppers, basil, and glaze.

    Recipe FAQs

    Do you have to scrape the gills out of the mushroom?

    No. You don't HAVE to. But you can if you want to. They are totally edible. I would not bother scraping them out in this particular recipe.

    How do you store and reheat them?

    I store them on a plate tightly wrapped in saran wrap or an airtight container. Then I reheat it by microwaving it if I want it quickly. You can also turn the oven to 350℉, tent aluminum foil over them, and cook for 15 minutes.

    Do I have to use big portobello mushrooms or can I use the baby ones?

    You can do this with baby portobellos. Just make sure to break up the sausage as small as possible.

    What to serve these with

    • I LOVE to serve these as appetizers so I serve them alongside the Italian Pasta Salad, Caprese Tortellini Salad, or Ricotta Bruschetta.
    • Baked Italian Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms are a whole dang meal sometimes, so serve it with a side salad, some braised tuscan kale, or sauteed Italian cabbage.
    • These are great appetizers before a pasta meal like spaghetti carbonara or bucatini amatriciana!
    • Because these are a bit heavier they also go great with seafood recipes like our broiled flounder, cast iron lemon dill salmon, or pan-seared snapper.

    More Amazing Mushroom Recipes

    • Creamy mushroom soup in a cup with a spoon.
      Creamy Mushroom Mascarpone Soup
    • 4 halves of the grilled cheese stacked on top of one another.
      Gruyere Grilled Cheese
    • Chicken marsala with mushrooms served over top.
      Restaurant-Style Chicken Marsala
    • Creamy mushroom pasta on a plate garnished with parmesan.
      Creamy Garlic Mushroom Pasta

    Please leave a comment and star rating below in the recipe card! I love to hear what you think of our recipes. Feel free to tag us on Instagram @vindelgiudice.

    📖 Recipe

    close up Italian stuffed mushrooms

    Baked Italian Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

    Vincent DelGiudice
    An incredibly delicious sausage stuffed mushroom, filled with parmesan cheese and topped with roasted red peppers and balsamic glaze.
    4 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Cook Time 30 minutes mins
    Total Time 45 minutes mins
    Course Appetizer
    Cuisine Italian
    Servings 4 servings
    Calories 558 kcal

    Equipment

    • 1 large saucepan
    • 1 small saucepan
    • 1 baking tray

    Ingredients
      

    • 4 large portobello mushrooms
    • 1 lb Italian sausage
    • ¼ cup roasted red peppers
    • 1 handful basil, julienned
    • ¾ cup parmesan cheese
    • ¼ cup mozzarella cheese
    • ½ cup balsamic vinegar
    • 2 tablespoon brown sugar

    Instructions
     

    Balsamic glaze

    • Add balsamic vinegar to a small saucepan on medium heat. Bring to a simmer and add the brown sugar. Stir until you no longer feel the crystals of the sugar. simmer stirring often for about 8 minutes until the glaze reduces by half. When you run a spoon through the pan, the glaze should lazily come back together.

    Mushrooms

    • Preheat the oven to 425℉. Bring a large saucepan to medium-high heat. Add your ground sausage to the pan. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes to develop a crust. Then stir the sausage and repeat. Stir again and make sure the sausage is browned. It doesn't have to be completely cooked through.
    • Prepare the mushrooms, by removing the stem. Place the hot, cooked sausage into the mushrooms. Top with the parmesan and mozzarella mixture. Place directly in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
    • Remove and top with sliced roasted red peppers. Drizzle with balsamic glaze and garnish with basil.

    Notes

    1. Balsamic glaze process: One BIG mistake I made when making the glaze is that I poured the balsamic vinegar into the pan while the pan was hot. The sugar particles basically turned to dust! Start with the vinegar in a cold pan and then once it is hot, add the brown sugar.
    2. You can cool the balsamic glaze in the fridge so it will thicken and not leak through the mushroom.
    3. Chop up the mushroom stems and add them to the ground sausage while cooking to avoid any WASTE.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 558kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 26gFat: 42gSaturated Fat: 17gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0.003gCholesterol: 104mgSodium: 1310mgPotassium: 673mgFiber: 1gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 266IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 298mgIron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?We'd love for you to Leave a Review!

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    • Mussels Fra Diavolo in a serving bowl with crostini.
      Mussels Fra Diavolo
    • Stuffed Mushrooms on a plate.
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    • Veggie pinwheels baked in a cake pan.
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Bernice

      March 09, 2025 at 8:08 pm

      3 stars
      The mushrooms were very dry. They should have been rubbed with olive oil before they were stuffed.

      Reply
      • Vinny

        March 10, 2025 at 12:01 am

        I'm sorry that happened. I've always found that the oil from the sausage provided enough oil. Plus mushrooms are filled with water, so usually I don't usually use too much oil to cook them.

        Reply
    2. Vinny

      July 23, 2023 at 7:15 pm

      5 stars
      A delicious appetizer perfect for the summer. It's filling and easy to make! Enjoy!

      Reply
    4 from 2 votes

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    Vinny in the Kitchen.

    Vinny DelGiudice, MS CCC-SLP

    My name is Vinny. I am an Italian-American home cook, a photographer, and previously, a speech pathologist specializing in swallowing and voice disorders. I share the recipes I grew up eating in my home and the recipes that I cook for my family. Always From Scratch is about cooking homemade meals and eating with family.

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