These delicious Italian Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms are the perfect bite-sized appetizer for any party. These are so flavorful and filled with filling sausage and mushroom bread stuffing baked to a tender but crispy perfection.
Looking for more delicious appetizers? Try our Creamy Mushroom Mascarpone Soup, Antipasto Caprese Skewers, or Veggie Stromboli!
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Bite-Sized Holiday Appetizers
I love to make sure we have some one-bite appetizers at the table during big dinner parties or the holidays, especially Thanksgiving. Our family is known for filling up on appetizers and barely touching the turkey. Usually, we have Pepperoni Bread (Stromboli) and Italian Sausage Bread as a start, but as our family get-togethers have gotten smaller, I've been shrinking the apps!
These Italian Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms aren't too filling and are just a little bite of deliciousness. They pair perfectly with some of our other small-bite appetizers like Bourbon Candied Pecans, Fried Cauliflower Cakes, and Eggplant Caponata. If you're looking for a bigger stuffed mushroom, try our Baked Italian Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms.
My grandma would make these every year, and like anything else mushroom-related, I swore I hated them before I even tried them. But even so, getting your kids to start scooping out the inside like we did is a great way to get them closer to eating that whole mushroom!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Sweet Italian Sausage. You can use any sausage you like, whether it's sweet Italian, mild, or hot Italian. You can also make your own ground stuffing if you combine pork with Homemade Italian Sausage Seasoning.
- Cube Stuffing. Our family has always used cube stuffing, but you can substitute the original stuffing as well. I've also used stuffing mixtures from local bakeries before, and that is a huge upgrade if you're looking for more of a homemade-style stuffing.
- Mushrooms. A lot of people make stuffed mushrooms with "stuffing mushrooms," which are just large white button mushrooms. I always find them a bit fleshy and prefer the bite-size feel of a baby bella mushroom, even though they can't be stuffed with as much stuffing.
- Homemade Stuffing. We only make stuffed mushrooms when we're making a batch of homemade Thanksgiving Italian Sausage Stuffing. Check out our Thanksgiving Italian Sausage Stuffing Recipe to make a larger batch of stuffing for your mushrooms.
*Please see the recipe card below for more information on ingredients.
How to Make Italian Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms
Start by pouring the chicken broth into a pot and bringing it to a simmer. Remove all of the stems from the mushrooms. I like to chop them up and add them to the stuffing.
Step 1: Bring a large saucepan to medium heat. Add the butter. Once the butter stops frothing, stir in the chopped celery and onion. Sauté until soft, about 8 minutes. Then add in the garlic, poultry seasoning, and salt. Sauté for 1 more minute.
Step 2: Stir in the chopped mushroom stems and saute for another 3-5 minutes, or until the mushrooms soften. The mushroom stems will release some water, and once that evaporates, you can move on!
Step 3: Remove the sausage from the casing and add it to the pan. Break it apart with a wooden spoon into the smallest pieces possible. It has to be small enough to crumble and fit in the mushrooms. Brown it all the way through.
Step 4: Preheat the oven to 375 ℉. Add ½ cup of stuffing cubes to the mixture along with ½ cup of broth. Stir and combine until all of the broth is absorbed.
Step 5: Repeat this process, adding stuffing and broth together, until you use all of the broth and all of the stuffing. Once the stuffing comes together and the cubed stuffing is starting to mash together, remove the saucepan from the heat.
Step 6: Let the stuffing cool slightly and then use a spoon to stuff the mushrooms with the mixture. Place the stuffed mushrooms on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Step 7: The edges of the stuffing should be crispy. Remove and serve immediately. This appetizer is perfect to serve along with some Homemade Shrimp Cocktail and Easy Steamed Artichokes.
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Pro-Tips
- It's a lot easier to stuff the mushrooms when you let the stuffing cool for a few minutes before you try to stuff them.
- Slowly add the chicken broth and cube stuffing a little at a time to help the stuffing come together. Wait until it completely absorbs each time before you add more broth and stuffing. If you add it all at once, the stuffing will be all one texture and too mushy.
Recipe FAQs
Stuffed mushrooms are filled with bread or rice stuffing, sausage, celery, onion, and mushrooms.
Don't salt the stemmed mushrooms. Don't rinse the mushrooms. Use a wet paper towel to wipe the mushrooms prior to cooking.
Yes, stuff them and freeze them prior to baking. To thaw, place in the refrigerator for 12 hours and then bake. Frozen mushrooms will be more soggy than freshly made.
I bake them at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes for a crispy exterior, but if you are using a large mushroom, I'd increase the temperature to 400.
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.
Italian Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
Equipment
- 1 large saucepan
- 1 medium pot
- 1 baking sheet
Ingredients
- ½ lb sweet Italian Sausage
- 6 oz Pepperidge Farm Cube Stuffing
- 1 stalks celery, chopped
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- 12 oz Baby Bella mushrooms
- 1 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ½ tablespoon poultry seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Pour the chicken broth in a pot and bring to a simmer. Remove all of the stems from the mushrooms. I like to chop them up and add them to the stuffing.
- Bring a large saucepan to medium heat. Add the butter or olive oil. Once hot, stir in the chopped celery and onion. Saute until soft about 8 minutes. Then add in the garlic, poultry seasoning, and salt. Saute for 1 more minute. Stir in the chopped mushroom stems and saute for another 3-5 minutes, or until the mushrooms soften.
- Remove the sausage from the casing and add it to the pan. Break it apart with a wooden spoon. into the smallest pieces possible. It has to be small enough to crumble and fit in the mushrooms. Brown it all the way through.
- Preheat the oven to 375 ℉. Add ½ cup of stuffing to the mixture along with ½ cup of broth. Stir and combine until all of the broth is absorbed. Repeat this process, adding stuffing and broth together, until you use all of the broth and all of the stuffing.
- Once the stuffing comes together and the cubed stuffing is starting to mash together, remove the saucepan from the heat.
- Let the stuffing cool slightly and then use a spoon to stuff the mushrooms with the mixture. Place the stuffed mushrooms on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. The stuffing should be crispy. Remove and serve immediately.
Notes
- If you have ground pork, you can make your own sausage mix. Just use our Homemade Italian Sausage Seasoning recipe.
- When stirring in the broth and stuffing, work slowly, and make sure there is no dry stuffing left in the saucepan before adding more stuffing. You want to make sure all of the broth is absorbed and the stuffing is well mixed.
- Mix the stuffing often once you start adding the stuffing cubes, because it will stick once the stuffing cubes are added.
Malinda Rossi says
Easy and delicious!
Vincent DelGiudice says
These are my favorite bite-sized appetizer for the holidays! If you give it a try, leave a comment here!