Grilled sausage stuffed portobello mushrooms turn the big meaty mushroom caps into a full dinner with sweet Italian sausage, mozzarella and Parmesan cooked right on the grill. The mozzarella goes into the cap first, the sausage cooks over it, and everything comes off hot, savory and far removed from the usual vegetarian portobello meal.
Italian Sausage Stuffed Portobellos with Mozzarella and Parmesan
I’ve always loved big portobello mushrooms, but they come with this funny association that they’re somehow the vegetarian answer to dinner. Grill one, put it on a bun, call it a burger, and I’m supposed to feel satisfied. I’m not that girl. I’m way too much of a carnivore.
Instead, I took the giant mushroom everyone wants to use in place of meat and stuffed it with as much pork as I practically could.
And that’s when portobello mushrooms really became something I looked forward to.
The mozzarella melts underneath the sausage while it cooks, I added Parmesan to the filling and over the top, and by the time I take it off the grill, there’s absolutely nothing vegetarian about it.
The Decisions Behind This Recipe
- I use four large portobello mushrooms because I want each one to hold a decent amount of sausage and feel like dinner, not like the kind of pork stuffed mushrooms you pass around before dinner. I scrape out the gills to make more room, but keep the stems, chop them and cook them with the onion and garlic so they come back into the filling instead of getting tossed.
- The sweet Italian sausage goes into the mushrooms uncooked. I wanted it to cook right in the cap instead of browning it separately and then stuffing everything back together afterward. The cooked mushroom, onion and garlic mixture gets cooled first and then mixed into the sausage with Parmesan and the seasonings.
- The mozzarella goes into the mushroom before the sausage, where it melts between the cap and the filling as everything cooks. Parmesan goes into the pork mixture and I add more over the top where it can pick up color on the grill. Parmesan is good at that.
- I cook the mushrooms directly on a greased grill grate at 350°F instead of putting them into a pan or wrapping them in foil. The portobellos soften and shrink while the sausage cooks, and I take them off when the center of the sausage filling reaches 160°F. The color on top is nice, but the thermometer is what tells me dinner is done.
Ingredients
- Large portobello mushrooms – Use four large caps because these need enough room for a substantial amount of sausage filling. Choose mushrooms that are similar in size so they cook at about the same rate, and keep the stems because they get chopped and added back into the filling.
- Vegetable or avocado oil – Either works well for cooking the onion, mushroom stems and garlic before they go into the sausage mixture.
- Yellow onion – I use finely chopped yellow onion because it softens nicely in the skillet and gives the filling a sweeter flavor once it cooks with the mushroom stems.
- Garlic – Fresh minced garlic goes into the skillet near the end so it has time to cook without burning.
- Sweet Italian sausage – Use bulk sweet Italian sausage, or remove the meat from the casings if you buy links. The sausage goes into the mushrooms uncooked, so there is no need to brown it first.
- Low-fat mozzarella cheese – I use block mozzarella cut into slices. The slices go into the mushroom caps before the sausage, where they melt as everything cooks. I would stay with a low-moisture block mozzarella instead of fresh mozzarella.
- Parmesan cheese – Grated Parmesan gets divided between the sausage mixture and the top of the mushrooms. Some of it seasons the filling while the rest gets direct exposure to the heat and takes on more color.
- Black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper and sea salt – These season the sausage mixture without taking it too far away from the Italian sausage flavor. The cayenne addition is small but useful. It adds warmth without making the mushrooms spicy.
How to Make Grilled Sausage Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Find the complete printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card at the BOTTOM OF THE POST.
- Step One (prep the mushrooms)
Preheat the grill or smoker to 350°F and grease the grates well. Carefully remove the stems from the portobellos and save them, then scrape out the dark gills with a spoon so you have more room for the filling. Trim off any tough parts from the stems and chop the rest pretty finely because they’re going right back into the recipe. - Step Two (cook the vegetables)
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the onion for 3 to 5 minutes, until it has softened. Add the chopped mushroom stems and garlic and give them another minute or two, stirring so the garlic doesn’t get away from you. Take the skillet off the heat and let that mixture cool before you add it to the raw sausage. - Step Three (make the sausage filling)
Add the sweet Italian sausage, ¼ cup Parmesan, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne, salt and the cooled onion, mushroom and garlic mixture to a large bowl. Mix it until everything is evenly distributed, then stop. There’s no prize for overhandling sausage. - Step Four (fill the portobellos)
Lay 3 to 4 slices of mozzarella inside each mushroom cap, then divide the sausage mixture between the four mushrooms and press it into place. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup Parmesan over the top. This is where the cheese gets very good, because the mozzarella melts underneath the sausage while the Parmesan gets direct heat from above. - Step Five (grill the stuffed mushrooms)
Set the stuffed portobellos directly on the grill grates, close the lid and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. You want the mushrooms tender and the sausage at 160°F in the center. Keep the thermometer in the pork instead of pushing it all the way through into the mushroom, or you’ll get a number that tells you nothing useful.
Recipe Tips
- Look for portobellos with firm, intact caps. A split mushroom can become a much bigger problem once you put a quarter pound of sausage in it.
- Scrape out the gills with a spoon, but don’t get aggressive with the mushroom itself. Portobello caps are sturdy until suddenly they aren’t, and you need the bottom intact to hold all that sausage and cheese.
- Grease the grill grates well. Portobellos like to hold onto things when given the opportunity.
- Don’t use the browned Parmesan or sausage on top as your doneness test. The center of the sausage filling still needs to reach 160°F, so this is a dinner where I use my instant-read thermometer every time.
- If the mushrooms are giving off some liquid as they cook, that’s normal. They’re mushrooms and have feelings about moisture.
- You’ll have half an onion left, which I usually dice up for eggs the next morning. If you bought an 8-ounce block of mozzarella, you’ll also have four ounces of that left, and conveniently, both my gooey pizza dip and mac and cheese pizza use exactly that amount.
Storage and Reheating
- Store leftover stuffed portobellos in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- For reheating, I like the oven or air fryer because the browned top fares much better than it does in the microwave. Heat them at 350°F until warmed through.
- The microwave works if speed is the priority, but the mushroom will soften more and the top will lose some of the grilled texture.
- I wouldn’t freeze these. The sausage would survive it, but the portobello has nothing to gain from the experience.
FAQs
- Can I use hot Italian sausage instead of sweet?
Yes. If you like more heat, hot Italian sausage is fine. I would keep the rest of the seasonings the same the first time instead of automatically adding more cayenne. - Can I make these ahead of time?
You can prep the mushrooms and cook the onion, garlic and chopped stems ahead of time. Once everything is cool, keep the components refrigerated and assemble closer to grilling. I prefer to keep the raw sausage mixture and mushrooms separate until closer to the time they’re going on the grill. - Can I cook these in the oven instead of on the grill?
Yes. Set them on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350°F until the sausage reaches 160°F in the center and the mushrooms are tender. You won’t get the same grilled flavor or browning, but the basic method still works. - Do I have to remove the portobello gills?
You don’t have to because the gills are edible, but I remove them for this recipe. These mushrooms hold a lot of sausage, and scraping out the gills gives me more room for the filling. - Can I use fresh mozzarella?
I wouldn’t. Fresh mozzarella has more moisture, and these mushrooms already release liquid as they cook. Low-moisture block mozzarella gives you the melt without adding more water.
From My Kitchen Notes
Small obsverations from the margins.
- Sometimes making room for something means taking out what was always there.
- There are things that can hold much more than they look capable of holding.
- What gets removed is not always what gets discarded.
- I like when something comes back into the recipe in a different form.
- You can spend years thinking you understand what something is for, and then one small change makes the old explanation look ridiculous.
- I’m increasingly suspicious of anything that requires one thing to do all the accommodating.
- There are combos that make perfect sense once something finally stops pretending otherwise.
- Sometimes the thing that changes everything was sitting there the whole time, waiting for someone to use it properly.
- There are things I wouldn’t have chosen years ago that make complete sense to me now.
Mushrooms Have a Life of Their Own
- Shrimp Stuffed Mushrooms – Shrimp, cream cheese, Parmesan panko.
- Portobello Mushroom Gyros – Portobellos, creamy tzatziki, feta, crisp vegetables.
- Creamy Mushroom Pork Chops – Boneless pork chops, fresh sage cream sauce, lots of mushrooms.
- Italian Stuffed Mushrooms – Italian seasoning, cheese, bite-sized mushrooms.
- Creamy Mushroom Fettuccine – Buttery mushrooms, garlic, Parmesan.
- Pork Marsala – Thin pork chops, mushrooms, Marsala sauce.
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Grilled Sausage Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Grilled Sausage Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms are filled with sweet Italian sausage, sautéed mushroom stems, onion and garlic, with mozzarella underneath and Parmesan throughout. They cook directly on the grill until the portobellos are tender, the sausage is cooked through and the cheese has melted.
Servings: 4
Calories: 554kcal
Equipment
- grill or smoker. For maintaining a steady 350°F (177°C) cooking temperature.
- large skillet For cooking the onion, mushroom stems and garlic.
- mixing bowls (large). For mixing the sausage filling.
- instant-read thermometer For checking the center of the sausage filling for doneness.
Ingredients
- 4 large portobello mushrooms stems removed and reserved
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) vegetable oil or avocado oil
- ½ medium yellow onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb (454 g) ground sweet Italian sausage
- ¾ cup (75 g) grated Parmesan cheese divided
- ¼ tsp (0.6 g) ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp (0.5 g) cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp (3 g) fine sea salt
- 4 oz (113 g) part-skim mozzarella cheese (block) sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the grill or smoker to 350°F (177°C). Clean and grease the grill grates well.
- Remove the stems from the portobello mushrooms and reserve them. Using a spoon, scrape out the dark gills from the underside of each mushroom cap to create more room for the filling.4 large portobello mushrooms
- Trim and discard any tough, woody ends from the reserved mushroom stems, then finely chop the remaining stems.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until softened. Add the chopped mushroom stems and garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer, stirring frequently to prevent the garlic from burning. Remove the skillet from the heat and allow the mixture to cool.1 tbsp (15 ml) vegetable oil, ½ medium yellow onion, 3 cloves garlic
- Add the Italian sausage, ¼ cup (60 ml) Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne, salt and cooled onion, mushroom and garlic mixture to a large bowl. Mix until evenly incorporated without overmixing the sausage.1 lb (454 g) ground sweet Italian sausage, ¾ cup (75 g) grated Parmesan cheese, ¼ tsp (0.6 g) ground black pepper, ¼ tsp (0.5 g) cayenne pepper, ½ tsp (3 g) fine sea salt
- Arrange 3 to 4 slices of mozzarella in the cavity of each portobello mushroom.4 oz (113 g) part-skim mozzarella cheese (block)
- Divide the sausage mixture evenly among the 4 mushroom caps, pressing the filling securely into each cavity.
- Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup (120 ml) Parmesan cheese evenly over the sausage filling.
- Place the stuffed portobello mushrooms directly on the prepared grill grates. Close the grill and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the sausage filling registers 160°F (71°C) and the mushrooms are tender.
Notes
- Choose large portobello mushrooms that are similar in size for even cooking.
- Scraping out the gills makes more room for the sausage and cheese.
- Let the onion and mushroom mixture cool before mixing it with the sausage.
- Grill with the lid closed and check the sausage in the center with an instant-read thermometer. It should reach 160°F (71°C).
- Cooking time can vary depending on the size of the portobellos and thickness of the sausage filling.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Grilled Sausage Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Amount Per Serving (225 g)
Calories 554
Calories from Fat 378
% Daily Value*
Fat 42g65%
Saturated Fat 17g106%
Polyunsaturated Fat 3g
Monounsaturated Fat 18g
Cholesterol 114mg38%
Sodium 910mg40%
Potassium 682mg19%
Carbohydrates 9g3%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 34g68%
Vitamin A 386IU8%
Vitamin C 2mg2%
Calcium 471mg47%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Have you made these Grilled Sausage Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms? I’d love to hear how they turned out – leave a comment below and let me know.
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