Baked Stuffed Mushrooms with Goat Cheese and Thyme
Ingredients
1 slice white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 tablespoons garlic, minced, divided (about 9 cloves)
Salt and ground black pepper
24 white mushroom caps, wiped clean and stems removed (1 1⁄2 to 2 inches in diameter, they will shrink during cooking)
4 ounces goat cheese, softened
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
Instructions
1. Heat the oven to 300*F. Pulse the bread in a food processor to coarse crumbs, about 6 pulses. Toss crumbs with 1 tablespoon of the oil, 1 tablespoon of the garlic, 1⁄8 teaspoon salt, and 1⁄8 teaspoon pepper. Spread the crumbs on a rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and dry, about 15-20 minutes; set aside to cool.
2. Increase the oven temperature to 450*F and line a baking sheet with foil. Mix 4 more tablespoons of the oil with the remaining 2 tablespoons garlic, 1⁄4 teaspoon salt, and 1⁄8 teaspoon pepper, then toss with mushroom caps. Lay the caps, gill side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Roast the mushrooms until they release their juices, about 20 minutes. Flip the caps over and continue to roast until the liquid has evaporated completely and the mushrooms are brown all over, about 10 minutes longer. Remove the mushrooms from the oven, flip gill side down, and set aside to drain any excess moisture.
3. Line a second baking sheet with foil; set aside. Mix the goat cheese, thyme, and remaining tablespoon oil together until smooth and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the cheese mixture to a small zip-top bag and snip off a corner of the bag using scissors. Pipe about 1 teaspoon of the goat cheese mixture into each mushroom cap and top with bread crumbs. Transfer the stuffed mushrooms to the prepared baking sheet. (I was able to press the filled mushrooms into a bowl with the crumbs without the filling falling out.)
4. To store: Wrap the baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days. (If you don’t have room for a baking sheet in your refrigerator, you can stack the stuffed mushrooms inside a casserole dish - one on top of the other - as long as the layers are separated by sheets of parchment paper.)
5. To serve: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450*F. Unwrap the mushrooms and bake until the mushrooms and filling are hot and the crumbs are crisp, about 10 minutes.
Comments
I love stuffed mushrooms and, when planning a meal to go with Tiramisu, they seemed like a great appetizer. Since I was making them for Game Day, I found this recipe in The Best Make-Ahead Recipe which is one of America’s Test Kitchen’s fantastic tomes. Making them the day before worked perfectly, they were delicious when I cooked them the next day and everyone gobbled them up. I was able to make 25 mushrooms with the ingredients here which were great for an appetizer portion. If you’re aiming for a light lunch, you might want to increase all the amounts.
The Best Make-Ahead Recipe