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Cheese/ Lunch

Pizza Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

January 2, 2019 (Last Updated: March 24, 2020) by Chris Collins

These Pizza Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms are super easy, quick and great fun to make – They’re also PERFECT for the low-carb community among us! Say hello to your new favourite keto meal!

pizza mushrooms served on wooden chopping board garnished with parsley

The BEST Pizza Mushrooms

It’s a bit of an odd concept at first I will admit, and even as I was developing this recipe I did have my reservations. But let me tell you, mushroom based pizzas are fa-reaking delish. What’s best they’re so easy to make. No faffing about with pizza dough, just clean and gut some portobello mushrooms and you’re well on your way. I mean, you have mushrooms on pizza, so why not have pizza on mushrooms? 🤣

Portobello Mushrooms

Portobello mushrooms are by far the best mushroom to make pizzas out of, purely because of their size. They’re big and chunky, so make a sturdy base for the pizza.

Can I use any other mushrooms?

I’ve used two other mushrooms for this recipe and both work quite well. First is ‘Large Flat Mushrooms’  – slightly smaller than portobello mushrooms, but still large enough to hold a pizza filling. Second is ‘Chestnut Mushrooms’ – these are a lot smaller than portobello mushrooms, but they’ve still got a deep curve that can fit fillings in. You’ll just have lots of mini pizza mushrooms 😁

holding mushroom close to camera with dip and more mushrooms blurred in background

Preparing Portobello Mushrooms

Just like a pizza dough, the mushrooms will need a little TLC before they’re ready to be topped.

Cleaning Mushrooms

Mushrooms can sometimes contain a fair amount of dirt, so it’s important to clean them first. BUT, please for heavens sake don’t wash them under the tap. Mushrooms are packed full of water and washing them will only add fire to the flame (don’t want soggy mushrooms!) so instead just lightly clean with a damp cloth to remove dirt.

Get rid of that moisture!

The single most important step in this recipe is pre baking the shells before you stuff them.

Like I said, mushrooms contain a huge amount of water, which is consequently released when they are cooked. The first few rounds of testing this recipe I did what felt sensible, and merely chucked the fillings in the mushrooms and baked them in the oven. However it soon became apparent that unless I wanted a portobello swimming in water, it wasn’t going to work.

The stuff and bake method works perfectly if you’re using dry ingredients like quinoa or rice, because the extra moisture will actually keep everything from drying out. But with such wet ingredients like melted cheese and pizza sauce, the extra moisture just turns everything a little sloppy.

In such case a quick stint in the oven before you add the fillings will do these pizzas the world of good.

And by ‘add the fillings’ I mean raid the fridge of leftovers you need to use up of course.

How to prepare Portobello Mushrooms (quick summary)

  1. Clean lightly with a damp cloth to remove dirt, then flip upside down.
  2. Pull out the stalk and gut out the gills with a tsp.
  3. Brush both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  4. Prick 4-5 times with a toothpick.
By pricking with a toothpick you’ll allow moisture to drip out the bottom of the mushroom, which is what we want. The holes are small enough for the fillings/sauce to not seep through, yet big enough for water to find it’s way out.

How to prepare pizza stuffed portobello mushrooms - step by step

Making Pizza Mushrooms

When it comes to the pizza part, you can really add any toppings your heart desires! Here’s the usual suspects for me:

Pizza Mushroom Toppings

  • Pizza Sauce
  • Cheddar
  • Peppers
  • Onion
  • Chorizo
  • Italian Herbs

Pizza sauce and cheese (can sub choice of choice) are of course essentials! I recommend herbs, namely oregano, basil or an Italian mix like I use. But other topping ideas are yours for the taking!

How to cook Portobello Mushrooms Pizzas (quick summary)

  1. Place mushrooms on a wire rack above an oven tray. Bake until some moisture is released (6-10mins).
  2. Soak up excess moisture with a paper towel.
  3. Pop on your toppings and grill until the cheese melts!

How to make Pizza Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms - step by step photosTips for Pizza Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

  1. Cleaning – Don’t be tempted to wash your mushrooms under the tap, that’ll only add unwanted moisture to the mushrooms. The best way to clean mushrooms is to grab a lightly damp cloth and clean them that way.
  2. Seasoning – It’s really important to season the mushrooms caps before they bake in the oven, just to avoid a bland finish. All the toppings in the world won’t mask an unseasoned mushroom base!
  3. Chop the veg small – Because the fillings only have a short time to cook under the grill, it’s important to chop your onions, peppers etc quite finely so they get the best chance of cooking all the way through.

What can I serve with these?

They’re great for lunch with a side salad, or, for a more hearty meal check these sides out:

If you’re looking for another delicious way to use portobello mushrooms check out my Portobello Mushroom Burgers! If you’re looking for similar recipes then definitely check out my BBQ Chicken PizzaPepperoni Pizza Parcels and Flatbread Pizzas. But for now, let’s tuck into the full recipe for these portobello pizza mushrooms shall we?!

overhead shot of pizza mushrooms served on a chopping board

How to make Pizza Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms (Full Recipe & Video)

pizza mushrooms served on wooden chopping board garnished with parsley

Pizza Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

These Pizza Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms are super easy, quick and great fun to make. Also they're PERFECT for the low-carb community among us!
5 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Servings (click & slide): 4
Course: Brunch / Lunch
Cuisine: Italian / Original
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 22 minutes
Calories per serving: 134kcal
Cost per serving: £1.50 / $2

Equipment:

  • Baking Tray with Wire Rack
  • Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
  • Tooth Pick
  • Paper Towel

Ingredients (check list):

  • 4 Portobello Mushrooms, cleaned (see notes)
  • 4 tbsp Pizza Sauce
  • 4 tbsp Cheddar, grated (or cheese of choice)
  • 12 small slices Chorizo (or pepperoni)
  • 4 tbsp Mixed Peppers, finely diced
  • 4 tsp Onion, finely diced
  • 1 tsp Dried Italian Herbs
  • Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
  • Olive Oil, as needed

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 200C/390F.
  • Remove stalks from the mushrooms and scrape out the gills with a teaspoon. Lightly coat with oil and give a good seasoning of salt and pepper. Grab a toothpick/cocktail stick and pierce the mushroom 4-5 times. This will allow moisture to drip out during cooking.
  • Place on a rack over a pan to catch the moisture that leaves. Bake for around 6-10 minutes or until they just begin to wilt and produce water. You want to ensure some moisture leaves, but not until they completely wilt flat. Use your best judgement based on the size of your mushrooms.
  • Drain away and soak up the excess moisture with paper towels, then finish building your masterpiece. Use a first layer of pizza sauce, then cheese, then evenly sprinkle the rest of your toppings and finish with a dusting of Italian herbs. Pop back in the oven and grill/broil for a few minutes until the cheese starts to crisp.
  • Enjoy! Oh and maybe grab some napkins. That cheese is gonna be oozey.

Quick 1 min demo!

Notes:

a) Portobello Mushrooms - Try and get the most curved portobellos you can find. If they start out flat, they're going to wilt too much in the oven and the toppings will spill out. Also you can definitely trade out the portobello mushroom with just large flat mushrooms, just consider reducing your baking time depending on how much smaller they are.
b) Cleaning - As 'extra' as it may seem to clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth, do try and avoid washing them. They contain a hefty amount of moisture as it is and cleaning under tap unfortunately will only add to that.
c) Herbs - You can sub your own herbs, my advice however is to definitely include Basil and Oregano. 
d) Finely diced toppings - Because the toppings only have a short amount of time under the grill, it's important to avoid large chunks of onion/pepper just to give them the best chance of cooking all the way through.
e) Baking - You can extend the baking time and completely cook the mushrooms through, which will extract a good amount of moisture. However this massively increases the chance of your mushrooms wilting completely flat. I personally enjoy the mushrooms still with a bit of their naturally curve, just so they contain as much filling as possible. In such case I find the optimum time for this, whilst still draining out some of the mushroom moisture, lies between 6-10 minutes. Use your best judgement for your desired result based on the size of your mushrooms!
f) Calories - based per mushroom pizza.

Your Private Notes:

Nutrition:

Nutrition Facts
Pizza Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Amount Per Serving (1 Mushroom Pizza)
Calories 134 Calories from Fat 84
% Daily Value*
Fat 9.38g14%
Saturated Fat 3.775g19%
Trans Fat 0.107g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.798g
Monounsaturated Fat 3.949g
Cholesterol 20mg7%
Sodium 274mg11%
Potassium 455mg13%
Carbohydrates 5.99g2%
Fiber 1.7g7%
Sugar 3.32g4%
Protein 7.38g15%
Vitamin A 1050IU21%
Vitamin C 15.7mg19%
Calcium 70mg7%
Iron 0.7mg4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition is based on the absence of salt unless stated as a measurement in the ingredients. Cost is worked out based on ingredients bought from UK supermarkets, then divided by the number of servings. In both instances these values are just for guidance. Please check out my FAQ Page for more info.
Tried this recipe?Show me how you got on by tagging @dontgobaconmyheart_ on IG and #dontgobaconmyheart
Looking for more?You'll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook 'Comfy'

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Recipe Rating




27 Comments

  • Reply
    Diane
    September 13, 2023 at 6:35 pm

    Just went through all varieties of possible pizza styles. Eagerly wanting to try all of them for my grandchildren.

  • Reply
    Karlene
    July 26, 2019 at 5:13 am

    5 stars
    Delish!! Just tried this for dinner – both my husband & I loved it! I didn’t have any chorizo or pepperoni so piled spicy turkey sausage, roasted garlic, olives, onion, & cheddar cheese on top of the pizza sauce then topped it off with some shredded parmesan. Next time I’ll make more per person because 1 large portobello mushroom each wasn’t enough.

    • Reply
      Chris Collins
      July 26, 2019 at 9:14 pm

      That combo sounds delish!! So glad you liked them 🙂

  • Reply
    Jacquie M.
    March 24, 2019 at 3:39 pm

    Just became a new subscriber and I can’t wait to try these mushrooms, they look amazing! Thanks

    • Reply
      Chris
      March 25, 2019 at 1:37 pm

      That’s awesome to hear Jacquie, welcome! 🙂

  • Reply
    Ginny
    February 23, 2019 at 1:10 am

    5 stars
    So amazing! I used sun-dried tomato pesto instead of pizza sauce because I had some leftover. It had a lot less lquid than pizza sauce, so it turned out great.

    • Reply
      Chris
      February 23, 2019 at 2:56 pm

      Ginny that’s such an awesome idea with the sun-dried tomato pesto, will definitely give it a go! Glad you enjoyed 🙂

  • Reply
    Martha
    January 21, 2019 at 3:46 am

    Just saw your recipe and please don’t think this is a dumb question, but is the chorizo your using is the spanish type and not the mexican type right? I’m more familiar with the mexican type and it doesn’t slice that way since it’s got more of a paste like texture to it.

    • Reply
      Chris
      January 21, 2019 at 9:36 am

      Hey Martha! Apologies, yes it is Spanish Chorizo. I should have specified (doh!).

  • Reply
    Coni Carter
    July 27, 2018 at 3:38 pm

    Macros please

    • Reply
      Chris
      July 28, 2018 at 11:44 am

      Hey Coni, please find the nutrition card at the bottom of the recipe 🙂

  • Reply
    Chris
    May 7, 2018 at 6:14 pm

    I made these and they are awesome! Thank you for sharing your recipe

    • Reply
      Chris
      May 7, 2018 at 6:17 pm

      You’re more than welcome, Chris! Great to hear you enjoyed them!!

  • Reply
    Laura
    April 17, 2018 at 6:46 am

    5 stars
    Absolutely Amazing. I used pepperoni instead of chorizo.

    • Reply
      Chris
      April 17, 2018 at 10:58 am

      Awesome! Great to hear pepperoni works too, I’ll have to try it 🙂

  • Reply
    Luci
    December 6, 2017 at 3:06 am

    You had me at pizza. What a great alternative to a pizza crust. Yummy.

    • Reply
      Chris
      December 6, 2017 at 9:50 am

      Thanks, Luci 🙂

  • Reply
    Dannii
    December 5, 2017 at 9:38 pm

    5 stars
    This is our favourite low carb pizza option. All of the topping flavour, which is the best part.

    • Reply
      Chris
      December 6, 2017 at 9:50 am

      Totally agree, Danii!!

  • Reply
    Roxana
    December 5, 2017 at 8:58 pm

    5 stars
    This is such a neat idea. I would have to make it vegetarian or use turkey or chicken sausage. Great pics.

    • Reply
      Chris
      December 6, 2017 at 9:50 am

      All those options sound perfect! Enjoy 🙂

  • Reply
    Amy @ Little Dairy on the Prairie
    December 5, 2017 at 7:15 pm

    Great way to lighten up you pizza but still enjoy the flavor!

    • Reply
      Chris
      December 5, 2017 at 7:18 pm

      So glad you agree, Amy 🙂

  • Reply
    Emily
    December 5, 2017 at 7:15 pm

    5 stars
    I’m drooling looking at these, they look SO delicious and so much fun!

    • Reply
      Chris
      December 5, 2017 at 7:18 pm

      They totally are! Hence why I may have accidentally eaten all 6…

  • Reply
    Linda
    April 28, 2017 at 7:00 am

    What a fun and tasty way to serve mushrooms.

    • Reply
      Chris
      December 5, 2017 at 7:05 pm

      Thanks, Linda 🙂

    5 KNOCKOUT

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    YOU'LL NEVER STOP MAKING!

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