These baked portobello mushroom pizzas use large portobello mushroom caps instead of pizza crust for a quick and easy dinner with plenty of veggies! Topped with mozzarella cheese, tomato, and fresh basil. Vegetarian.
We love a quick homemade pizza crust as much as the next person (maybe more!) but sometimes, we're just craving an extra dose of veggies alongside our favorite pizza toppings.
Enter: these easy pizza stuffed portobello mushrooms!
Large portobello (sometimes spelled portobella or portabella) mushroom caps are the perfect veggie "crust" for your favorite pizza toppings. Portobello pizza crust is an easy gluten free pizza crust option, and the mushroom caps are sturdy enough to hold a generous scoop of cheese and veggies!
Our basic order of operations:
- Mix some quartered cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella together with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Spread a layer of pesto over your mushroom caps, then top with your cheese and tomato mixture.
- Bake until the cheese bubbles, then top with fresh basil and a drizzle of balsamic glaze!
Pro Tip: We're roasting these pizza stuffed mushrooms in the oven today, but this recipe is also great on the grill!
How to avoid soggy mushrooms
As they cook, mushrooms can release a lot of water - and if they're just sitting in that water while they bake, you end up with soggy mushrooms (NO THANK YOU).
Fortunately, there's an easy fix!
Just place an oven-safe cooling rack on top of your rimmed baking sheet, and set the mushrooms on top. As the mushrooms cook, the rack lets any water drain away so the mushrooms roast evenly without getting soggy or mushy.
Riffs and Substitutions
This portobello pizza recipe is very forgiving and easy to customize! Some of our favorite swaps:
Extra Veggies
- Minced garlic (or roasted garlic!)
- Spinach
- Sliced green bell pepper
- Roasted red pepper
- Sliced onion
- Black olives
- Extra mushrooms
Mix up the cheeses
- Parmesan cheese
- Ricotta
- Buratta
- Provolone
Swap the sauce
- Easy Arugula Pesto
- Pizza sauce
- Alfredo sauce
- BBQ Sauce
- Ranch Dressing
Add your favorite protein
Love this summery recipe? Try our spaghetti squash with roasted tomatoes →
VIDEO: How to make Portobello Mushroom Pizzas
Portobello Mushroom Pizzas
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These easy baked portobello mushroom pizzas are perfect for a quick, easy, veggie-packed dinner!
Ingredients
- 4-6 large portobello mushroom caps, stems removed
- ½ cup pesto
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes
- 1 heaping cup cherry tomatoes, quartered (or 2 large diced tomatoes)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup fresh basil, sliced, for garnish
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar reduction (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°F.
- Place an oven-safe wire cooling rack on a rimmed baking sheet. Place portobello mushrooms top-side down on top of the rack. (The wire rack lets moisture drain away from the mushrooms as they cook to prevent any sogginess!)
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together olive oil, mozzarella, tomatoes, salt, and pepper.
- Spread a layer of pesto over each mushroom cap.
- Divide the cheese and tomato mixture evenly among the mushrooms, gently pressing the mixture into each cap so it stays in place.
- Bake mushrooms at 375°F for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Garnish mushrooms with fresh basil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar reduction. Serve immediately.
Notes
You don't need to remove the gills from the mushrooms here - just press the toppings down into the mushroom and they shouldn't fall out!
Additions and Substitutions. Use any pizza toppings you like here! We like swapping the pesto for pizza sauce, alfredo sauce, BBQ sauce, or Ranch dressing depending on the toppings we're using. Add extra veggies (spinach, minced garlic, bell peppers, onion, and black olives are all good) or add your favorite protein (Italian sausage, ground beef, meatballs, grilled chicken, pepperoni).
Which pesto should I use? We used store-bought basil pesto in these photos, but we also love using this homemade arugula pesto!
Do I need the balsamic vinegar? We love adding a kick of flavor from some balsamic vinegar here. Make your own balsamic reduction or use a store-bought balsamic glaze. If you have an aged balsamic hanging around, older high-quality balsamic vinegars are often on the thicker side (so you can just drizzle it over the mushrooms straight from the bottle!)
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: 6.9 g
- Sodium: 1034.1 mg
- Fat: 16.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 11.4 g
- Protein: 21.8 g
- Cholesterol: 10.2 mg
Sophia,M.,McConnery
Yes I have done so many pizza variations and this can be added to them!
Jessie
Thanks, Sophia!
Agridoce
I discovered your blog recently and today I made these mushroom pizzas. They are great and super delicious! I just posted them on my blog: http://eusouagridoceetu.blogspot.pt/2015/06/das-coisas-que-saem-da-minha-cozinha.html
It's in portuguese, so you won't understand a thing, but I thought you might like to know that your recipes have travelled all the way through the world and have reached Portugal 🙂
Jessie
I'm so glad you liked the pizzas! Thanks for letting me know how they turned out (and for letting me know they've reached Portugal! How fun!)
Catherine
We wanted to let you know we shared your delicious recipe on our 40+ Skinny Recipes To Start Your Year Healthy post! Check it out! Feel free to share on social media! Happy & Healthy New Year!
http://www.theshoppingmama.com/2015/01/40-skinny-recipes-to-start-your-year-healthy-including-desserts/
Catherine @ The Shopping Mama
Colleen
I am making this tonight and it looks so amazing and easy. I love pizza and mushrooms so this is the perfect combination. Thanks for posting it!!!
Jessie
Thanks, Colleen! Hope everything tasted great!
Lisa
I did not feel left out at the dinner table tonight while the kids ate their homemade pizza, on homemade dough. I added a bit of parmesan cheese on top instead of the extra mozzarella. They were divine. Thank you for the idea.
Heather
I'm making these now. This minute. So excited. One question I had though, as I'm a newbie to portobello caps, was I supposed to clean out the "underbelly" and remaining stem? I did to be safe, but wasn't sure. And I forgot to cut in holes.
Laurie
Thanks for posting this wonderful easy recipe! Mine are in the oven now and I know they will be great. No aluminum foil on hand so I used the outside rings of quart jar lids. Used the Daiya shredded vegan cheese.
Sylvia
Definitely yum. Used the extra virgin olive oil, fresh mozzarella, fresh-frozen basil, oregano (gotta have oregano on a pizza), salt, and a little bit of tomato sauce since I was out of fresh tomatoes. The cheese even got some of those lovely lightly browned spots. Will now be sharing this recipe with friends and loved ones. Thank you!
Sylvia
Ah, and forgot to mention that I poked holes in the bottom of the caps to let some of that mushroom juice drain from the center. Still a little bit juicy. Will try bigger and more numerous holes next time to see if it helps.
DiAnn Valliere
I've found if you pre-cook the mushrooms, they are less soggy. I drizzle with oil, put stem side up on aluminum foil and cook in a 375 degree for about 20 minutes.
Shirley Venente
Sonds great - I'm going to try it tomorrow.
Erlyne
So happy to have found your blog via a link from the My Fitness Pal blog! Looking forward to trying this and many other recipes that you've shared. Thanks!
ChrisP
Oh my goodness.. this is brilliant! I wish I'd seen this last week, before I went to a pizza party~~
I'm anxious to try this, it sounds so good!
Thank you!!
Tywana
I'm all over this recipe right now!!! Can't wait 🙂
Christina
Oh I can't wait to try these!!!!
Jennifer Trujillo
I just made these today and they were really tasty! I skipped the basil as I didn't have any on hand.
My question is, even with the rings I found a fair bit of water inside the caps (not sure if that is coming from the mushroom or the cheese) and I am wondering if there some way to avoid that? I used a mix of fresh mozzarella ciglione and shredded mozzarella. I am thinking the mozzarella ciglione might be the culprit. May try the loaf (precious is the brand I think) next time as I love the idea of a softer/fresher cheese.
Great stuff though and really hit the spot. I am hoping the left over hold up a bit for later tonight (dinner)
Jessie
I'm glad you liked them - thanks for letting me know! I find that the water inside the caps can vary from mushroom to mushroom and cheese to cheese. I've sometimes cooked the mushrooms topping-free, with the concave side of the mushroom cap facing down towards the baking sheet so any water drips out of the mushroom caps as they cook. When mushrooms are done, just transfer them to a new baking sheet, flip them over, top as normal and broil for a minute or two to melt the cheese. A little more work, but worth it when you're using particularly watery cheese or mushrooms. Hope that helps!
Mark Kus
Being a pizza nut for over 40 years I thought I knew it all...I used to microwave mushrooms and draining the water before putting them on the pizza's as I love mushroom also...I wanna try this both ways tonight... 1) On a foil stand...2) maybe poke some holes on the bottom 3) pre- nuke and then on a stand.....maybe even sprinkle with some bread crumbs to crisp up the mushroom.....ohh we will be experimenting tonight. Thanks Jessie!
Jessie
Sounds like fun! I'd love to know the results of your experiment! 🙂
Nancy Oblad
So, um...yum! Just made this tonight and it was great! I added about a Tbsp of marinara sauce to each shroom (had it open in the fridge). Then I added a slice of havarti as a cheesy base because my mozzarella situation was low. After that, followed as directed - loved it!!
Jessie
So happy you liked it! Love the idea of using havarti - I'll definitely have to give that a try next time!
Kellie
This is happening!!!! Wow- thanks for the awesome foil idea. Do you ever use sauce with these or are they perfect with out it?
Jessie
They're great either way! Adding tomato sauce or a bit of pesto every now and then is a fun twist, although usually I just leave the sauce off completely.