Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms with Ricotta and Spinach

These festive vegan stuffed mushrooms are a perfect appetizer for the holiday season. Umami-packed mushrooms filled with cheesy vegan ricotta, spinach and garlic and topped with vegan parmesan make a perfect vegan alternative to traditional stuffed mushrooms, but are gluten- and dairy-free and so delicious!

These little umami-bombs are great as a party snack or a starter. You can even serve them as a light dinner meal paired with a salad (how about this fall harvest salad with kale, pumpkin, brussels sprouts and apples?)

Why These Stuffed Mushroom Are Worth Making:

• vegan (and vegetarian);
• dairy-free;
• gluten-free;
• healthy;
• nutritious;
• protein-rich;
• packed with umami;
• savory;
• cheesy;
• delicious.

Vegetarian stuffed-mushrooms are very nutritious and packed with plant-based protein.

They are filled with tofu-based vegan ricotta and spinach sautéed with some garlic and topped with macadamia-based vegan parmesan instead of breadcrumbs, that makes the gluten-free as well!

These ricotta-stuffed mushrooms will make an impressive addition to your finger food appetizer table together with these mushroom crostini.

Make sure to check my vegan Thanksgiving menu ideas like vegan Thanksgiving appetizers, soups, salads, main dishes, sides and desserts.

Ingredients

• crimini (brown button) mushrooms (you can use portobello mushrooms as well);
• garlic;
• baby spinach;
• vegan ricotta;
• vegan parmesan;
• Italian seasoning;
• salt and pepper.

While this vegan stuffed mushroom recipe seems like it only uses 6 ingredients (besides salt and pepper), it requires 10 minutes of extra prep work and a few more ingredients for homemade vegan ricotta and parmesan.

Of course you can use store-bought to save time. But if you wish to use homemade, you’ll need the following ingredients:

For the vegan ricotta cheese:

• extra firm tofu;
• lemon juice;
• nutritional yeast;
• garlic powder;
• white miso paste.

For the vegan parmesan cheese:

• macadamia nuts;
• nutritional yeast;
• garlic powder;
• onion powder;
• sea salt.

How to Make Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms

This recipe comes together in just 30 minutes if you pre-made (or bought) the vegan cheeses, and in 40 minutes if you didn’t (see the vegan stuffed mushrooms web story).

Prep work

First, make vegan ricotta and vegan parmesan cheese. You would need 1/2 batch of vegan ricotta and 1/2 batch of vegan parmesan for these dairy-free stuffed mushrooms. You can use the leftovers for vegan eggplant lasagna.

If you are using store-bought vegan ricotta and parmesan, skip this step.

Mushrooms

As mushroom release a lot of liquid while baking, we will double bake them. The first time they will get cooked through and release juices which we’ll use for the stuffing, then stuff them and bake again to combine flavors.

Preheat the oven to 400 F or 200C.

Break the stems of the mushrooms and set aside to use for the filling. Place mushroom caps on a baking sheet (I use a grid over my baking sheet) with the hollow side up (the side where the stem used to be). Bake for 15 minutes or until they release juices.

Filling

While the mushroom are baking, prepare the stuffing. Finely chop the mushroom stems and mince the garlic. Heat a lug of olive oil in a large skillet and cook mushroom stems over medium-high heat for a few minutes, stirring often, then add garlic.

Cook for 1 more minute and add baby spinach to the skillet. If you want the texture to be more fine, you can chop the spinach upfront but I didn’t do it.

Cover the skillet with a lid and let cook until it decreases in volume. Add liquid from the mushroom caps. Let the liquid evaporate by letting it cook for a few more minutes.

In a large or medium mixing bowl, combine the cooked spinach with vegan ricotta, Italian seasoning and add some salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble

Stuff each mushroom cap with the filling (about 2 tablespoons per mushroom, depending on their size) and top with vegan parmesan.

Bake

Bake again for about 10 minutes until they start to get golden brown on top. Sprinkle with chopped chives or other herbs of your choice to garnish. Serve warm or cold. Enjoy!

Serving Options

You can serve these vegan stuffed mushrooms both warm or cold.

• They are great with other finger food like mushroom crostini, eggplant rolls or candied walnuts (make sure to check my favorite holiday vegan appetizers);
• As an addition to butternut squash soup, wild garlic soup, vegan casserole, eggplant lasagna or vegan pot pie;
• On their own as a vegan finger food snack or quick lunch completed with a salad (like this fall harvest salad);
• Serve hot German mulled wine (Gluhwein) with these mushrooms for a Christmas feel.

Let me know how you served these gluten-free stuffed mushrooms in the comments below 🙂

Cook’s Tips

• These festive vegan stuffed mushrooms are a perfect appetizer for the holiday season. They are packed with plant-based protein and umami flavor while being dairy- and gluten-free.
  
• While this recipe uses 6 ingredients (besides salt and pepper) and 30 minutes, it requires 10 minutes of extra prep work and a few more ingredients for homemade vegan ricotta and parmesan.
• As mushroom release a lot of liquid while baking, we will double bake them. The first time they will get cooked through and release juices which we’ll use for the stuffing, then stuff them and bake again to combine flavors.
• If you want the texture of the stuffing to be more fine, you can chop the spinach upfront before cooking it (I didn’t do it).
• Serve them warm or cold with other finger food like mushroom crostini or eggplant rolls (make sure to check my favorite holiday vegan appetizers); as an addition to vegan roast dinner, butternut squash soup, vegan casserole, or vegan pot pie; on their own as a vegan finger food snack or quick lunch completed with a salad (like this fall harvest salad).
• If you ended up with leftover filling, use it these vegan stuffed shells with ricotta and spinach.
• Store the mushrooms in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave if needed.

Recipe Variations

• You can use crimini (brown button) mushrooms, white button mushrooms or portobello mushrooms for this recipe.
• Use frozen spinach for this recipe but thaw it upfront.
• Add fresh or dried herbs of your choice (parsley, scallions, oregano, thyme, rosemary) instead of the Italian seasoning.
• Use kale or other leafy greens instead of spinach. In  this case you should chop them and cook them for a bit longer.
• If you happen to have roasted garlic, add it to the stuffing for an extra layer of flavor.
  
• Substitute vegan blue cheese dressing instead of vegan ricotta for an extra zing.

Recipes similar to stuffed mushrooms

• Vegan Mushroom Crostini
• Georgian Eggplant Rolls
• Baba Ghanoush
• Vegan Quiche
• Fresh Vegan Spring Rolls