Cornbread + Bacon Stuffing Stuffed Mushrooms
Cornbread + Bacon Stuffing Stuffed Mushrooms marry salty, sweet and earthy into a scrumptious and satisfying party appetizer.
Thanksgiving Stuffing, But No Bird In Sight
It’s all about the sides, isn’t it? In this case, it’s all about our favorite Thanksgiving sides reimagined into fun appetizers for a Friendsgiving Cocktail Party! No turkey necessary!
This mushroom stuffing is made with sweet cornbread and savory bacon…and a little cheese for good measure! It’s a wonderful balance to the meaty, earthy quality of mushrooms.
But, that’s not all…this is also part of the Cozy Mystery Cooking Club collection. It’s a recipe inspired by The Diva Runs Out Of Thyme by Krista Davis. This Thanksgiving-themed story is complete with a scandalous stuffing contest (therefore, a stuffing-inspired recipe from moi)!
{Want a traditional stuffing recipe to serve with your turkey dinner? Check out this Old Fashioned Thanksgiving Dressing recipe!}
Gather Your Ingredients
- Cornbread crumbs — this is a great use for leftover cornbread. Don’t have any or don’t want to make a batch? Grab a giant cornbread muffin from your local bakery instead.
- Cremini mushrooms — you can use white button mushrooms, too. Look for ones that are 1-1/2 to 2 inches in diameter.
- Bacon — your favorite style / flavor will do.
- Unsalted butter — for sautéing the veggies.
- Aromatics — celery, shallot, and garlic bring more flavor to the party.
- Seasonings — poultry seasoning and if needed, kosher salt + fresh cracked black pepper.
- Gruyere cheese — for another flavor element and to help hold the stuffing together as it melts.
Let’s Make a Stuffed Mushroom Appetizer!
- Toast the cornbread crumbs in the oven and cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp. Reserve one tablespoon of the bacon fat.
- Sauté the celery, shallot, garlic and chopped mushroom stems in the reserved bacon fat and melted butter until tender.
- Combine the cornbread crumbs, chopped bacon, and sautéed veggies with the gruyere and poultry seasoning.
- Spoon the stuffing into the mushroom caps, applying a little pressure to really get it in there, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
Helpful Recipe Tips
Of course, they come covered with specks of dirt! To clean them, I simply place them in a colander and spray them with water, giving them a couple tosses with my hands to make sure all the dirt gets washed away. Rather than pat them dry individually, dump them onto a sheet pan lined with a tea towel and shake them about to dry (my favorite way to clean and dry berries, too). After removing the stems, if any of the openings in the bottom of the caps are too small, you can enlarge them a bit by running a pairing knife around the edge.
Some of the stems go into the stuffing mix. Once you’ve separated them from the caps, trim off any hard ends and discard those before chopping the rest.
We’re working with bite size mushrooms, so a finely textured stuffing is best for getting as much as possible into each cap. To achieve this, be sure to finely dice the veggies and cooked bacon, and crumble the cornbread into small crumbs.
When stuffing the mushroom caps, hold a cap over the bowl of stuffing when filling so any spillover falls back into the bowl. Use a spoon to fill the cavity and press the stuffing gently. Once all caps are filled and on the sheet pan, mound any leftover stuffing on top with clean fingers.
Make and assemble your stuffed mushroom a day in advance. Store them covered, in the fridge. Transfer them to a sheet pan and rest on the counter while the oven preheats.
Menus for Entertaining
Get everything you need to pull off 3 sensational parties in our subscriber exclusive eBook! Choose from Cozy Dinner Party, Mimosa Brunch or Game Day Grazing…with recipes, prep timelines and grocery lists.
What to Sip
If you’ve been following the Friendsgiving Cocktail Party series, you’ll know that Sparkling Pear + Kumquat Sangria is the way to go with all of these savory treats.
Any other time you serve these up, they’d pair nicely with a full bodied chardonnay, light merlot, or even a cabernet sauvignon. Basically, you can go just about any which way.
When to Make This
This screams fall holidays to me, but I think it would be a great Easter appetizer or even an ideal starter for a summer barbecue.
If You Love These Flavors, Check Out These Recipes…
- Creamy Mushroom + Wild Rice Enchilada Skillet
- Creamy Mushroom Ravioli with Spring Vegetables
- Pepper Jack Cornbread Waffle Club Sandwich
- Skillet Polenta with Burrata, Burst Tomatoes + Basil Oil
- Bacon + Cheese Pull Apart Biscuits
- Candied Bacon + Arugula Croque Madame
Cornbread + Bacon Stuffing Stuffed Mushrooms
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup cornbread crumbs, just crumble with your hands
- 24 ounce cremini mushrooms, 1½-2 inch diameter, separate caps from stems and reserve both
- 4 slices bacon
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoon shallot, finely diced
- 2 tablespoon celery, finely diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ⅓ cup gruyere cheese, shredded
- kosher salt + fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 250°F. Spread the cornbread crumbs on a sheet pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once or twice to dry evenly. Remove to a trivet to cool and increase the oven temperature to 400°F.
- Chop enough of the mushroom stems to make 1/2 cup.
- In a skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove and drain on paper towels. Drain the rendered fat, reserving 1 tablespoon in the skillet. Add the butter to the skillet and return it to the burner to melt.
- Add the chopped mushroom stems, shallot, celery and garlic to the skillet. Cook until tender.
- Meanwhile, finely chop the bacon. In a mixing bowl, combine the bacon, poultry seasoning, cooled breadcrumbs and shredded Gruyere. Once the vegetables have cooked, stir them into the mixing bowl.
- Spoon the cornbread crumb stuffing into the mushroom caps. Transfer the mushrooms to a baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
Nutrition
Pin for Later! Cornbread + Bacon Stuffing Stuffed Mushrooms
