I’m all about celebrating the holidays this year with delicious and wonderful appetizers – even if you are just sharing them with your immediate family! These Crab Stuffed Mushrooms are the perfect mix of fancy, but also easy to make.
While some recipes like to use larger mushrooms for stuffing, I prefer smaller mushrooms for these since the crab and cheese filling is so rich and flavorful. Also, smaller mushrooms mean that these are bite-sized!
Sure, it’s a little more work to prep 30 small mushrooms instead of a dozen larger mushrooms, but I think it’s a worth-it trade.
Try out these Crab Stuffed Mushrooms if you are looking for something special to add to your menu for New Years!
What kind of crab works well for these mushrooms?
There is a lot of crab meat on the market these days. I wouldn’t recommend using fresh crab (and picking it yourself) for a recipe like this. Leave that sort of appetizer for dipping in butter and eating on its own! I would not use fresh crab meat for these mushrooms.
I do prefer lump crab meat for these though, which is a little pricier but has good flavor and a really nice texture. As long as you don’t overmix the filling, you will be left with wonderful chunks of crab in your mushroom caps.
Other ingredient options for stuffed crabs
Here are some of the other ingredients I use in my stuffed mushrooms.
- Crab Meat – Obviously!
- Cream cheese – This holds the filling together well.
- Scallions or green onions – For some nice onion bite.
- Cheddar cheese – Goes surprisingly well with the crab.
- Old Bay – My favorite seasoning to use with crab.
- Bread crumbs – For a crunchy topping. You could also use panko breadcrumbs.
How to Make Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
I like to use lump crabmeat for these so you get nice chunks of crab in the mushrooms.
The filling for these stuffed mushrooms has some really classic flavors. I like the mix of creamy ingredients: cream cheese, mayonnaise, and cheddar cheese. Mix this stuff together in a medium bowl with green onions, old bay seasoning, and maybe a pinch of salt and pepper (taste it and adjust).
At this point you could add a splash of lemon juice to the mixture or some minced garlic if you wanted to alter the flavors of the filling a bit. You can make it your own to some degree.
Filling these white button mushrooms is a labor of love for sure. Use a paring knife to hollow out the mushrooms stems and then really stuff them full.
While you might be tempted to get big mushrooms so you have less to fill, don’t do it! Smaller mushrooms actually work better in my opinion so they are almost bite-sized.
It’s more filling and prepping that way, but I like a smaller mushroom for appetizers.
You should get around 30 stuffed mushrooms out of the batch of filling, but of course that can vary quite a bit based on the size of mushrooms you end up using and how full you stuff them!
Sprinkle the stuffed mushrooms with breadcrumbs and bake them in a lightly greased baking dish at 375˚F for 20-25 minutes until the mushrooms are tender and the tops are browned and bubbling.
Let these cool for a few minutes before serving them up!
What to do with mushroom leftovers
After you clean and prep your button mushrooms, you will be left with a few cups of mushroom stems. Depending on my mood, I’ll do a few things with these or occasionally just compost them.
First, you can add them to a vegetable stock to make the stock more savory and rich.
Second, you can keep the mushroom stems in the fridge for a few days and use them for stir fry or for something like a mushroom omelet!
Some people like to chop the mushroom stems and add that back into the filling for the mushrooms, but I think that kind of ends up hiding the crab flavors in the filling.
Can you make these in advance?
If you want to make these stuffed mushrooms in advance, they hold up really well and store fine in the fridge for a few days.
Personally, I think it’s best to prep the mushrooms and filling, but keep them seperate until you are ready to bake them. That’s the best way to ensure they don’t get mushy and start to break down. I wouldn’t make them more than two days in advance like this.
Reheating leftovers
Reheat the mushrooms in a warm oven for 10 minutes or so until they are warmed through.
While you can microwave them, I have a pretty firm don’t-microwave-crab rule at my house so I stick to reheating them in the oven!
Have a great New Years week everybody!
- For some different stuffed recipes, try these Sausage Stuffed Pasta Bites or these Stuffed Shishito Peppers!
Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 6 ounces Lump Crabmeat
- 4 scallions, minced
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- ½ cup grated sharp cheddar
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 pound smaller white button mushrooms
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375˚F. In a medium bowl, stir together Bumble Bee® Lump Crabmeat, scallions, cream cheese, mayonnaise, cheddar, and Old Bay seasoning.
- Rinse white button mushrooms well and dry them off. Then use a paring knife to hollow out the mushrooms. Spoon the crab filling into each mushroom until it full and has a slight mound on each mushroom. Sprinkle the mushrooms with breadcrumbs.
- Bake the mushrooms for 20-25 minutes until they are golden brown on top and bubbling.
- Let mushrooms cool slightly before serving, but serve while warm.
- NOTE: I like to use a smaller mushroom for these so the appetizers are bite-sized and easy to pick up. Feel free to use larger mushrooms if you want to make these an entrée and eat them fork and knife style.
- Leftover mushrooms store well in the fridge for a few days. Reheat in a 325˚F oven until warmed through.
Lisa
These look delicious! I’ve found that a grapefruit spoon is a great tool for scooping out the mushroom stems.
Nick
Great idea!!
Jeff the Chef
Perfect for having a few friends over! Thanks!