These Quick and Easy Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms Are a Party in Every Bite

Keep this classic sausage stuffed mushrooms recipe in mind when you’re looking for the perfect savory bite-size passed hors d'oeuvres for entertaining.

These Quick and Easy Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms Are a Party in Every Bite
Platter of stuffed mushrooms garnished with parsley on a green surface. Serving plates, a green napkin and a green glass of sparkling water
Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

Need a Thanksgiving savory snack or New Year’s Eve passed hors d'oeuvres? Open up a bottle of wine or pour some martinis and pass around a tray of these easy sausage stuffed mushrooms. Your friends will talk.

Great stuffed mushrooms pack a lot of flavor into a small package, hitting earthy, salty, and umami notes all at once. They are the ideal party food, so it's no surprise that they've remained popular even as other festive foods have come and gone. At their best, they combine textures—a soft filling, crispy topping, and a tender but slightly chewy and perfectly browned mushroom exterior—and are small enough to eat in one bite.

But at their worst, these adorable umami bites can be soggy, bland, and rubbery, and probably the last thing you want to eat on the party buffet. Luckily for us, our Birmingham, Alabama-based test kitchen colleague Renu Dhar stuffed mushroom cap after cap, testing and tweaking, until she perfected this easy, party-worthy sausage stuffed mushroom recipe. They’re the ideal easy, crowd-pleasing party hors d'oeuvres, but with just 15 minutes of prep time and another 15 minutes in the oven, you certainly don’t need a party to enjoy these little beauties. 

To ensure a flavorful filling, Renu starts with hot Italian sausage for the stuffing base. She happily discovered in her testing that the sausage doesn't need to be cooked before going into the mushrooms, which saves you time and cuts down on dirty pans. A splash of good dry red wine, plus some garlic, thyme, oregano, and red pepper flakes season the savory filling while Parmigiano-Reggiano adds richness and ensures a major punch of umami in every bite.

Generously sprinkling panko breadcrumbs over the stuffed caps before baking provides a contrasting crunch, and a clever cooking method prevents the mushrooms from turning soggy. Instead of baking the mushrooms on a sheet pan or in a baking dish, Renu found that using a cast iron skillet to roast the stuffed mushrooms captures and concentrates the mushrooms’ juices, resulting in deeper flavor as the mushrooms reabsorb this potent liquid. The cast iron skillet retains heat well and effectively browns the bottom of the mushrooms, guaranteeing they won’t turn soggy.

The result? Delicious, savory sausage stuffed mushrooms that come together in under a half hour. Now that’s something to celebrate.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 425°F (220ºC). Brush bottom of a large (10- or 12-inch) cast iron skillet with 1 teaspoon oil; set aside. In a large bowl, mix the sausage, wine, garlic, thyme, oregano, salt, red pepper (if using), 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano, and remaining 1 teaspoon of the oil until well combined.

Suasage, wine, thyme, garlic, oregano, salt, parmesan, and red pepper in a glass bowl
Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

Spoon about 2 teaspoons sausage mixture into each mushroom cap; place mushrooms in skillet in even layer, stuffed side up. Sprinkle filled mushrooms evenly with panko and remaining 1 tablespoon Parmigiano-Reggiano. 

Stuffed Mushrooms in skillet, with panko and parmesan sprinkled on top
Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

Bake until topping is golden brown, mushrooms are tender, and a thermometer inserted into filling registers at least 160°F (70℃), 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a large serving plate. Garnish with parsley. Serve warm. 

Cooked mushrooms garnished with parsley in skillet
Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

Special Equipment

10- or 12-inch cast iron skillet

Notes

Look for cremini mushrooms that are consistent in size, about 1 3/4 to 2 inches in diameter.

This recipe can easily be doubled and baked in one batch on a rimmed baking sheet or in 2 batches in a large cast iron skillet.

Make-Ahead and Storage

The sausage mixture can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container. When ready to prepare mushrooms, proceed with step 2 as directed, adding 3 to 4 additional minutes when cooking.

Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days and reheated in the oven or air fryer until warmed through.