Looking for a holiday party appetizer that your non-vegan friends won’t scoff at? These stuffed baby bellos have so much flavor, that no one will miss the meat, because bello’s have a rich, meaty flavor when cooked. The filling of avocado, vegan cream cheese, spinach, and herbs is mixed with nutritional yeast to add a rich and “cheesy” flavor without the use of dairy. These lite bites couldn’t be easier to make and are perfect for your holiday party appetizers or even a lazy weeknight dinner.
Vegan Stuffed Baby Bello Mushrooms with Avocado & Spinach
Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
8 Baby bello mushrooms (if you cannot find, crimini mushrooms will also work well or buttons)
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 cup baby spinach
1-2 cloves garlic (your preference)
3/4 ripened avocado
2 T. Kite Hill Almond “Cream Cheese”
1/4 cup walnuts
1 T. nutritional yeast flakes
1 T. lemon juice
small pinch red chili flakes (optional)
sea salt & cracked pepper to taste
toasted pumpkin seeds or flaked almonds (for garnish, sould also use fresh herbs)
Directions:
| Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Wash mushrooms in cool water and pat dry, then remove the stems. Brush each mushroom lightly with olive oil then place mushrooms cap side down on the parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt. Place in preheated oven and bake for 7-8 minutes until mushrooms are softened.
While the mushrooms cook, make your the filling by adding the fresh spinach, garlic, walnuts, nutritional yeast, avocado, Kite Hill almond cream cheese, chili flakes, lemon juice and pinches of sea salt and pepper into a high powered blender. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed and set aside. Remove mushrooms from oven, pour out any liquid that has pooled in the mushrooms caps, then turn mushrooms cap side up back onto baking sheet. Fill each mushroom with a generous scoop of the spinach filling, garnish with pumpkin seeds or almonds if desries, and place back in the oven for additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with fresh chives or parsley if desired and serve very warm. |
