Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Cheese Sauce

If you love mushrooms like me, then you’re going to love this recipe! Not only are mushrooms delicious and a great meat substitute, but they contain antioxidants, vitamin D, selenium, B vitamins and more! This recipe has two easy elements: the veggies and the cheese sauce. We’re going to start with a mixture of sauteed onion, spinach and baby bellas, then spoon them into meaty portobello mushrooms and smother it all in cashew cheese sauce. Tastes great served with quinoa or brown rice. Hearty, flavorful, and full of nutrients!

Before we get going, let me talk about this cashew cheese for a moment, because it’s so good I could literally eat it in a bowl by itself. Just like many of my dessert recipes tend to include chocolate, I’m noticing many of my dinner recipes are tending to include this cashew cheese sauce. But hey, chocolate and cheese, two things people don’t want to give up when they go vegan – and they don’t have to!

What You Need:

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small slice of red onion, minced
• 7 baby bella mushrooms, diced into small pieces
• 1 cup organic frozen chopped spinach
• 2 large portobello mushrooms
• Salt & pepper
• Garlic powder
• Lemon juice from 1 lemon
• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water overnight or for several hours
• 1 tbsp ground turmeric
• ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
• 1 cap of apple cider vinegar

What You Do:

1. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan on medium heat. Saute the red onion until it starts to brown. Add the diced baby bellas, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Add spinach to the mixture and cook another 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Pour veggie mixture into a bowl, cover and set aside.
3. Wash large portobello mushrooms and remove the stems. Season the insides (side with the gills) with a little salt, garlic powder and lemon juice. Heat another tablespoon of olive oil and place the mushrooms with the inside face up in the pan. Cook about 10 minutes, flip and cook another 5 minutes. Pour out any liquid that forms in the pan.
4. While these are cooking, make the cashew cheese. Rinse and drain cashews and place in a blender. Add the turmeric, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, juice from ½ a lemon, a couple sprinkles of garlic powder and a few pinches of salt. Blend until you have a thick cheese sauce. Add a little water if necessary and adjust seasonings to taste.
5. Flip the portobellos back over with the insides facing up. Spoon veggie mixture on top, turn down to low, cover and let cook for 5 minutes.
6. To serve, spoon cashew cheese on top and enjoy!

I served this dish with 1/4 cup of tri-color quinoa that I soaked overnight, then rinsed and drained. I cooked in 1/2 a cup of water for about 20 mins while making the mushrooms.

If you’re looking for a savory meat substitute, this recipe is it! If you like this cashew cheese, check out my Fully Loaded Vegan Mac n’ Cheez and my Chicken & Veggie Quinoa Casserole ?

Jillian ?