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These Crab Stuffed Mushrooms are the perfect easy appetizer recipe to pair with cocktails at your next holiday party! The bite-sized finger food can be prepared in advance for a smooth, festive and stress-free gathering.
You can’t beat a simple, impressive-looking snack that’s always a crowd-pleaser! If you’re hosting a gathering in the next few months, these crab stuffed mushrooms with cream cheese deserve a starring role on your menu!
How to make Crab Stuffed Mushrooms:
This appetizer is so convenient because you can prepare the mushrooms ahead of time and then just pop them in the oven when your guests arrive. No last minute effort! Let’s get started…
Ingredients for stuffed mushrooms:
- Mushrooms
- Butter
- Shallot
- Garlic
- Cream cheese
- Crab
- Parsley, lemon juice and salt
How do you clean mushrooms?
Since a lot of mushrooms come packaged with dirt still on them, it’s important to clean the mushrooms before you prepare the recipe. Mushrooms are like little sponges that soak up liquid, so you don’t want to wash them in the same way that you might wash other fruits and vegetables. Instead, simply use a damp cloth or paper towel to wipe the mushrooms clean.
Once the mushrooms are clean, pop off the stems from the mushroom caps and finely chop the stems.
Sauté the stems in butter, along with a minced shallot and garlic.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the softened cream cheese, crab, parsley, lemon juice and salt.
I used an 8-ounce container of “special” crabmeat, but you can also use 8 ounces of lump crabmeat or claw crabmeat. The lump is more expensive, so I tend to reserve that luxury for crab cakes, while the “special” is perfectly suited for dips and stuffings (like this!).
In the same skillet, melt 2 more tablespoons of butter and gently toss the mushroom caps in the melted butter.
Then place the caps, stem-side up, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spoon about 2 teaspoons of crab filling into each mushroom cap.
At this point, you can cover the tray with plastic wrap and refrigerate the mushrooms for up to 8 hours — or you can go ahead and bake them right away!
The stuffed mushrooms go into a 400 degree F oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender and the filling starts to get golden brown on top.
How to serve Crab Stuffed Mushrooms:
These little bites are the perfect finger food to serve at a party or potluck. They’re best when warm right out of the oven, but they are also great at room temperature. Garnish with some fresh parsley (if desired), set out a tray, and let your friends and family help themselves. With a glass of wine on the side, you’ll have some very happy guests!
Cook’s Tips and Recipe Variations:
- I use “special” crabmeat for this recipe because it’s a great texture for the filling and it’s less expensive than lump crabmeat. That said, you can certainly substitute with lump crab or claw crabmeat, if you prefer.
- To prep ahead, assemble the stuffed mushrooms, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 8 hours before baking.
- Use a damp cloth or paper towel to gently clean the mushrooms.
- Garnish the mushrooms with fresh parsley just before serving.
- How long will stuffed mushrooms stay fresh? If the mushrooms have been sitting out at room temperature for more than 2 hours, they should be discarded. Leftover stuffed mushrooms will keep in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
- To reheat stuffed mushrooms: Allow the mushrooms to come to room temperature. Place the mushrooms in a 325 degree F oven, uncovered, for about 15 minutes.
- Can stuffed mushrooms be frozen? While the stuffed mushrooms may be frozen before baking, I don’t necessarily recommend it. The texture of the mushrooms after thawing will just be “off.”
- These crab stuffed mushrooms have no breadcrumbs in them, and therefore are a nice low carb appetizer for your guests on a Keto-friendly diet. Each mushroom has 69 calories and about 2 grams of carbohydrates.
- Make crab and bacon stuffed mushrooms by adding some cooked, chopped bacon to the stuffing mixture. Similarly, make crab and spinach stuffed mushrooms by stirring some frozen, thawed chopped spinach into the filling. Just make sure that you squeeze the spinach really dry before adding it to the filling. You don’t want the liquid from the spinach to make your stuffing watery.
More easy appetizers that you might enjoy:
- 10-Minute Holiday Crab Dip
- Roast Beef and Cheese Crescent Roll Recipe
- Aunt Bee’s Cheesy Spinach Squares
- 5-Ingredient Spinach Dip
- 3-Ingredient Southern Cheese Straws Appetizer
Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 24 medium mushrooms (about 1 pound)
- 3 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 shallot, minced
- ½ teaspoon minced fresh garlic
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 8 ounces crabmeat (I used “special” crabmeat, but you can also use “lump” or “claw” meat)
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove stems from mushroom caps.
- Finely chop the mushroom stems.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add shallot, garlic and mushroom stems and cook for about 3-5 minutes (or until soft). Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Stir in cream cheese, crab, parsley, lemon juice and salt. Blend well.
- In the same skillet over medium heat, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Remove skillet from the heat and add mushroom caps to the melted butter. Gently coat the mushroom caps in the melted butter.
- Place caps, stem-side up, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spoon about 2 teaspoons of crab filling into mushroom caps, gently pressing filling into caps.
- If prepping ahead, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.
- Bake, uncovered, for about 10-15 minutes (or until mushrooms are tender).
Notes
- I use “special” crabmeat for this recipe because it’s a great texture for the filling and it’s less expensive than lump crabmeat. That said, you can certainly substitute with lump crab or claw crabmeat, if you prefer.
- To prep ahead, assemble the stuffed mushrooms, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 8 hours before baking.
- Use a damp cloth or paper towel to gently clean the mushrooms.
- Garnish the mushrooms with fresh parsley just before serving.
- How long will stuffed mushrooms stay fresh? If the mushrooms have been sitting out at room temperature for more than 2 hours, they should be discarded. Leftover stuffed mushrooms will keep in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
- To reheat stuffed mushrooms: Allow the mushrooms to come to room temperature. Place the mushrooms in a 325 degree F oven, uncovered, for about 15 minutes.
- Can stuffed mushrooms be frozen? While the stuffed mushrooms may be frozen before baking, I don’t necessarily recommend it. The texture of the mushrooms after thawing will just be “off.”
- These crab stuffed mushrooms have no breadcrumbs in them, and therefore are a nice low carb appetizer for your guests on a Keto-friendly diet. Each mushroom has 69 calories and about 2 grams of carbohydrates.
- Make crab and bacon stuffed mushrooms by adding some cooked, chopped bacon to the stuffing mixture. Similarly, make crab and spinach stuffed mushrooms by stirring some frozen, thawed chopped spinach into the filling. Just make sure that you squeeze the spinach really dry before adding it to the filling. You don’t want the liquid from the spinach to make your stuffing watery.
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