Crock Pot Stuffed Mushrooms

Fresh white mushrooms stuffed with Italian sausage, parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese create an excellent flavor combination in every bite!  This Crock Pot Stuffed Mushrooms recipe is so easy and makes great appetizers or party food.

Slow Cooker Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

The majority of our family LOVES mushrooms.  When my husband orders an appetizer at a restaurant there’s a good chance it is stuffed mushrooms!

Given our love of mushrooms, we’re always looking for new recipe ideas with mushrooms.  Sometimes we just chop them up and add them to quick meal favorites like our Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes or Roast Beef Sliders.  We can’t stop talking about these whole stuffed mushrooms!

The first time I made this recipe was for a combination tailgate and birthday party.  A friend who didn’t know what I made came up and said, “You HAVE to try the stuffed mushrooms.  They are SO good!”  This comment and asking for the recipe are the ultimate compliments!

I stuffed the mushrooms and put in two layers in a plastic-lined slow cooker on high for one hour and then plugged the slow cooker into the back of our Honda Odyssey on keep warm for about an hour while we ran a couple of errands and drove to the party.

After one hour of cooking on high, the stuffed mushrooms were warmed through.  But the next hour on keep warm really allows the flavors to melt together and bloom without the mushrooms becoming too juicy.

The next time I made these stuffed mushrooms was for my husband for a special treat.  I used a crock pot liner, put two layers of stuffed mushrooms on high and walked away to work for a few hours.  The crock pot liner swelled up and basically dumped the stuffing out of the mushrooms making quite the mess in the crock pot.

Easy Stuffed Mushrooms

We crave fresh mushrooms with meat in our Crock Pot Stew Meat and Mushrooms in Wine Sauce, with pasta, with vegetables, we just enjoy mushrooms in our meals!  So it’s just logical that we would want to text several versions of stuffed mushroom recipes.

When our aunt shared this recipe for crock pot stuffed mushrooms we had to try it!

Her recipe calls for 1 pound of Bob Evans original sausage and 1 pound of Bob Evans Hot & Spicy Sausage and parmesan cheese.

We tested a couple of variations.  Cream cheese tastes fine added to the mushroom stuffing, but our favorite stuffing is a combination of parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.

The fewer the number of ingredients in the stuffing the easier the recipe is.  Ensuring an equal proportion of all stuffing ingredients make it into each mushroom gets tricker as there are more ingredients.  I’m very pleased with how delicious the sausage and two kinds of cheese taste with the mushroom.

There are several filling ingredients that could easily be added like bacon bits, cream cheese or spinach.  We enjoy this traditional recipe, but look forward to testing more variations as time allows.  If you want to sprinkle bread crumbs on the stuffed mushrooms I recommend baking them in the oven versus using a slow cooker.

Tips for Stuffing Mushrooms

• Use a clean dish towel to clean mushrooms, avoid washing them to prevent adding unnecessary moisture being trapped in the slow cooker.
• Mushroom stems are very easy to remove by hand, simply wiggle and pull to remove.  A knife or spoon will only be needed if the stem is very short.
• We prefer the flavor of white mushrooms for stuffing compared to baby bella mushrooms.
• Choose a flavor of sausage that you enjoy.  My favorite filling is Italian Sausage.  If you like heat use Zesty Sausage, for a very mild mushroom use a Regular Sausage, or mix a couple of flavors to get the flavor combination you like in a pound of sausage.
• When using a crock pot liner check the mushrooms after an hour.  If the mushrooms are warmed through turn to keep warm to avoid having the liner push the mushrooms around and empty the stuffing out.  I’ve found that NOT using a liner is easiest
• Check mushrooms after one hour.  If mushrooms cook unattended they will become very soft and sit in a pool of liquid.  Turning the slow cooker down to keep warm before this happens will create the BEST results.
• All cooking appliances and conditions are different, so you should test these times and guidelines first in your own appliance to determine what adjustments may be needed!
• Mushroom stems may be chopped and mixed into the stuffing mixture or they may be used in a casserole or another recipe like Crock Pot Ham, Potato & Mushroom Soup or Slow Cooker Country Style Ribs with Mushroom Gravy.

How to Make Stuffed Mushrooms

1. Clean mushrooms and remove stems.
2. Brown and drain sausage.
3. Mix sausage with cheese.
4. Use a spoon and your finger to fill each mushroom with stuffing.  Press stuffing to pack each mushroom full.
5. Place mushrooms in a single layer in a greased crock.  If necessary place a second layer of mushrooms starting a ring around the outside and working toward the middle.
6. Cook on high for about an hour until mushrooms are warmed through.  Turn down to keep warm and allow flavors to blend for another 30 to 60 minutes.
7. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of additional parmesan cheese on top for extra flavor.

Other Appetizer Ideas

• Buffalo Chicken Dip
• Bell Pepper Taco Dip with Meat
• Italian Chicken Bacon Ranch Sub
• Bacon & Cheese Quesadillas
• Chocolate & Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

Printable Crock Pot Stuffed Mushroom Recipe