Despite attending two Pac 10 schools, I have very little interest in March Madness. I feel pretty much the same about it as I do about the Superbowl. If my friends are watching, I'm more than happy to make finger food all day and chat during commercial breaks. Except if there's a game on my birthday (which usually happens during March Madness). In which case, you mention March Madness and I'll shake my fist at you. This year, March has been a basketball-free month over here; even if my friends have gotten together for the occasion, I've been at home unpacking, sewing wedding banners, and stuffing invitations. Turns out wedding planning is a full-time job. Luckily it's right up my alley - career shift, perhaps? For all of you with your eyes glued to college ball right now, I bring you the last dish from our anniversary day of cooking, spinach artichoke dip stuffed mushrooms, which just so happen to make a perfect game day party snack.
For most holidays or family get-togethers, my brother whips up a batch of his famous spinach artichoke dip. It's basically vegan, except that he uses real mayonnaise (you may recall that he eats eggs and fish...and rumor has it he's going to slowly add meat back into his diet to see what happens). His dip is always a crowd-pleaser and no one ever notices the vegan substitutions. I used his recipe, but threw in some regular parmesan cheese and wound up with a mixture of vegan and non-vegan ingredients that tasted dynamite. We love artichokes around here and go completely nuts for mushrooms, so these little bites made a foolproof appetizer for our anniversary meal. Creamy and cheesey artichoke and spinach-filled baked mushrooms - divine!
Stay tuned to read about some of the first few dishes I whipped up in the new kitchen that, BY THE WAY, I love cooking in! Three more months of wedding planning and maybe my life will calm down enough to finally plant our own little garden in the new backyard.
Recipe
Ingredients
- About 20 brown cremini mushrooms, brushed clean and stems removed
- 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and drained
- 1 cup frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and chopped
- ⅓ cup vegan cream cheese, or regular, if desired
- ⅛ cup vegan sour cream, or regular, if desired
- ⅛ cup olive oil mayonnaise
- ⅔ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, grated
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Bring the spinach, artichoke hearts, and about ½ cup of water to boil in a small saucepan, then reduce the heat and let simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove the spinach and artichoke hearts from the pan and drain thoroughly, using a paper towel if needed.
- Over low heat, add spinach and artichokes back to the pan. Stir in the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, red pepper flakes, garlic salt, and pepper until completely combined. Fold in half of the parmesan cheese.
- Scoop a large spoonful of the dip into each mushroom cap and arrange face up on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese on top of each mushroom and bake for 15-20 minutes.
- Turn the oven to broil and heat for 2 more minutes, or until the cheese begins to brown.
- Serve immediately.
Janette -
Can these be frozen? I would like to make a large batch and freeze smaller portions for cooking later. Would I cook it partially and then freeze?
Sarah Menanix -
That's a good question! I wish I had a better answer for you, but I’ve never tried freezing them, so I really have no idea how they'd hold up. I'd probably fill them, then freezer without baking. Then when ready to serve, pull them out and put them directly into the oven from the freezer. Goodluck!
Amanda -
Can these be made a day in advance and then popped in the oven? Just wanted to get a menu together for this Thanksgiving...Thanks in advance!
Sarah Menanix -
Thanks for the question, Amanda! I've never actually made them in advance before (they never lasted long enough for me to need to store them over night:), but I'd recommend removing the mushroom caps and preparing the dip the night before (even grating the cheese), but then stuffing them quickly and popping them in the oven Thanksgiving morning. I worry if you stuff them in advance the mushrooms might get soggy overnight (this might not happen, but since I've never tried it, I don't want you to end up with soggy mushrooms!). Please let me know what you end up doing and how they turn out!
Martha (Duncan) Penwell -
Hi Sarah! I am a friend of your Mother, went to PV with her. I looked at your website a couple years ago, and then again today. AWESOME! Not only do you give the recipe, but you tell a story too. You are extremely talented. As a matter of fact, I printed 4 appetizer recipes. I need to take an appetizer to a friend's house on Thurs and am leaning towards the stuffed mushrooms. Do you post new recipes for the holidays? I sure hope so. Thank you for this website. Keep up the wonderful work.....Martha
Sarah Menanix -
Martha - You just made my day! Thank you so much for visiting my blog and for your sweet words! I have a couple more recipes coming up and then I'll bring in some pumpkin and apple recipes for the holidays:)
Lori @ Foxes Love Lemons -
These inspired me to make a version of my own for my annual Sangria Party. They were a huge hit, SOOOO tasty! Thanks for the inspiration!
http://www.foxeslovelemons.com/2013/08/sangria-party-week-appetizers-snacks.html
Colette @ JFF! -
yum yum yum
Tina -
Why use vegan cream cheese and sour cream if you are going to use regular parm? Could you just use regular cream cheese and sour cream?
Sarah Menanix -
I did it this way because I was using my brother's recipe for spinach artichoke dip and wasn't originally planning to use the regular parm. Because of health reasons, my bro can't eat regular cream cheese and sour cream, and usually adds goat cheese to his version (which he can eat). I was out of goat cheese, so added parm and as I described, "wound up with a mixture of vegan and non-vegan ingredients that tasted dynamite." The recipe would be just as tasty with regular cream cheese and sour cream...or likewise subing the parm for vegan cheese. Your call!
Tina -
awesome! Ty so much for the reply :).
Mushrooms Canada -
So simple! Stuffed caps are always a party favourite of mine. Thanks for sharing this recipe!!
-Shannon
Sheri -
These sound wonderful! Great for a March Madness Party! Or a Bridal Shower perhaps! :)
Tina -
I want!