Tender baked mushrooms filled with a creamy, lemon‑and‑garlic cashew couscous — these vegan stuffed mushrooms are a comforting appetizer that’s full of flavour.
When I was young I loved those greasy garlic mushrooms from takeaways — the ones dusted in breadcrumbs and fried until they were oily and bland. As I got older I started preferring cleaner, more balanced flavours, and baked stuffed mushrooms quickly became a favourite.
Many recipes rely on dairy cheese or dry breadcrumbs and rice, which isn’t ideal if you’re avoiding dairy or want something more interesting. Living in Rivas‑Vaciamadrid, I don’t always have easy access to vegan cheeses, and with a dairy‑allergic son who adores mushrooms, I experimented until I created a dairy‑free, creamy filling that works beautifully: cashew cream mixed into herbed couscous.
This stuffing is rich and smooth from a quick cashew cream. Any leftovers are delicious scooped into halved tomatoes or baby peppers as a simple snack or light starter.
You can use whichever mushrooms you prefer. I used medium white mushrooms because that’s what I had, but cremini, chestnut or small portobellos also work well. For the best texture, wipe mushrooms with a damp cloth rather than rinsing them — a microfibre cloth works nicely to remove any dry bits without soaking them.
Mushrooms are more than a tasty vehicle for fillings: they provide protein, fiber, B vitamins, selenium, potassium, copper and some vitamin D, while remaining very low in calories. They make a nutritious component of any appetizer or main course.
This recipe can be prepared ahead and stored in the refrigerator for at least a day, making it ideal for entertaining. Once cooked, the mushrooms keep for up to two days in an airtight container; reheat gently to prevent the couscous stuffing from drying out. For variation, press sliced kalamata olives, thin strips of sun‑dried tomato, chopped chives or a sprinkle of nutritional yeast into the top of each stuffed mushroom before baking.
📖 Recipe
Stuffed Mushrooms with Cashew Cream Couscous – Vegan
Delicious creamy mushrooms bursting with flavour — perfect for dinner parties, gatherings or a tasty starter.
35 minutes
15 minutes
50 minutes
Ingredients
Quick Cashew Cream Sauce
- 200 g cashews
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Juice of half a lemon
- Between ¼ to ½ cup water
Couscous
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives or scallions
- 1 cup dry couscous
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ stock cube (I used garlic‑parsley)
- 1 cup boiling water
Mushrooms
- 24 medium white mushrooms, or mushrooms of choice
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Optional toppings
- Sliced kalamata olives
- Sun‑dried tomatoes, thinly sliced
- Additional chopped chives
- Nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Soak the cashews in very hot (not boiling) water for 30 minutes.
- Place the couscous, chives or scallions, olive oil and crumbled stock cube in a heatproof container. Pour the boiling water over, stir quickly, then seal and leave undisturbed for at least five minutes.
- Remove stems from the mushrooms and use a teaspoon to scrape out the gills to make room for the filling.
- Trim the dry ends of the stems and finely chop the stems. You can pulse them briefly in a food processor to speed this up.
- Dry‑fry the chopped stems until they begin to stick. Add the oil and crushed garlic and cook, stirring, until the garlic is lightly golden. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan / 200°C conventional.
- Fluff the couscous with a fork and mix it into the cooked mushroom stems.
- Drain the cashews and blend them with the pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and lemon juice, adding water gradually until the sauce is smooth and creamy.
- Stir the cashew cream into the couscous and mushroom mixture. Taste and adjust salt as needed (stock cubes can be salty). Mound the filling into each mushroom.
- Press any optional toppings into the filling, then bake for 15–20 minutes. Fifteen minutes yields tender mushrooms and creamy stuffing; twenty minutes gives a slightly crisped edge.
- Serve warm and enjoy.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8
Serving Size
1
Amount Per Serving
Calories 269
Total Fat 15g
Saturated Fat 3g
Trans Fat 0g
Unsaturated Fat 11g
Cholesterol 1mg
Sodium 397mg
Carbohydrates 28g
Fiber 3g
Sugar 7g
Protein 9g