Pesto-stuffed Portobellos
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Impress your friends and family with this beautiful summery side dish! Roasted balsamic portobello caps filled with oil-free pesto, cherry tomatoes, and panko crumbs.
Author:
Recipe type: Side dish
Serves: 3-6
Ingredients
  • 5-6 portobello "sliders" or 3 large portobello caps
  • 2-3 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
  • Pesto:
  • 2 cups fresh basil leaves
  • 1 ripe avocado, peel and pit removed
  • ¼ cup raw walnuts
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • ------------------------------
  • ¼-1/3 cup panko crumbs (I used GF)
  • 10-12 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • *Balsamic glaze/reduction for drizzling
  • Small fresh basil leaves for garnish
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray a baking dish with olive oil to prevent sticking. Clean portobello caps and trim or remove stems if necessary. Arrange them stem-side up in the dish and drizzle them with a little balsamic vinegar. Roast them in the oven roughly 13 mins, longer if you're using large mushrooms.
  2. While the mushrooms roast, add all pesto ingredients to a food processor and blitz until creamy. Taste and add more salt/pepper/lemon if necessary.
  3. When the mushrooms have shrunken a little and are wrinkled around the edges, remove them from the oven and spread 1-2 Tbs. pesto in each cap. Sprinkle generously with panko crumbs, then decorate the top of each with tomato halves, pushing each into the pesto slightly.
  4. Switch the oven to broil, then return baking dish to the oven roughly 3 mins, or until tomatoes begin to blister and panko crumbs turn golden. You'll want to watch the oven carefully so you don't burn your panko crumbs -- it happens fast!
  5. Before serving, do a quick drizzle of balsamic glaze and garnish with fresh basil leaves.
Notes
* I buy balsamic glaze because it's much easier, but you can also make a balsamic reduction by cooking balsamic vinegar down on the stove until it's thick and syrupy. You should be able to find the glaze at any grocery store in the vinegar section.

These stuffed portobellos are best the day you make them, preferably right out of the oven! The pesto is still good for a couple of days though.
Recipe by Daily Dose of Greens at https://dailydoseofgreens.com/2021/06/22/pesto-stuffed-portobellos/