Black Bean Stuffed Mushrooms

I feel like I’m giving away a family secret.  I’ve been making these black bean stuffed mushrooms for at least 15 years. They aren’t from any recipe, just something I randomly put together and ended up loving.

They are so yummy, perfect for hors d’ouevres or a light lunch and best of all — naturally gluten free.  That’s my gluten free eating strategy for the most part, anyway:  Eat things that are naturally gluten free.   I never feel deprived.

Okay, here goes – these are really easy and are always a fan favorite.  First collect all the ingredients you need — salt, pepper, olive oil, onion, garlic, a can of black beans and, of course, mushrooms.

 Clean the mushrooms and pop their stems off and put them in a baking dish, like this.

Next, finely chop your onion, garlic and half of the mushroom stems.  Sautee those all together in a skillet with some olive oil and salt and pepper, along with the black beans (I always drain and rinse the beans).  

After you’ve sauteed them for about 5 – 7 minutes, use a good ole potato masher and mash it all together.   It looks nasty, but I promise they taste good.

Then you just take a spoon and fill each mushroom cap with some of the black bean mixture.  The really important last step is to drizzle olive oil over the top of the stuffed mushrooms.  Here they are ready to go in the oven.  You’ll want to stick them in a 375 degree oven and let cook for about 35 minutes.

When they come out, they are so delicious!

Black Bean Stuffed Mushrooms
1/2 purple onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
20 button mushrooms
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil + extra for drizzling
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

Wash and remove stems from mushrooms – dice half of the removed stems, trash/compost the other ones.  Place mushroom caps in glass baking dish. 

Sautee diced onion, diced garlic, diced mushroom stems in olive oil for about 5 – 7 minutes until golden and fragrant.  

Add drained and rinsed black beans and sautee for another 2 minutes.  Use a potato masher to mash everything together and remove from heat.

Spoon mixture into mushroom caps.  Generously drizzle olive oil over the top of the stuffed mushrooms, and place into a 375 degree oven for 35 minutes. 

The secret ingredient might be my trusty kitchen helper – always right at my feet ready to help!