Meatless Monday: Portobello Mushroom Pizzas

The Wisconsin Test Kitchen eats A LOT of mushrooms. We put them on pizza, in our eggs, even raw. And now that one of our members doesn't eat much meat anymore, she substitutes mushrooms for everything from burger patties to corned beef. At any given time, you'll find one or two packs of portobello mushroom caps, as well as a two pound container of sliced mushrooms in our crisper. Sorry. We really like mushrooms.

Last week we were looking for a quick recipe to toss on the grill (we were expecting rain, and wanted to get dinner finished before the storms started); and we ended up making pizzas. But instead of crusts, we used portobello mushroom caps. This is an awesome low calorie (as long as you stay away from using a lot of cheese and meat) and low carb recipe. 

Portobello Mushroom Pizzas

4 portobello mushroom caps (try to find ones with a rounded edge- it will help contain the toppings better)

Pizza sauce

Shredded mozzarella (or pizza blend) cheese

Pizza toppings (we had green peppers, black olives and turkey pepperoni)

Remove the stems from the portobello mushrooms and clean. Not sure how to clean a mushroom the correct way? This video should help you out.

Once the mushrooms are clean and dry, place on a cookie sheet, cap side down. 

Spoon a thin layer of pizza sauce inside the cap (resist the urge to go crazy with pizza sauce- you still have cheese and toppings to put inside the mushrooms too). 

Top with cheese and other assorted pizza toppings.

Place on a medium heat grill for approximately ten minutes. You want the mushrooms to get soft but not burnt, and you want the cheese to melt. 

Serve immediately with extra tomato sauce and grated Parmesan cheese.

Believe it or not, this was a quick dinner to throw together, and the pizzas were devoured in no time. If your kids are mushroom fans, this is an easy way to get more vegetables in their diets, or it's an impressive meal to make for your vegetarian friends and family.

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew