Grilled Portobello Mushroom Pizzas With Pesto
Grilled Portobello Mushroom Pizzas With Pesto are juicy grilled portobello mushrooms topped with savory pesto, cherry tomatoes, and melted mozzarella cheese, ready in only 20 minutes!
I love quick and easy dinners, and if you want more easy dinners in under 30 minutes, check out my Cheesy Cauliflower Soup, Cheesy Chicken Tater Tot Casserole, and Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake!
Thank you The Mushroom Council for sponsoring this post. The Mushroom Council encourages you to include mushrooms into your everyday recipes!
Grilled Portobello Mushroom Pizzas With Pesto
Grilled Portobello Mushroom Pizzas With Pesto are a low carb gluten free way to enjoy one of your favorite foods, pizza! And seriously, mushrooms are a staple in this household. They add a really great depth of flavor to almost any dish, they’re super versatile, and best of all – naturally gluten free and full of vitamin D. Plus they cook up really fast, making them perfect for quick weeknight recipes.
I love making pesto pizza because it has a great flavor that’s a little something different during the week, but you can use any pizza toppings you’d like. I also like to make this using my homemade pesto, because after a pasta night I always have some left over. But you can use the store-bought kind if you want something a little faster (just make sure the bottle says gluten free).
Can you eat the gills of a portobello?
The short answer is, yes, you can! But they can sometimes be a little bitter, so it’s up to you if you want to leave them on there. Honestly, I can’t tell a difference when I’m making portobello mushroom pizzas. Especially with pesto, there’s so many flavors going on here that I don’t even notice the gills are still on.
Plus, it’s one less step during the prep to leave them on! And you know that I’m all about time-saving on the weeknights.
You can check out more awesome mushroom facts over at our friends, the Mushroom Council!
How to Make Portobello Mushroom Pizzas in the Oven
This is a grilling recipe, but it can easily be made in the oven on days when you’re not feeling the outdoor cooking. Here’s how to make portobello mushroom pizzas in the oven.
- Preheat your oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Clean your mushrooms and remove the stems. Lightly brush them with olive oil on both sides. Place them gills-up on the pan.
- Bake for 8 minutes, then remove them from the oven. Use a paper towel to remove any excess liquid, if your mushrooms are particularly juicy today.
- Add 1-2 tbsp pesto to each mushroom, cherry tomatoes, and top with mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for another 8 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
Tips for Making Portobello Mushroom Pizzas
- If the mushrooms release a lot of juice after cooking the first time, dab them with a paper towel to remove some of the moisture before adding toppings.
- Portobello mushrooms don’t take long to cook, so make sure you watch them closely and flip them over within 5-10 minutes!
- If you buy your mushrooms ahead of time, I recommend storing them in a bowl in the refrigerator, or in a paper bag. They need some room to breathe, so keep them out of the plastic during storage. They are always in season so you won’t have any problem finding them fresh, and should last 2-3 days in the refrigerator. You know they’re turning bad when they start getting darker brown spots.
- Serve with some extra parmesan cheese on the side.
- Make this meaty by adding some prosciutto or Italian sausage on top!
- Mushrooms naturally have a lot of umami flavor, so I don’t always salt them, especially when I add pizza toppings. Plus, they’re naturally lower in calories, so you don’t have to feel guilty about adding any toppings you like!
How to Wash Portobello Mushrooms
Clean your portobello mushrooms by using a wet paper towel to brush them off. You don’t want to completely submerge them in water, because mushrooms are notorious for soaking up water, and they’ll release that liquid when you cook them. You can also use a mushroom brush if you have one, but I find that paper towels work just as well.
More Toppings for Portobello Mushroom Pizzas
- Pizza sauce with mozzarella cheese and…
- Pepperoni
- Black olives and onions
- Fresh basil leaves
- Alfredo sauce and parmesan
- Make a white pizza with ricotta cheese, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese
- A thin layer of pizza sauce topped with fresh veggies like bell pepper, zucchini, and tomato slices
More Mushroom Recipes!
- Gluten Free Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Four Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
- Chicken Marsala Casserole w/Mushrooms
- One Dish Chicken Thighs w/Mushroom & Sage Rice
Grilled Portobello Mushroom Pesto Pizzas
Ingredients
- 6 large portobello mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed
- 3/4 cup pesto , gluten free
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin
Equipment
- Grill
Instructions
- Brush the mushrooms lightly with olive oil on both sides. Over medium heat on the grill, add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Then turn over, and cook for an additional 5 minutes on the other side.
- Remove mushrooms from the grill and place on a sheet pan, open-side-up. Top with 1-2 tbsp of pesto (depending on how large the mushroom is). Divide the cherry tomatoes and mozzarella evenly between mushrooms.
- Place mushrooms back onto the grill and close the lid. Cook for another 5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
Notes
Nutrition
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