Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Honey Bunches of Oats. As always, all opinions are mine alone.

I’m such a snacker in the summertime, I could eat a variety of hors d’oeuvres as a meal anyday. Well, maybe that’s not just reserved for the summer, but I do prefer lighter foods and tastes in the warmer months. One of my favorite appetizers is stuffed mushrooms. Oh, I’m a lover of all things mushroom, and these babies are just so tasty. There’s such a variety of ways to make stuffed mushrooms, you can use big mushrooms or small, button mushrooms or baby bellas. There’s also a variety of flavors you can stuff them with, but today I decided on crab stuffed mushrooms. I was inspired by this recipe over on the Honey Bunches of Oats website. Yes, those are crab cakes, covered in ground up cereal. I was so intrigued!

Now, Honey Bunches of Oats is already a cereal I enjoy regularly, but I had never thought of using it outside of the cereal bowl. This recipe had me seriously pondering some things! Of course, it makes send that grinding up Honey Bunches of Oats could take the place of bread crumbs or Panko, so I figured why not try it in one of my favorite finger foods? This would be a delicious treat to serve a crowd, and you’re guaranteed a happy reception.

Ingredients for Crab Stuffed Mushrooms:

• 2 cartons baby bella mushrooms
• 1/4 medium yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup roasted red pepper pieces
• 1 cup spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese
• 1 cup Honey Bunches of Oats cereal, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 egg
• 1.5 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 6 oz canned crab meat
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 ounce finely shredded cheese
• 2-3 lemon wedges

Directions:

Begin by spraying a large baking pan with non stick cooking spray. Clean all of your mushrooms, then carefully remove the stems. Be sure to keep those stems, we’re going to be using them in the mixture! Arrange all of the open bottom mushrooms in your pan.

Add the Honey Bunches of Oats cereal to a food processor.

Run the food processor a few times on low until most of the cereal is ground up.

Remove the ground cereal from the food processor and set it aside in a bowl. Add the mushroom stems, onion, garlic, roasted red pepper and spinach to the food processor and mix until well ground.

In a a separate bowl empty the stuffing mixture and add the Pecorino Romano cheese, 1/2 cup of the ground Honey Bunches of Oats and the salt, pepper and cayenne.

Mix well, then add the mayonnaise and egg.

Now stir in the crab meat. I did this last because I made a few of the stuffed mushrooms vegetarian for my daughter. If you aren’t, you can add the crab meat sooner.

Using a small measuring spoon, carefully stuff each mushroom jam packed with all that goodness.

Now melt the butter and mix it with the garlic salt. Spoon it over each mushroom, then top it with your favorite kind of shredded cheese and a few sprinkles of the Pecorino Romano cheese. Sprinkle with some more of the ground Honey Bunches of Oats and pop in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes.

They’re ready about 10 minutes after you begin smelling deliciousness coming out of your kitchen, or once the timer goes off. Try to resist touching any before they’re cool enough to handle.

Top with a few squeezes of lemon juice.

Serve with some more lemon wedges and some garnish.

Enjoy!

Have you ever used Honey Bunches of Oats as an ingredient for entertaining?

I’d love to hear some of your ideas!