Holiday party appetizer recipes: My first stuffed mushrooms - with bell peppers & bacon

Holiday party appetizer recipes: My first stuffed mushrooms - with bell peppers & bacon

• 12.18.2014

I made three delicious real food appetizer recipes for our festive natural greenery holiday party, DIYs, and Paleo-friendly recipes --this is #3!

It was probably the most delicious, although definitely the least photogenic. I've never made stuffed mushrooms before, but I understand now you could stuff them with absolutely anything if you can get it to hold together. This flavor combination I ended up with was amazing, although not gorgeous in the brown mushrooms, so I'll have to remember it for other dishes in the future, too!

They did hold together pretty well, though, despite not having cream cheese or other cheesy or bread-ey binder in them. Read on!

They went well with the dried cranberry pork meatballs (here) and prosciutto-wrapped dried figs (here)! See the whole shoot here.

Grain-Free, Dairy-Free Stuffed Mushrooms with Bell Pepper and Bacon

Ingredients:

• 12 fresh mushrooms (I used organic criminis)
• 1/2 lb. bacon, chopped small--I use scissors! (Bacon ends and pieces are perfect for this)
• 1/2 c. onion, finely chopped (I used red)
• 1/2 c. bell pepper, finely chopped (I used yellow)
• 1/2 c. almond meal (you can grind your own, see my tutorial here)
• Sea salt and black pepper

Makes 12 mushroom caps. Double this recipe for a large group!

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Chop ends of mushrooms (and use a small, sharp spoon to scoop out all of the stem base); chop stems.
3. Cook bacon pieces in a small frying pan.
4. In bacon fat, saute onion, pepper, mushroom stems, and salt and pepper.
5. Add almond meal to veggie/bacon mixture (in pan or in a bowl) and press into mushroom cups. The bacon fat and almond meal dust help everything stick together.
6. Bake in pan or deep cookie tray with about 1/4" of water in the bottom of the tray for 20-25 minutes.

Serve hot! These are ridiculously delicious but they are even better hot!

I guess some meatballs have flour or breadcrumbs in them, but since my time eating bread and my time eating meat haven't overlapped since I was a kid, I don't know what it's like to make that kind. The almond flour worked like a charm and gave a great texture! See my tutorial here to make your own or buy it online! You could also use cashew flour/meal or sunflower seed flour/meal for a nut-free option.