Grilled Spinach Dip-Stuffed Portabella Mushroom Caps

Thank you to REAL® Seal for sponsoring this post ... and for encouraging us to not pack away those grills yet!  Sure, summer may have wound down.  But there's still time to get in some delicious late-season grilling.  To do my part in extending the grilling season, I whipped up these totally scrumptious Grilled Spinach Dip-Stuffed Portabella Mushroom Caps.

We all love spinach dip, right?  I mean, it's always the hit of the party.  Put out a bowl of the creamy spinachy stuff, and it's pretty much the first thing gone.  Always.  

So when the folks at REAL® Seal challenged me, as a REAL® Seal Dairy Diva, to incorporate dairy into a grilling recipe, I decided to turn to cheesy, creamy spinach dip.  Stuffed in a portabella mushroom.  Topped with a Parmesan-panko crumb topping.  And tossed on the grill.

And, oh man, ... it was good.

Wait.  You're not familiar with REAL® Seal??  Sure you are!  See ...

REAL® Seal is this  red logo ...

... that we see all the time on dairy products.  Go take a peek in your refrigerator.  You'll see several of them, I'm sure!

And they show that the dairy products whose packages they grace are genuine American dairy products, made with milk from cows on U.S. dairy farms, and meeting strict manufacturing requirements. When you see the REAL® Seal on a dairy product, you can trust it’s the REAL thing.

When making these Spinach Dip-Stuffed Portabellas ... or any dish with dairy ... look for the REAL® Seal!

And then get movin' whipping these little beauties together.

Start by removing the gills and stem from beautiful big portabella mushroom caps.  I find scraping the gills with a spoon works pretty good.  To get up under the rim, I find a butter knife to be pretty handy in getting the job done.

Rub the cleaned caps with a touch of olive oil and sprinkle 'em with a bit of salt and pepper.

Then pop those babies on the grill ... inside down ... to get 'em cookin'.

Once the insides have cooked for a bit, flip the caps over and fill 'em up with a creamy, cheesy, spinach-dippy filling ...

... and sprinkle on a little Parmesan-panko crumb topping.

Let 'em hang out on the grill until the mushrooms are all tender and the filling is all warmed through.  Then get ready to dive into the best stuffed portabella EV-er.

And if you've already packed away that grill for the season, go get it out.  And extend the grilling season.  With spinach dip.  Stuffed inside your grilled mushrooms.  Enjoy!

Grilled Spinach Dip-Stuffed Portabello Mushroom Caps

Source:  Adapted from Pink Parsley
(Printable recipe)

Ingredients

• 4 large Portabella mushroom caps
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 3 T. mayonnaise {or plain Greek yogurt}
• 3/4 tsp. dried thyme
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 12 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and well-drained
• 1/2 c. panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper

Directions

1. PREPARE MUSHROOM CAPS: Remove the stems and gills from each mushroom cap {a small spoon or butter knife works great for this}. Rub the inside and outside of each mushroom cap with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. PREPARE SPINACH DIP FILLING: In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, thyme, red pepper flakes, and a dash of salt and pepper. Stir until well combined. Mix in spinach.
3. PREPARE CRUMB TOPPING: In a separate bowl, combine panko bread crumbs, Parmesan, thyme, olive oil, and a dash of salt and pepper. Toss with a fork to mix.
4. GRILL MUSHROOMS: Place mushroom caps, inside down, on a heated grill. Grill for about 5 minutes. Turn caps over. Divide spinach dip filling evenly among the four caps and spread to fill each cap. Sprinkle crumb topping on top of the spinach filling. Grill until mushrooms are tender and filling is heated through, approximately 12 to 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Please enjoy these other dairy-delicious dishes from The Kitchen is My Playground ...

Hot Onion Souffle Dip

Banana Pudding Pie

Frozen Blueberry Cream Pie

Slow Cooker Clam Chowder