I’m having a love affair with blue cheese.
Right now I’m in a blue-cheese vortex — everything I eat seems better with a tangy, creamy crumble tucked in. I’ve always liked blue cheese, but lately it feels like a full-blown obsession. If a food can pass through a blue cheese portal, send it my way.
For some reason I always want my portobello burgers on English muffins. I’ve made portobello gouda burgers with roasted garlic and asiago portobello burgers with roasted red peppers before, and I serve both on English muffins because that little bit of crispness and chew is just perfect with the mushrooms.
Mushrooms have a different texture than beef — sometimes they’re prepared to imitate a burger, but when I eat a hearty portobello I want to enjoy it on its own terms. A crunchy, toasted English muffin or a sturdy bun gives that contrast I crave: tender, juicy mushroom against a crisp, slightly crunchy bread edge.
Here’s what I did for these blue cheese portobello burgers: I seared large portobello caps in olive oil with garlic, tossed them with a splash of balsamic, then filled each cap with crumbled blue cheese and covered them briefly so the cheese melted into the mushroom. You can finish these on the grill or in a skillet — just use a big, hearty cap so it holds the filling.
If you want to serve these as an appetizer, use smaller mushrooms and pile them on a platter with fresh herbs, roasted peppers and a scattering of garlic brown-butter breadcrumbs. They also make a fantastic addition to a cheese board or a summer cheese plate — blue cheese-stuffed mushrooms are always a hit.
For toppings I went big: extra blue cheese, a pile of crispy fried shallots, and a generous handful of grilled corn. I never seem to stop adding grilled corn to everything in the summer — it’s sweet, smoky and brings the best texture to a burger like this. If you love summer produce, grilled corn on a portobello is pure summer on a bun.
Between the melted blue cheese, the juicy mushroom, the crunch of toasted English muffin and the pop of sweet grilled corn, these burgers hit a perfect balance of savory, tangy and crunchy. And the fried shallots add that irresistible, crisp, onion-y finish.
Let’s agree on a few things for the rest of summer: drink something bright (grapefruit beer, anyone?), grill a lot of corn, fry all the shallots, and stuff as many mushrooms with cheese as possible. That feels like a win.
Blue Cheese Portobello Burgers
Yield: 4
Total Time: 45 mins
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 large portobello mushroom caps, stems removed
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 6 ounces blue cheese, plus more for topping
- 4 large pieces butter lettuce
- 2 ears grilled corn, kernels removed
- 4 English muffins or buns of your choice
Crispy Shallots
- 2 large shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Vegetable or canola oil for frying
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the mushroom caps and toss to coat, then stir in the minced garlic. Cook the mushrooms about 3 to 4 minutes per side, until tender and juicy.
- Add the balsamic vinegar to the skillet and toss the mushrooms to coat. Reduce heat to low, season the caps with salt and pepper, then spoon about 1 ounce of blue cheese into the center of each cap. Cover the skillet briefly until the cheese melts.
- To assemble, place a piece of butter lettuce on the bottom half of each English muffin. Top with a blue cheese-stuffed mushroom cap, add extra crumbled blue cheese, spoon on grilled corn, and scatter the crispy shallots over the top. Serve immediately.
- For the crispy shallots: heat about 2 inches of oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat (aim for roughly 350°F). While the oil heats, whisk together the flour, salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder and pepper. Dredge the shallot slices in the seasoned flour, shake off excess, then fry in batches until golden and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
Course: Main Course, Sandwich
Cuisine: American
Did you make this recipe?
If you try these, share a photo on Instagram and tag @howsweeteats with #howsweeteats. I love seeing how people make recipes their own.
p.s. Those are homemade pickles in the photos — yes, they’re homemade. Want to know more about them?