Dad's Crab Stuffed Mushroom Recipe was created because Dad fondly remembers ordering this classic appetizer as a child from Red Lobster.
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Dad Can Do Better
As much as Dad loved the stuffed mushrooms from Red Lobster as a child, the adult in him knows that they were not the greatest example of the dish.
The Red Lobster version comes in a little crock and they are more butter and oil than mushrooms. Dad wanted his dish to taste like mushrooms.
The bath of butter and oil got axed, and Dad decided the air fryer would be a great way to make his version of crab-stuffed mushrooms. Dad did a review of the crazy deal he got on his air fryer on his YouTube Channel. You should check it out.
How to make Dad's air fryer seafood stuffed mushrooms
If cooking in the oven preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Chop up the fresh basil or measure out dried basil.
Roughly chop the imitation crab into chunks and set aside. Wash and dry the mushrooms. Remove the stems from the mushrooms by twisting and pulling on them.
Scrape out the interior of the mushrooms using a spoon. Be careful not to scrape too hard or too much. You want the mushroom to retain its shape.
Add the crab, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, minced garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, fresh basil, and black pepper in a food processor.
Process until the mixture clumps up and forms a ball.
Remove the filling from the food processor and fill the hollowed-out mushrooms. You can fill them above the edge of the mushroom, the filling holds its form when cooked.
Add the butter, breadcrumbs and olive oil to a small bowl. Mix well with a fork or with your hands until a crumbly texture is achieved.
Place the crumb mixture on top of the mushrooms, pushing it down with your fingers so it sticks. If cooking in an air fryer place the mushrooms directly in the air fryer basket. If cooking in the oven place the mushrooms in an oven-safe container.
Spray the mushrooms with some cooking oil. Originally Dad used pam but he learned that it leaves a film in the air fryer that is hard to clean. Now Dad uses vegetable oil in a mister.
Cook the mushrooms for 10 minutes at 400 degrees in the air fryer or 18-20 minutes in the oven. You are looking for golden brown tops. Serve and enjoy!
Portabella Mushrooms
Portabella mushrooms are the way to go for this recipe, mainly for their size. You can easily get them in the perfect size for stuffing. Dad recommends using the "medium-size" ones. The filling in this crab stuffed mushroom recipe is pretty rich so eating a huge mushroom might be much for some.
Imitation Crab is Just Fine
You can totally get away with using imitation crab in this recipe. The filling has lots of cheese and cream cheese in it so it is quite strong flavored.
These are your easy and cheap version of crab-stuffed mushrooms. Dad has a different recipe for doing stuffed mushrooms with real crab, where you let the crab shine.
Air Fryer or Oven
The nice thing about this recipe is you don't need the air fryer to pull it off. The air fryer does do a little better job crisping the topping and cooks them in about half the time.
However, if you want to make them in the oven they will still be amazing. Just make sure you use an oven-safe container to cook them in.
In Dad's opinion Crab Stuffed Mushrooms are the perfect appetizer or Side Dish.
Crab Stuffed Mushrooms - Air Fryer and Oven Options
Equipment
- Air Fryer
- Food Processor
- Oil mister
Ingredients
- 12 Medium Portabella Mushrooms
- 8 oz Imitation Crab
- 4 oz Cream Cheese
- 1 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- 1 teaspoon Minced Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Basil
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 cup Italian Style Breadcrumbs
- 4 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
- ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Vegetable Oil Estimate on amount.
Instructions
- If cooking in the oven preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Chop up the fresh basil or measure out dried basil.
- Roughly chop the imitation crab into chunks and set aside.
- Wash and dry the mushrooms.
- Remove the stems from the mushrooms by twisting and pulling on them.
- Scrape out the interior of the mushrooms using a spoon. Be careful not to scrape to hard or too much. You want the mushroom to retain its shape.
- Add the crab, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, minced garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, fresh basil and black pepper in a food processor.
- Process until the mixture clumps up and forms a ball.
- Remove the filling from the food processor and fill the hollowed out mushrooms. You can fill them above the edge of the mushroom, the filling holds its form when cooked.
- Add the butter, breadcrumbs and olive oil to a small bowl. Mix well with a fork or with your hands until a crumbly texture is achieved.
- Place the crumb mixture on top of the mushrooms, pushing it down with your fingers so it sticks.
- If cooking in an air fryer place the mushrooms directly in the air fryer basket. If cooking in the oven place the mushrooms in an oven safe container.
- Spray the mushrooms with some vegetable oil from a mister.
- Cook the mushrooms for 10 minutes at 400 degrees in the air fryer or 18-20 minutes in the oven. You are looking for golden brown tops.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?Mention @DadGotThis or tag #DadGotThis!You know what goes great with these?
A nice juicy ribeye steak would be the perfect pair to these crab stuffed mushrooms. Dad can show you how to cook it with nothing more than an oven, pan and a good thermometer. Just check out How to Reverse Sear a Steak.
