Recipes shared with permission from The Essential Thyroid Cookbook by Lisa Markley and Jill Grunewald, published by Blue Wheel PressTM. Recipes © 2017 by Lisa Markley, MS, RDN. Food photography © 2016 by Kenny Johnson.
This savory, crowd-pleasing appetizer offers a healthier twist on traditional stuffed mushrooms — and they’re easy to make. Mushrooms and kale contain a spectrum of important minerals, as well detoxifying antioxidants and energizing B vitamins that support thyroid and immune health.
Servings: 20 mushrooms
Ingredients
- 20 medium crimini mushrooms
- 3-4 tbsp avocado oil or melted coconut oil or ghee, divided
- 1 medium onion, diced small
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound gluten-free chicken sausage (without casing)
- 1 red bell pepper, diced small
- 1 1/2 cups chopped kale leaves
- 2/3 cup almond meal
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Rinse and dry mushrooms. Remove stems. Reserve stems for making vegetable broth, if desired; place in a food storage bag and freeze.
- Toss mushroom caps in a bowl with 1-2 tablespoons oil or ghee. Set aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil or ghee in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes to allow onion to soften. Add sausage and break apart with a spoon or spatula into very small pieces. Cook for 4-5 minutes to allow sausage to cook most of the way through. Add bell pepper and kale and sauté for 2-3 more minutes, just long enough to allow kale to wilt.
- Remove skillet from heat and add almond meal, salt, and pepper. Stir until well combined.
- Spread mushroom caps out evenly on sheet pan and using a scoop or a spoon, stuff each one with a generous amount of the kale and sausage mixture, packed tightly into a mound. Place in the oven for 25 minutes. You may want to cover mushrooms with foil after the first 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning.
Recipe Notes
Labels: Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Paleo