Keto Chorizo Stuffed Mushrooms

These keto chorizo-stuffed mushrooms are a wonderful appetizer or side dish. They are super easy to make and perfect for any meal!

WHAT ARE CHORIZO STUFFED MUSHROOMS?

Chorizo stuffed mushrooms are exactly what they sound like. They are mushroom caps (with the stems removed) stuffed with chorizo sausage and topped with cheese.

They are a Spanish-inspired take on the more popular sausage stuffed mushrooms, which are a delicious appetizer or side dish.

Using chorizo instead of another sausage (breakfast sausage, normally) is a super-easy way to make mushrooms more appeasing and edible for anyone who may not be a fan.

These stuffed mushrooms are so good, we guarantee anyone and everyone will love them!

WHAT IS CHORIZO?

Chorizo is a Spanish sausage made from pork and spices. When chorizo is prepared in the traditional way, it is packed into intestine casings. This has been a practice for thousands of years, dating back to Roman times.

In Europe, chorizo is a cured, smoked sausage that is able to be eaten without being cooked or otherwise prepared. This type of chorizo is similar to pepperoni or salami.

Elsewhere in the world, chorizo is packaged raw and requires cooking and preparation before it can be consumed. It is often used in Mexican cuisine and as a pizza topping.

Both types of chorizo are made with very fatty ground meats, making them ideal for use in low-carb and ketogenic diets.

Read on below for more information about the differences in the two different types (Mexican and Spanish) of chorizo.

KETO CHORIZO STUFFED MUSHROOMS INGREDIENTS

Before you set out to make this dish, you’re going to need a few things first. Make sure you have the following ingredients on hand before stepping into the kitchen.

• 8 oz pork chorizo (Mexican or Spanish)
• 1 package baby bella mushrooms (around 12 mushrooms)
• shredded/grated parmesan cheese, for garnish

After you have these, you’re ready to go!

As a note, you can decide what type of chorizo you’d like to use. It probably will depend on which variety your local store keeps in stock. But, if you have access to both and want to use one or the other, feel free.

HOW TO MAKE CHORIZO STUFFED MUSHROOMS

1. Preheat your oven to 350˚F
2. Fry the chorizo in a skillet, cooking until the chorizo begins to become “crumbly”
3. Rinse your mushrooms and remove the stems from the mushroom caps
4. Fill the mushroom caps with the cooked chorizo
5. Place the mushroom caps on a baking sheet and bake for 5 – 8 minutes
6. Remove from the oven and top with parmesan cheese
7. Eat and enjoy!

HOW TO COOK CHORIZO

If you’re wondering the best way to cook chorizo (talking about Mexican chorizo here) it’s actually very easy.

In fact, it’s so easy, it can be described in just a few short sentences. Cooking chorizo is really no different than cooking any other ground meat.

• Heat a skillet over medium-high heat on the stove
• Remove the chorizo from its packaging and place into the skillet
• Using a meat chopper or spatula, chop and move the meat around in the skillet at is cooks
• Continue this process until the chorizo cooks through and begins to become “crumbly”
• Remove from heat and either serve or add to the next step of the dish you are using the chorizo in
• Voila! Super easy!

ARE THESE MUSHROOMS REALLY SPICY?

No, they aren’t. While chorizo does have some nice spice to it, it isn’t what we could consider a spicy sausage. Of course, there is nothing spicy about parmesan cheese or mushrooms.

However, if you decide to use a spicier cheese, such as pepper jack, you are adding some additional spice.

Read on below for more information on choosing a different cheese to garnish these mushrooms with.

MEXICAN VERSUS SPANISH CHORIZO

Believe it or not, there are two main varieties of chorizo that you might run across in your local grocery store or supermarket.

If you’re like us, however, you probably didn’t know there is a difference. In fact, we scoured our local stores trying to find both and were unable to do so, which is probably why we only knew of one version.

Having said that, let’s take a look at the two different types of chorizo and what makes them each different from the other.

WHAT IS MEXICAN CHORIZO?

Mexican chorizo is (probably) the most widely available and used a variety of chorizo in the United States. You might be most familiar with it being used in dishes such as fajitas, tacos, and even cheese dips at Mexican restaurants.

Mexican chorizo is generally packaged in a plastic casing, which is meant to be cut and discarded before cooking.

It also is sometimes sold in a plastic container, rather than a traditional roll like breakfast sausage. You might also be able to find it in bulk form in the supermarket meat section.

This type of chorizo is most widely made of pork, though you can probably find beef as well.

Mexican chorizo gets its red coloring from the various spices it uses. There are also green variants, though rare, that use cilantro and green chiles for seasoning.

You can use Mexican chorizo for just about anything you’d like to taste more “Mexican” in flavor. Just remember to make sure and cook it until crumbly first, since this ensures it is cooked through.

WHAT IS SPANISH CHORIZO?

Spanish chorizo, on the other hand, is a smoked, dried, and cured sausage similar in form to pepperoni or salami. It is denser than Mexican chorizo.

If it is available in your local supermarket or grocery, it will more than likely be found with the prepared and ready-to-eat deli meats like ham, turkey, and bologna.

Spanish chorizo can be found both smoked and unsmoked, sweet and/or spicy.

Just like Mexican chorizo, Spanish chorizo has a bright red color from the use of smoked paprika and is made of pork and pork fat. While Mexican chorizo is made of ground pork, Spanish chorizo is generally made of chopped pork.

The main difference in Spanish chorizo is the ability to eat it “out of the gate.” It doesn’t require any cooking before it can be consumed.

Of course, you can cook it if you’d like, but it’s not necessary. If you choose to use this type of chorizo in this recipe, do chop it pretty finely and cook it for a short time in a skillet.

This will help to make it soften slightly, making it easier to stuff into the mushroom caps more easily.

CAN I USE BEEF CHORIZO INSTEAD OF PORK?

Using beef chorizo is a perfectly fine option as well, but we prefer the taste of pork chorizo, so it’s what we suggest to use.

Having said that, if you have used and love beef chorizo in the past, feel free to substitute it into this recipe!

You should always aim to make any and every recipe your own, so feel free to always make changes that suit you and/or your family better.

WHAT ABOUT USING A DIFFERENT TYPE OF MUSHROOMS?

You could substitute a different kind of mushroom, should you wish.

However, there are a couple of things to keep in mind before you change the type of mushrooms you’re using.

• Make sure they have caps that are large/deep enough to be stuffed with chorizo
• Check their carbohydrate content ahead of time; not all mushrooms were created equal!
• If using larger mushrooms, make sure to compensate when buying your cheese and chorizo; you’ll need more than you think

CAN I USE DIFFERENT CHEESES?

Of course, you can! Grated or shredded parmesan is very tasty, but if you’d rather use a different cheese to garnish with, feel free.

Some really delicious options for this dish would be:

• Cheddar cheese
• Muenster cheese
• Feta cheese (this really has a unique, tasty flavor!)
• Swiss cheese
• Pepper jack cheese (especially a good idea for those who love their meals to have a little extra “kick”)

There are plenty of other delicious options in your local grocery. Check out their artisan cheese section for a wide assortment of ideas.

Do stay away from any of the highly-processed sliced cheeses. These are all cheese products and should definitely not be considered to be real cheese.

WHAT DO CHORIZO STUFFED MUSHROOMS PAIR WELL WITH?

Keto chorizo stuffed mushrooms go well with all kinds of delicious main course dishes. They are bite-sized pieces of deliciousness, sure to please anyone and everyone.

If you need some ideas, here are a few of our favorites:

• Keto Jalapeno Popper Baked Chicken Spaghetti
• Low-Carb Copycat Chick-fil-a Grilled Nuggets
• Keto Bang Bang Shrimp
• Keto Shrimp and Bacon Chowder
• Keto Avocado Chicken Posole

For more ideas, you can check out our recipe index, or check out all of our main course recipes.

TOOLS TO MAKE KETO CHORIZO STUFFED MUSHROOMS

Click on the links to see the items used in making this recipe. You can also find these products linked in the recipe below.

• Meat Chopper – A meat chopper can be a huge help when working with any type of ground meat. It can make quick work of separating and chopping meats into smaller pieces, which is normally the goal when cooking with ground meat. In this case, using a chopper will help to cook the meat more evenly and faster, since you are able to break it into smaller pieces as it is cooking.

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