For many years’ mushrooms have been used for their ability to add great flavor to different cuisines.  Mushrooms are an edible fungus that is often categorized as a vegetable that can provide several nutrients and have a varying compositional and nutritional profiles.  Mushrooms contain protein which makes them a great substitute for meat in your recipes. In addition, they are full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, making them not only a great additional to many flavorful dishes, but they are also healthy for you.

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The great thing about mushrooms are flavorful and come in a variety of sizes and types including:

Shitake

Portobello

Crimini

Button or White Mushrooms

Oyster

Enoki

Beech

Mitake

How To Choose The Right Mushrooms

When picking mushrooms make sure you choose the firmer ones and ones that do not have any moisture on them. It is best to store them in your refrigerator, but you should not wash or trim them until you are ready to cook or eat them.  

They go great as a standalone dish sautéed with onions, served raw in a salad, or added to your favorite stir fry, or one of our new favorite ways to enjoy mushrooms is to make these Loaded Portobello Mushroom Nachos. 

How To Make Loaded Portobello Mushroom Nachos

Before sautéing the mushrooms, place the cut-up corn tortillas on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes until crisp. We use Three Sisters Nixtamal Corn Tortillas. They are not only made locally here in the Pacific Northwest, but they are made from real food ingredients and are non-GMO.

To prepare the mushroom mixture, add habout a 1/2 cup of vegetable broth. Pacifico Brand Vegetable Broth at the store is a great option, or you can make your own Homemade Vegetable Broth with some quick and easy ingredients.

Then add in 2-3 minced garlic cloves, sauté them for about 2 minutes and then add in the portobello mushrooms and sauté for about another 2-3 minutes. To give this dish a little more smokey flavor, you can add in garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, coriander, cayenne pepper, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

If you are looking for more of a southwest dish style, you can add Taco Seasoning to the mushroom mixture.

 

In a separate sauce pan, add in a can of refried beans on medium-low until they have been warmed up. Make sure to stir to ensure they do not stick to the bottom of the pan.

Nut-Free Cheese Sauce

You can find some plant-based cheese sauces at the store or we like to make our own with some simple ingredients. We have two different cheese sauces that our boys like to make. Our nut-free version is made using potatoes and carrots and the other one is made using cashews.

How To Make Nut-Free Cheese Sauce

• 2 Cups of Potatoes or 3 small potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 Cup of Carrots or 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 3/4 Cup of Nutritional Yeast
• 2 TBSP of Avocado Oil or you if you do not want to use oil, you can replace it with water
• 1 TBSP or 1/2 Lemon, squeezed
• 1 TSP Salt
• 1 TBSP Garlic Powder
• 1 TBSP Onion Powder

Instructions

Boil the potatoes and carrots until soft. Approximately 20 minutes.  Drain them and then add them to a blender. Add in the remaining ingredients and blend on high until smooth.

Cashew Cheese Sauce

• 2 Cups of Raw Cashews
• 1 Lemon, Squeezed
• 1 ¾ Cup of Water or as needed
• 1 TSP Sea Salt or Himalayan Salt
•   ½ Cup of Nutritional Yeast
• 1 TSP Chili Powder
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 1 TBSP of Dijon Mustard
• ¼ TSP of Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 TSP Black Pepper
• 1 TSP Turmeric 

Instructions

1. In a high-speed blender or food processor, add in the cashews, lemon juice, salt, nutritional yeast, chili powder, garlic cloves, Dijon mustard, red pepper flakes, black pepper, turmeric, and water. Blend until smooth and creamy. You can adjust the ingredients to your taste.
2. You can warm up the cheese sauce by blending it on the soup option on a Vitamix or add it to a sauce pan on low heat. Stir to keep it from sticking. Serve it as a dip, on top your favorite noodles for mac and cheese or as a nacho cheese sauce.

How To Build Your Nachos Platter

1. On a large platter, place a layer of tortilla chips on the bottom.

2. Pour the cheese sauce over the top of the tortillas

3. Add a layer of re-fried beans

4. Then add a layer of the mushrooms mixture.

5. Add another layer of cheese sauce.

6. Repeat these steps until all the ingredients are used up.

7. Garnish the top with the sweet peppers, onions, tomatoes, and olives.

You can add the Pico de Gallo and Guacamole on top or serve it on the side.

Another great thing about making loaded nachos is making homemade guacamole and our Pico de Gallo that you can find here.

What I love about this dish is how simple and easy it is to make. And is a great dish that you can involve the kids in making. Our boys love choosing the toppings and putting the layers together. We love keeping the cheese sauce on hand and have used it in a variety of recipes that we will be posting on the blog later this week.

Happy Cooking and Enjoy!

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Here is a list of products was used in making this dish.

Three Sisters Nixtamal Corn Tortillas

Nutritional Yeast

Rachel Ray Frying Pan and Sauce Pan

Vitamix Blender

Citrus Squeezer