Mushrooms can be one of the most versatile real food ingredients in your kitchen — but they can also feel a little mysterious to prep. Do you use the stem? Do portobello gills need to come out? In this kitchen tip, Krista walks through exactly how to cut both everyday button mushrooms and portobello mushrooms for several different recipes, so nothing goes to waste.
What You’ll Need
- A chef’s knife
- A cutting board
- A spoon (optional, for portobello gills)
Button Mushrooms — Use the Whole Thing, Stem and All
Forget what you may have heard — there is no need to remove the stem from regular button or cremini mushrooms. Simply chop the whole mushroom, stem and all, into pieces that suit your recipe. The stem is just as flavorful and nutritious as the cap.
Portobello Mushrooms — Three Ways to Cut Them
1. Sliced (for Portobello Philly Cheesesteak)
- Pop the stem out and chop it up to roast alongside the slices — no waste!
- Slice the cap into ¼-inch strips
- Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast
2. Whole Cap (for Portobello Burger or Portobello Parmesan)
- Pop out the stem and chop it up for roasting
- Place the cap cut-side down on the baking sheet
- Gills can stay in or be removed — completely your choice!
Do You Need to Remove Portobello Gills?
The gills are completely edible — removing them is 100% personal preference. Some people find the gills visually unappealing or feel they make a dish look muddy; others don’t mind at all. If you’d like to remove them:
- Hold the mushroom cap gill-side up
- Take a spoon and scrape in a circular motion around the inside
- Do this over the sink for easy cleanup
- Discard the gills — that’s it!
Video Transcript
“Now, when it comes to mushrooms, we were very skeptical when we first started using mushrooms because we used to think that you had to cut the stems off and not use that part. But now, we love mushrooms. We roast them. We use them in so many different things… Stem and all. Now when it comes to portobello mushrooms, we have a couple of different recipes. For our portobello Philly cheesesteak, all I do is pop that little stem out and then chop it up and roast it. We actually slice them in about ¼ inch slices and spread them out on the baking sheet in a single layer. Now for our portobello burger or portobello parmesan, we want to roast the entire portobello mushroom. So I still pop the stem out, chop it up and roast it. For those two recipes, we put it cut side down on the baking sheet, leaving the gills inside. The gills are edible, but it becomes personal preference. If you think they don’t look too appetizing, it is very easy to scrape them out — all you have to do is take a spoon and just go around. Completely personal preference, but it’s easy as that.”