This post contains affiliate links.
This vegan mushroom carnitas recipe is a flavor-packed meal made from shredded king oyster mushrooms and a quick blend of seasonings! Baked into crispy perfection, this vegan carnitas is great on tacos or burrito bowls. Ready in under 45 minutes with minimal hands-on work, it’s a weeknight winner!
save this recipe!Have you ever used oyster mushrooms in any of your recipes? If not, you’re in for a treat! These mushrooms are the perfect meat substitute, and in our case, carnitas. They’re chewy but crisp and have an eerily similar texture to actual pork carnitas. In other words, I love them.
I was feeling a strong taco craving, and knew that I wanted to somehow incorporate my oyster mushroom stockpile. I went for mushroom carnitas tacos, a savory mix of cooked oyster mushrooms, pickled onions, jalapeños, and a delicious cilantro sauce. Oh, and we can’t forget the splash of lime!
These tacos are seriously mouth-watering and have quickly become one of my favorite throw-it-together meals. They’re tangy, slightly sweet, and mega filling.
Reader rating
“This has become a house staple for the two of us who are trying to reduce the meat in our diet. Hurray for oyster mushrooms, and the treatment in this recipe keeps us coming back for more!” —Charles
Here’s what you’ll need
Mushroom carnitas make up the bulk of the filling. And while some vegetarian “meat” substitutes are filled with foreign, fancy ingredients, we’re keeping it simple here. Jump to the recipe card for the quantities.
- King Oyster Mushrooms: The oyster mushrooms (aka king trumpet mushrooms) are the star of these carnitas. We’ll be shredding them with a fork and then sticking them in the oven. Once sautéed, they’ll have a texture (and flavor) just like pork carnitas! (Find them in most health food or Asian supermarkets.)
- Olive Oil: Olive oil is used to coat the mushrooms for baking. This will help crisp them up a bit.
- Worcestershire Sauce: We’ll be using vegan Worcestershire sauce to add flavor to the mushrooms.
- Spices: A quick blend of common spices like garlic powder, ground coriander, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper takes this mushroom carnitas to the next level.
- Orange and Lime Juice: Lastly, citrus juice gives these carnitas a tangy, bright flavor.
Serving options
To assemble, you will need flour or corn tortillas (make your own flavored tortillas or plain tortillas), pickled red onions, cilantro, jalapeños, and lime juice! And of course, I highly recommend the cilantro sauce detailed in the recipe card.
How to make these vegetarian carnitas tacos
Carnitas tacos are simple to make, especially when we’re using mushrooms instead of pork. These tacos require just five steps. This is an overview. Jump to the recipe card for the full instructions.
- Shred the mushrooms using forks or by hand.
- Marinate the mushrooms briefly while the oven preheats.
- Bake until crispy and golden brown.
- Make the sauce, a creamy cilantro sauce (optional, but highly advised).
- Assemble into tacos and serve!
mix it up
- Different Mushrooms: While king oyster mushrooms are best for vegan carnitas, you could also use regular oyster mushrooms. In a pinch, you can use portobello mushrooms, though they won’t have that same texture.
- Smoky Flavor: Add a smoky element with a dash of liquid smoke or by throwing in some adobo sauce (from a can of chipotle peppers).
Extra topping ideas
Tacos are just as much about the toppings as the main ingredient. For these carnitas tacos, I like topping them with pickled onions, jalapeños, diced white onion, lime juice, and avocado slices, but why stop there? If you’re like me and love extra toppings, here are some ideas that you can consider.
- Pickled red cabbage
- Shredded lettuce
- Tomatoes
- White onion
- Corn (try this Mexican street corn salad on them!)
How to store leftovers
Store any extra ingredients individually in securely sealed containers. When you’re ready to dig into your leftovers, heat up them up, then assemble! Enjoy leftovers within 5 days to maximize the freshest flavors.
Reader rating
“Between the seasoning and the texture it’s so spot on and I don’t feel heavy and bloated. One of my favorite recipes!” —Molly
How To Make Vegan Mushroom Carnitas
Ingredients
Mushroom Carnitas
- 2 lbs king oyster mushrooms, 900 g
- 4 Tbsp olive oil, 60 mL
- 2 Tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce, 30 mL
- 2 tsp each garlic powder, ground coriander seed
- 1 tsp each oregano, cumin, salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ cup orange juice, 120 mL
- 1 Tbsp lime juice, 15 mL
Cilantro Sauce (optional)
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt, 60 g
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar, 30 mL
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, 30 mL
- 1 tsp mustard, 5 g
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ tsp each smoked paprika, cumin, black pepper
Assembly
- flour or corn tortillas
- cilantro, jalapeño, white onion, pickled red onions
Instructions
- Shred Mushrooms: Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Using two forks, shred the stems and caps roughly into pieces.
- Marinate: In a large bowl, toss shredded mushrooms with all Mushroom Carnitas ingredients except for the lime juice. Let mushrooms marinate while oven preheats to 400°F (204°C).
- Bake: Spread mushrooms into a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then use a spatula to flip over all the mushrooms. Return them to the oven for 10 to 20 minutes, or until crispy and brown. (Cook time will depend on how thick or thin your mushroom shreds are.) When finished cooking, drizzle Mushroom Carnitas with lime juice.
- Sauce (optional): Meanwhile, add all Cilantro Sauce ingredients to a blender and blitz until smooth.
- Assemble: Spoon mushrooms into tortillas, topping with the Cilantro Sauce and your favorite fixings.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
This has become a house staple for the two of us who are trying to reduce the meat in our diet. Hurray for oyster mushrooms, and the treatment in this recipe keeps us coming back for more!
This looks fantastic. Thank you for all these wonderful recipes. I can not wait to get cooking!
Yay! I’d love to hear how it goes, Jaymee! 😀
OMGGGG loveeee.
I love mushrooms so I love this alternative for carnitas tacos, between the seasoning and the texture it’s so spot on and I don’t feel heavy and bloated. One of my favorite recipes!
YAY! I’m so happy you loved it! 😀
Just made this and it was so good! The flavors all came! Tasty! I used kite hill plant based yogurt.
Looks like pulled pork but that’s about it. Lots of work to prepare. Mushrooms are too chewy nothing like pork. But I do appreciate all of your recipes. Just not for me!
I loved the marinade on the mushrooms. I used regular oyster mushrooms since kings were not available. They shredded fine and were delicious. I used my own toppings and salsa.
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit, Manon! Enjoy!
don’t find vegan worcestershire sauce in my country! 🙁 what can i do?
It can just be omitted here 🙂