By shredding king oyster mushrooms, seasoning with spices, and baking, you can create a vegan mushroom pulled pork that rivals the real stuff! The perfect pulled pork alternative for sandwiches, tacos, nachos…or whenever you need vegan pulled pork.
This is one of the most popular recipes on Live Eat Learn. And for good reason! This pulled mushrooms recipe is:
- Stupid easy, just shred, bake and saute.
- Meat eater approved, just check the comments!
- A fun new technique to add to your vegetarian dinner recipe arsenal.
And the thing is, I didn’t even like mushrooms when I first created this recipe back in 2018. But this recipe changed it all for me. Now, mushrooms are one of my favorite ingredients to cook with, and we have dozens of mushroom recipes on the site.
This vegan pulled pork doesn’t use just any mushroom though. We’re using unique and delicious oyster mushrooms to create a texture and flavor similar to pork. Ready to try out your new favorite vegetarian meat substitute? Let’s cook!
Ingredients for vegan pulled pork
You just need a handful of ingredients to make this vegan pork.
- King Oyster Mushrooms: The thick stem shreds into perfectly “pulled pork” pieces. Find king oyster mushrooms in almost any or Asian supermarket and some health food stores. You can substitute blue oyster mushrooms if needed (about 3 heaping cups worth).
- Spices: The spices can be adapted to what you like, but we tend to use smoked paprika (for that roasted flavor), salt, and a bit of cayenne.
- BBQ sauce: It’s not a pulled pork alternative without the best BBQ sauce! We love Sweet Baby Ray’s around here, but any will do.
How to make pulled Mushrooms
To make this finger-smacking tasty vegan alternative pulled pork, you’ll just toss the shredded mushroom in spices and bake until the edges are all crispy. Baking first and then sautéing gives the mushrooms a firmer texture that more closely resembles pulled pork.
Step 1: Shred
Wipe dirt off of mushrooms, then shred them into fine pieces using two forks. You can finely chop the caps and incorporate them in to (no waste here!) The more finely you shred the mushrooms, the less chewy they will be once cooked.
Step 2: Bake
Drizzle with mushrooms with a bit of oil, paprika, salt, cayenne, and garlic. Toss around to evenly coat the mushrooms, really making sure the spices are worked into every piece (I like to mush it around with my hands). Bake bake for 20 minutes, or until mushrooms are a bit crispy and brown on the edges.
FAVORITE SHEET PAN
This large nonstick sheet pan is one of my everyday favorites!
Step 3: Sauté
Now to infuse the pulled mushrooms with that BBQ flavor! Transfer the cooked shredded mushrooms to a saute pan and add BBQ sauce. Stir and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until mixture is thick and fragrant.
Voila! You now have BBQ mushrooms that you can serve warm on sandwiches, nachos, salads, tacos…or whenever you eat pulled “pork”!
More ways to use oyster mushrooms
Now that you’ve fallen in love with oyster mushrooms, here are a few of our favorite oyster mushroom recipes to inspire your vegetarian cooking!
- Vegetarian Philly Cheesesteak made with flavorful oyster mushrooms? Yes please (this went viral on Tastemade!)
- Buttermilk Fried “Chicken” isn’t chicken…and it’s not even fried. Battered oyster mushrooms cooked in the air fryer!
- Pulled Mushroom Tacos seasoned with TexMax flavors and loaded with toppings.
Ingredients
- 4 king oyster mushrooms*
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 30 mL, divided
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup BBQ sauce 60 g
Instructions
- Shred Mushrooms: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Using two forks, shred the stems and caps roughly into pieces. Set on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Bake: Drizzle with 1 Tbsp of the oil, paprika, salt, cayenne, and garlic. Toss around to evenly coat the mushrooms, then bake for 20 minutes, or until mushrooms are a bit crispy and brown on the edges.
- Sauté: Heat remaining 1 Tbsp oil in a large saute pan over medium high. Transfer cooked mushrooms to pan and add BBQ sauce. Stir and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until mixture is thick and fragrant. Serve warm on sandwiches, nachos, salads, tacos…or whenever you eat pulled pork!
Jeanette says
Holy moly! It looks like pulled pork, it tastes like pulled pork, it’s only a little spongier in texture but it’s SO GOOD. I will definitely be using this recipe again!!! I only had a small bunch of mushrooms but I wish I had more so I could have leftovers.
brit says
I’ve made this before but I couldn’t find the exact recipe and this is the first thing that comes up on Google. The cook time was not near long enough for me. Did the 20 minutes and cooked in the pan but the mushrooms were hard to chew and had an unpleasant texture. I cooked them longer a different day and now it’s great! But I had to double the time
David belfonte says
Super easy and delicious!
Geraldine says
I made this recipe, though I’ll admit I didn’t bother with the frying part as I loved it how it was after being in the oven. Will definitely make again!
Theshia says
This was absolutely delicious! Easy to make and tasty!!
Jen says
Amazing! We made this for dinner, hubby had his on a sandwich and I made a BBQ salad. We’ll definitely use this recipe in our regular rotation!
Jan says
Crazy good! Added a bit of onion power and a couple dashes of liquid smoke for a bit more flavor and served on toasted brioche buns. So good!
Bev says
I love it ! Thank you ! It’s a keeper !
Carol says
Can this be adapted to a crock pot?
Sarah Bond says
I haven’t tried this in the crockpot so I can’t say for sure. I think I would prefer oven though because it gives us those crispy, dried out pieces (similar to pork)
Amy Leventhal says
Winner, winner, pulled pork dinner! LOVED this. I added a whole caramelized onion for a little extra zing and to try and add a little more quantity to the mushrooms to make sure we had enough to feed 4 and it worked like a charm. Thanks for this great recipe! Can’t wait to try it in a taco, and as a sandwich. This time, I just sauteed up some bok choy for a little green crunch.
Sarah Bond says
YAY! So happy to hear it, Amy! Enjoy! 😀
Lynn says
OMG. This was so good. Will definitely make it again. I’m not vegan but trying to eat more plant based foods. Salad gets boring all the time.
Sarah Bond says
I’m so happy you liked it, Lynn! Oyster mushrooms are pure magic. Enjoy! 😀
Jorn says
Tried it out and completely convinced this is now going to me a regular at our place.
Harriet says
Really tasty, but no where near enough to fill 3 burgers! Full quantities was just enough for 2 small buns. Maybe a rough weight guide would be useful for the mushrooms?
Erin Disy says
Absolutely incredible and genius!!! My husband and I have been vegetarian for over a year now and always looking for new recipes and ways to prepare different veggies. My husband has always hated mushrooms but was willing to start giving them a chance and boy, was he happy he did!! You would never know you were eating mushrooms or anything other than pulled pork or chicken!! Crisping it in the oven was what made this what it is!! We are now going to try using this way to try the oyster mushrooms differently now! Thank you so much for expanding our dinner options!
Kerry Jordan says
Can I ask what was the last condiment (sauce) you put on the burger in the video? Mustard or thousand island? I have eaten this at our local vegan cafe and now I will be trying this out myself.
Sarah Bond says
I think that one was a combination of mayo and BBQ!
Bernie says
Wow this is a great recipe I ran out of time had to go look after my Grandson so threw the mushrooms on the burger after the oven bit and was impressed. So easy to make will definitely do it again.
Palme says
OMG – I made this for dinner along with pickled red onions and a simple cabbage slaw and had the leftovers for breakfast. It was amazing!!! I shared the recipe with a couple of my vegetarian/vegan friends. I will keep this in my weekly rotation. Thanks for sharing.
Erica says
Very tasty and easy recipe. If you are sensitive to heat you may want to cut the amount of cayenne a little. I also used Kings Hawaiian rolls and it made about 6 slides. I also made a vegan coleslaw to put in the sliders.
Moira says
when you mention needing about three heaping cups of regular oyster mushrooms to substitute for king oysters, do you mean three keeping cups shredded?
Sarah Bond says
Yes! 😀
Moira says
Thank you Sarah! And sorry for my typo – meant heaping not keeping. I’m a sloppy “dictator”. I made this with king trumpet mushrooms which I bought by mistake and it was still FABULOUS!!
Anne L murdock Murdock says
Absolutely fabulous recipe.
I used Italian oyster mushrooms and was easy delicious meal.
Thank u
Mimi says
Very tasty but… My mushroom were rather chewy so not sure if I should bake them longer?
Sarah Bond says
Yes bake them longer if they’re still chewy! And shred them into finer pieces.