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By shredding king oyster mushrooms, seasoning with spices, and baking, you can create a vegan mushroom pulled pork that rivals the real stuff! This foolproof vegan pork has been devoured in kitchens all over the world (and our step-by-step photos will walk you through how to make it perfectly every time).

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 hundreds of mushroom recipes on the site.
Ready to try out your new favorite vegetarian meat substitute? Let’s cook!
Reader rating
“Invited my meat eater friends over for pulled pork sliders…after a couple of servings someone asked “I thought you didn’t eat meat?” I responded…I don’t but I eat mushrooms!!!” —Diane

You just need a few ingredients
This is just an overview! Jump to the recipe card for full measurements and instructions.
- 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 the smaller version of these mushrooms–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 barbecue sauce! We love Sweet Baby Ray’s around here (it’s a vegan BBQ sauce we always keep stocked), but any sauce will do.

Reader rating
“Absolutely incredible and genius!!! You would never know you were eating mushrooms or anything other than pulled pork or chicken!!” —Erin

Serving
What’s BBQ without the condiments you serve it with? We paired this BBQ pulled mushroom with coleslaw on burger buns, but it’s also delicious on vegan nachos, in mushroom carnitas tacos, or even as a filling for vegan bao buns.

Next-Level BBQ Pulled Mushrooms
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 4 king oyster 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 half of the oil, 1 tsp smoked paprika, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, and 2 cloves garlic (minced). 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 oil in a large saute pan over medium/high. Transfer cooked mushrooms to pan and add ¼ cup 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! (Our favorite way? On a soft bun with sliced red onion and shredded cabbage!)

Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
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.















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.
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
Super easy and delicious!
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!
This was absolutely delicious! Easy to make and tasty!!
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!
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!
I love it ! Thank you ! It’s a keeper !
Can this be adapted to a crock pot?
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)
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.
YAY! So happy to hear it, Amy! Enjoy! 😀