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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).
save this recipe!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.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!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.
Thought I had already commented – oops. I made your recipe and it came out really well! My oven HOT, so baking it for about 15 minutes was perfect. Thank you!!
So happy to hear it, Alyssa! This is one of our favorites 😀
OH MY HEAVENS!!!!! we are new to the plant based vegan world…and yessssss!!!! Best recipe I’ve made to DATE. We ate it up! We made sandwiches with avocado, tomato, caramelized onions, and vegan mayo…mmmm cannot get enough!
Aw so happy to hear it, Kimberly! Enjoy!! 😀
Tried this recipe and have to say it was easy and tasty!
So happy to hear it, Patti! 😀
I tried thus recipe but the mushroom was too tough to eat. I’m curious where u went wrong. The flavors were really good but I just actually chew through them. I bought the king oysters, roasted on 400 for 25 min, finished in the pan. I don’t know. Should I have only used the middle of the mushroom? Maybe roasted longer? Helpppppppp lol
Hi Amir! I would try shredded them into thinner pieces, then roasting until they are tender (so perhaps a little longer than 25 min). With that said, I have noticed after trying mushrooms from a few different places that sometimes they are just a little tougher. If they’re too tough, I chop them up a bit more finely after cooking. Enjoy! 😀
Looks SO good! I would love to make this ahead and bring camping. What are your thoughts on eating it cold the next day on toasted buns? I am unsure how easy it would be to pan reheat?
Thank you for any feedback!
Yep that would work! Just bake it then wait to saute until you’re ready to eat 😀
ALTERNATIVES ARE LIFE SAVING
So happy to hear it! Enjoy! 😀
I found some huge king oyster mushrooms at the Asia store and followed the recipe, but although the flavor was good it was very tough and rubbery! Where did I go wrong? Maybe the mushrooms were too big? They were 5-6 inches
If it’s rubbery then next time just shred them more finely + increase the cooking time (until they’re soft and crispy at the edges).
Just saw this recipe and wondered if I could use lion mane mushrooms instead. If so how much?
Thank you,
Mary Lynn
Hi Mary! I had actually never hear of lion mane but looked it up – it seems so fun! I’m not sure how much you would substitute, but it looks like the texture would work well.
OMG!!! Loved this! I’ve been using these mushrooms to make faux oysters with great delight and wanted some other ways to make use of these meaty mushrooms! This was a real winner! I will be making again and will use this for inspo to make other “shredded meat” meals. It does shrink and may need an addition of protein to make this a more complete meal…but yum yum. Thank you so much!
So happy to hear it, Sarah! I use these shredded mushrooms for all kinds of “meat” now too. Enjoy! 😀
The best
It is now our first choice for nachos.
Easy and quick to make and it is enough for 3-4 people.
Thank you
Yay! I love this stuff on nachos. Enjoy! 😀