The BEST Vegan Mushroom Tacos Recipe
Mar 31, 2020 • Updated Apr 08, 2024
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Calling all mushroom lovers! These delicious vegan mushroom tacos are bursting with so much flavor, easy to customize, and make taco night a delicious, plant-forward meal!
What Makes This Recipe Great
Try this next Taco Tuesday–smoky Vegan Mushroom Tacos! It’s no secret that shiitake mushrooms are a wonderful meatless alternative because they hold flavor, have a great meaty texture, and provide a deep, rich umami taste. Typically, I like to make vegan taco meat with a protein like tofu or tempeh but since I didn’t have enough on hand, I grabbed the next best thing and the mushroom filling came to be.
They’re smoky, flavorful, and easy to make in one pan. You can enjoy these mushrooms in taco form, or use them to top pasta, salads, bowls, and more. My sister and I were so pleasantly surprised by how delicious this combination was and I’m excited to share this one with you.
This mushroom taco recipe is vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, and refined sugar-free. It can be meal-prepped, and leftovers can be stored in the fridge or freezer. If you have any leftovers…that is 😉
Ingredient Notes
- Shiitake mushrooms → Make for a wonderful meat replacement. They have great texture and a natural umami flavor that pairs really well with spices and herbs. If you don’t have access to shiitake mushrooms, you can use regular white button mushrooms, baby bella, cremini mushrooms, or any variety of mushroom.
- Tempeh → adds an extra boost of protein and texture. It’s fermented and promotes gut health, and when prepared properly, has a similar texture to beef crumbles in my opinion. As an alternative, you can use firm tofu, pressed and crumbled, or vegan mock beef crumbles!
- Taco seasoning (and then some) → the seasonings I used to cook my mushrooms were a mix of gluten-free soy sauce (or Tamari), taco seasoning, minced garlic or garlic powder, onion, and smoked paprika. If you have a beloved taco seasoning mix, you can certainly opt to use that for convenience.
- Extra fillings of choice → the rest is kind of up to you! Load your tacos up with the fixings of choice like avocado, guacamole, shredded lettuce, bell peppers, corn, pico de gallo, black beans, red onions, vegan sour cream, or vegan cheese. That’s part of the fun!
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Bring a pan to medium heat, and sauté onions until translucent and slightly soft. Add garlic, soy sauce and taco seasoning and paprika and sauté for another 2 minutes or so, until fragrant.
- Add tempeh and mushrooms to the pan and cook down until mushrooms are tender and the tempeh is golden brown. If desired, add additional seasoning and either oil or veggie broth as needed so the mixture does not burn/stick to the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Heat corn tortillas or tortillas of choice, then serve with taco filling and garnish with additional herbs and veggies of choice. Enjoy!
Secrets to Success
- To make this recipe oil-free, I always recommend using a good nonstick frying pan. Mushrooms do release some liquid as they cook, so you can “fry” them dry to start. If things feel dry, you can always add splashes of veggie broth to avoid burning and sticking, otherwise feel free to use a little cooking oil of choice.
- As always, the best way to enjoy a meatless meal is to prepare it as you would a regular meal. For example, if you usually top your tacos with guac, definitely do the same with these Mushroom Shii-Tacos! Are you a hot sauce or cheese lover? Add both in (vegan versions, of course). You know what you like best, so think of this as an alternative to the meat but the rest is up to you!
- This is the taco seasoning I used. It’s from Primal Palate and its ingredients are simple and so delicious: Chipotle Chili Powder, Pink Himalayan Salt, Paprika, Black Pepper, Cumin, and Garlic.
Serving Tips
Either assemble these vegan mushroom tacos yourself or add ingredients to bowls for a build-your-own taco bar sort of night for family gatherings or a fun weeknight dinner. Make burrito bowls, tacos, taco salads, and more!
Add your favorite fillings and toppings according to your liking. Here are some suggestions: Guacamole, vegan sour cream, tomato salsa, corn salsa, and/or salsa verde, black beans, fajita veggies (onions and bell pepper), lime juice, red cabbage, chopped cilantro, vegan cheese of choice, and, of course, corn tortillas or flour tortillas.
You can also make a side of cilantro lime rice (if you don’t have the cilantro soap issue like me), Mexican rice and/or vegan pinto beans, refried beans, or black beans.
Storage Tips
Store leftover taco meat in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator. Store sides and toppings in separate containers. Reheat the filling for 2-3 minutes and build your tacos.
Alternatively, you can store your assembled vegan tacos in an airtight container in the fridge and eat them within 2-3 days.
More Vegan Mushroom Recipes
Miso Mushroom Vegan Burger Patties
If you try this recipe out, tag me on Instagram @veggiekins so I can see your delicious re-creations and for a chance to be featured! As always, I love it when you share your star rating and reviews in the comments below, and if you make any fun substitutions, let me know how it worked out below too!
The BEST Vegan Mushroom Tacos Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 white onion finely sliced or minced
- 12 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp gluten-free soy sauce
- 2-3 tsp taco seasoning I used this taco seasoning
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 10 oz sliced white mushrooms
- 150 g tempeh cubed
- salt and pepper to taste
- to serve
- gluten-free tortillas
- vegan sour cream
- pickled red onion
- avocado
- hot sauce
Instructions
- Bring a pan to medium heat, and sauté onions until translucent and slightly soft. Add garlic, soy sauce and taco seasoning and paprika and sauté for another 2 minutes or so, until fragrant.
- Add tempeh and mushrooms to the pan and cook down until mushrooms are tender and tempeh is golden brown. If desired, add additional seasoning and either oil or veggie broth as needed so mixture does not burn/stick to the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Heat tortillas of choice, then serve tacos and garnish with additional herbs and veggies of choice. Enjoy!
Notes
Secrets to Success
- To make this recipe oil-free, I always recommend using a good nonstick frying pan. Mushrooms do release some liquid as they cook, so you can “fry” them dry to start. If things feel dry, you can always add splashes of veggie broth to avoid burning and sticking, otherwise feel free to use a little cooking oil of choice.
- As always, the best way to enjoy a meatless meal is to prepare it as you would a regular meal. For example, if you usually top your tacos with guac, definitely do the same with these Mushroom Shii-Tacos! Are you a hot sauce or cheese lover? Add both in (vegan versions, of course). You know what you like best, so think of this as an alternative to the meat but the rest is up to you!
- This is the taco seasoning I used. It’s from Primal Palate and its ingredients are simple and so delicious: Chipotle Chili Powder, Pink Himalayan Salt, Paprika, Black Pepper, Cumin, and Garlic.
Serving Tips
Either assemble these vegan mushroom tacos yourself or add ingredients to bowls for a build-your-own taco bar sort of night for family gatherings or a fun weeknight dinner. Make burrito bowls, tacos, taco salads, and more! Add your favorite fillings and toppings according to your liking. Here are some suggestions: Guacamole, vegan sour cream, tomato salsa, corn salsa, and/or salsa verde, black beans, fajita veggies (onions and bell pepper), lime juice, red cabbage, chopped cilantro, vegan cheese of choice, and, of course, corn tortillas or flour tortillas. You can also make a side of cilantro lime rice (if you don’t have the cilantro soap issue like me), Mexican rice and/or vegan pinto beans, refried beans, or black beans.Storage Tips
Store leftover taco meat in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator. Store sides and toppings in separate containers. Reheat the filling for 2-3 minutes and build your tacos. Alternatively, you can store your assembled vegan tacos in an airtight container in the fridge and eat them within 2-3 days.Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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