Shredded king oyster mushrooms make the best vegan pulled pork. Their meaty texture is way better to roast, grill, or fry than jackfruit. In 40 minutes, you can have this BBQ pulled mushroom burger with a vegan coleslaw.
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If you love oyster mushroom recipes where the mushroom is used as a vegan meat alternative, you should also take a look at vegan Philly cheesesteak, vegan gyros, vegan shredded chicken, vegan buffalo chicken dip, and vegan fried chicken recipes.
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What can you expect?
The classic pulled pork sandwich made of pork shoulder or butt is quite well-known all around the US. It is one of those grab-and-go types of food, which is often offered by food trucks. It is also typical to find among Southern barbeque dishes in spite of the fact that it needs to be cooked for 8-10 hours. So definitely not a quick recipe to prepare.
So is it easy to make vegan pulled pork? I have to say, yes it is. Because there is this wonderfully versatile ingredient called king oyster mushrooms, which you can turn easily tender and juicy with perfectly crisp edges. And you only need 30 minutes.
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Ingredients
To make a complete BBQ vegan pulled pork burger, you need to make the pulled oyster mushrooms flavorful. Hence, we seasoned them with a spice mix before roasting them in the oven. As a final step, we pan-fried them with a homemade BBQ sauce to make them juicy. Here is the list of things you need:
- King oyster mushrooms – It is best to use the king one, but you can try other types of oyster mushrooms. Here is where to buy them.
- Homemade vegan barbecue sauce
- Spices: smoked sweet paprika, oregano, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper
- Vegan coleslaw salad
- Burger buns
🛒 You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Instructions
Preparing the oyster mushrooms
It is quite quick to prepare oyster mushrooms of any type since they don’t grow in the dirt but on tree logs. You don’t need to wash them. If you still see some dirt, just wipe it clean with a cloth and cut off the tip of the stem. Now you can start shredding.
- Take two forks and pierce king oyster mushrooms with one at its neck, right below the cap.
- Use the other fork and pull it along the stem. Push it gently so it pierces the mushroom. Repeat as long as you have a stem to shred.
- Caps are not easy to shred with a fork. We recommend cutting them as thin as you can with a knife.
Roasting them in the oven
Once you are ready with the preparations, you can choose different methods for cooking oyster mushrooms. We roasted the pulled mushrooms in the oven and seasoned them with a homemade spice mix for this recipe.
- Preheat the oven to 390 Fahrenheit (ca. 199 °C).
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silicone baking sheet. Spread the shredded mushrooms as well as you can in one layer.
- Add seasoning and a bit of oil. Mix until they are well-coated.
- Roast them for 20-25 minutes. Depending on the size of your strips, you may need short, or longer baking time. We recommend checking it halfway and also flipping and stirring them to make sure all edges will be crispy at the end like on the below photo.
Making BBQ pulled mushrooms
- Heat a frying pan or cast-iron skillet over low-medium heat.
- Add homemade vegan BBQ sauce and roasted pulled oyster mushrooms. Mix them well with a spatula or tongs.
- Fry them for approx. 2-3 minutes to make them sticky and juicy. Just like in the below photo.
Making vegan pulled pork burger
The best part of the whole recipe is building your yummy burger. You can absolutely add other ingredients, but we recommend trying this combination. They are absolutely amazing and delicious together!
- We started off with a toasted bun.
- First, we spread a generous layer of sriracha mayo on it.
- Then, we added the star of this recipe, the BBQ pulled oyster mushrooms.
- Next up, light and easy vegan coleslaw salad.
- Cover it up with the other side of the toasted bun.
Cooking tips
- Size matters – Baking time is an estimation, so always check how the roasting is going at halftime. The size of the vegan pulled pork strips us similar since you use a fork, but if you add the thinly cut caps to the baking tray, you need more time for those to be ready.
- Don’t bake mushrooms with the BBQ sauce – We tested this recipe in various ways and one was that we marinated the shredded mushrooms in not only the spices but in the BBQ sauce as well. We roasted them in the oven after that, but the end result was not juicy enough. The sauce got the shreds sticky, but not juicy enough. That is why we recommend adding the BBQ sauce separately, and after roasting.
Variations
The best mushroom to make vegan pulled pork is definitely king oyster mushroom. However, there are 7 other types of oyster mushrooms you can try. You may not be able to shred them with a fork as thin as king oysters.
If you have classic button mushrooms or portobello mushrooms, you can certainly make this recipe as the spices and the flavor profile matches perfectly with many mushroom types. However, the texture may not be the same.
We also listed here 13 oyster mushroom substitutes that you can choose from. We especially recommend shredding eggplant or young green jackfruit with a fork in place of king oysters.
Serving ideas
BBQ pulled pork is usually served with cabbage-carrot coleslaw and for a good reason. They are delicious together. And the vegan version is no exception. However, if you need some inspiration for burger side dishes, here are our usual choices:
- With fries: Choose classics like French fries, or opt for sweet potato wedges or roasted potatoes.
- With veggies: Serve your burger alongside roasted cauliflower, grilled vegetable kabobs, or other vegetables.
- With grains: Brown rice, quinoa, or our riced sweet potatoes are all excellent side dishes. Try cilantro lime rice from our copycat Chipotle veggie bowl recipe.
- With salad: Serve it next to a light green salad.
- Without the bun: Grab a large lettuce leave and fill it with vegan pulled pork and coleslaw. It will look almost like tacos.
Storing ideas
You can store king oyster mushrooms easily for up to a week in the fridge, or at room temperature for 1-2 days. For more tips, read our how to store oyster mushrooms article.
In the fridge – The finished BBQ vegan pulled pork can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. We recommend assembling the burger before serving and not storing them as complete burgers.
Reheating – When ready to serve them, reheat them in a frying pan or skillet. We usually don’t recommend the microwave option if the dish needs to be crispy. But since they are more sticky and juicy, then crispy, you can reheat it in the microwave without any problem.
In the freezer – You can freeze the BBQ pulled mushrooms in a ziplock bag. Thaw and reheat it as described above.
FAQs
The best options are mushrooms with large trunks like king oyster or porcini, fresh jackfruit (canned ones are hard to pull), and eggplant. All are shredded with a fork to get a thin, pulled pork-like consistency.
Yes, you can make crispy pulled mushrooms using a cast-iron skillet. Make sure to preheat it over medium-high heat and use enough oil to fry them. The spongy texture of the mushrooms tend to absorb some oil during frying.
More vegan burger recipes
More vegan oyster mushroom recipes
We absolutely love oyster mushrooms. You will find here more than 30+ vegan oyster mushroom recipes to choose from, or check out one of the below ones:
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BBQ Vegan Pulled Pork Burger (Mushroom)
Ingredients
BBQ Vegan Pulled Pork
- 9 oz King oyster mushrooms
- 2 Tbsp Vegetable oil
- ½ tsp Sweet smoked paprika powder
- 1 tsp Oregano
- ½ tsp Cumin
- ½ tsp Onion powder
- ½ tsp Garlic powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- ⅛ tsp Black pepper
- ⅓ cup Vegan BBQ sauce
Spicy Mayo
- ½ cup Mayo (I used vegan)
- 1 tsp Sriracha (or any other chili paste)
- ½ tsp Sesame oil
Other Add-ins
- Vegan Coleslaw
- Burger bun
Instructions
Prepare the oyster mushrooms
- You don’t need to wash them. If you still see some dirt, wipe it clean with a cloth and cut off the tip of the stem.
- Take two forks and pierce the king oyster mushrooms, with one at its neck, right below the cap.
- Use the other fork and pull it along the stem. Push it gently so it pierces the mushroom. Repeat as long as you have a stem to shred.
- Caps are not easy to shred with a fork. We recommend cutting them as thin as you can with a knife.
Roast them in the oven
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silicone baking sheet.
- Preheat oven to 390 Fahrenheit (ca. 199 °C).
- Spread the shredded mushrooms, if possible, in one layer.
- Add seasoning and a bit of oil. Mix until they are well-coated.
- Roast them for 20-25 minutes. Depending on the size of your strips, you may need short, or longer baking time. We recommend checking it halfway and flipping and stirring them to ensure all edges will be crispy at the end.
Make BBQ vegan pulled pork
- Heat a frying pan or cast-iron skillet over low-medium heat.
- Add homemade vegan BBQ sauce and roasted pulled oyster mushrooms. Mix them well with a spatula or tongs.
- Fry them for approx. 2-3 minutes to make them sticky and juicy.
- Serve with vegan coleslaw in between burger buns.
Suee33
Made these mushroom – sandwiches – easy and delicious. The bigger the Mushrooms the easy and faster it is to shred them. I buy Trader Joe’s Coleslaw mix, toss it into my food processor as I do like the large cut. Then Make a sauce of some vegan Mayo, soy sauce, cider vinegar, sugar – yum. I am keeping this recipe.