Nice little game day-appropriate dinner right here! What I love most about these BBQ pulled mushroom sandwiches is that they don’t require any special equipment. Just a fork, big baking sheet, and a mixing bowl. The baking sheet gets preheated in the oven with some avocado oil and when you drop the shredded mushrooms on top, you’ll hear the sizzle. It’s very satisfying!
This vegan dinner recipe gets a flavour boost from barbecue sauce (this is my fave one right now), Tamari, spices, and a tahini-based ranch dressing for a quick slaw on top. The hardest part is shredding the mushrooms, which honestly isn’t too bad–just a bit time-consuming. I use a fork to pull apart shreds of oyster and king oyster mushrooms. I simply pulled some of the smaller/thinner ones apart with my fingers. If you can find a willing assistant to help with this, I recommend it!
The simplicity of these BBQ pulled mushroom sandwiches is what really does it for me though! One key tip is to broil the sauce-coated mushrooms at the end to get those crispy bits and browned edges. It really makes a difference. Other than that, the tahini ranch is simply whisked together and tossed with kale, red cabbage, and carrots for a little veg action. Close it all up in a fresh bun and you’re good! It’s super savoury, tangy, sweet, and a bit smoky too (depending on your sauce).
One thing to note though. If you want these sandwiches to be super, mega-stuffed with mushrooms, I would go up to 1 ½ lbs of mushrooms, add another tablespoon of oil to your baking sheet, and increase your BBQ sauce to ⅔ cup. I was really happy with the amount here for 4 sandwiches. It looks like a ton of mushrooms at first, but they cook down fast in the hot oven.
For more vegan game day recipes, check out my sticky and crispy sesame cauliflower, these shawarma-spiced fries loaded up with lemony tahini and a crunchy veg salad, or my spicy vegan artichoke dip with kale.
Crispy BBQ Pulled Mushroom Sandwiches
Ingredients
BBQ Pulled Mushrooms
- 1 ¼ lbs (567 grams) king oyster/oyster mushrooms
- ¼ cup avocado oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
- ½ cup barbecue sauce
- 2 teaspoons Tamari soy sauce
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Tahini Ranch Slaw & Serving
- ¼ cup tahini
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon grainy mustard
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon nutritional yeast
- 1 green onion, minced
- sea salt & ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup finely sliced kale, packed
- 1 cup finely shredded red cabbage, packed
- ½ cup shredded carrot
- 4 soft buns, for serving
Notes
- I know I’m showing ciabatta buns in my photos, but I really do recommend something softer like a burger bun to kind of form around the messy mushroom filling a bit better!
- If you have chives around, I recommend using those instead of green onion for the tahini ranch!
- You can also use raw cashew butter instead of tahini for the ranch if you like.
- If you want these sandwiches super, mega-stuffed with mushrooms, I would go up to 1 ½ lbs of mushrooms, add another tablespoon of oil to your baking sheet, and increase your BBQ sauce to ⅔ cup.
- Shredding the mushrooms is the most time-consuming part of this recipe. You can shred them ahead of time and keep them in a container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Set out a large baking sheet.
- "Shred" the mushrooms using the tines of a fork or by simply pulling them apart into shreds with your fingers. If you can enlist some help with this step, I recommend it!
- Pour the avocado oil onto the baking sheet and place it in the oven for 5 minutes.
- Carefully remove the baking sheet and immediately dump all of the shredded mushrooms into it. It should sizzle! Add the paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. Stir up the mushrooms with the spices and spread them out in a single layer. Roast the mushrooms for 15 minutes, or until wilted and starting to brown.
- Remove the mushrooms and toss them with the barbecue sauce, Tamari, and some salt and pepper, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the baking sheet. Spread mushrooms out into a single layer again and return to the oven for 5-7 minutes, or until the edges are starting to crisp up and caramelize. Turn the broiler on for a couple minutes to get a bit of char on the edges.
- While mushrooms are roasting, make the tahini ranch slaw. In a medium bowl, combine the tahini, water, lemon juice, mustard, garlic powder, dill weed, onion powder, nutritional yeast, green onion, salt, and pepper. Whisk to combine–it should be thick but pourable!
- To the bowl with the dressing, add the kale, red cabbage, and carrots. Toss to combine and set aside.
- Slice the buns open and stuff each with a ¼ of the BBQ mushroom mixture. Top each with some of the tahini ranch slaw. Cover that with the top of the bun and enjoy!
This was such a fun recipe, and the output was so delicious! I would have never thought to make ranch with tahini, but the slightly bitterness mixed with the sweet of the barbecue sauce was really nice. This was my first time working with oyster mushrooms, and I’m so inspired! What magic. I think they could be the basis of a really delicious saucy bbq recipe as well.
Wow. So many thoughts here! The most important is that the pulled mushroom bbq is soooo delicious! I used your simple maple bbq sauce, Laura, that I left in the fridge overnight (was curious why you didn’t recommend it for this recipe?) That sauce is amazing!!! (Though I skipped the hot sauce cuz I’m not a big heat fan in BBQ sauce). It’s a keeper (especially for BBQ pizza). I used King Trumpet mushrooms which some ppl on the internets say are the same. Shredded perfectly, crisped up perfectly. The mushroom texture is chewy but a perfect, craggy canvas for the sauce. 10 thumbs up!
Looking forward to making this for my Super Bowl party of one (Go Chiefs!)…Just a note here because I was pulling my hair out at the store trying to decide whether to buy “oyster mushrooms” and “king trumpet mushrooms”. For the uninitiated (like me), king trumpets and king oysters are virtually one and the same. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleurotus_eryngii
Hi Laura! This recipe looks great. I recently was gifted a large amount of mushrooms great for this purpose.
Could you help me with the following questions?
1. Can this recipe be made with rehydrated dried mushrooms?
2. Can the BBQ pulled mushrooms be cooked and frozen for serving at a later date?
Let me know and thank you in advance!
Hannah, not sure if you went ahead and made this but I would strongly recommend fresh oyster or king trumpet mushrooms – the texture is everything here. I can’t imagine freezing the BBQ’d mushrooms but it might work?!
Laura,
I’ve been following you for a few months now and have made a bunch of your recipes. I want to say that you are truly a master at what you do. These were UNREAL! I also have made your chickpea rosemary soup probably 10 times and it never gets old. So glad I found you!
Hi Logan!
Thanks for this kind comment and for following along here. So glad that the recipes are working for you. Have a good one!
-L
This was my first time since being plant based that I have used King Oyster mushrooms. Made this to take to a non vegan bbq so I had a food option. Such a good recipe. I cant wait to have the left overs! Thank you
I used fresh dill bc they were out of dry at the store ( but had bunches of fresh). — otherwise followed directions exactly. It was sensational. You get the convergence of taste and texture just right every time.
These sandwiches were amazing! Saucey and satisfying for veg and non-veg folks alike! We made them for game day, but I will be adding it into a more regular lunch or dinner rotation!! The tahini ranch dressing is so good, I’ll be using it for many other dishes.
OMG this was so delicious! Laura, I have been making so many of your latest recipes and they have all been AMAZING! We are lucky to have you sharing all these wonderful plant-based recipes with us!
These are delicious sandwiches! We have a vegan in our family, and I wanted to make these for all of us. I purchased two packages of oyster mushrooms along some portobellos, and roasting all w/ the seasonings shrunk them down, but what great flavor! Served with the slaw and on Dutch Crunch sandwich bread. Highly recommend this recipe!