I surprised myself recently while waiting in line at the supermarket and picked up one of those little mini magazine cookbooks. I forget the title, but the subject was bacon recipes. I didn’t even really think about it when I grabbed the thing…I was just looking for some inspiration. People are doing all kinds of crazy things with bacon. They’re wrapping things in it, stuffing things with it, infusing with it, even making jam out of it (okay, I had to skip past the jam section of the book. That was just a little too much for me). Anyhow, I see no reason why omnivores should have all the fun, so I went right home and got to creating some vegan stuffed mushrooms, filled to the brim with smoky tempeh bacon. Bacon stuffed mushrooms aren’t exactly cutting edge. Even I knew about these things before spotting the magazine recipe. But the book reminded me of them, and of the fact that they also include cream cheese, my other favorite veganized food to play around with. I knew right away that I’d have a blast making these things. My tempeh bacon-filled vegan stuffed mushrooms were so satisfying, and even though my taste for bacon is incredibly outdated, I can say that I’d have never have known that these were vegan if I hadn’t just made them myself. The combination of smoky flavor with the rich cream cheese and chives is kind of the bomb.
What You’ll Need
Soy sauce. Gluten-free tamari or liquid aminos can be substituted if needed.Liquid smoke. Look for this near where the barbecue sauce is sold at your supermarket.Maple syrup. Agave syrup works as an alternative.Apple cider vinegar. You can sub another type of vinegar like red wine or malt vinegar if you’d like.Tempeh. You can usually buy this near where tofu is sold at the supermarket. Feeling ambitious? Make your own tempeh!Olive oil. Feel free to substitute another high-heat oil, such as avocado, vegetable, or coconut.Cremini mushrooms. These are sometimes labelled as baby portobello mushrooms at the store. Use regular old white button mushrooms if you can’t find them.Vegan cream cheese. I like this recipe best when it’s made with my homemade vegan cream cheese, but the store-bought stuff works as well. Kite Hill is my favorite brand of store-bought vegan cream cheese.Panko bread crumbs. Feel free to substitute any variety of vegan breadcrumbs, as long as they’re unseasoned. Use gluten-free breadcrumbs if necessary.Hot sauce. Use your favorite variety (I like Cholula in this dish), or skip it for a milder version of the dish.Fresh chives.
How to Make Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!
You can make the cream cheese yourself by following my recipe, or use store-bought. You’ll need to soak the cashews in advance if you make it yourself, but otherwise it whips up super quick in the food processor.
Next, make the tempeh bacon. Tempeh gets crumbled up and tossed with soy sauce, maple syrup, liquid smoke and apple cider vinegar, then briefly browned in a skillet.Tip: If you’ve got the time, let the tempeh marinate for a while to enhance the flavor. Be sure to cover and chill it if you go longer than 2 hours.
Mix the tempeh bacon with cashew cream cheese, panko breadcrumbs, chives, and optionally, hot sauce!
Stuff the mushrooms.Place your stuffed mushroom caps on a baking sheet and bake them!
Try not to eat them all at once. ;)
Make-Ahead Option
The filling can be prepared up to 2 days in advance. My preference is to store it in a sealed container in the fridge, then stuff and bake the mushrooms on the day of serving. Another option would be to do all the prep in advance, including stuffing the mushrooms, then store them in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Bake on the day of serving.
Leftovers & Storage
Vegan stuffed mushrooms are best served right away, but if you’ve got leftovers they’ll keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
More Vegan Finger Foods
Vegan Mushroom CrostiniSmoky Tofu DumplingsVegan Jalapeño PoppersVegan Stuffed Phyllo Cigars
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