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These vegan Shredded Mushroom Carnitas are a flavour powerhouse! Soft tortillas are loaded with jalapeño cream cheese, crispy spiced mushrooms, garlic mayonnaise sauce and pickled red onions, topped with fresh coriander and a squeeze of lime juice.
This spicy Mexican dish is traditionally made with pulled pork but this cruelty free version uses shredded mushrooms that are oven baked in a variety of spices until they have a crisp and chewy texture.
The punchy flavour of the mushrooms is complimented by a spicy jalapeño cream cheese, creamy garlic mayo and pickled red onions, all wrapped up in soft mini tortillas. This recipe makes 8 mini tortillas and we recommend serving two per person with some sides such as tortilla chips and guacamole, chargrilled corn and sweet potato fries for a fab sharing meal.
Quick links:
Why you’ll love these Shredded Mushroom Carnitas
Full of flavour. There will be no ‘missing the meat’ with this recipe! It is so packed with flavour and spice that it doesn’t need anything else adding and the crispy round the edges, chewy in the middle shredded mushrooms are the best texture for this vegan carnitas recipe.
Great for sharing. Most of the elements of this dish can be made in advance, with the exception of the shredded mushrooms which should be served freshly cooked. This makes it a good one if you’ve got friends coming around – you can pop everything in the middle of the table, serve up the hot crispy mushrooms fresh from the oven and let everyone build their own carnitas.
Easy substitutions available. This recipe is made up of four dishes, three of which can be shop bought ready made if you’re in a time-pinch, leaving you with just the mushrooms to prepare. The jalapeño cream cheese can be made by stirring diced jalapeños into your favourite vegan cream cheese, vegan garlic mayo is readily available in supermarkets these days (Heinz and Hellman’s do a good one) and the easy pickled red onions can be subbed with a pickled pink slaw.
How to make these Shredded Mushroom Carnitas
Gather together all of your ingredients.
First up make the jalapeño cream cheese by blending together all of the cream cheese ingredients (except the jalapeños) until silky smooth. Stir in the diced jalapeño and then refrigerate to firm up.
To make the crispy shredded mushrooms, first roughly crush the mushrooms with the back of a fork.
Add the remaining shredded mushroom ingredients and stir together. Spread out over two unlined trays in a thin layer and bake until crispy around the edges (approx 40 mins).
To make the garlic mayo sauce, add the ingredients for the sauce to a bowl and stir together until combined.
To make the easy pickled red onions, add the onions to a bowl with some boiling water and leave to soak for 10 mins. Then drain and add 1 tbsp vinegar to ‘pickle’ the onions and turn them bright pink.
Top tips
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Use soft tortillas: This recipe works well with soft mini flour tortillas which can be wrapped around all of the lovely carnita ingredients. Because the flavours are so punchy, this recipe works well with mini-tortillas rather than regular or large tortillas.
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Make this a sharing meal: This vegan carnitas recipe makes 8 mini tortilla carnitas and is great for a sharing meal. Serve up two per person along with some sides such as crispy tortilla chips and guacamole, chargrilled sweetcorn and sweet potato fries.
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Variations: You can make this meal gluten free by using gluten free flour tortillas and making sure any shop-bought items are gluten free (such as the silken tofu and vegan mayo).
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How to serve: Everything can be made in advance with the exception of the shredded mushrooms which should be served freshly made and hot from the oven.
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Storing: The jalapeño cream cheese, garlic mayo sauce and pickled red onions will all store well in the fridge in an airtight container. The mushrooms should be eaten freshly cooked as mushrooms don’t tend to re-heat well.
FAQs
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Can I make this gluten free? You can make this meal gluten free by using gluten free flour tortillas and making sure any shop-bought items are gluten free (such as the silken tofu and vegan mayo).
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Can I freeze or reheat this dish? We recommend eating this dish when freshly made and not reheating or freezing the mushrooms. The cream cheese, garlic mayo and red onions can all be stored in the fridge in an airtight container however and eaten the next day.
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Can I omit the tofu or nuts from the cream cheese? Both are needed to make the cream cheese but you can easily make a jalapeño cream cheese using your favourite shop bought vegan cream cheese and stirring in some diced jalapeños.
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Loved these Shredded Mushroom Carnitas? Here are some more epic vegan main meals to try
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This Fillet-No-Fish recipe features a crispy fried tofu fillet that has been marinated to give a delicious mild fish flavour. It’s served with Peruvian-inspired chilli mayonnaise and is so delicious!
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Fancy an easy Mexican meal that’s ready in 10 minutes?! Try these Fully Loaded Burritos for a quick and easy weeknight meal.
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This spicy, colourful Chick’n and Chorizo Jambalaya is a meat-free twist on a New Orleans classic – a one pot meal that is packed full of flavour.
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This colourful Spiced Jackfruit Fatteh is what I like to call ‘Middle Eastern Nachos’! A great sharing meal that features pitta bread nachos topped with smokey spiced jackfruit, creamy tahini sauce, pine nuts, pomegranate and a side of roasted red pepper dip.
I hope you LOVE this recipe for Shredded Mushroom Carnitas! Share this recipe with someone you think will love it and don’t forget to tag @aveganvisit on social media when you try out the recipe – I absolutely love seeing your re-creations! Enjoy 🙂 x
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The Shredded Mushroom Carnitas Recipe:
Shredded Mushroom Carnitas
Ingredients
For the jalapeño cream cheese:
- 100 g cashews (soaked overnight and then drained)
- 200 g silken tofu (drained)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 ½ tsp garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp dried onion granules
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
- 15 g jalapeños (diced)
- Substitute: Your favourite shop-bought vegan cream cheese with diced jalapeños stirred through to taste
For the shredded mushrooms:
- 1 kg mushrooms
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tsp ground cumin
- 3 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp garlic granules
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ¾ tsp cayenne pepper
- 75 g onion (sliced)
- 150 ml orange juice
For the vegan garlic mayonnaise sauce:
- 60 g vegan mayo
- 1 tsp garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Pinch of black pepper
- Substitute: Your favourite shop-bought vegan garlic mayo
For the easy pickled red onions:
- ½ red onion (sliced)
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- Substitute: A shop-bought pickled pink slaw
To serve:
- 8 mini soft tortilla wraps
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander (roughly chopped)
- 1 lime (cut into 4 wedges)
Instructions
To make the jalapeño cream cheese:
- Add all of the jalapeño cream cheese ingredients, except for the jalapeños, to a high power blender and blend for 2-3 minutes until silky smooth.100 g cashews, 200 g silken tofu, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 1/2 tsp garlic, 1 tsp dried onion granules, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 pinch ground black pepper
- Stir in the diced jalapeños and then place in the fridge to firm up whilst you make the rest of the dish.15 g jalapeños
To make the shredded mushrooms:
- Preheat the oven to 175°C fan (195°C conventional / 390°F / gas mark 6).
- Clean the mushrooms by brushing off any mud or rinsing them briefly and then drying them (but don’t soak them in water.*)1 kg mushrooms
- Put the mushrooms on a large unlined tray (i.e. no baking paper) and use the back of a fork to crush them so they end up with a shredded texture (please see the process photos on the blog).
- Stir in the oil, cumin, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne. Stir in the sliced onion and orange juice.3 tbsp olive oil, 4 tsp ground cumin, 3 tsp dried oregano, 2 tsp garlic granules, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 3/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 75 g onion, 150 ml orange juice
- Once all of the ingredients are mixed together, divide the mushrooms between two large trays and spread them out into a thin layer (if you cook them on one tray they will take much longer to cook).
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until the edges of the mushrooms are starting to crisp up. The mushrooms will reduce in size by at least 1/2 whilst cooking.
To make the vegan garlic mayonnaise sauce:
- Stir together all of the garlic mayonnaise sauce ingredients until combined.60 g vegan mayo, 1 tsp garlic, 1 tsp lemon juice, Pinch of black pepper
To make the easy pickled red onions
- Add the sliced red onions to a bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 10 minutes.1/2 red onion
- Drain the water off, stir in 1 tbsp of vinegar and leave for 5 minutes (they’ll turn a lovely bright pink!).1 tbsp vinegar
To serve:
- Spread cream cheese on the soft mini tortillas and then add the crispy shredded mushrooms.8 mini soft tortilla wraps
- Top with pickled red onions, a drizzle of garlic mayo, fresh coriander and finish with a squeeze of fresh lime.2 tbsp fresh coriander, 1 lime
- Enjoy whilst the mushrooms are still warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Tara
Hi, I’m Tara! I’m taking you on a trip around the world in vegan cuisine and bringing the world’s most delicious dishes to your kitchen.
