These vegan portobello mushroom tacos feature juicy marinated and roasted portobello caps, which are sliced and layered into soft tortillas. The tacos also contain tender pieces of roasted sweet potato and flavorful toppings, including pickled onions, greens, and plant-based cheese. You can prepare the components ahead of time for a quick, colorful, nourishing meal.
There was a stretch of time early this past summer when I ate these portobello mushroom tacos almost every day for breakfast.
I love a savory breakfast, and breakfast tacos might be the one that I make most often.
Breakfast tacos are good hot or cold. They’re easy to assemble if you meal prep some of the components, and they lend themselves to endless variation.
Some time ago, I made sweet potato tacos with black bean spread. That recipe became a go-to. It proved to me that roasted sweet potatoes are a terrific taco filling component: tender enough that they aren’t hard to eat in a taco, but also hearty enough to make the taco feel substantive.
This recipe is a relative of that one, but I it has more texture—and more veggies! You’ll find mushrooms, greens, sweet potatoes, and onion here.
The tacos have become, among other things, one of my favorite ways to incorporate nutrient-dense mushrooms into my diet.
Hearty and wholesome portobello mushrooms
Portobello mushrooms make their way into a lot of plant-based recipes. They’re versatile, and they have a satisfying texture.
Portobellos are often described as being “meaty,” thanks to their thick caps and chewy consistency.
Portobello mushroom nutrition
Portobello mushrooms are good sources of potassium, an electrolyte that aids in hydration status and fluid balance.
They’re also an excellent source of selenium. Selenium has antioxidant function, which means that it may have a protective effect against the stresses of biological and environmental aging. Proper selenium intake is also important for thyroid health.
Portobello mushrooms also provide niacin, or Vitamin B3. Niacin is associated with energy production, circulation, and also with antioxidant effects.
Finally, portobellos are packed with dietary fiber, which also benefits a healthy blood lipid profile. In addition, dietary fiber is associated with GI regularity and overall digestive wellness.
Portobello vs portobella
Am I the only person who’s wondered about this?!
If you’re curious to know why these mushrooms are sometimes called portobello and sometimes called portobella, the answer is that both names are acceptable.
These masculine and feminine nouns, hence the different spellings. Both can be used to describe the hearty mushrooms that so many of us know and love to use in cooking.
Portobello mushroom taco ingredients
The ingredients in these vibrant, colorful tacos are pretty simple. In no particular order:
Portobello mushrooms
You’ll need four regular sized (or 3 giant) portobello mushroom caps. Stem them and clean them before proceeding with the recipe.
If you want to remove the mushroom gills, you can; I usually do.
Sweet potatoes
Crisp tender sweet potatoes join forces with the mushrooms to create a vegetable-forward filling for these tacos.
You’ll need about four sweet potatoes for the recipe.
Vegan cheese
I think that a few spoonfuls of crumbled, plant-based is a wonderful topping. The cheese will add umami, salt, and some texture to the tacos, as well as healthful fat.
If you’d like to use a homemade vegan cheese, I recommend my salty & savory vegan feta cheese.
This cheese is tofu-based, so it will also contribute plant-protein to your tacos.
You can also use a store-bought vegan cheese here. The Forager brand makes a vegan queso fresco that would work really well.
I’m also a big fan of vegan feta from the Violife brand and the Follow Your Heart brand.
Quick pickled onions
In all honesty, I think that at least 50% of the dishes I make are better with a topping of 10-minute quick pickled onions.
Salads, avocado toast, hummus toast, tofu scrambles, and various whole grain dishes: they all take on more personality with some quick pickled onions on top.
These mushroom tacos are no exception. I love the tart, salty flavor that pickled onions add to the dish—not to mention their bright pop of color!
If you don’t have pickled onions at home, but you love the flavor of pickled, briny things, then you could add pickled quick pickled carrot ribbons or quick pickled cucumber slices instead.
Marinade
Before those mushrooms get baked and ready to become taco filling, they’re marinated in a flavorful mixture of:
- freshly squeezed lime juice
- avocado oil
- soy sauce or tamari
- agave or maple syrup
- garlic
- cumin
- crushed red pepper flakes
You can certainly add some of your own touches, such as additional spices, a little hot sauce, or fresh herbs, to the marinade.
Tacos
Soft corn tortillas are my soft taco of choice. However, you can also use wheat tacos, wheat and corn tacos, or an alternative of choice.
If you have both gluten and wheat allergies, you could try cassava tortillas, almond flour tortillas, or even large romaine lettuce leaves.
Can I use a different type of mushroom?
If you can’t find portobello mushrooms, or if you don’t love them, you can definitely replace them in the recipe.
Many other types of mushrooms, ranging from humble sliced button mushrooms to trumpet mushrooms, can work in the recipe.
However, with smaller mushrooms, like shiitakes or sliced cremini mushrooms, cooking time may be shorter. Start checking the mushrooms after 15 minutes of roasting for doneness.
How to make portobello mushroom tacos with roasted sweet potato
Step 1: Marinate the mushrooms
First, you’ll place your cleaned mushroom caps into a large, flat, storage container with a lid.
Whisk together the marinade ingredients, then pour them over the mushrooms in the container.
The mushroom caps will need to marinate, covered, for at least 8 hours in the fridge. They can marinate for up to 48 hours, if that suits yours schedule best. I usually leave in them in the fridge overnight.
Step 2: Bake the mushrooms and sweet potato
After the mushrooms marinate, you’ll bake them in the oven.
Simultaneously, you’ll roast your sweet potato cubes.
The vegetables will need about 30-35 minutes of roasting time in total. Halfway through roasting, be sure to flip the mushroom caps over on their sheet and stir the sweet potatoes for even browning.
In the last 5 minutes of roasting, you also have the option to warm your tortillas. Simply wrap them in foil and transfer them to the oven.
Placing them directly on a rack is ok, if you have the space. Alternatively, wait until the vegetables have been removed from the oven, then warm the tortillas as you slice your mushroom caps.
Step 3: Prepare the taco ingredients
Once the mushroom caps are cool enough to handle, cut them into slices for easy piling into your tacos.
Step 4: Assemble your mushroom tacos
I like to pile these tacos with the roasted sweet potatoes and mushrooms, a small handful (per taco) of baby spinach leaves or chopped romaine, and my toppings: vegan feta cheese and quick pickled onion.
Additional topping suggestions
If the vegan cheese and/or pickled onions aren’t what you’re craving, there are so many other ingredients you could use instead.
Some examples:
Accompaniments and serving suggestions
I love to serve the tacos with a fresh green salad or some simply prepared veggies. Some ideas:
The Vegan Week
Embrace the joy of eating homemade food every day with the hearty and wholesome recipes in The Vegan Week.
Whether you have three, two, or even just one hour of time to spare, The Vegan Week will show you how to batch cook varied, colorful, and comforting dishes over the weekend.
Meal prep & storage
Once roasted, the mushrooms and sweet potatoes will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
The vegan feta cheese can be stored in the fridge for up to 6 days. The pickled onions will last for a couple weeks.
These tacos are relatively easy to make once at least one of those components has been made in advance. And they’re nearly effortless to assemble if past you was kind enough to prepare all of them for future you.
Vegan Portobello Mushroom Tacos with Roasted Sweet Potato
Author –
Yields: 4 servings
Portobello mushrooms
- 4 portobello mushroom caps, stems removed and cleaned (about 12 ounces / 340g)
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (120ml)
- 1/3 cup avocado oil (80ml)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tablespoons agave or maple syrup
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- One pinch crushed red pepper flakes (more if you prefer)
Roasted sweet potatoes
- 4 medium large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 1 1/2 pounds / 680g after preparation)
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
-
To prepare the mushrooms, place the mushroom caps in a large, flat storage container with an airtight lid. Whisk together the remaining ingredients. Pour this marinade over the mushroom caps. Use your hands or tongs to flip the caps and cover each one with marinade on both sides. Cover the storage container and transfer it to the fridge. Allow the caps to marinate overnight, or for at least 8 hours and up to 48 hours.
-
Preheat your oven to 400F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or foil (alternatively, use nonstick baking sheets). Place the mushroom caps on one baking sheet. Place the sweet potato cubes on the other prepared baking sheet. Drizzle them with the avocado oil. Use your hands to mix the cubes and oil well, so that all of the cubes are coated. Sprinkle the cubes with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
-
Transfer both baking sheets to the oven. After 20 minutes, flip the mushroom caps over on their sheet and stir the sweet potato cubes on their sheet. Return both to the oven. Roast the mushrooms for 10-15 more minutes (30-35 minutes total roasting time), or until the mushrooms have shrunk in size significantly and are very tender and the sweet potatoes are tender at the centers and crispy and browning at the edges.
-
In the last 5 minutes of vegetable roasting time, wrap your tortillas in foil and transfer them to the oven. You can place them directly on a rack next to a baking sheet, if there’s room. If not, you can wait until you remove the roasted vegetables from the oven, then transfer them to one of your oven racks. Warm them for 5 minutes. Alternatively, you can toast the tortillas over a burner on very low flame on the stovetop, using tongs and oven mitts to carefully flip them. They’ll need about 1-2 minutes on each side.
-
To assemble the tacos, begin by cutting each mushroom cap into strips (about 3/4 inch / 2cm wide). Place a small handful of spinach leaves along the center of each taco. Add about 1/4 cup of roasted potatoes on top of the spinach, followed by half of a sliced, roasted portobello. Finally, top the taco with about 2 tablespoons of vegan feta cheese and a tablespoon of quick pickled onions. Repeat with all of the remaining tacos, 2 tacos per person. Enjoy!
One of the nice things about these mushroom tacos is that you can enjoy them year round, or at least for a significant portion of the year.
Mushrooms and sweet potatoes can each be found in grocery stores year-round or in farmers markets from early or late fall through March.
Cooler weather—which we’re just starting to experience where I live—makes it a little tougher for many folks to eat ample veggies. Nutrition clients often tell me that they find vegetable consumption more difficult in the fall and winter.
I hear this, but I often point out that salads and other summery fare aren’t the only way to celebrate produce. Wintery soups, stews, pasta dishes, and many other recipe types allow us to showcase vegetables in an intuitive, seasonal way.
Tacos are an especially great vehicle for roasted or sautéed veggies, as this recipe demonstrates. I hope that the sweet potato and mushroom tacos will become a go-to meal for you, as they are for me!
xo
