Our Vegan Mushroom Philly Cheesesteak is a plant-based take on the classic Philadelphia Cheesesteak sandwich. Originating in one of America’s greatest cities, the Philly is undoubtedly one of America’s greatest sandwiches.
🥪 WHAT IS A PHILLY CHEESESTEAK?
Dating back to the early 20th century, the Philly is an Italian-American sandwich made of thinly sliced beefsteak, grilled onions and melted cheese, served on a hoagie roll. As the name suggests, the cheesesteak was invented in the City of Brotherly Love.
IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA
Now if you’ve ever been to Philadelphia, you understand that there is a bit of an unintended irony to this nickname. By reputation, Philadephians can be a little—shall we say— cantankerous. Back in 2009, we went on a road trip from Pittsburgh and drove through Amish Country to Philadelphia. Pennsylvanians are by and large some of the friendliest people we’ve ever met. In Pittsburgh, we had one taxi driver refuse to charge us for a short trip and another literally got out of his car to give us directions. The Amish were just as generous as their city-folk counterparts in Pittsburgh. We were both floored by the extent of human kindness we experienced driving through the state. Then we got to Philadelphia.
Less than ten minutes after arriving in the city, we hesitated at a light, trying to find our way to the hotel. At least three people rolled down their windows, and went so far as to hang out the side of their cars—while driving—to cordially invite us to &%#$ their $&@# and to @$%& off. What else do you expect from a city that famously booed Santa Claus and its baseball stadium erupted into applause when the jumbotron captured a drunken fan vomiting on an 11-year-old girl?
So sure, Philadelphians can be a bit rough around the edges, but hot-damn can they whip up a damn fine sandwich. For us, the Pennsylvania road trip was a blast and one of the obvious highlights of the trip was getting to try two of Philly’s best cheesesteaks at Geno’s Steaks and Pat’s King of Steaks. Hilariously, the two rival restaurants are right across the street from each other. Anyhow, that night was one of the most awesome and memorable culinary experiences of our lives.
When we went vegan, coming up with a passable Philly cheesesteak recipe was a MUST. We love using sliced portobello mushrooms in place of the beef for our vegan version. The mushrooms are deliciously meaty and savory, and trust us, you won’t miss the beef!
💡RECIPE TIPS
- Traditionally, the cheese used to make a Philly is either cheez whiz or provolone. We’re not aware of any vegan cheez-whizes on the market—and even if we were, we would probably avoid it at all costs. We prefer to use Follow Your Heart’s provolone. It melts well and the provolone flavor is pretty spot-on. If you can’t find it, swiss or Chao cheese’s Original flavor will work as well.
- Laying the cheese slices over the mushrooms, onions and peppers, then covering everything, allows the steam to melt the cheese. This is how they do it on flat-top grills at Pat’s and Geno’s
- Make sure to toast your hoagie. This will prevent it from becoming too soggy.
Did you make our Vegan Mushroom Philly Cheesesteak?
Did you make this recipe? We’d love to hear about it! Please comment and leave a 5-star🌟 rating below. Share your dish with us on Instagram and tag us @plantbased.passport. We would love to seeing your delicious creations! Still hungry? Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest for more global vegan recipes and travel tips!🍴✈️
💕 MORE SANDWICH RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
👩🏽🍳 RECIPE
Vegan Mushroom Philly Cheesesteak
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 teaspoon vegan beef-flavored bouillon paste or substitute 1 cube vegan beef-flavored bouillon
- 2 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 16 oz portobello mushroom caps sliced
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 bell peppers seeds and pith removed, sliced
- 4 slices of vegan provolone cheese we used @followyourheart provolone, but you can substitute Swiss cheese as well
- Salt to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 4 hoagie rolls toasted
Instructions
- 1. Whisk together 1 tablespoon olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, bouillon cube and soy sauce in a bowl. Set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pan (that has a lid) over medium heat. Add onion, sprinkle with salt to draw out the moisture, and cook until translucent. Then add mushrooms, garlic and peppers and cook 5-7 mins, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms begin to brown. Add Worcestershire sauce mixture to the vegetables and stir to combine. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Arrange cheese slices in 1 layer over the top of the vegetables. Cover the pan and cook until cheese has melted. Mix together the cheese and vegetables. Fill the toasted hoagie rolls with the cheesy mushroom filling and enjoy!
Mushrooms are such a good meat substitute. This was soo soo good.
Really fast, simple and delicious.