I’ve had my share of assed out portobello sandwiches. Over-seasoned, soaked through with too much vinegar and soy sauce, a few jaundiced pieces of lettuce, black gunk mucking up the bread, and oh! let us charge you 12 bucks for the privilege. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Portobellos should be juicy and succulent. What we want to do is coax that luscious flavor out, not hide it with condiments.
BBQ season is here so it’s a great time to learn to grill a portobello just perfectly. You bite through the focaccia and have that juice spill out all over your face; a little char, slightly salty, complex and earthy.
And this burger works for the “plants have feelings” set, too. Even if you hate animals and hate vegans, it’s time to give up the burgers if you want to leave a little bit of earth to your children (OK, maybe you hate children, too.) There’s just too much evidence mounting against your free-will arguments. The truth is, your burger is ruining everyone else’s day. And with something as yummy as a portobello, well, there really is no excuse! Plus, look at the nutritional differences (nutritional info from my olive oil bottle and the internet.)
Hamburger plus a teaspoon of olive oil
Calories: 250
Fat: 18.5 grams (most of it the bad kind!)
Fiber: 0
Protein: 20
Portobello plus a teaspoon olive oil (the other ingredients are negligible, but adjust as you like)
Calories: 66
Fat: 4.5 (most of it the good kind!)
Fiber: 1.5
Protein: 2.5
So the only place where the burger is winning here is the protein content which you can easily compensate for with a side of quinoa salad. Not to mention that you don’t need 20 grams of protein at every meal. Do your own research, work it out. Don’t be part of the problem, be a part of the delicious, delicious solution.
Grilled Portobello Sandwiches
Makes 4
Grilling really brings out the juicy best in these portobellos, so I use the bare minimum of ingredients to let them really flaunt their flavor. A little (cheap!) chardonnay for depth of flavor, tamari for a bit of saltiness, baslamic for a touch of zest, and garlic for, well, it’s garlic! Choose firm, light colored mushrooms with fresh, healthy looking gills that spring back when you gently rub your finger across them. Don’t remove the gills, they are loaded with flavor and texture, not to mention they soak up garlic and marinade beautifully. Gently wash your caps before marinading and you are A-ok. Skip that anemic hamburger bun and go for a bready focaccia that can stand up to the portobello juices that are bound to make you lick your fingers.
Tip: Save your portobello stems for gravy or broth.
4 portobello mushrooms, stems removed
For the marinade:
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
For the sandwich:
4 nice sized pieces foccacia bread
A few handfuls baby arugula
Slices of sweet onion (like walla walla or vidalia)
Slices of tomato
A little vegan mayo
Place the portobellos gills up in a rimmed baking sheet.
Mix all the marinade ingredients together and spoon over the portobellos. Let marinate for at least half an hour, spooning marinade back onto the mushrooms every ten minutes or so.
Grease up your grill with olive oil and preheat over medium/high. It’s important to keep some oil nearby for brushing the grill through out the cooking process. You can use a grill brush for it, or a paper towel wadded up and grasped in your tongs. You can also use a spray bottle of oil.
Place the mushrooms gill side up on the grill. Close lid and let mushrooms cook for about 5 minutes, lifting the lid to baste shrooms with marinade every few minutes. Use tongs to turn the mushrooms 90 degrees to make cross hatched grill marks; cook for about 3 more minutes. Flip mushrooms over and cook for about 3 more minutes. Your cooking time may vary depending on the size of your portobellos and the temperature of your grill. You know the mushrooms are done when you press on the center with tongs (where the stem used to be) and it’s very soft and juicy.
Remove from heat and let rest for about 5 minutes. This lets the flavors develop a bit and the juices taste even yummier when they are just a little bit cooled down. You can use this time to slice your bread and prep the veggies.
Assemble sandwiches and sink your teeth in.
I came home for the weekend and made these with my very non-vegan father and we both LOVED them. The marinade was totally delicious and like some of the other readers, I will probably be using it for other things. We had this with a spinach-walnut salad and it was the best lunch I’ve had in a long time. Thanks for the great recipe!
is there something i can substitute in for the wine?
Sure, you can use extra veg broth and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.
I got Veganomicon for Christmas and have made this recipe a lot since then! I was wondering if you had any suggestions on what to do with the left over marinade? It tastes so good, it is a shame to throw it out!
Yeah, totally. I use it on tofu or tempeh, or toss it into a stew.
These were SO GOOD! Made these tonight for my omni family, and even my carnivorous dad, who said the other day, “I don’t want mushroom burgers” gave me rave reviews. My mom and I even split a second burger! We topped them with tomatoes and avocados. Can’t wait to make it again.
Did you know these will freeze BEAUTIFULLY for those “emergency” dinners when you have about 3 minutes to get something in your mouth? When I see Portobella’s on sale, I buy a dozen or more and make them all at once. Freeze them on a lined baking sheet (after they cool) and then they can be placed in ziplocs. . . so you can just pull out what you need.
They can be gently reheated in the oven or microwave in just a few minutes. All you need is the lettuce, tomato and bread and you’re slurping in no time!
Wow!! Made these this weekend for a bbq with 2 omni families. They were absolutely delicious and a huge success. I was holding back but I could have easily eaten 4 of them myself!
I have been a vegan for two weeks now. I have decided after 4 years of chemotherapy for ovarian cancer and the cancer coming back each time to try and reverse cancer by eating right. I have never like mushrooms accept the ones floating on top of Japanese broth with the funny onions on bottom of bowl at Japanese steak houses. A friend from church mentioned that portobello mushrooms are good grilled and so your recipe will be the first I ever tried. By the way, vegan eating is most excellent. I am thrilled about relearning how to cook. It truly is exciting.
YUMMMMMMM!
We made these the other night on new grill. My vegan daughter in law, my vegetarian son and my carnivore husband raved over them! You are so right on the bread choice too!!!!
My daughter had me over for my 78th birthday and fixed these for me. all I can say is there Great, my first but won’t, thanks for the post
Thanks for the terrific recipe and clear instructions. I prepared these for dinner tonight on the stovetop with my grill pan, and they were delicious. Posted a picture and the rest of my menu on my blog, http://movesleepeat.com/2013/06/08/creativity-cooking-and-health/. You are my most trusted source of vegan recipes, keep ‘me coming, please!
Looks delish!
This will work very well as a steak subsistute on a Grilled Romaine salad with sliced steak. Instead of steak, portobellas. Hot Damn I can hardly wait to get home and fire up the grill. Some good bread with roasted garlic on the side. ya baby.
much thanks!!!!
deeeeee-freakin-lish! just made this. amazing! thank you!!
This was fantastic!
Looks fabulous! My favorite kind of sandwich. Gotta try it.
Made these over the weekend; delicious! Thanks for posting. 🙂
Isa, in your marinade picture (2nd), what is the crumbly stuff on the gills? Is that the garlic?
Yes, garlic.
These are fantastic! They are easy to make and just so delicious. Thank you, Isa
You don’t need 20 grams of protein at every meal? LMFAO Keep spreading that ignorance
I made them today and they are really perfect. Thank you so much! I did not have white wine so I used a little of Manischewitz. Not bad at all!
I also advocate for Jewish Vegan Recipes. Isa Chandra rules!
I took one bite and was shocked by how amazing it tasted! I used red wine, baked the mushrooms, and garnished with avocado, cilantro and fresh dill pickles. Yum! Thank-you!
Yum! Trying this today as contribution to Mother’s Day cookout, five carnivores and one mild-mannered plant eater (me) 🙂
I dont hate animals, and I certainly dont hate my children. If eating a good burger once in a while “ruins” your day, and since you choose to be so offensive, i think its time for me to add a few more to my diet.
Thanks for the delicious recipe! I love God, other people and children :o) and myself (I want to stay healthy!) I enjoy eating simple healthy food and choose to be a good steward of all of God’s beautiful creation, earth, animals etc. Have a Blessed day…. Portabella …my favorite burger!
These are SO GOOD! I thought I hated portobello mushroom burgers because every time I’ve had them at restaurants they’ve been weird and slimy. These are juicy and flavorful and I must eat them every weekend of summer, at a minimum.
I’ve been scraping off the gills having been told they don’t taste good. Pros-cons to scrape or not to scrape please
Thanks for the great recipe, it came out fantastic,
Dear Isa. thank you for keeping the kindle warm on my life-long love affair with mushrooms. <3 Jae
Wow, these were so good that I want to make them again tonight!
I have avoided trying these for so long because I have been so disappointed by them at restaurants. I was sooo pleasantly surprised! I didn’t use foccacia bread but I will next time. Delish! I even added some tempeh bacon for my husband and he loved that!
Greetings! I’ve been following your weblog for some time now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out from Humble Texas!
Just wanted to say keep up the fantastic work!
Hello! Do you know if they make any plugins to safeguard against
hackers? I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any suggestions?
Mmmmm after reading this I’m going to grill some up. But with one modification. Meat buns 🙂 Thats right, straight up paleo. Screw environmental vegetarianism.
You really make it appear so easy with your presentation but I
find this matter to be actually something which I believe I might never
understand. It seems too complex and very large for me.
I’m looking forward for your next post, I will attempt to get
the hang of it!
This recipe is also useful if you don’t have a grill. I made portobellos in the oven today, using (a slightly altered version of) the marinade… they turned out perfect! This is the first time I managed to make delicious, juicy, tasteful portobellos, so thanks for the recipe! I added half-dried tomatoes and roasted pine nuts (and some leftover pecorino cheese, but I’m sure the vegan version without pecorino would taste delicious as well!).