Philly Style Mushroom Cheesesteak {Vegan}
Prior to becoming a vegetarian, the Philly Cheesesteak was my favorite sandwich. I would order it with zucchini fries and ranch dressing. I’ve been playing around with this mushroom cheese “steak” version for quite a while now. I wanted to get it just right.
If you’ve been following me for any period of time, you know that I am not a huge fan of vegan cheeses. If you know of a good melty cheese….please let me know. I just haven’t found it yet. My go-to cheese has been this vegan parmesan “fonduta”. Basically, vegetable stock and grated vegan parmesan cheese. Next time around, I may try a bit of nutritional yeast in it, but it was great without it as well.
UPDATE: Several people have asked me about vegan parmesan products. There are several brands available on the market. They include: Parma, Rawmesan and Go Veggie. I use Go Veggie. All of these are available on Amazon.com if you are unable to locate them in your area.
I had intended on doing this with a variety of mixed mushrooms, but my store did not have a good selection that day. So I chose the largest white button and baby bella mushrooms and sliced them thick. I sauteed them in a small amount of vegetable oil and seasoned them with salt and pepper.
Another adjustment I may make in future versions is to use a season salt. You could add a bit of garlic if you’d like.
To this, we added some vegan ground crumbles. They kind of disappeared into the mix of mushrooms, onions and peppers. Maybe I would use more…or you could omit them all together. Since the mushrooms are the star of the show here, be sure to season them well and taste them before assembling the sandwich.
I sauteed one onion and half a green pepper. You could opt to use more. I cooked them on medium high heat until they went from this…to really tender and somewhat caramelized. You want to cut them pretty thick so they are nice and juicy.
Last but not least, we have the vegan parmesan fonduta. It’s just vegetable broth and grated vegan parmesan heated over medium heat and whisked until smooth. You may need to adjust the amount of liquid to thin it out a bit. But you do want it creamy and thick, just thin enough to drizzle.
I buttered and toasted the rolls. I think this was an important step. A soft roll won’t be able to hold up to all of this filling.
- Two 6″ Sub Rolls
- [u]FOR THE FILLING:[/u]
- 2 Tbl Vegetable Oil
- 1 Tbl vegan Margarine (plus more for buttering the rolls)
- 8 oz. of mixed Mushrooms, sliced thick
- 1 medium Onion, sliced thick
- 1 small Green Bell Pepper, sliced thick
- 1/4 C Ground Crumbles
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
- [u]FOR THE PARMESAN FONDUTA:[/u]
- 1/2 C grated vegan Parmesan*
- 1 C Vegetable Broth, plus more to thin if needed
- UPDATE: Several people have asked me about vegan parmesan products. There are several brands available on the market. They include: Parma, Rawmesan and Go Veggie. I use Go Veggie. All of these are available on Amazon.com if you are unable to locate them in your area.
- In a medium saute pan, add 1 Tbl of Oil and 1 Tbl of Margarine. To this, add the sliced onions and peppers and saute over medium heat until golden and caramelized. Do not let them cook too quickly.
- In a medium saute pan, add 1 Tbl of Oil and the sliced mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and cook over medium high heat until tender. Do not over cook.
- Add the ground crumbles and cook for 2-3 minutes more.
- In a small sauce pan, add the vegetable broth and heat to boiling. Add the grated vegan parmesan and whisk until smooth.
- Toast the roll and butter with a bit of margarine, if desired.
- Top with the mushroom mixture, followed by the onion mixture and drizzle with the vegan parmesan fonduta.
- Serve warm.
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Jun 02, 2014 @ 10:27:59
Have you tried Daya brand cheese? Works wonderfully on pizza. The biggest trick is to let it sit and cool after it melts so it sets back up or simply add cold to a hot item and allow to melt for a few minutes.
Jun 05, 2014 @ 20:19:08
This looks amazing! I have been wanting to try a good vegan cheese steak recipe for a long time and I really am going to make this. Tomorrow night, my place, this recipe is going to become reality!
Jun 12, 2014 @ 11:34:30
You can also add some organic breaded seitan to.
Jun 12, 2014 @ 11:40:04
I haven’t tried Seitan yet. Do you bread it yourself? I would be interested to know how you prepare it. Thanks for the suggestion! 🙂
Sep 26, 2014 @ 10:25:35
sure looks good!
Sep 27, 2014 @ 14:52:18
This looks amazing!! I love Philly Style anything – Can’t wait to try it! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Jan 04, 2015 @ 11:10:16
Very Good! I had a little trouble with the cheese but I will be trying it again.
Apr 01, 2015 @ 09:34:42
Oh YUM!!!!! I make them with mushrooms sauteed in Earth Balance and a splash of white wine, sprinkle with a little salt & pepper add some fresh, finely chopped oregano from the garden. I make the cheese sauce with some vegetable broth and a combination of shredded Follow Your Heart mozzarella and Go Veggie parm. Makes a beautiful sauce to pour over the shrooms and onions… Lunch today? DONE! Thank you!!!!!!
37 Vegan Comfort Food Recipes That Make Going Vegan Easy as Pie » Vegan Food Lover
Oct 15, 2015 @ 05:33:11
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Mar 02, 2016 @ 13:32:14
I am thinking Gruyere would be a good cheese. I don’t know if they make vegan versions but I got it at Whole Foods, if that helps. I was going to say vegan Fontina, but I think that is what Fonduta is lol. I basically shy away from parm sometimes because it doesn’t do well melted, in my experience.The part where you melt the cheese is similar to Croupe Monsieur in the French cuisine. I make these meatless all the time. I make it similarly except I use Gruyere or Swiss, butter and coconut milk. Just throwing a few ideas at you. Thanks for sharing , this will be great.
Mar 02, 2016 @ 13:35:01
You should check out dulse, its seaweed that tastes like bacon. That will probably be a nice add on. Maybe next time make a vegan bacon cheesesteak.
May 12, 2016 @ 13:39:28
What are ground crumbles? Is that ground beef substitute?
May 14, 2016 @ 08:11:16
Hi Pete, you are exactly right! They are a ground beef substitute. Since writing that post, my current favorite is this one: http://beyondmeat.com/products/view/beefy-crumble but there a many brands available on the market now.