This vegan reuben with mandolined portobello is a delicious and indulgent sandwich! Paper-thin portobello slices are marinated then baked to create a crispy and chewy texture. They are then piled high onto toasted rye bread slices with melted vegan cheese, sauerkraut, cabbage, and reuben dressing. Bring plenty of napkins!
If you’ve ever wilted spinach, you know that the amount you begin with is waaaaay more than the amount you end up with. This is kind of like that, but with mushrooms. What’s lost in volume is gained in texture: these shriven petals are perfect for packing into a reuben with sauerkraut and dousing with some awesome sauce.
How to make a vegan reuben sandwich
Reubens are definitely not vegan, but it’s easy to recreate the meaty texture and flavor using plant-based ingredients. Reuben dressing is super easy to veganize. Vegan Worcestershire and mayo are easy to find or make. Add some dill pickle and a squirt of hot sauce (or ketchup if you hate spicy), and you’ve got vegan reuben dressing! Vegan cheese is easy to find, but select one that’s melty, like Daiya Swiss-style slices or Violife brand slices. Toasting the bread is absolutely essential not only for this reuben, but for vegan burgers and hot dogs. That buttery crunch is so good!
I’ve used this same concept before for packing mushrooms into vegan pork buns and maitake and shiitake bacon. If mushrooms aren’t your thing, this tempeh reuben or this one will hit the spot!
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Vegan Reuben with Mandolined Portobello
- Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 2 sandwiches
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This vegan reuben with mandolined portobello is so delicious! Paper-thin portobello slices are marinated then baked. This creates a crispy and chewy texture that’s perfect for piling high onto toasted rye bread. Add vegan cheese, cabbage, and vegan reuben dressing for an indulgent sandwich!
Ingredients
for the mushrooms
- 1 lb portobello mushroom caps, sliced on a mandoline
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp steak seasoning
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 TB olive oil, or enough to grease a large baking sheet
for the sauce
- 1/2 cup vegan mayo
- 3 TB chopped dill pickles
- 1 TB sriracha
- 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
to serve
- rye bread + some oil or vegan butter
- vegan cheese (gouda, provolone, swiss, etc.) I like Follow your Heart, Violife or Daiya brands
- sauerkraut
- handful of mandolined red cabbage
Instructions
to prepare the mushrooms
- combine the sliced mushrooms with the broth and spices. Allow to marinate for at least an hour to overnight. Stir once or twice during marinating to coat.
- When ready to make the sandwiches, preheat oven to 300. Place a fine meshed strainer or sieve over a bowl and press with another to get most of the liquid out. Break up with your hands and press again until almost dry.
- Transfer to a greased baking sheet in an even layer. Bake for 15-20 minutes, then stir around, baking for 10-15 more, or until mushrooms are dried out a bit, but not crispy.
- Transfer to paper towels in an even layer and set aside.
to prepare the sauce
- Combine all sauce ingredients and set aside.
to serve
- Slightly toast the bread with a little oil or vegan butter in a cast iron pan, layering some vegan cheese over to slightly melt.
- Layer the sandwich with sauerkraut, raw cabbage, mushrooms and sauce. Serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Marinating Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Dinner
- Method: Marinated, Baked
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: vegan reuben, vegan reuben recipe, mushroom reuben
What I’m grateful for this week + some great podcast episodes!
1. Reconnected with an old friend.
2. The small and quiet yoga studio I attend.
3. That I wrote the recipe down for this sandwich so I can make it again. 🙂
Favorite podcast episodes:
Ologies with Alie Ward | Corvid Thanatology with Kaeli Swift
Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness | What is Toxic Stress & Why is She So Bad? with Dr. Caroline Leaf
This Podcast Will Kill You | Ep 14 Rabies: Don’t Dilute Me, Bro
Olga says
Recipe looks amazing but the photo showing dark burnt bread and other ingredients make it uninteresting.
erinwyso says
Olga, I used rye bread here, which is naturally dark in color, not burnt.
Jeanne says
This looks delicious. How thin do you slice the mushrooms? My mandoline has different settings. I am looking forward to trying this soon.
erinwyso says
Jeanne, not sure, as mine only has one setting! I would say as thin as you can. Hope you enjoy!
Di says
This looks luscious! Just a note to thank you for your creative, delicious and healthy meal creations. Keep it up for us!!
erinwyso says
Thanks for your kind words, Di!
Kai says
Have you tried using corned beef spices in the marinade? BTW, that rye bread looks wonderful! Brand?
★★★★★
erinwyso says
Kai, I had to look up what corned beef spices was, and that sounds like a great idea! Not sure of the brand of the bread, as I’ve already tossed the packaging, but I got it at Whole Foods.
Kai says
Thank you, and for all your lovely recipes! I plan to try this with shrooms and jackfruit, to test texture differences.
sassygirl says
this is a perfect recipe for a reuben. thanks so much for sharing!
★★★★★
Ania says
Amazing. I can actually already taste it… 🙂 Going to make it this week. Thank you x
Tracy says
Oh My Goodness your photography is so beautiful, and the food looks so unbelievably appetizing.
Love your thoughts on mindfulness and podcasts. I listen to Rich Roll (he is a gifted conversationalist with an incredible vocabulary and a swoon-worthy wordsmithing ability – I could listen to him all day long – sorry I digress). Anyway, his podcasts are life changing. He delves deep, and I always leave the podcast a more evolved person. Maybe you will enjoy him too!
★★★★★
erinwyso says
Thanks for your kind words, Tracy, and for the heads up on Rich Roll … he sounds amazing, so I will definitely check him out!
Joshua Howard says
Thank you for the share! The recipe sounds incredible. I have a question. Can I replace vegetable broth with water?
★★★★★
erinwyso says
Hi Joshua, I have not tried so I can’t say for sure, but if you try with good results, I’d love to know!
Gina says
This looks so unbelievably yummy! I do not have a Mandoline – will it work if I slice as thin as possible? And this may be a silly question, do you slice across the wide part or or down the mushroom? Thanks very much! I can’t wait to try this and I love your mindfulness quotes too 🙂
erinwyso says
Gina, that should work, although mandolines are not that expensive. I got mine at TJ Maxx years ago for a few dollars. You want to slice down the mushroom. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Sherala says
This looks outstanding!
Years ago, I used to mandoline portobello mushroom caps to make the filling for a french dip type of sandwich but the slices always stuck back on themselves when cooking. After I try this delicious-looking recipe, I’ll revisit my old sandwich and make sure to marinade the mushroom slices—that may fix that stubborn “sticky” issue. Thank you, Erin!
Dinorah says
Thank you so much for the inspiration. I’m going to make this tonight!!! Looks so delicious, filling and healthy. Can you please tell me what steak seasoning you use?
erinwyso says
Dinorah, I hope you enjoy! I think I used a weber brand for this, but any steak seasoning will do.
Keeley says
This recipe is phenomenal! I don’t have a mandolin but it was easy enough to thin-slice the bellas and cabbage. The second time I made this, we did open-faced and broiled them in the oven. YUM. My 2 year old loved it, too. This is one of my very favorite recipe blogs. Thank you!
★★★★★
erinwyso says
Keeley, I’m am so happy the recipe was a hit! Thanks very much for your kind words.