Baby portobello mushrooms are sliced thin, simmered with Mexican spices, and stuffed into tortillas with creamy guac to make these flavor-packed mushroom carnitas tacos.
Sometimes I forget what types of recipes I've shared on this site before. Like, there have been a number of instances in which I've pulled a recipe at the last minute after realizing I posted something almost identical three or so years ago. I always think I have a good handle on my content, but at this point I'm well past 700 recipes, so I guess it makes sense that I forget a thing or two.
Anyhow, a few weeks ago a friend mentioned having mushroom tacos at a Mexican restaurant and I thought that was the best idea ever. I had to come up with a mushroom taco recipe of my own. I totally forgot that I've already shared a mushroom taco recipe on this site (here in case you were wondering).
But in my defense, this one is different. The former two are both portobello mushroom steaky taco-type recipes. This time we're talking about super-tender melt-in your mouth mushrooms carnitas tacos, and they're kind of mind blowing.
I wasn't sure this would even work out, but it did, and here's how: slice your mushrooms really thin and cook them up until they start to crisp. Then add some simmering liquid with seasonings and let them cook until they're super soft and have soaked up all the flavor.
Serve them up with guacamole and I think you've got some vegan tacos that even a mushroom hating die-hard omnivore would love. They're kind of similar to my French dip sandwiches, so if you were a fan of those I think you'll dig these tacos.
FAQ & Tips for Making Awesome Mushroom Carnitas Tacos
- Don't crowd your mushrooms in the skillet! This will prevent them from browning. Cook them in batches if needed.
- Is this recipe gluten-free? As long as your tortillas are gluten-free, it is!
- Experiment with your favorite toppings. I used guacamole, shredded lettuce and tomato, but hot sauce, salsa and vegan sour cream would all be awesome.
- Baby portobello and cremini mushrooms are the same thing, so look for either when shopping for ingredients.
- And if you can't find baby portobello or cremini mushrooms, feel free to substitute regular old portobellos.
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Mushroom Carnitas Tacos
Ingredients
For the Mushroom Carnitas
- ½ cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 pound baby portobello, cremini mushrooms, sliced very thin
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
For the Tacos
- 4 to 6 corn tortillas
- Oil or cooking spray
- Guacamole
- Shredded lettuce
- Chopped tomato
Instructions
Make the Mushroom Carnitas
-
In a small bowl, stir together the orange juice, soy sauce, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and liquid smoke. Set aside.
-
Coat the bottom of a large skillet with the olive oil and place it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms in as even a layer as possible. Cook for about 5 minutes, flip, and cook 5 minutes more. Add the onion and continue cooking, flipping occasionally, until the onion begins to soften and the mushrooms begin to crisp up in spots. You can turn up the heat a bit if needed to get the mushrooms to crisp. Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute more.
-
Stir the orange juice mixture into the skillet. Allow to cook for about 8 minutes more, until the liquid cooks off and the mushrooms become very tender.
Make the Tacos
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Lightly oil a large skillet and place over medium heat. Place a couple of tortillas into the skillet and allow them to warm up for a minute or two. Continue until all of the tortillas are heated.
-
Stuff the tortillas with the mushroom mixture, guacamole, lettuce and tomato. Serve.
I loove mushrooms. My partner on the other hand isn't so much of a fan.
So this recipe is perfect for us! haha
I feel like with all the spices this isn't a super mushroom-y tasting recipe, so you never know. :) In any event, I hope you enjoy it!
This was AMAZING!!!! The flavor of the mushrooms was so so savory! Thank you for this recipe. Am thinking about making a big batch of the mushrooms and freezing in portions. Have you tried freezing it?
I'm glad you enjoyed them! I haven't tried freezing the filling, but I've heard that cooked mushrooms freeze okay, so I think it should work. :)
I'm not vegan but am trying to eat meat infrequently. I have loved the recipes I have tried so far and this one was no different! I must confess however I did allow for a wee bit of cheese! I'll make this again for sure. Thanks so much.
I'm so glad you're enjoying the recipes and that this one was a hit! Thanks so much Nancy!
The photos show a lot of cilantro that I don't see mentioned in the recipe. Is that just for asthetic purposes? Also, are those seriously corn tortillas in the photos? Maybe white corn? They look like flour! I'm making a shopping list now and plan to make this this weekend. I have a bunch of grey dive mushrooms that I need to use up, and I'm hoping their delicate nature will work nicely in this recipe.
Make that grey dove* mushrooms. Darned autocorrect.
Yup, they're white corn tortillas! And the cilantro got thrown in for aesthetic purposes, but you could definitely sprinkle some in your tacos if you like. I'd love to hear how this turns out with grey dove mushrooms. :)
These were amazeballs 😍So perfect. Only wish I had doubled the recipe!
Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed them!! Thanks Jessica. :)
Is the old bay seasoning needed?
Hmmm...did you mean to comment on a different recipe? There's no old bay in this one. :)
This looks Amazing! This vegan wife can't wait to make it for her Hispanic carnivore husband 💚☮️💚
Thanks Susan! I hope you both enjoy it!!
Made this last night and it was sooooo yummy! I didn't have OJ, so I actually used approx 1/4 cup lime juice and 1/4 cup white wine. I would imagine the OJ would have tasted better as the lime juice was a bit too strong. I will have to make again to try with OJ! Thanks for all your delicious recipes, keep them coming!
Oh, I bet the wine was a great addition though! I want to try that myself now. Glad you enjoyed them! Thanks Emily!
Wow this is one of my favorite tacos from now on! Thank you for the recipe. The mushrooms hit the spot!
Glad you like it!! Thanks so much Jake!
This recipe tasted great. I changed it a bit though, since I didn't have enough mushrooms, but I'm giving it a 5 for flavor. I used only 8 oz mushrooms and added 14 oz firm tofu cut into 1/2" pieces. I cooked onion and mushrooms until the liquid from the mushrooms was almost gone then I added the tofu. After it had heated through a bit more I added the sauce. I'm a wimp on spices so I used a skimpy 1/4 tsp of the cayenne pepper. It was great on my homemade corn tortillas. Thanks!
Great idea to use tofu! I'm so glad you enjoyed these! Thanks Jessica!!
Do these reheat well? We’re going camping and I’d like to make these one night for dinner but wondering if I could make ahead at home and just reheat there.
Yup! We always end up with leftovers and the filling reheats very well. Enjoy!
These rule. Added rice & beans, and topped with raw onions . Definitely recommend making a double batch.
Thank you!! So glad you enjoyed them!
Wow this was amazing!! Such great texture and flavor! I didn’t have liquid smoke but added a little smoked paprika. Now I need to try your mushroom French dip recipe! Thank you for this recipe!!
These are so flavorful! Had them with guacamole. Delicious! I will make these again! Thanks!
Excellent flavor, will certainly make again. I do a lot of vegetarian/vegan cooking for the retreat center I manage and I made this as a test recipe today to see how people liked it. Everyone gave it a thumbs up and I agree with the above comments to make a double batch so you have some leftovers ;) The hardest thing about the recipe was the time it took to slice the mushrooms, If I was making this for a larger group I would slice the mushrooms the day before (mine were probably a little on the juicy side but people loved this dish!!!)
Excellent recipe! Glad i made double as we both loved the flavors. I love that it's mushroom based. Cant' wait to make more recipes from your site. Thank you!
I’ve made multiple faux meat tacos and these were by far the easiest and the best. Oh my word, the FLAVOR. So good, so easy, will be making again ❤️
These were fabulous. Didn't have liquid smoke, so we used some smoked paprika/chipotle powder. I've made a similar recipe in the oven before, but much prefer this recipe and in a skillet. Much quicker, too. Thank you!
I make these maybe once a week or every two weeks. No one in my family likes mushrooms so I'm lucky enough to not have to share, I use an 8oz package of mushrooms and cut the ingredients in half. Sooooooooo gooooood!!
These were delicious!
Vegan to me is ALL NATURAL and not stuff that contains carcinogens like that liquid smoke. I guess we can't have it all but we try.