Beef stroganoff is a dish that stands out as a favorite from my pre-plant-based years. The creamy, savory dish served over noodles was so comforting. Now you can have it again with this updated vegan mushroom stroganoff version.
One of the tricks to deepen the “meaty” flavor in plant-based dishes is by adding ingredients that develop the umami flavor. Umami is one of the five tastes, the others being sweet, sour, salt and bitter.
Mushrooms, tomato paste, and soy sauce, help develop the umami flavor in this dish. To bring out the creaminess, I’ve used 1/3 cup of raw cashews (or 1/4 cup cashew butter) and 1/2 of an avocado.
You’ll need a pretty powerful blender for the raw cashews, but it will help if you soak them for at least 30 minutes before blending. Here is a simple video on how to make vegan cashew butter. Cashew butter can be expensive, but only a small amount is used in this recipe.
For the love of mushrooms! Try some of these recipes:
- Mushroom Burgundy Sauce Over Polenta
- Mushroom Quinoa Pilaf
- Mushroom Veggie Tacos
- Winter Immunity Mushroom Soup
- Creamy Mushroom Quinoa Soup
If you are staying away from whole foods that are higher in oil, you can omit the cashews and avocado from the recipe and up the flour by 1 tablespoon to help thicken the sauce. You can also add some nut based milk.
I think you’ll enjoy this tasty dish because it is so close to the original. One of the best things about this dish is it cooks in 20 minutes. So, it is the perfect meal for a busy weeknight.
I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below for this Mushroom Stroganoff recipe! If you have a photo, post it on my Facebook page, tag me using the hashtag #plantbasedcooking
This recipe is Certified Plantricious because it meets the following guidelines.
The Trusted Seal for
Plant-Based Nutrition
- Must be whole food plant-based, contains no animal products
- May be minimally processed
- No added oil
- No added sugars
- No artificial additives or preservatives
- Sodium (mg) to Calories ratio, 1 ≤ 1
- Total Fiber to Calories, 2g ≥ 100 calories
Mushroom Stroganoff
Ingredients
- 1 package whole wheat pasta noodle I used fusilli
- 16 ounces baby portabella mushrooms sliced (or any mushroom you like)
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 Tbl tomato paste
- 1 Tbl fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tbl soy sauce
- 2 Tbl flour
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth I like Engine 2 Low Salt (or homemade)
- 1/2 medium ripe avocado
- 1/3 cup raw cashews soaked for at least 30 minutes in hot water, or ¼ cup cashew butter
- sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Water sauté the chopped onion until it starts to wilt. Add in the sliced mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms have shrunk.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the pasta according to the directions. Drain and set aside.
- In a small container with a lid, add about 3 Tbl. of the veggie broth with the 2 Tbl. of flour. Shake to combine. You will use this to thicken the sauce.
- While the mushrooms are cooking, add the cashews, avocado and about ½ cup of veggie broth to a high-powered blender. Blend until the sauce is smooth, scraping down the sides to make sure all of the cashew bits are incorporated. Add more broth if it's too thick.
- Add the blended sauce, tomato paste, lemon juice, and soy sauce to the pan with the mushrooms and stir to combine.
- Add the rest of the veggie broth and the flour mixtures to the pan and stir until the sauce starts to thicken.
This is really good! We cut back on the onions a tad but otherwise stuck to the recipe. Added a salad with the meal and had your blueberry coconut bars for desert. Just delicious and Mushroom Stroganoff is a new favorite for us! Thank you for your site and recipes!
I really enjoyed this recipe. It encourages me to continue with plant based meals. My mother felt that it was missing something in the flavor (maybe she was missing salt, which she is not supposed to have anyway secondary to her high blood pressure) but it was perfect for me. The texture and flavor. I would definitely make it again but might have to add more seasoning for my family
Hey, Kimberly… thanks for the feedback. I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Sometimes it challenges our taste buds when changing from a traditional recipe that contains dairy to a plant-based version. It helps to have a mindset that it won’t taste exactly like the original. And, to keep experimenting to get it just right. 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! Trying to lower hubby’s cholesterol by going mostly plant-based and this pasta was pretty good! I added more soy sauce and 1/3 cup of white linen marinara sauce (from Costco) to kick up the flavour a bit. I’ll be trying more of your recipes in the weeks to come! 🙂
You’re welcome! Glad you’re on the path and hope all goes well for your husband!
Excellent flavor… Doubled the batch and made it with 1/2 diced portobellos and 1/2 rehydrated dried shitakes…. used some of the rehydration water in the sauce… really great flavors. Best WFPB Stroganoff I’ve had…
Thanks. I like the idea of using dried shitakes. I have to try that!
I just prepared this for dinner. It’s awesome!! Thank you! Love it!
Thanks, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
The recipe shows 5/12 and 5/18 for measurements for the avocado and cashes. not sure how i measure that.
Hi, hmmmm, I’m not sure where you’re seeing that unless it’s for the metric measurements and not the Imperial. It should be 1/2 of an avocado and 1/3 cup of cashews. I hope that helps.
Rad. Thank you.
Hi, we have cashew allergies here. Can we substitute with macadamia nut or pine? Would it still be the same measurements? Thanks!
I haven’t tried those nuts but I’d bet they’ll work for you. Or you could try almonds. They’re harder so you should probably soak for several hours if you use them. Probably fewer pine nuts because they’re so small. Or, another option would be some cannelloni beans which lend creaminess. 1/3 cup beans or 1/4 cup pine
nuts, I’m guessing. Sorry it took so long to answer, I’ve been on the road.
My family absolutely loves this dish. I always have to double it so we can all get leftovers for lunch the next day. I followed the recipe exactly, except I added minced garlic when I sauteed the onions and added a little vegan Worcestershire sauce. Perfection!!!!! This is the first WFPB meal that reminds me of the “real” thing. Thank you
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you and your family are enjoying the recipe and I love the additions you made. Thank you so much for the wonderful review!!
I am allergic to avocado. What would you substitute?
Thank you.
Never mind. I just read you add flour. 🙂
My mother likes this recipe, but not the name. While she recognizes how much better she feels (she is 89, diabetic with congestive heart failure) eating plant based, she still misses meat and when I told her it was Mushroom Stroganoff, she had expectations that were not met. But when she decided to just eat it for what it is, she enjoyed it much more. Also, for any other readers that can’t eat cashews, I learned from nutritionstudies.org that you can substitute oatmeal for cashews in recipes like this, so I tried it and it worked quite well.
Hey Ruth, I’m so glad your mother ended up liking the recipe. Thanks for the great tip about substituting with oatmeal for the cashews, too. 👍