Both meat-eaters and vegetarians will love these Portobello Mushroom Cheesesteaks! They're juicy, flavorful, and easy to whip together for lunch or dinner with guests.
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Mushrooms (especially portobellos!) are often used as a substitute for meat, not just for their texture, but for their umami flavor. Umami is one of the five basic tastes—it's a savory flavor, one that can be found in cured meats, cheeses, and soy sauce.
The best way to really bring out the umami in mushrooms is to cook them in a little red wine. It adds a depth of flavor that you just can't get with butter or oil alone. So if you make this recipe, don't skip the wine!
This Portobello Mushroom Cheesesteaks recipe is...
- Easy to make
- Absolutely delicious
- Great for meat-eaters and vegetarians
- Full of umami flavor
- A great meat substitute
- Perfect for lunch or dinner
While you're here, be sure to grab our FREE 5-Day Meatless Meal Plan. It's packed with tasty recipes to make vegetarian cooking easy and delicious!
How to Make Portobello Mushroom Cheesesteaks
- Cook mushrooms in oiled skillet until softened.
- Add wine and continue to cook until liquid has evaporated.
- Preheat oven to 250°F.
- Cook green pepper and onions in skillet.
- Reduce heat and add mushrooms. Season and top with cheese.
- Cook until cheese has melted, then remove from stove.
- Stuff sub rolls with veggie mixture.
- Wrap each sandwich in foil and bake for 15 minutes.
Full directions for how to make Portobello Mushroom Cheesesteaks are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Tips & Tricks for Portobello Mushroom Cheesesteaks
Remove Gills
When you're slicing your mushrooms, you can also remove the gills. This isn't a necessary step, but some people prefer not to eat mushroom gills. They do sometimes tend to discolor the bread and onions, but they are perfectly fine to eat. It simply depends on your preference!
Wipe Skillet
Make sure to wipe your skillet between cooking the mushrooms and the other veggies. You don't need to worry about getting your skillet sparkling clean, but it will help your veggies cook better if they start in a fairly clean skillet.
Variations to Portobello Mushroom Cheesesteaks
Vegan
You can easily make these mushroom cheesesteaks vegan! Simply swap out the cheese for a vegan option like Daiya.
Wine-Free
If you're not big into alcohol or you don't have any on hand, don't worry—you can still make these mushroom cheesesteaks. Simply use the same amount of red grape juice in place of the wine. You'll also want to add in a splash of vinegar to keep your mushrooms from getting too sweet!
Swap Mushrooms
Don't have any portobellos around? Or maybe you're just not a bit portobello fan? Either way, you can easily swap the portobello mushrooms in this recipe for any other kind of mushroom.
Shiitakes, Baby Bellas, and Crimni are all viable options. Just keep in mind that the type of mushrooms you use will affect the texture of your cheesesteaks a bit. This guide to mushrooms can help you choose the best mushroom substitute!
Stir-Fry
If you don't want to serve your mushroom and veggie mixture in sub sandwiches, that's totally fine! The mixture makes for a great stir-fry on its own, in fact. Serve it with some rice instead for a nice Asian-inspired twist.
Portobello Mushroom Cheesesteak FAQs
What is a cheesesteak?
With roots in Philadelphia—aka "Philly"—Pennsylvania, cheesesteaks are sub sandwiches make with slices of beef and onions covered in melted cheese. This version substitutes juicy mushrooms for the beef, and tastes just as good!
How should I store my cheesesteak subs?
These cheesesteak subs are pretty messy. They're best served immediately—in all their drippy, melty deliciousness! If you really must, you can store these subs in the fridge for up to 5 days.
However, if you have to store these subs for any length of time, separate the filling from the bread and store them separately for best results. Otherwise, you'll have cold, soggy bread.
How can I meal prep these mushroom sandwiches?
The best way to meal prep your portobello sandwiches would be to make the filling, but skip the baking. Don't put the filling into the subs, either—they'll just get soggy!
Simply prep your sandwiches, but store them separately from the filling. The veggie filling mixture will store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days before baking.
When you're ready to have a sandwich, simply add the filling to the roll, wrap in foil, and bake as directed. And voila—your mushroom sub is ready to eat!
More Mushroom Recipes
- Pizza Quinoa Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
- Baked Gnocchi with Tomatoes, Mushrooms, and Kale
- Kale Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
If you're on your way to a more plant based lifestyle, be sure to check out our Veggie Kickstart Kit. It's packed with easy and tasty vegetarian dinners, effortless packable lunches, and easy grab-and-go breakfasts. And they’re so good - you’ll never miss the meat again!
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil divided
- 2 extra-large portobello mushrooms thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp red wine
- 1 small green pepper thinly sliced
- 1 large onion thinly sliced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 slices provolone cheese or mozzarella
- 4 sub rolls sliced lengthwise—don't completely cut the top from the bottom, though!
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook 3–4 minutes, or until softened and browned.
- Add wine and increase heat to high. Cook until liquid has evaporated, about 2–3 minutes. Transfer to bowl.
- Preheat oven to 250°F.
- Carefully wipe skillet clean. Heat remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add green pepper and onions; cook until softened, about 5–8 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low. Return mushrooms to skillet and stir to combine, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Top vegetable mixture with cheese slices. Once cheese has melted, remove from heat.
- Divide veggie mixture into sub rolls. Wrap each cheesesteak tightly with foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and unwrap carefully.
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
I'm not normally a mushroom ran (it's a texture thing), but the picture looks so good it makes me want to give it a try.
shelly (cookies and cups) says
Love Julie...she really is such a great friend! These cheesesteaks look amazing, I am a portabello freak!
Kiersten says
Yup, there are so many bloggers who are really secretive about what they do and how they do it, so I totally appreciate that Julie is always willing to share what she knows with others. She is awesome!
Anele @ Success Along the Weigh says
Aww, I'm glad someone was there for you during that time and helped you through it. I consider you the same kind of friend to me. I'm not a mushroom person (like Robin, a texture thing) but I agree the pic makes me at least want to give it a try! YUM!
Kiersten says
Aw, thank you! And you have helped me too. 🙂 The blog world is so darn supportive!
(You got my last email, right? Just checking!)
JulieD says
These "stolen" cheesesteaks look amazing!!! And everything I said was the truth times 10. I believed in you then & now. Thank you for being a good friend to me!! 🙂
Kiersten says
Aww, thank you. I think I have something in my eye... 😉
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
How gorgeous! I love mushrooms, but never thought of using them in sandwiches. I must try it soon.
Kiersten says
Here in the US, mushroom sandwiches are pretty common as a vegetarian option at restaurants. They are surprisingly good!
Candace says
That is one amazing sandwich! omygoodness! Who needs the meat with that one? I'm so happy things have worked out for you to do this full time. You are really good at it. 🙂
Kiersten says
Thank you! I'm definitely finding my way and trying to monetize in a way that feels right for me. 🙂
Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell says
Holy crazy amazing and I don't even like mushrooms. Why do you try to get me to like them?!
Kiersten says
I have to warn you, I have another mushroom recipe coming up next week. 😉
Emily says
First, I just found Julie's blog yesterday. What rock have I been living under? Second, this recipe looks delish - I love cheese, mushrooms and crusty bread. Think I'll add the ingredients to my grocery list!
Kiersten says
Julie has so many fun ideas and her photography is amazing--I'm glad you found her blog, even if it was only yesterday! 🙂
Kelly @ Texas Type A Mom says
I love meat but these look good enough that I don't know if I'd even miss it!
Samantha says
This is such a sweet post. Both you and Julie are fantastic and I'm very happy for you! I am full of self-doubt and completely understand where you are coming from with that. Try not to because you are full of awesome.
Kiersten says
Thank you. 🙂 I think sometimes it's hard to be a food blogger if you're not brimming with confidence--there are SO many bloggers out there who can market themselves really well and are so sure of what they're doing. But you are full of awesome too!
Lindsay says
I marinate portabellas in a marinade my father uses for steak, then at family functions, for those that choose a mushroom instead of London broil, etc, they hardly know the difference! It really lends itself to mimicking the meat! The marinade is equal parts soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce with a tbs or so of brown sugar.
Kiersten says
That sounds so good--I'm totally going to have to try doing that!
Jackie @ The Beeroness says
Julie is such a sweetheart! and I also have complete faith in your talents.
And I'm pretty sure I would pick this sandwich over most meat versions, I love Portabella mushrooms so much.
Kiersten says
Aw, thank you!
Sarah ~ Magnolia Surprise says
Oh I LOVE portabella mushrooms in any way, shape or form! These are delicious sandwiches and I think that baking them for a few minutes would add to the flavor! Yum!
Kiersten says
Yeah, baking them is such a good idea--I would have never thought of it had Julie not done that with her cheesesteaks!
Jessi says
This is going on my menu for next week! I love it! For my house, we eat meat, but I love this dish (and others like it) because we save so much money and are healthier for eating mushrooms instead.
Kiersten says
I hope you like it! 😀
Laura K says
Oh that looks so good! I love mushrooms. How funny that you happen to have a recipe like this today when I spent all afternoon and last night making mushroom things. I made a triple batch of walnut bella meatballs to have for meatball subs and spaghetti and meatballs. I also made a double batch of mushroom burgers to freeze for later as well. We are having some work done around here and I wanted to make sure that if I could only use the toaster oven and microwave, we would have dinners for the next week! Thank you for sharing this tasty looking sandwich.
Kiersten says
Those meatballs sound so good! I actually have a mushroom meatball recipe scheduled for next week. 🙂 Except instead of walnuts, I used lentils. It definitely sounds like you have dinners covered for a while--I hope the work you're having done goes well!
Aggie says
Oh this post made me smile in so many ways!! You just made my perfect sandwich 🙂
Julie is a gem, good luck in your new chapter 🙂
Jad @ New South says
Love Portobellas and yes they taste like steaks to me! This one is going in my ziplist box!
Amy of Vspot says
This looks totally delicious and now I'm hungry before bed~
Kelly @ A Girl Worth Saving says
Aw, that's so awesome Julie was able to help you 🙂 These seriously looks amazing! At first glance, I was like, waahhh Kiersten is eating meat? Now it makes sense and looks so tasty. Portobellos were my go to meat substitute when I was veggie.
Kiersten says
I guess I didn't realize how much the mushrooms looked like meat when I was editing these photos! 🙂
Jennifer says
oh yes please! I am a huge fan of mushrooms!
Katherine says
I love mushrooms as a meat sub!
calvin eaton says
Hi Kiersten,
I began following your blog just months ago as I embarked on the world of blogging. I run one blog on my illness fibromyalgia and am working on launching another food (baking based) How long has your blog been up! From the look and quality you seem like an old pro, do you have any tidbits you can give me on how to build an audience and really make blogging work for me.
A Fellow Blogger,
Calvin
Kiersten says
My blog will be 2 years old in January--sometimes it feels like I've been doing this much longer, other times I feel like I just started yesterday. 🙂 The best advice I can give you is to learn how to use your camera (I even have a tutorial on my blog about how to take food pictures with a phone, so it doesn't have to be an expensive camera!) and invest time in your photography. Because people can't taste or smell the food we post on our blogs, the photos are so important. With good photos, you can submit your posts to gallery sites (which will send you traffic, helping to build your audience) and they're more likely to do well on Pinterest (which will also help you build an audience). If you have any other questions, feel free to send me an email--I'm happy to help!
Bernadette @ Now Stir It Up says
I love making dishes that traditionally are made with meat in a vegetarian way. These look great and sound great!!
Jeanette says
I don't think anyone would miss the meat in this cheesesteak sandwich - love the touch of red wine to make this even more flavorful.
Sommer@ASpicyPerspective says
Oh girl, you almost had me fooled! That LOOKS like steak--I bet it's wonderful!