I can’t even begin to imagine what a vegetarian diet would like be without mushrooms. I know a lot of people don’t really care for them so I’m sure there are many vegetarians out there that manage to get by just fine without them. But if you’re like me and try to avoid eating a lot of processed faux meat, your options can be somewhat limited. For that reason alone, mushrooms are a necessity in my book.
In fact, they’re the first thing that comes to mind when I want to recreate a dish and need a substitute for animal protein. The rich umami flavor stands in perfectly for meat while also offering a healthy serving of fiber, potassium and B vitamins. I find that portabella mushrooms work especially well because of their larger size and meaty texture.
In this recipe we’re replacing steak fajitas with sliced portabella mushrooms that are coated in a simple marinade made from fresh lime juice, cilantro, ground chipotle, and tamari (or soy sauce). Once they’ve had a little time to soak up those flavors, we sauté them along with sliced peppers and an onion for about 7 minutes. That’s pretty much all there is to it!
Serve them with warm corn tortillas, guacamole and a side of chips and salsa for a quick and easy weeknight meal. I like to make a large amount so that I can have leftovers for lunch so this recipe makes 12 fajitas. However, if you’re cooking for one or prefer not to have a lot of leftovers, feel free to halve the recipe to make less!

Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Juice of 3 limes
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 large portabella mushroom caps sliced into 1/2-inch strips
- 3 bell peppers any color you choose, cored and sliced
- 1 large onion halved and sliced
- 12 medium tortillas warmed
- Salsa shredded cheese, Greek yogurt or sour cream, and/or guacamole, for serving
Instructions
- In a large shallow bowl, whisk together the tamari, olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, cumin, chipotle powder and garlic powder. Add the sliced mushrooms and stir until evenly coated. Allow to marinate at room temperature for 10 minutes, then add the sliced onion and peppers to the bowl and stir everything together.
- Warm a large skillet over medium heat. Add the marinated vegetables to the skillet and cook for about 7 minutes, until tender. (Depending on the size of your skillet, you may have to cook them in two separate batches.) Remove from heat.
- Serve the cooked vegetables warm with tortillas, guacamole and other desired toppings (such as salsa, Greek yogurt, shredded cheese). Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
12 Comments
Mitch
March 14, 2016 at 11:50 pmlooks so healthy and yummy! Got my favorite Avocado too! I cant wait to try this now! thanks for sharing!
Sarah Cook
March 21, 2016 at 9:52 pmThanks Mitch! I hope you enjoy them!
Tori
March 16, 2016 at 6:47 amYes please, bring on the loads of mushrooms!
Sarah Cook
March 21, 2016 at 9:51 pmYay! So happy to hear you’re a fellow mushroom lover. 🙂
Scott Williams
June 2, 2016 at 7:07 pmI love mushrooms so this recipe is an absolute pleasure to find. Although my fajitas definitely weren’t as pretty looking as the ones in your photos, they were definitely as delish as yours :)…. I hope
Ana
October 14, 2020 at 11:51 pmAbsolutely delicious! I enjoyed every bite of this! Easy to make too which is always a plus.
Bryan
August 7, 2016 at 9:06 amFajitas are definitely a favorite at our house but I’ve actually never tried them with mushrooms. The peppers and onions definitely, but we’ve always made them with meat. So trying them out with mushrooms as a healthier, vegetarian option is definitely going to be great. I love mushrooms and my family is always trying to get healthy.
Mary Walter
March 13, 2017 at 6:17 pmThe recipe prints out very pale because the online page is pale!
LME
May 6, 2017 at 7:38 pmMushrooms mixed into fajitas are one of my absolute favorite veg meals! So glad to see someone else spreading the joy. I also like to add broccoli and sliced zucchini.
Sandra Baldari
June 26, 2017 at 4:54 pmThese were excellent! I used Baby Bellas instead of porabellas. My 10 year-old had 3 fajitas. We’ll definitely be making these again!
Crystal Tomlinson
August 24, 2019 at 10:51 pmExcellent marinade recipe! I had two big portobello mushrooms that I wanted to make vegan tacos with. I used onion and the local yellow, purple and green bell peppers I had in the fridge. Cooked the veggies plus a little fresh garlic in batches in my cast iron skillet. We splurged in the calorie department and served in toasted fresh baked flour tortillas topped with fresh tomatoes and leftover cilantro lime cashew cream.. Really tasty meal, even my carnivorous husband loved these tacos. Thank you!
Noelle
May 28, 2020 at 8:59 pmThese were delicious. Great flavor and super easy!!!!