This recipe was inspired by one of the first recipes I made (unofficially) when I was starting out with being plant-based.

Just show me da recipe brah

One of the challenges of making sandwiches is finding enough ingredients to make it filling. It’s easy to make a sandwich when you can throw some chicken, deli meat, etc. in between two pieces of bread and then add some vegetables and call it a day.

The thing about easy is that it doesn’t spark any sort of creativity. If there were no challenges then there would be nothing to overcome and stagnation would set in.

This idea began with the thought of a roasted veggie sandwich. Just grab some vegetables and roast them in the oven, throw them on a sandwich, and call it a day. I remembered using zucchini and onions at the time, but I felt like it was missing something and sought to find a way to add more “meat” to it.

Recently I had been frying a lot of things and was considering going the route of frying some mushrooms, but I was getting tired of that so I figured why not just saute a mushroom cap and see how it comes out.

In the past, I believe I tried a mushroom sandwich before, but boy…there was a reason why I never ate that thing again. It was nasty. Super nasty. This was before vegan options really started to become as prominent as they are today. The key about mushrooms is that you want them to be soft. Mushroom texture is chewy if you don’t cook it long enough, and to be honest; that’s not exactly the greatest thing in my opinion. But one of the good things about mushrooms is that they absorb flavor well.

So I decided I wanted to go a BBQ route, but to add some spice to it because I haven’t had a spicy dish in a while. That’s purely up to you, these recipes are for inspiration. Always feel free to add your own twists. I usually end up remaking recipes in a different way. The next time I make this I’ll probably add eggplant bacon to give it a crunchy texture and some more variety.

Like I said, easy doesn’t spark creativity. So challenge yaself playa!

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2-4 portabello mushrooms
• 1 zucchini (optional)
• Burger Buns
• 1 medium onion
• Salt*
• Pepper*
• Seasoned salt*
• 2 tablespoons sriracha
• 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce
• 2 tablespoons of liquid smoke
• Cayenne pepper*
• Paprika*
• Chili powder*
• Veganaise
• Kale
• Tomato
• Avocado (optional)
• Avocado Oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the onion in half and slice. Wash and dry the zucchini. Cut it in half and then cut into strips lengthwise. Place the onions and zucchini on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with avocado oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in oven and let bake for about 15 minutes.
2. Remove the stems and wash and dry the mushrooms. Make sure to get rid of any loose dirt. Put two mushroom caps into frying pan and add BBQ sauce (I used Stubb’s Spicy BBQ), avocado oil, sriracha, liquid smoke, salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and chili powder.
3. Let the mushrooms cook on medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, make sure to watch them so they don’t burn. The mushrooms will shrink.
4. Slice the remaining half of the onion and add to a small frying pan. Saute the onions in the frying pan with avocado oil, cayenne, chili powder, and seasoned salt. I prefer my onions crunchier so I cook them for about 20 minutes on low to medium heat. If you want them softer you can shorten the cooking time or lower the heat.
5. Arrange your sandwich with your desired toppings.
6. Eat that shxt!

* If you’re new here…I don’t measure my seasonings I just taste the food so I never give a specific amount you should add unless I’m adapting from another recipe. Also the avocado oil is used for both roasting the vegetables and sauteing the onions.