This Vegetarian Portobello Pot Roast recipe can be made easily in the slow cooker or Instant Pot (pressure cooker). And it’s SO hearty and comforting and delicious!
As a Midwestern girl through and through, I’ve gotta admit, I will always love me a good pot roast. But hey, whoever said that had to include roast beef?
A few weeks ago, when I found myself with two leftover cartons of baby bella mushrooms in the fridge that needed to be used up stat, I decided to try swapping them in as the main ingredient in my traditional pot roast recipe. And lo and behold, they turned out to be a plant-based swap made in heaven. This vegetarian pot roast recipe was a total winner!
It’s still full of those classic savory flavors (and garlicky gravy) that we all love. It’s quick and easy to prep, and easy to make either on the stovetop or in the slow cooker or Instant Pot. It’s naturally vegetarian and vegan. And it’s totally, wonderfully delicious.
My kind of comfort food.
To make the recipe, start by gathering lots of your starring ingredient — portobello mushrooms. You’re welcome to use full-size portobellos if you’d like. Or, you can be like me and just use a few cartons of baby bellas. Chop them up into bite-sized pieces…
…then combine them in a slow cooker or pressure cooker, along with some potatoes, carrots, pearl onions, garlic, and all of the ingredients for that classic savory gravy. Cook until the potatoes are nice and tender. Then for a final step, thicken that gravy up a notch…
…and voila! This delicious veggie-filled mushroom pot roast will be yours to serve and enjoy!
I went old-school and served mine over some egg noodles, but some grains or rice would also work well here. I served mine up with this simple salad and some red wine, and the meal was perfection.
Vegetarian twist for the win!
Vegetarian Portobello Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 1.25 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 pound baby bella mushrooms (if they are large, cut them in half)
- 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 cups frozen pearl onions*
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 cups vegetable stock, divided
- 1/2 cup dry red or white wine
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons vegetarian Worcestershire sauce*
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Kosher salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
- optional garnish: finely-chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
Slow Cooker Method:
- Add potatoes, mushrooms, carrots, onions, garlic, thyme, 2.5 cups vegetable stock, wine, tomato paste and worcestershire together in the bowl of a crock pot, and gently toss to combine. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours, until the potatoes and carrots are tender.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup vegetable stock and cornstarch until combined. Add to the roast mixture, and gently toss to combine. Continue to cook for 1-3 minutes, until the sauce thickens up a bit.
- Serve immediately, garnished with fresh parsley if desired.
Instant Pot Method:
- Add potatoes, mushrooms, carrots, onions, garlic, thyme, 2.5 cups vegetable stock, wine, tomato paste and worcestershire together in the bowl of a pressure cooker, and gently toss to combine. Close lid securely and set vent to “Sealing”.
- Press “Manual”, then press “Pressure” until the light on “High Pressure” lights up, then adjust the up/down arrows until time reads 20 minutes. Cook. Then let the pressure release naturally, about 15 minutes. Carefully turn the vent to “Venting”, just to release any extra pressure that might still be in there. Remove the lid.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup vegetable stock and cornstarch until combined. Add to the roast mixture, and gently toss to combine. Continue to cook for 1-3 minutes, until the sauce thickens up a bit.
- Serve immediately, garnished with fresh parsley if desired.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Really enjoyed the flavor of this recipe. Can never get enough of portobello mushrooms.
To make it less watery when using Instant Pot reduce stock to two cups. Almost no liquid is lost when pressure cooking. (The mushrooms are mostly water.) Substitute BRAGG Liquid Aminos for the Worcestershire sauce.
I loved this recipe but need to try it again. After reading the reviews I will sauté it to thicken it up. BUT my sauce came out watery but also had a acidity/vinegary taste, did anyone else’s? Don’t know what I did wrong. Followed the instant pot step by step, since the tomato paste was listened I still added it & I used more mushrooms then listed.
I found this recipe too sweet for our liking. I may play around with the ingredients to get it to be less sweet.
My 15 yr/old daughter is the vegetarian in a house of carnivores. This meal I made double, both meat and mushrooms. I cannot believe the flavor so rich and yummy. She barley had enough to take for school lunch tomorrow. Simple and easy Crock-Pot meals for our family are the best, and this meal has made it in our fall/winter rotation. We can’t wait to try other recipes ?
This is the first recipe I’ve tried in my new pot. It was very simple to follow and turned out really tasty. However, mine is rather “soupy” like other reviewers mentioned. Since I had planned to serve this over noodles, I don’t mind the extra liquid. Next time, I’ll either add more potatoes or less liquid. Either way, I’m sure it will taste good.
Mmm this was so good. Easy too. I did what others suggested and let it thicken in the instant pot on simmer for about 5-6 minutes. Thought it needed a bit more dimension to the broth so I added salt, pepper, and rosemary and garlic powder. Will totally remake. Served it alone with crusty bread and a glass of red wine!
I made this tonight and it turned out ok. I had to make a Rue to get a gravy because it was soupy. I used 3TBS butter to 3Tbs flour and added broth from the pot. I wish I would have omitted the tomato paste it wasn’t necessary and it added an odd flavor. I will try again with a few changes.
5 stars with the following boosts:
– Thoroughly browned the first half of the mushrooms in a splash of olive oil over medium high heat, cut side down without stirring in my pressure cooker on the stovetop while I chopped up everything else. I also added half a cube of mushroom boullion.
– Added about a tsp of chopped dried porcini mushrooms to the wet mix before closing the pressure cooker. used red wine, not white.
– Added a splash of soy sauce
– Finished it with a splash of red wine vinegar
– Served with buttered spatezli, tossed with parsley
I just tried making this. The directions for InstantPot dont call for the tomato paste or corn starch. I used the tomato paste but didn’t use the corn starch. It came out pretty watery, not nearly as saucy like the picture. It was more soup like. What did I do wrong?
Made this overnight in my slow cooker and OMG. So delicious. I used Bisto Gravy Granules (Vegetarian friendly beef flavor) to thicken this up instead of cornstarch as it adds that extra beefy kick. They are a little pricey as they are imported from the UK but they are so worth it! 10/10 I’m obsessed with this recipe!!