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!
Great Vegan/Vegetarian dish. I made this dish using the instant pot method. I used 2 cups of unsalted vegetable broth And added 1 envelope of Mrs. Dash pot roast seasoning. (Amazon) I also did not add in the Worcestershire sauce. I wanted to make this recipe as low sodium as possible. (Yes, there are unsalted brotha in the grocery stores. Usually on the bottom shelf.)
I served this over quinoa And tomorrow I will Put the mushroom pot roast mixture in a tortilla wrap. I made my gravy thick by using the saute and mixing corn starch with a little bit of unsalted vegetable broth add it to the mushroom mixture stir and let it saute in the instant pot for a few minutes until it thickens.
I had same issue as everyone! This was so bland. Probably b/c all it had was thyme and garlic. (and salt and pepper). I did the slow cooker version, followed everything, mine also came out liquidy and more like a stew. I think this photo might be food photography and not representative of the true recipe. Would not recommend and won’t be making again. So disappointing as I was excited to find this recipe :(
When to add salt & pepper? How much each?
Do you need to stir the mixture at any point when using the slow cooker?
Made this last night and even my skeptical husband liked it! Based on the comments, in the instant pot I used only 1 cup of broth for 12 minutes and everything was cooked perfectly. Served with egg noodles and it tasted like the Midwest.
Made the instant pot version and it was a total train wreck. Came out as a stew and nothing like a pot roast, followed the instructions to a T. The potatoes are completely overcooked and mushy. Maybe but slow cooker version is better, but this wasn’t great at all.
I love the vegetables in a pot roast,my mom made it every Sunday. Since I don’t “do” meat anymore,I was wondering how to achieve that taste with just veggies and the mushrooms are a BONUS! Thanks to the Google one never has to wonder any longer! Thank YOU for creating this recipe!
K.L.
Love the idea of this recipe! My sauce is super thin though, looks like everyone has had different experiences. Mine is more like a soup…. it’s still good! I had more things to make a little more spicy.
What size crock pot is this recipe designed for?
Can we use the instant pot instead? I love it and rather use it. Thanks