Deeply golden brown mushrooms and roasted baby potatoes top this savory mushroom salad. Loaded with vibrant vegetables and dressed in a delicious, creamy balsamic vinegarette, you will fall in love with this mushroom salad recipe.
I love mushrooms! And, I try to eat salads as often as possible. While developing this mushroom salad, I wanted savory deep flavors, and a hearty, filling salad. There’s nothing worse than leaving the table hungry, which never happens at my house. Instead, I chose whole foods and layered this mushroom salad recipe with nutrient-dense ingredients.
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Mushrooms are full of savory flavor, rich in texture, and versatile in their cooking. Mushrooms easily act as earth meat in a plant-based diet. They are fantastic because they add grounding depth to a hearty dish and can be cooked in many ways to illuminate flavor.
Since learning to cook vegan meals, I’ve embraced the power of marinades, herbs, and spices to turn vegetables into delicious plant-based meals.
Because this mushroom salad recipe contains both cooked and raw vegetables, let’s begin with the mushrooms, or what I call vegan meat.
Marinate Ingredients
Mushrooms absorb flavors like little sponges. For that reason, I chose a savory marinade. I chose medium-sized portobello mushrooms.
- Soy Sauce: Choose regular or low-sodium, whichever you prefer.
- Liquid Smoke: I like the hickory flavor, but the mesquite is tasty. Liquid smoke is a natural product that condenses the smoke from burning wood. It is used as a flavoring in place of real wood smoke.
- Vegan Worcestershire Sauce: I like Amy’s vegan Worcestershire sauce.
- Garlic: I prefer fresh minced garlic instead of jarred garlic.
- Balsamic Vinegar: Balsamic vinegar gives the marinard and depth and sweetness.
- Stone-Ground Mustard: Whole grain mustard is mustard that has been ground just enough to form a paste, but not so much that it entirely breaks down all the mustard seeds, creating a thick, coarse texture.
- Montreal Steak Seasoning: Montreal steak seasoning is made of coarse salt, black pepper, red pepper, garlic, onion, and paprika.
Marinade Substitutions
- Use liquid aminos or Tamari for a gluten-free option.
- Smoked paprika is a great substitute for liquid smoke. Also, chipotle powder is famous for its smoky flavor.
- Vinegar is a substitute for vegan Worcestershire sauce but lacks the complexity of Worcestershire, but it brings plenty of bites to enhance the other flavors of your dish. Miso paste is another alternative.
- If you dislike a little spice hint, skip the Sriracha. Or, use a hot sauce you prefer.
- If you don’t have stone-ground mustard or yellow mustard: you can use spicy brown mustard! It’s a bit spicier than Dijon and also has a textured appearance.
- If you don’t have Montreal steak seasoning, combine two teaspoons of salt with a teaspoon of ground black pepper, a half teaspoon of paprika and chili powder, and a quarter teaspoon of garlic powder, onion powder, and turmeric.
For the best results, marinate the mushrooms overnight. At a minimum, marinate for a couple of hours.
Then, saute the marinated mushrooms in a saute pan in the marinade until golden brown.
Because the mushroom salad is served cold, allow the mushrooms to cool completely, or transfer to a container and refrigerate until ready to prepare the salad.
Roasting Mini Potatoes
These tiny potatoes aren’t an actual type of potato but a classification of their size. Any potato can be called a “petite potato” as long as it ends up being a very small spud.
Even in a petite format, the potatoes will have the same flavor and texture as their larger versions, so keep that in mind when it comes to cooking.
I chose a bag of mini or petite creamy potatoes, cut them in half, and seasoned them with garlic powder, onion powder, and fresh rosemary.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Toss the cut potatoes in the seasoning.
- Then, place potatoes in a single layer on a baking pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Cook for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
Salad Ingredients
While the mushrooms and potatoes cool, assemble the other mushroom salad recipe ingredients.
- Romaine Lettuce: Romaine lettuce is longer, greener, and leafier in appearance. It’s crunchy and crisp in texture.
- Pickled Red Onions: I make my own pickled red onions. Pickled Red Onions have a distinct flavor and texture. For one thing, they hold true to the crunchiness and slight bite that raw or cooked onions provide. Once pickled, they become sweet, tangy, and slightly aromatic providing a tasty addition to an array of dishes.
- Cucumbers: I prefer English cucumbers for the firm texture and few seeds.
- Baby Bell Peppers: Baby bell peppers are sweeter than bell peppers. And they come in a variety of beautiful colors.
- Campari Tomatoes: Campari is a type of hybrid tomato noted for its juiciness, high sugar level, low acidity, and lack of mealiness. Camparis are deep red and larger than cherry tomatoes.
- Vegan Feta Cheese: I make my own tofu feta cheese, which adds a protein and salty component tot eh mushroom salad.
- Fresh Dill: Dill has a deliciously fresh, citrus-like taste, with a slightly grassy undertone. The trademark subtle sweetness means it works particularly well with garlic and mint.
Salad Ingredient Substitutions
- Choose any greens such as kale, red lettuce, spinach, or a combination you prefer.
- Use raw red onion instead of pickled red onions.
- Try zucchini as a replacement for cucumbers in a pinch.
- As a substitute for baby bell peppers, I recommend red bell pepper, which is sweet like baby bell peppers.
- Cherry tomatoes are about eh same size and flavor as Compari tomatoes.
- Skip the tofu feta cheese, or buy store-bought brands available in the health food section of the grocery store.
- If you don’t have access to fresh dill, use dried dill. However, remember the ratio is: 1 tablespoon fresh dill = 1 teaspoon dried dill.
Assembling the Salad
First, place the Romaine Lettuce on the base of the salad platter. Then evenly distribute the raw ingredients around the top of the lettuce bed. Or, choose to make individual salads in the same manner.
Then, arrange the chilled mushrooms and potatoes on top of the raw ingredients.
Dressing Options
I chose to dress the mushroom salad with a creamy balsamic dressing because the balsamic flavors taste beautiful with the ingredients in the salad. However, I also would suggest other dressings to meet individual preferences.
Recipe FAQs
Mushrooms, even common button mushrooms, contain traces of carcinogenic compounds in raw form. The same toxin, hydrazine, is also found in portobello mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms contain a naturally occurring formaldehyde. Both chemicals are heat-sensitive and abolished upon exposure to heat.
Cooking mushrooms increase their store of other minerals, however. Six raw mushrooms have 3 milligrams of calcium, 0.6 milligrams of zinc, and 0.5 milligrams of iron, but cooking them increases these numbers to 4 milligrams of calcium, 0.6 milligrams of zinc, and 1.25 milligrams of iron.
Portobellos are an excellent source of riboflavin (also known as vitamin B2), a vitamin that is important for energy production because it helps the body break down carbohydrates into sugar for fuel. Portobellos are also a good source of selenium.
Tips
- Marinate the mushrooms overnight if possible and cook them in a skillet with only the marinade left in the container.
- Use vegetable broth or water instead of oil, if mushrooms stick to the pan, adding a little at a time until the mushrooms are browned.
- Returnt eh mushrooms to a container to chill in the refrigerator while preparing the other sald ingredients.
- Make the tofu feta cheese in advance and allow to chill before adding to the salad.
- Using a vegetable chopper expedites vegetable preparations.
- Do not dress the salad in advance. Instead, serve individual portions and dress right before eating.
- The creamy balsamic dressing will stay fresh for 5 days in the refrigerator.
If you love mushrooms, give this hearty mushroom salad recipe a try. And try not to lick your plate!
Great Vegan Salad Recipes to Try!
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📖 Recipe
Mushroom Salad
Deeply golden brown mushrooms and roasted baby potatoes top this savory mushroom salad. Loaded with vibrant vegetables and dressed in a delicious, creamy balsamic vinegarette, you will fall in love with this mushroom salad recipe.
Instructions
Mushroooms
Clean portobello mushrooms and slice.
Combine marinade ingredients, and whisk together.
Place mushrooms in a container and pour marinade over the top. Seal the containerand shake to cover mushrooms.
For the best results, marinate overnight or at least a couple of hours.
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the mushrooms until brown.
If the mushrooms start to stick to the pan, use a small amount of vegetable broth or water to relaese the mushoooms to continue cooking.
Remove from heat and allow to cool, or place in a container and refrigerate until ready to serve teh salad.
Roasting Mini Potatoes
Preheat the oven to 374 degrees and preapre a baking sheet wiht parchemtn pape ror a silicone baking mat.
Wash and cut the potatoes in hlaf (skin on)
Rinse potatoes after they are cut, so they are somewhat damp and place them in a bowl.
Season the potstoes with garlic and onionspowders and toss in the bowl.
Place the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and lay whole rosemary spigs across the potaoes.
Roast for 30 minutes until browned.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely, or transfer to a container and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve the salad.
Salad Assembly
Begin with the Romaine Lettuce as the base of te salad.
Add the remaining raw ingredients and tofu feta cheese around the top of the lettuce bed.
Now, add the cold mushrooms and potatoes.
Notes
- I chose to dress the mushroom salad with a creamy balsamic dressing because the balsamic flavors taste beautiful with the ingredients in the salad. However, I also would suggest other dressings to meet individual preferences.Lemon basil or maple dijon dressing are alternative choices.
- Marinate the mushrooms if possible overnight.
- Prepare potatoes while mushrooms are cooking to save time cooking.
- Choose Tamari or liquid aminos for a gluten-free alternative to soy sauce.
Nutrition
Serving: 6gCalories: 354kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 1gFat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 409mgPotassium: 74mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 165IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 27mgIron: 1mg
Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
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