Shiitake mushrooms sautéed in butter and spices serve as a delicious stand-in for more traditional meat-based filling in these bright and colorful vegetarian tacos.
If you ask my kids for their favorite dinner, the answer is almost always an enthusiastic “tacos”! With all the taco love from the kids (and also from me since it’s an easy DIY weeknight dinner), I’ve been trying to mix things up a bit from our meat-based beef, pork, and steak fillings. Shiitake mushroom and corn filling is so rich and flavorful that you truly don’t need the meat.
What You’ll Love About Vegetarian Shiitake Mushroom Tacos
Even the mushroom skeptics will love mushrooms that have been cooked down to crisp and tender in butter and then flavored with spices. If you’ve ever cooked mushrooms and thought they seemed squishy or chewy, it’s likely you just need to cook them longer. A long, slow cook produces mushrooms that are super tender and irresistible. In this taco recipe, the savory flavor of the mushrooms is balanced with the sweet crunch of charred corn.
This recipe is:
- Vegetable-Packed
- Fresh
- Colorful
- Fast
- Gluten-Free Adaptable
Substitute for Shiitake Mushrooms
Shiitake mushrooms have a rich, super savory flavor. If shiitakes aren’t available try using another brown mushroom like thinly sliced portobello mushrooms or crimini.
I don’t recommend using reconstituted dried shiitake mushrooms in this recipe. You want the mushrooms to be fresh and fairly dry so that they brown nicely in the pan.
How to Clean Mushrooms
You may have heard that it’s best to wipe mushrooms clean with a damp towel, but it’s actually not necessary to go to all that trouble. It’s perfectly fine to rinse mushrooms under running water, just be sure not to soak them for too long since they will absorb the water and won’t brown properly.
To clean mushrooms, run them under cool water, gently rubbing off any visible dirt. Pat the mushrooms with a clean dishtowel or paper towels until very dry before cooking.
More Taco Recipes
- Sheet Pan Tacos
- Roasted Cauliflower Tacos
- Honey Lime Salmon Tacos
- Sweet Potato Tacos with Avocado Crema and Goat Cheese
- Honey Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Lime Sauce
Favorite Tools
Shiitake Mushroom and Charred Corn Tacos
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Large Skillet
Ingredients
Tacos:
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 6 cups Shiitake Mushrooms, sliced or chopped (sub any type of mushrooms)
- 1 Tablespoon Cooking Oil
- 2 cups Corn Kernels (fresh or defrost if using frozen)
- 12 small Fajita-Sized Tortillas (I like to use flour tortillas for these, but use gluten-free corn tortillas if needed)
- 3/4 cup Crumbled Cotija Cheese (can substitute feta)
- Cilantro Leaves, for garnish
Guacamole:
- 2 Avocados
- 1 Tablespoon finely chopped Cilantro
- 1 Tablespoon finely diced Shallots
- 1-3 teaspoons Fresh Lime Juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
Instructions
- Mash avocados with cilantro, shallots, lime juice (start on the low end of the range), and salt. Add more lime juice and / or salt to taste. If you’d like it spicy, stir in some hot sauce. Set aside.
- Heat butter in large skillet over medium-high heat until melted. Add mushrooms and saute until very tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with some salt. Transfer cooked mushrooms to a bowl and return skillet to heat.
- To heated skillet, add oil and then corn. Cook corn, without stirring, until it begins to pop and char on the bottom, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir and continue to cook until corn is very tender, about 2 minutes more. Season with some salt. Transfer to bowl with the corn.
- Heat tortillas according to package directions (If you have a gas stove, you can lightly toast them over the gas or just heat them all in the microwave).
- Spread tortillas with guacamole. Fill with mushroom-corn mixture and cotija. Garnish with cilantro leaves.
Nutrition
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