Roasted Miso Mushroom Sandwich

This savory roasted miso mushroom sandwich is so full of flavor and texture that even meat lovers won't miss the meat. Every bite is loaded with caramelized mushrooms, cucumber pepper relish, pickled onions, fresh arugula, and a tangy miso sesame vinaigrette. It's absolutely scrumptious!

Watch how to make this

Ingredients

• Oyster mushrooms: A type of edible mushroom with a delicate, oyster-shaped cap and a mild flavor. If you can't find oyster mushrooms, you can use cremini or button mushrooms. You can also use a blend of mushrooms for variety.
• White miso: Japanese fermented soybean paste with a lighter color and a milder, sweeter flavor than darker miso varieties. I used Maruman white miso for this recipe.
• Mirin: A sweet rice wine used in Japanese cuisine to add sweetness and flavor to dishes. You can find mirin in Asian markets.
• Rice vinegar: A type of vinegar made from fermented rice commonly used in Asian cuisine for its mild, slightly sweet flavor. White wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar can be used as a substitute for rice vinegar.
• Greek yogurt: To add a creamy element to the miso sesame vinaigrette, use Greek yogurt. You can also use mayonnaise.
• Persian cucumber: The small crisp cucumbers have minimal seeds making them ideal for the crunchy relish. Use English cucumbers if you can't find Persian cucumbers.
• Mini sweet peppers: Sweet mini peppers are small, colorful peppers with a sweet and mild flavor. If you can't find mini sweet peppers, substitute with bell peppers, which are larger but can provide a similar sweet flavor.
• Pickled onions: To make a quick pickled onion, use the recipe on my roasted potato salad.
• Sandwich bread: You can use any sandwich bread including wheat, multigrain, sourdough, ciabatta, or even focaccia.

Substitutions and variations

• Gluten-free: Use your favorite gluten-free sandwich bread and substitute soy sauce with tamari.
• Dairy-free: Substitute the Greek yogurt with dairy-free yogurt or mayonnaise.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Roast mushrooms

Let's start by preparing the main star of the sandwich, the mushrooms. Use your hands and tear the oyster mushrooms into strips. This might be my favorite step of the recipe - there's just something so therapeutic about the process!

In a medium bowl, mix white miso, soy sauce, mirin, olive oil, and sugar until well combined. Pour the flavorful sauce over the mushrooms, massaging the mushrooms with the sauce, ensuring they're fully coated.

Then, spread the coated mushrooms on a sheet pan in a single layer and roast for 15-20 minutes or until beautifully caramelized. Remember to toss them halfway through the roasting process to allow all of the edges to crisp up.

Step 2: Prepare cucumber pepper relish

While the mushrooms are roasting, prepare the refreshing cucumber pepper relish. Combine rice vinegar with sugar until the sugar dissolves, then pour it over thinly sliced Persian cucumber and sweet peppers. Stir the mixture and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Finally, add chopped cilantro and sesame seeds, giving it a good stir to marry all the flavors.

Step 3: Make toppings

Next, let's move on to the other toppings. To make the miso sesame vinaigrette, whisk together olive oil, plain Greek yogurt, rice vinegar, white miso, honey, sesame oil, and grated ginger until the concoction is well amalgamated. You can also the help of a handy Vitamix to bring the dressing together.

This velvety dressing will add a tangy, slightly sweet flavor to your sandwich while also adding a creamy element. This recipe makes extra dressing so you'll be able to enjoy it on your next salad.

If you don't have pickled onions on hand, you can make a quick pickled onion. The quick pickled version only requires the onions to sit in the brine for 5 minutes. However, if you have time, make the onions the day before and let them soak up the brine.

Step 4: Assemble sandwiches

Now comes the fun part – assembling the sandwiches! Top half your bread slices with fresh arugula and the roasted miso mushrooms. I used a seeded whole wheat loaf to add a subtle nutty flavor.

Drizzle a generous amount of the miso sesame vinaigrette over the mushrooms, and then pile on the cucumber relish and pickled red onions. Drizzle a little extra vinaigrette for good measure, and crown your creation with the remaining bread slices.

When I initially tasted the mushrooms by themselves, I was worried they were too salty. But once you pair them with the tangy pickled onions, bitter arugula, creamy miso sesame vinaigrette, and crisp cucumber relish, it's like mushroom heaven! The flavors compliment each other so well that you almost forget that there's no meat in the sandwich. And as a meat-lover myself, that's saying a lot!

Make-ahead and storage

• Make-ahead: You can prepare the pickled onions, miso sesame vinaigrette, and roasted mushrooms the day before. Reheat the mushrooms right before assembling the sandwiches.
• Store: It's best to keep all the components in separate airtight containers in the fridge and prepare the sandwiches right before serving.

Frequently asked questions

More vegetarian sandwich recipes

Looking for more vegetarian sandwiches? Try these:

Recipe

Print Recipe

Roasted Miso Mushroom Sandwich

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: sandwich

Servings: 2

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Roasted miso mushroom

• 1 pound oyster mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon white miso
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Cucumber pepper relish

• 1 Persian cucumber thinly sliced
• 2 mini sweet peppers thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoon sesame seeds

Miso sesame vinaigrette

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt plain
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon white miso
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• ½ teaspoon grated ginger

Remaining ingredients

• 4 slices sandwich bread
• 1 cup fresh arugula
• 2 tablespoons pickled red onions

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Tear oyster mushrooms into strips. Mix miso, soy sauce, mirin, olive oil, and sugar in a medium bowl until well combined. Pour sauce over mushrooms and toss together, making sure mushrooms are fully coated. Spread mushrooms on a sheet pan in one even layer. Roast for 15-20 minutes or until caramelized, tossing mushrooms halfway through.
• Meanwhile, make the cucumber pepper relish. Stir together rice vinegar with sugar, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Pour over cucumber and peppers, stirring to combine. Let sit for 10 minutes. Add cilantro and sesame seeds, stirring to combine.
• Make miso sesame vinaigrette. Whisk together olive oil, yogurt, rice vinegar, miso, honey, sesame oil, and grated ginger until well combined.
• Assemble sandwiches. Top half of the bread slices with fresh arugula and roasted mushrooms. Drizzle a generous amount of miso sesame vinaigrette on top of mushrooms and pile on cucumber relish and pickled cucumbers. Drizzle extra miso sesame vinaigrette on top followed by the remaining bread. Serve immediately.

Notes

For a quick pickled red onion recipe, visit my roasted potato salad recipe.