I’m so excited to share this recipe for vegan jerk mushrooms with pineapple salsa and coconut rice! This dish brings back fond memories of my honeymoon on the JoCo Cruise in the Caribbean with my husband which, if you haven’t heard of it, is about the nerdiest activity possible. It’s basically Comicon on a boat combined with a floating board game convention headlined by a singer possibly best known for writing the theme song to a video game…. ANYway, the point is, this is all about Caribbean flavors! The combination of the spicy and sweet flavors from the jerk seasoning on the mushrooms paired with the juicy, tangy salsa and the creamy coconut rice is just pure bliss. The best part? You can adjust the spice levels to your liking, making it as mild or as spicy as you’d like. And if pineapple isn’t your thing, feel free to swap it out for mango or another tropical fruit of your choice. So without further ado, let’s get started on this flavor-packed vegan meal!
Vegan Jerk Mushrooms with Pineapple Salsa and Coconut Rice
Equipment
- Mesh colander for cleaning the mushrooms and rice
- Hand Juicer optional, you can use your hands instead
- Whisk optional, you can use a fork instead
Ingredients
Jerk Mushrooms
- 1 lb oyster mushrooms
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Pineapple Salsa
- 2 cups pineapple, diced fresh or canned is fine
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1/4 red onion, finely diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped optional if you don't like cilantro
- 1/2 jalapeno, finely diced remove the seeds for less spice, remove entirely for no spice
- 1 lime
- salt and pepper to taste
Coconut Rice
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 cup water you can use coconut water for an extra coconut-y flavor here!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Wash the mushrooms and pat them dry. Then separate them from the stalk and tear into rough pieces, so that no piece of mushroom is not much longer than your thumb or wider than half your palm. It's fine to have a couple of lager pieces in there – the small ones will crisp up while the bigger ones will have a meatier texture.
- Take the remaining jerk mushroom ingredients and add them to a stainless steel mixing bowl, then whisk to combine. Add the mushroom pieces to the bowl and using either your hands or a spoon, stir to completely coat the mushrooms in the mixture. You can do this step up to a day in advance, but I recommend letting it sit in the marinade for at least 15 minutes (or while the oven finishes heating up!).
- Place the mushrooms on a baking tray lined with parchment paper in an even layer, then roast for 25 minutes, tossing once about halfway through the cooking time.
- Rinse the rice in a mesh colander until the water runs clear then add to a saucepan, for which you have the lid, with the coconut milk and water and place over medium heat. Once the liquid comes to a gentle boil, reduce the heat to low and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Once the 15 minutes are up, turn off the heat but leave the rice covered and on the stove until ready to serve, or at least 10 minutes more.
- While the mushrooms and rice are cooking, make the salsa. Dice all of your fruits and vegetables, if not already chopped. Combine all ingredients except the lime in a bowl, then cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice from the lime over the salsa. Toss to combine.
- Once the rice and mushrooms are done, remove the mushrooms from the oven and the rice from the stovetop and serve, with the mushrooms plated on top of the rice and the salsa on top of the mushrooms or on the side. Enjoy!
