These Vegan Scallops are easy to make of marinated king oyster mushroom stems served with flavorful lemon garlic butter – This plant-based recipe is gluten-free, low carb, perfect to make ahead and can be served as appetizers, tossed in vegan pasta or salad, over mashed potatoes or with bruschetta or avocado toast on the side.
Vegan Scallops (King Oyster Mushroom Scallops)
Being vegan does not mean you cannot enjoy sea-flavors using plant-based ingredients. Besides my recipes for carrot lox, chickpea tuna salad and vegan fish nuggets, these mushroom scallops are again proof of how easy and simple it is to make amazing cruelty-free alternatives at home!
When sliced and aromatically marinated, the stems of oyster mushrooms will look and feel amazingly similar to the famous scallops after frying. The marinade mixture of tamari, miso paste, maple syrup and nori seaweed will give the mushrooms a great salty, culinary and fresh sea flavor that is absolutely delicious.
Slathered in a rich vegan lemon garlic butter sauce that further elevates the dish into something you would expect from restaurants rather than just your kitchen. These vegan scallops are made to impress and easy to plate up for a fancy dinner party or date night. Everyone will love them, vegans, vegetarians and non-vegans alike!
Ingredients Needed
Vegan Scallops
- King oyster mushrooms: this low-carb superfood vegetable is also called king trumpet mushrooms, and they are loaded with fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They are ideal because their stems are thick and round and look exactly like scallops when sliced. They cook to look, feel, and taste so much like scallops; you’ve got to try it to believe it!
- Vegetable broth: I recommend using high quality, organic and low-sodium variety to keep this recipe as healthy as possible.
- Tamari: adds a savory and umami flavor to the mushrooms. You can also use soy sauce or sub coconut aminos for a soy-free alternative.
- Miso paste: This condiment has that quintessential umami flavoring and salty-sweet richness that makes this dish so flavorful! In case you cannot find any, you can sub with vegan Worcestershire sauce or more tamari or soy sauce.
- Maple syrup: adds a tone of sweetness to cut through all the savoriness of the marinade. You can also use agave, date syrup, or regular sugar.
- Nori: this is responsible for the briny, fish-like flavor of the mushrooms. Some great alternatives for this would be dulse or kelp flakes.
Lemon Garlic Butter
- Vegan butter: You can use canola or olive oil, but butter gives the sauce a richer, unbeatable taste.
- Garlic cloves: provide a sharp, savory punch of flavor to the sauce.
- Lemon juice: adds a bright and tangy tone to the garlic butter sauce.
- Salt and pepper: to taste.
- Fresh parsley: for garnishing.
How to make Vegan Scallops
As always, I recommend checking out this step-by-step instruction and the recipe video first. Then you’ll find the full recipe with exact measurements in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Cut and marinate mushrooms
Cut the stems of the oyster mushrooms into about 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick slices. Optionally, score the cut-sides crosswise with a sharp knife. Next, mix together all the ingredients for the marinade. Then pour it over the mushrooms and toss to coat. Leave to marinate, covered, for at least 30 minutes (or refrigerate overnight).
Note: You can use the caps of the mushrooms for another recipe like mushroom risotto or mushroom wellington.
Step 2: Cook vegan scallops and lemon garlic butter
Heat a tablespoon of vegan butter in a skillet or non-stick pan. Add the marinated mushrooms and sauté for about 6-8 minutes per side until golden brown.
Meanwhile, melt the remaining vegan butter in another pan. Press in the garlic and sauté for a minute. Season with lemon juice, a little salt and pepper. Drizzle the lemon garlic butter over your king oyster mushroom scallops and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve over pasta, mashed potatoes, bruschetta or avocado toast as desired!
Tips when making Vegan Scallops
- Do not throw away the caps of the mushrooms. Put them to good use to make other recipes like Creamy Mushroom Risotto or Mushroom Wellington.
- Scoring the sliced mushrooms will allow the marinade to seep right through, so do not forget to do this.
- Marinate the mushrooms overnight to give them more time to absorb all the flavors. All you have to do is saute and make the sauce the next day.
- Use a cast-iron skillet if possible. The even, consistent heat from the pan will give you that perfect seared surfaces that will deliver tons of smoky flavor to your king oyster scallops.
- You can use other vegan sauces than lemon garlic butter, such as creamy white Alfredo sauce, or a simple balsamic vinaigrette.
How to store leftovers?
Leftover scallops can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. However, you can also freeze them for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, simply reheat in a skillet, pan or microwave.
This recipe for Vegan Scallops is:
- Fish-free
- Low-carb
- Gluten-free
- Easy to make
- Healthy
- Nutritious
- Versatile: use in salads, pasta, or with bread, rice and mashed potatoes
- Perfectly marinated
- Seared to golden goodness
- Looks, tastes, and feels like the real thing!
- Incredibly delicious!
More delicious Vegan Pasta Recipes to try
- Vegan Broccoli Mac and Cheese
- Cauliflower Alfredo Pasta
- Spinach and Mushroom Pasta
- Creamy Pumpkin Alfredo Pasta
- Spaghetti Carbonara
- Lentil Zucchini Lasagna
- Vegan Lentil Bolognese
- Creamy Vegan Lemon Pasta
- Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Sauce
- Lentil Mushroom Ragu
- Vegan Sweet Potato Cheese Sauce
- Creamed Spinach Pasta
- Creamy Tomato Pasta
If you try this easy vegan mushroom scallops recipe, feel free to leave me a comment and a star rating! And if you share a photo of your no-fish dish on Instagram, please tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka because I love seeing your remakes! Enjoy! 🙂
Vegan Mushroom Scallops
Author:Ingredients
- 1 lbs (450 g) oyster mushrooms King Oyster Mushrooms
Marinade
- 1 cup (240 ml) hot vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce or coconut aminos if soy-free
- 1 tbsp miso paste or sub more tamari/soy sauce
- 1 tsp maple syrup or other syrup or sugar
- ½ nori sheet chopped, or other seaweed flakes
Lemon Garlic Butter
- 3 tbsp vegan butter or canola or olive oil
- 3-4 garlic cloves pressed
- 1 lemon the juice of it
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ bunch of fresh parsley
Instructions
*Note: Feel free to check out the step-by-step pictures at the top of the post!
- Cut the stems of the oyster mushrooms into about 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick slices. Optionally, score the cut-sides crosswise with a sharp knife. (You can use the caps of the mushrooms for another recipe like creamy risotto or mushroom wellington).
- Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade in a container.
- Place the mushroom slices in a large bowl, pour the marinade over them and toss to coat. Set aside covered for at least 30 minutes (or refrigerate overnight).
- Heat a tablespoon of the vegan butter in a skillet or non-stick pan. Add the marinated mushrooms and sauté for about 6-8 minutes per side until golden brown.
- Meanwhile, melt the remaining vegan butter in another pan. Press in the garlic and sauté for a minute. Season with lemon juice, a little salt and pepper.
- Drizzle the lemon garlic butter over the vegan scallops and garnish with fresh parsley.
- Serve over pasta, salad, mashed potatoes, bruschetta or avocado toast as desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Storage: Leftover scallops can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. Then, if needed, simply reheat in a skillet or microwave.
- More information on the recipe are mentioned in the blog post above!
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Wow these were amazing and so easy. Maybe a little too much lemon but it could have been just a juicy lemon. I used coriander instead of Parsley.
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed them! Thank you! 🙂
Didn’t have the nori but even without this is sooooo good! I haven’t eaten scallops before so can’t speak as to how scallopy they are, but they are DELICIOUS.
I’m so glad you liked them! 🙂 Thank you so much for the great feedback! ♡