Portobello Vegan Pot Roast (Instant Pot)
Get cozy with this perfect weeknight stew. A vegan pot roast made with portobellos, carrots, and potatoes, all cooked inside an Instant Pot for the ultimate easy fall meal.
First off, Happy Halloween, friends!
This is the first Halloween that I won’t have my kids with me. While I am sad not to take them trick-or-treating, I am looking forward to cozying up at home with some Alfred Hitchcock movies, a glass of red wine, and perhaps some Peanut Butter Caramel Popcorn.
With Halloween here, it means winter is fast approaching. Cold weather, short days, and, of course, cozy meals. As far as cozy meals go, I can’t get enough of this vegan pot roast. All the meaty mushrooms and buttery potatoes for me, please!
I’ve been making variations of this Portobello Pot Roast for a few weeks now and I’m excited to finally be sharing it with you!
Recommended Ingredients and Equipment
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Olive Oil
- Portobello – Portobello is one of the best whole food meat substitutes you can find. They have a rich juicy, deep meaty texture that, although will never be mistaken for meat, can be equally satisfying to vegans and omnivores alike.
- Onion
- Garlic
- Carrots
- Baby Potatoes
- Fresh Herbs – Rosemary and Oregano
- Tomato Paste
- Dry Red Wine – You can omit and replace it with an additional 1/4 cup vegetable broth.
- Vegetable Stock
- Vegan Worcestershire Sauce- Make sure to look for vegan specific brands. Most brands of Worcestershire sauce have anchovies.
- Salt and Pepper
Recommended Equipment
While it is not necessary, I do recommend a making this recipe with an Instant Pot. My Instant Pot is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets. It is a tool that does the work of a slow cooker, pressure cooker, rice cooker, sautéer, yogurt maker, steamer, and warmer. AND it makes dinner so easy. If you don’t have an instant pot, you can make this meal in a dutch oven.
In addition, you will need a good chef’s knife, cutting board, and basic kitchen utensils. (<<affiliate links)
Check out the full list of my recommended kitchen tools and gadgets.
How to Make Portobello Pot Roast
Step One – Sauté the Mushrooms
Just like beef, the portobello gets rubbed with salt and pepper. After it is seasoned, it is chopped and sautéed in your instant pot to brown and crisp the edges. Once the portobello is browned, remove it from the instant pot and assemble the rest of your roast.
Step Two – Add the Vegetables
Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in your Instant Pot and add onions. Sauté for about 3-4 minutes until they are fragrant and translucent. Stir in garlic, carrots, and potatoes and sauté for 2-3 minutes until vegetables are slightly browned.
Add back the sautéed portobellos, tomato paste, red wine, vegetable stock, Worcestershire, rosemary, and oregano. As you do this, make sure to scrape up any browned vegetables from the bottom.
Step Three – Cook the Pot Roast
Secure the lid on. Select the manual setting to high pressure and set for 30 minutes. When finished, release the pressure according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Remove the lid and let the pot roast cool for 10 minutes.
Serving and Storing
Serve this recipe immediately. Because it’s sitting in the juices of the vegetables and vegetable broth, the potatoes and carrots will eventually start to get soft and mushy. Serve with Sage “Buttermilk Biscuits or Maple Balsamic Brussels Sprouts
Storing – This doesn’t store well and is best eaten the same day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to use an Instant Pot?
No. Using a Dutch oven or cast iron soup pot, you can essentially follow the same instructions. Cook times will be a little longer, but, the nice thing about a Dutch ovenis that you can check for doneness as often as you need.
It’s important to note that when I made this in my dutch oven, I added an extra 1/2 cup of vegetable broth because more of the broth will evaporate with this method.
More Vegan Portobello Recipes
- Portobello Pizza with Tempeh Sausage
- Philly Cheesesteak with Portobello Steak Strips
- Portobello Sliders with Caramelized Onions
- Vegan Fajita Bowls with Portobello Steak
- 4-Ingredient Portobello Steaks
Instant Pot Vegan Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 4 large portobellos
- 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 large carrots, cut in half into 2-inch pieces
- 1 pound baby potatoes
- 1 sprig rosemary, destemmed
- 1 sprig oregano, destemmed
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/4 cup dry red wine
- 1/2 cup vegetable stock
- 2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Set your Instant Pot to the high sauté setting. Heat up 1 tablespoon of oil.
- Remove the stems from the portobello. Generously rub them with salt and pepper and slice them into 1/2-inch strips. Sauté in the Instant Pot for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Once it’s evenly browned, remove the mushrooms from the Instant Pot and set aside.
- Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in your Instant Pot and add onions. Sauté for about 3-4 minutes until they are fragrant and translucent. Stir in garlic, carrots, and potatoes and sauté for 2-3 minutes until vegetables are slightly browned.
- Add back the sautéed portobellos, tomato paste, red wine, vegetable stock, Worcestershire, rosemary, and oregano. As you do this, make sure to scrape up any browned vegetables from the bottom. Secure the lid on. Select the manual setting to high pressure and set for 30 minutes.
- When finished, release the pressure according to the manufacturer's instructions. Remove the lid and let the pot roast cool for 10 minutes.
- With a slotted spoon, serve the pot roast between 4 bowls. Top with a spoonful of gravy and serve immediately.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the 
Regina says
Yum, perfect comfort food and so easy to prepare. My family that is wary of vegan food took heaping platefuls. I subbed white grape juice for the wine because I had some on hand and that was a nice flavor. This is going in our regular rotation from now on.
Betty says
Do you do a natural release or quick release of pressure?
Sarah McMinn says
I use quick release.
Darren says
Your cook time and total time should probably be 40 or 50 minutes, no?
Sarah says
There seems to be an issue with my recipe card not registering the correct times. It cooks for 30 minutes.
Shantelle Nalley says
I want to try this, but I don’t have an instant pot. Do you know how I could do this in a slow cooker?
Sarah says
You could do it over the stove in a soup pot. It would probably take about 30 minutes for the vegetables to get tender.
Zara says
Best vegan meal I have ever made in all honesty! Could eat this over and over again, so simple. I cooked mine in the oven so I had to use more liquid as it would absorb too fast. But was beautiful!
Fran Cruden says
Im with Zara! That was comforting and sooo good!
wendy says
Sorry,….still confused. After sauteing the mushrooms, do we put them aside or keep them in the pot for the cooking of the other veggies? Seem like they would get too mushy if they stay in the pot ?
Sarah says
I made it a little more clear in the recipe. The mushrooms are removed after sautéing and set aside. They are placed back in after the rest of the vegetables are sautéed (see step 5). Hope that clarifies it!
suzy says
This looks good and I’ll be making in my Dutch Oven. When do the mushrooms go back in? Or are they reserved until the very end and then the stew put over the top of them. I don’t see them in the instructions after “remove and set aside.” Thanks! Can’t wait to try this!
Sarah says
Thanks for pointing that out. I fixed the recipe to indicate that.
Suzy says
Thanks Sarah! I made it tonight and it was great! It thickened up nicely and was very rich tasting! I’ll definitely be making it again.
Sarah says
Glad you liked it, Suzy!