These vegan scallops are made with king oyster mushrooms in an easy garlic white sauce that’s perfect over pasta or rice. The whole dish takes less than 15 minutes to make, yet it tastes like a gourmet meal from a trained chef! King mushrooms have a surprisingly similar taste and texture to scallops and make the perfect vegan substitution.
You will LOVE these vegan scallops because they’re…
- quick and easy to make.
- rich and creamy in a perfectly delicious garlic cream sauce!
- free of dairy, nuts, gluten, fish, and most major allergins so everyone can enjoy it.
- absolutely delicious over rice, pasta or any grain.
What you will need to make vegan scallops in garlic cream sauce…
- King Oyster Mushrooms – for the “scallops.” These are very large trumpet-shaped mushrooms with a mild flavor and seafood like texture. I find them in my local Asian market, but you may also find them at large or specialty grocery stores.
- Butter – to saute the king mushroom in and for richness and flavor. You can use my homemade Vegan Butter Recipe or any vegan margarine
- Sour Cream – for the bulk of the cream sauce. I like Tofutti brand sour cream or my homemade Tofu Sour Cream for this recipe, but you can use any sour cream of choice.
- Garlic – to flavor the cream sauce. I usually use about 4 cloves, but you can use a little more or less depending on how garlicky you want it.
- Salt – to flavor the “scallops” and the white sauce.
- Parsley – to balance out the heaviness of the cream sauce and as a pretty garnish. Fresh parley will give you the best flavor.
How do I cut and prepare a king oyster mushroom?
King mushrooms are mostly made up of stem with a small cap and a tougher section at the bottom of the stem. The darker brown cap has a strong flavor that you don’t want, so you will need to cut that section off and throw it away. The bottom inch or so, of the mushroom, is too hard and chewy, so you will also want to cut off and discard that section.
To make the mushroom look like scallops:
You will want to use the large middle stem section. To make the mushroom look and cook up similarly to scallops, cut the mushroom stem in 1/4 inch thick rounds.
How do I make vegan scallops in garlic cream sauce?
- Wash and cut the king mushroom into 1/4 inch rounds.
- Saute the mushroom rounds in butter in a skillet over medium heat for about 4 minutes on each side sprinkling them with 1/4 tsp of salt on each side.
- Add minced garlic once each side has cooked and turned darker and appears wet.
- Saute garlic and mushrooms over medium-low heat for another 2 minutes.
- Add 1 cup of vegan sour cream, 1 cup of water, and 1/2 tsp of salt.
- Stir well and simmer for a few more minutes until the sour cream and water have fully combined.
- Add fresh parsley and serve hot over pasta or rice.
Tips for making perfect vegan scallops:
- The thicker that you cook the scallops, the longer that they will need to cook.
- You will know if the mushrooms are cooked when they turn a shade darker and start to release their juices.
- Make sure to add the garlic only a minute or two before adding the sour cream to make sure it doesn’t burn.
- Stir in the sour cream and water until it forms a cream sauce.
- Note: the garlic cream sauce will appear a little watery when cooking, but it will thicken as soon as it starts to cool slightly.
Variations for vegan scallops:
- Heart’s of Palm Scallops – If you don’t like mushrooms or can’t find the king oyster mushrooms, you can use a can of drained hearts of palm instead.
- Lemon Butter Scallops – Omit the sour cream and double the vegan butter and add the juice of 1/2 a fresh lemon to make a buttery lemon sauce.
- White Wine Scallops – If you would like to make vegan scallops into a fancy vegan appetizer, check out Chef Jana’s recipe for vegan king oyster mushroom scallops.
Want some more recipes using King Oyster Mushrooms?
Try my vegan linguini with clam sauce or my authentic tasting Vegan “Clam” Dip using king mushrooms!
Don’t forget to pin the king mushroom scallops recipe for later!
King oyster mushrooms cooked in a garlic cream sauce and served over pasta or rice.
- 2 large king oyster mushrooms
- 1 cup vegan sour cream
- 3 tbsp vegan butter
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- Wash and cut the king mushroom into 1/4 inch rounds.
Saute the mushroom rounds in butter in a skillet over medium heat for about 4 minutes on each side sprinkling them with 1/4 tsp of salt on each side.
Add minced garlic once each side has cooked and turned darker and appears wet.
Saute garlic and mushrooms for another 2 minutes over medium-low heat.
- Add 1 cup of vegan sour cream, 1 cup of water, and 1/2 tsp of salt.
- Stir well and simmer for a few more minutes until the sour cream and water have fully combined.
- Add fresh parsley and serve hot over pasta or rice.
Tips:
- The thicker that you cook the scallops, the longer that they will need to cook.
- You will know if the mushrooms are cooked when they turn a shade darker and start to release their juices.
- Make sure to add the garlic only a minute or two before adding the sour cream to make sure it doesn't burn.
- Stir in the sour cream and water until it forms a cream sauce.
Note: The garlic cream sauce will appear a little watery when cooking, but it will thicken as soon as it starts to cool slightly.
Kara says
June 4, 2019 at 9:23 amOMG! I made these for dinner last night and it was soooooooo good! I can’t believe how much they taste like scallops!