Vegan Philly Cheesesteak Sliders

Have you ever tried something new and just been blown away by it? I have to admit, when it comes to trying new food things it takes a lot to surprise me. 

When I first heard about jackfruit I was skeptical. I mean, using fruit as a meat substitute? I don't think so. Then jackfruit started showing up on all the "new food trends" lists and I knew that Sue and I had to give it a go. Unfortunately, living in Lillooet meant we didn't immediately have access to it. We were very patient however and eventually jackfruit made its way to town. 

We used this prepackaged, already shredded, original jackfruit from Upton's Naturals (website HERE) for our recipe but we'd love to be able to try it with an actual jackfruit one day!

Anyway, this surprised the heck out of me. 

Seeing it in the pan confused my brain. I mean... it looks like meat. Totally like meat. Look....

How is that fruit?

I don't know. It's so weird. 

But, as we often say, weird is good. In this case, weird is amazing! If you haven't given jackfruit a try then we encourage you to do so. This recipe is completely vegan but you don't have to be vegan to thoroughly enjoy it. Our parents didn't even know it wasn't meat. 

So. Much. Fun.

Vegan Philly Cheesesteak Sliders

Ingredients

Caramelized Onions

2 Tbsp oil

2 large onions, sliced

salt & pepper

Fried peppers

1 Tbsp oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 red pepper, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced

1 yellow pepper, sliced

1 medium portobello mushroom cap, sliced

Jackfruit

2 (7 oz/200 gr each) pkgs shredded, plain jackfruit

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp liquid smoke

1 tsp soy sauce

Garlic Butter

1/3 cup vegan butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp garlic powder

12 slider buns 

12 slices of vegan provolone (We used Daiya provolone see HERE)

Directions

In a medium frying pan over medium-low heat, place the 2 Tbsp oil, 2 large, sliced onions, and a dash of salt and pepper. Cook and stir until onions starts to sizzle. Immediately turn the heat to low. Continue to cook over low heat, stirring every couple of minutes, until onions are caramelized. This should take between 30 - 40 minutes. 

When the onions are done, remove them from the pan to a bowl and set aside. In the same pan, place the 1 Tbsp oil, garlic, peppers, and mushroom. Turn heat up to medium. 

At the same time, in a separate non-stick pan, place the jackfruit and spices, sugar, liquid smoke, and soy sauce. Cook and stir gently over medium-low heat until heated through. This should take about the same amount of time as the peppers to cook - about 8 minutes. 

When the peppers are done cooking, add the onions back to the pan with them. 

In a small bowl, combine your vegan butter, garlic, and garlic powder. Brush on both the top and bottom inside each bun. Place the buns, face up, on a cookie sheet. 

Place half a slice of Daiya provolone on the bottom half of each bun. 

Turn on the broiler in the oven. Place cookie sheet on the middle rack in oven until cheese just starts to melt, about 1 - 2 minutes. 

Remove from heat and top each bottom half with 1 spoonful of the jackfruit mixture.

Then top with the onion/pepper/mushroom mixture.

Lastly, top with another half of Daiya provolone.

Place back in oven under broiler (middle of oven) until cheese is melty - about 5 or so minutes. If the top of the buns start to get too toasty then just pull them off the cookie sheet and place them on the counter until cheese is melted. 

Place top bun on top of the provolone.

Serve immediately. 

Hard to believe it's vegan, am I right?

FYI - we purchased vegan slider buns, we didn't make them. 

They are a little bit of effort to put together but nothing terribly difficult. Totally worth it, IMO. 

These sliders are perfect for game night, ladies night, after school snacks, or lunch time! 

Use a gluten free soy sauce and buy gluten free buns and not only is this vegan, it's also gluten free. 

Sue and I aren't vegan but we do enjoy vegan and vegetarian dishes. We can't wait to experiment more with jackfruit. What are your experiences with jackfruit? Are you a fan?