Vegan Philly cheesesteak with jackfruit

5 from 8 votes

Vegan Philly cheesesteak with jackfruit

This vegan steak and cheese sandwich is maximum comfort food. Savory jackfruit is topped with cashew cheese, sauteed onions, and peppers. It's a hearty sandwich that is jam-packed with flavor.

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Total Time55

Course: Sandwich

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Keyword: comfort food, dairy free, jackfruit

Servings: people

Calories: 329kcal

Author: Cadry Nelson

Ingredients

For vegan Philly cheesesteak sandwich

20 ounces young green jackfruit canned in water or brine, not syrup*
2 teaspoons avocado oil divided (or your preferred oil)
1 cup water
1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon, no-beef base
¼ cup red wine dry in flavor. I especially like Malbec, Garnacha, or Tempranillo
1 teaspoon tamari
1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon granulated onion
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon tahini
1 red bell pepper cut into thin slices
1 yellow onion cut in half & thinly sliced into half moons
4 sausage buns or hoagie rolls, sliced down the middle

For vegan cashew cheese sauce

½ cup raw cashews**
1 cup water
¼ cup sauerkraut
1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon, no-chicken base or your preferred vegan bouillon
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
½ teaspoon white miso paste

Instructions

To make vegan Philly cheesesteak sandwich

Start on the vegan steak.
Drain and rinse the jackfruit in a colander. Then move the jackfruit pieces to a towel, so that they will be as dry as possible. (Extra water on it will make it harder to brown.)
I recommend rolling the jackfruit in the towel like a Tootsie Roll. Then wring it out until fully dry.
Move the jackfruit pieces to a food processor.
Pulse the food processor a few times, until the jackfruit is broken up into shredded pieces.
(Don't do it so many times that you end up with jackfruit hummus. Just 5 or 6 pulses should be good.)
Bring a large non-stick skillet to a medium high heat with a teaspoon of oil. Put an even layer of shredded jackfruit in the skillet.
(If you're using a medium sized skillet or smaller, be careful not to overfill it. Work in batches, if necessary. It won't brown as well if there's too much in the skillet.)
Don't move the jackfruit for a few minutes. Allow it to get fully brown on one side, then flip the jackfruit shreds and allow it to brown more.
Once the jackfruit is browned & dry, it's time to fill it with flavor.
Add 1 cup water, 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon no beef base, ¼ cup red wine, 1 teaspoon tamari, 1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire, paprika, granulated onion, and garlic powder to the skillet.
Fully combine it with the jackfruit.
You want the liquid to be at a simmer, so adjust your heat accordingly.
Allow the jackfruit to simmer in the liquid for ten to twelve minutes, until all of the liquid has cooked off.
Once the liquid has cooked off, keep cooking the jackfruit until it is dry and browned in color. That helps give it a more steak-like texture & appearance.
Plus, it insures that the flavors of broth, wine, and spices will be fully condensed in the jackfruit.
Turn off the heat.
Put the tahini on top of the jackfruit. Use your spatula to fully incorporate the jackfruit with the tahini, making sure it's evenly combined.
Set aside.
Bring a separate large skillet to a medium heat with remaining 1 teaspoon of oil. Scatter sliced red bell pepper & onions across the skillet. Don't overcrowd the skillet, or the peppers & onions won't brown as nicely.
If your skillet isn't large enough, you may have to work in batches.
Don't move the onions & peppers too much, so that they can get nicely browned.
Once they are brown on one side, flip them and continue cooking. Once they are browned and softened, move the peppers & onions to a separate plate.
Put the 4 sausage buns into the warm skillet, cut side down. Leave them for two or three minutes, so that they can brown.
Once they are nutty brown, remove them from heat.
Fill the sausage buns with spoonfuls of jackfruit mixture.
Top the sandwiches with vegan cashew cheese sauce (recipe below), red peppers, and onions.

To make vegan cashew cheese sauce

Using a blender, combine raw cashews, 1 cup water, sauerkraut, Better Than Bouillon no-chicken base, nutritional yeast, and white miso paste.
Blend until totally smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary.
Transfer the cashew mixture to a small or medium-sized soup pot. Bring the pot to a medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue stirring for about 10 minutes.
If it begins to simmer, lower the heat.
Continue stirring and cooking until the cashew mixture has reduced and thickened, making a velvety smooth cheese sauce.
Remove from heat and set aside.

Notes

*Do NOT use fresh, ripe jackfruit for this recipe. The flavor is entirely different. Ripe jackfruit is a sweet fruit. Young jackfruit sold in cans is very mild in flavor. That means it's the only good choice for savory applications.

**If you're using a high speed blender, you don't need to soak the raw cashews ahead of time to soften them.

However, if you're using a standard blender, you'll need to help it out to create a completely smooth sauce.

You have three options for softening cashews:

You can either soak the raw cashews in additional water for several hours before making the sauce, then drain, and continue the recipe as written.
You can grind the dry raw cashews in a clean coffee grinder until they are like a flour. Then add them to the blender.
You can boil raw cashews for a few minutes until softened. Then drain and continue the recipe as written.

Nutrition