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    Home » Appetizers

    Vegan Shrimp

    Published: Mar 2, 2022 Updated: Mar 2, 2022 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Vegan Shrimp

    This vegan shrimp is so good it will knock your socks off. It tastes even better than the ‘real thing’. King oyster mushrooms are breaded, crumbed and then fried to crispy, golden brown perfection. Serve with vegan yum yum sauce for a seriously crowd-pleasing appetizer.

    Vegan shrimp stacked up on a plate with a bowl of yum yum sauce on the side.

    This vegan shrimp is made in the style of popcorn shrimp, which means each piece is small and as easy to pop into your mouth as a piece of popcorn!

    The seasonings are the same as you’d use when making regular shrimp, and with the ‘meaty’ texture of king oyster mushrooms, the result is pretty much exactly like the ‘real thing’.

    So even if you’re serving this as an appetizer to some serious shrimp lovin’ folks they will still be reaching for seconds, thirds and fourths once they taste how good this is.

    We served it with our favorite sauce of late, our vegan yum yum sauce. It makes the perfect pairing for this vegan fried shrimp and makes it pretty much irresistible!

    And for more vegan seafood-y type recipes try our vegan scallops, vegan crab cakes, vegan fish, vegan tuna, vegan salmon and vegan fish tacos.

    What You’ll Need To Make This Vegan Shrimp Recipe:

    Photo of the ingredients needed to make vegan shrimp.

    Ingredient Notes

    • King oyster mushrooms – are the stars of the show in this recipe. The stalks have the perfect shape and texture.
    • Soy milk – could be replaced with a different non-dairy milk.
    • Panko breadcrumbs – are the perfect kind of breadcrumbs for this recipe as they are ultra crispy.
    • Sesame oil – is an oil with a high smoke point, making it perfect for frying at high heat.
    Vegan shrimp stacked up on a plate.

    How To Make Vegan Shrimp

    You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.

    • Cut the tips off the oyster mushrooms and slice the stalks into ½ inch discs.
    Two photo collage showing king oyster mushrooms being sliced up on a wooden chopping board.
    • Then slice an S shape cut through the middle of each disc, leaving two shrimp shaped halves.
    Two photo collage showing king oyster mushrooms sliced into the shape of shrimp.
    • Set aside.
    Sliced king oyster mushrooms in a black bowl.
    • Add soy milk and all purpose flour to a mixing bowl and mix together.
    Two photo collage showing ingredients for batter added to bowl and mixed together.
    • In a separate bowl add Panko breadcrumbs, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, sea salt and ground black pepper and mix together.
    Two photo collage showing breadcrumbs added to bowl with spices and mixed together.
    • Dip the mushroom shrimp in batches into the batter, making sure it is well coated.
    Two photo collage showing vegan shrimp added to batter and tossed until coated.
    • Then transfer it to the breadcrumbs and roll the shrimp in the breadcrumbs making sure they are well coated on all sides.
    Two photo collage showing battered vegan shrimp placed into breadcrumbs bowl and tossed until coated.
    • Transfer them to a baking sheet and then continue with the rest of the shrimp until it’s all battered and coated in breadcrumbs.
    Uncooked vegan shrimp on a baking sheet.
    • Add just enough sesame oil to your frying pan so that the bottom is well coated and heat on medium high heat.
    • When the oil is hot, add only as much vegan shrimp as will comfortably fit, making sure the pan isn’t too crowded, there should be space between each piece.
    • Fry for around 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown.
    • Repeat with the next batch of vegan shrimp, adding more sesame oil as needed.
    Two photo collage showing vegan shrimp added to frying pan and then flipped.
    • Once fried, place the vegan shrimp pieces on a baking tray lined with paper towels, so that any excess oil can be absorbed.
    Vegan shrimp on a baking sheet lined with paper towels.

    Serving Suggestions

    Serve these vegan shrimp topped with fresh chopped parsley with some vegan yum yum sauce on the side for dipping.

    Vegan tartar sauce or vegan ranch dressing would also be great options for dipping.

    Vegan shrimp stacked up on a plate with a bowl of yum yum sauce on the side.

    Chef’s Tips

    • The oil must be hot. When you add the vegan shrimp to the hot oil it should sizzle! Don’t add the shrimp too early, wait until your oil is hot.
    • Spread the shrimp out in the frying pan. Each piece should have a bit of space around it. This allows them to get nicely crispy and browned all the way around.
    • Fry 1-2 minutes per side. They don’t need to fry very long, since each piece is small. So 1-2 minutes per side is enough to get them golden brown and crispy.
    • Lay them out on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. This lets any excess oil get soaked up by the paper towels.
    Vegan shrimp stacked up on a plate.

    Oven Baked Option

    If you prefer to stay away from frying then vegan popcorn shrimp can be oven-baked as well.

    I have to say though, that we tried it both ways and frying them was definitely better.

    But if you’d prefer to oven-bake them then you definitely can. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and bake them on a parchment lined baking sheet for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned and crispy.

    Vegan shrimp dipped in yum yum sauce.

    Storing and Reheating

    Keep leftover vegan shrimp in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

    They can be reheated in the oven at 350°F for 10-15 minutes until heated through, or better yet, in the air fryer until hot and crispy.

    Vegan shrimp on a fork with a bite removed.

    More Delicious Appetizer Recipes

    1. Vegan Chicken Nuggets
    2. Bang Bang Cauliflower
    3. Crispy BBQ Tofu
    4. BBQ Cauliflower Wings
    5. Crispy Air Fryer Tofu
    6. Vegan Jalapeño Poppers

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Vegan shrimp stacked up on a plate.

    Vegan Shrimp

    This vegan shrimp is so good it will knock your socks off. It tastes even better than the 'real thing'. King oyster mushrooms are breaded, crumbed and then fried to crispy, golden brown perfection. Serve with vegan yum yum sauce for a seriously crowd-pleasing appetizer.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Appetizer
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 25 minutes
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 275kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    Ingredients

    • 8 ounces King Oyster Mushrooms (226g)
    • ½ cup Soy Milk (120ml) or other non-dairy milk
    • ½ cup All Purpose Flour (63g)
    • 1 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
    • ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
    • ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
    • ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
    • ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
    • ¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
    • 4 Tablespoons Sesame Oil or more as needed, for frying

    For Serving (Optional):

    • Fresh Chopped Parsley
    • Vegan Yum Yum Sauce
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Cut the tips off the oyster mushrooms and slice the stalks into ½ inch discs.
    • Then slice an S shape cut through the middle of each disc, leaving two shrimp shaped halves.
    • Add soy milk and all purpose flour to a mixing bowl and mix together.
    • In a separate bowl add Panko breadcrumbs, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, sea salt and ground black pepper and mix together.
    • Dip the mushroom shrimp in batches into the batter, making sure it is well coated.
    • Then transfer it to the breadcrumbs and roll the shrimp in the breadcrumbs making sure they are well coated on all sides.
    • Transfer them to a baking sheet and then continue with the rest of the mushroom shrimp until it's all battered and coated in breadcrumbs.
    • Add just enough sesame oil to your frying pan so that the bottom is well coated and heat on medium high heat.
    • When the oil is hot, add only as much vegan shrimp as will comfortably fit, making sure the pan isn't too crowded, there should be space between each piece.
    • Fry for around 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown. Repeat with the next batch of vegan shrimp, adding more sesame oil as needed.
    • Once fried, place the vegan shrimp pieces on a baking tray lined with paper towels, so that any excess oil can be absorbed.

    Notes

    1. Sesame oil for frying: The amount of oil you’ll need will depend on the size of your pan. You just want the bottom of the pan to be comfortably coated with oil. In our 11-inch round frying pan, it took 2 tablespoons of sesame oil to comfortably coat the bottom of the pan and we added more as we went, using 4 tablespoons in total. 
    2. Oven baked: If you’d prefer to oven-bake them then preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and bake them on a parchment lined baking sheet for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned and crispy.
    3. Gluten-free: To make a gluten free version of this vegan shrimp, use a gluten free all purpose flour blend and gluten free breadcrumbs. 
    4. Storing: Keep leftover vegan shrimp in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
    5. Reheating: They can be reheated in the oven at 350°F for 10-15 minutes until heated through, or better yet, in the air fryer until hot and crispy.
    6. Nutritional information is for the shrimp only and excludes vegan yum yum sauce. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Serve | Calories: 275kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 281mg | Potassium: 340mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 267IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 2mg
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
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    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Ceacea says

      March 19, 2022 at 1:20 pm

      So many amazing recipes call for king oyster mushrooms but I can never find them for sale. What would be the next best to try? I do have dehydrated regular oysters would that suffice?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        March 23, 2022 at 9:13 am

        You can try using heart of palm instead, though I haven’t tried it. I’m not sure about dehydrated oysters.

        Reply
    2. Anna says

      March 12, 2022 at 7:46 am

      Sooo tasty and easy to make! Thanks so much for the simple delicious recipe.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        March 12, 2022 at 1:42 pm

        So happy you enjoyed it Anna!

        Reply
    3. Arushana says

      March 02, 2022 at 7:25 pm

      Oh this looks delicious. Gonna make this! I’m curious would this be good to make in an air fryer?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        March 03, 2022 at 8:13 am

        Hi Arushana, yes I think they would work great in an air fryer as well. They definitely reheat amazingly in the air fryer!

        Reply

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