"Meaty" Vegan Ribs Recipe

These meaty, fall-apart vegan ribs made with a sweet and smoky homemade BBQ rub will impress everyone at your next cookout!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Vegan

Keyword vegan ribs

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 50

Optional Boiling Time 1

Total Time 1 10

Servings servings (rib slices)

Calories 240kcal

1 20 ounce canned jackfruit in water or brine (not syrup), shredded
1 medium king oyster mushroom (note 1)
3 tablespoons BBQ Seasoning divided -1 tablespoon each (note 2)
2 tablespoons vegan butter
1 ¼ cup vital wheat gluten (note 3)
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
¾ cup vegetable broth
1 package vegan ground (note 4)
Vegan BBQ Sauce (for topping)
2 tablespoons BBQ Seasoning more if needed to coat the top and bottom of the ribs

If using jackfruit in water or you don't mine the brine taste, skip this step.

Add water to a large pot and bring to a boil. Rinse and drain your jackfruit and then add them to the pot of boiling water. Boil for an hour.
Drain jackfruit from the water. If the brine taste is still in there. Boil in a new pot of water for 30 more minutes. (It should be gone or lessen drastically after the first hour of boiling).
Allow jackfruit to cool for 10 minutes and dry with a paper towel absorbing as much excess water as possible. Add jackfruit to a mixing bowl.

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Drain and rinse your canned jackfruit, then add it to a large mixing bowl. No boiling needed when using jackfruit packed in water.
Clean your oyster mushroom with a damp paper towel (do not rinse them under water, as they absorb it). Using your fork, pull and comb through the mushrooms lengthwise to create a shredded, meat-like texture. Add the shredded mushrooms to the bowl with the jackfruit.
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon each of BBQ Seasoning a on top of both shredded king oyster mushroom and jackfruit. Toss to coat.
Pour shredded king oyster mushroom and jackfruit onto a lined baking sheet. Place some vegan butter on top to help tenderize the mushrooms. Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Once done, remove from oven and set aside. Keep oven on.

Grab the same mixing bowl used to toss jackfruit and shredded oyster mushrooms and add vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, 1 tablespoon of BBQ Seasoning and mix together. Then add your baked jackfruit and oyster mushrooms along with vegetable broth to the bowl.
Add your vegan ground and another tablespoon of BBQ Seasoning on top. With your hands, mix your vegan ground with the BBQ seasoning to infuse that flavor into the vegan meat. Then begin to mix all the ingredients together until it starts to form a dough and begin to knead 1- 2 minutes.
Do NOT over knead it. Just enough to fully combine the mushroom, jackfruit, and vegan ground with the dough. Don't worry about if it isn't completely combined or perfect. Baking will help combine everything together.
Shape the dough into a rectangular loaf about 1 inch thick and place it on the same pan used to bake the jackfruit and mushrooms. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of BBQ seasoning over the loaf, rubbing it evenly onto the top, sides, and bottom to coat your vegan ribs. Add more seasoning as needed.
Top with Vegan BBQ Sauce and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Once done, allow to cool for 5 minutes. Top with more Vegan BBQ Sauce and cut horizontally into strips. Serve with some vegan potato salad, vegan baked beans, and vegan coleslaw!

You can substitute with regular oyster mushrooms if you like. Or if you cannot find any oyster mushrooms, feel free to only use jackfruit.
A store-bought BBQ Rub can work for this recipe, but I highly recommend a homemade BBQ Rub so you can control the amount of salt and sugar.
DO NOT substitute the vital wheat gluten flour as this flour is high and protein and it's what helps gives the ribs its meaty texture.
For vegan grounds I recommend either Impossible or Beyond Meat.
Remember, boiling jackfruit is OPTIONAL. However, I highly recommend you do it if you are using canned jackfruit in brine (not needed if using jackfruit in water). Boiling will remove the brine taste in your pulled pork. You can do this ahead of time, in batches, so that you will already have neutral-tasting jackfruit ready and prepared.
Makes approximately 7 - 8 ribs. Nutrition calculation is based on 8 ribs without BBQ Sauce.

View below recipe card for step-by-step photo instructions, specific serving suggestions, and detailed storage requirements.