What's better than Shake Shack's Shroom Burger? This smoky cheesy, melty, crunchy mushroom burger on a housemade potato roll bun♡. No matter if you're a conscientious omnivore, a carnivore, or a full-fledged vegetarian, this smoky version of Shake Shack's Shroom Burger will have you hooked (and not missing the meat at all). There's a reason why this mushroom burger is famous -- oven-roasted portobello mushrooms filled with piping-hot seasoned cheese and scallion filling, panko-crusted and fried to crispy crunchy perfection. It's seriously delicious. There's really only one question -- Would I go through all of the trouble to make this at home again? Or is there an easier way to get the same great taste without the extra effort? Read on to find out and to check out the step-by-step recipe photos.

finely diced provolone and cheddar cheese with green scallions, seasonings, and an egg yolk mixed in

two portobello mushrooms halved horizontally and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with freshly cracked black pepper and kosher salt on a sheetpan

the most beautifully golden brown squishy homemade potato roll hamburger buns with sesame and poppyseeds on top (5 total just baked)

What is Shake Shack's Shroom Burger?

We love Shake Shack. Their cheeseburgers are delicious and so is the Shroom Burger. Portobello mushrooms get oven-roasted and stuffed with a blend of Muenster and cheddar cheese seasoned with minced onion and garlic (bound together with an egg yolk). The stuffed mushrooms are then coated in panko bread crumbs and fried until crispy and the cheese mixture has become a molten-lava center that you really do have to watch out for on your first bite or get burned. This vegetarian burger is so delicious that plenty of serious meat-eaters we know, opt for it instead of the famous Shack Burger when we visit. What you'll find here is a slight (and very tasty) twist on Shake Shack's Shroom burger. We wanted to add an element of smokiness and add freshness from scallions along with cheddar and provolone cheese mix. It's pretty unforgettable and you won't be thinking about not eating meat when you take your first (or last) bite -- it's really that good.

The Photos Below Show How to Stuff The Sliced Roasted Portobello Mushrooms + Fry Them

(There's definitely an easier way to create this super delicious Fried Mushroom Burger Recipe, but for those of you looking for an authentic Shake Shack experience, this is what you'll have to do after roasting the portobellos)

cheddar and provolone diced with scallions and bound with egg yolk and ¼ teaspoon of flour formed into a round disc shape to put inside the mushroom

cheese stuffed portobello mushroom in a bowl of flour

cheese stuffed portobello mushroom covered in flour and dusted off

cheese stuffed portobello mushroom covered in flour and dusted off and placed into egg wash

cheese stuffed portobello mushroom covered in flour and dusted off and covered in egg wash and placed into panko bread crumbs

my hand holding a panko-crusted cheese-stuffed portobello mushroom

super crunchy golden brown shroom burger just fried

shroom burger raw ingredients all on a cutting board

Smoky Shake Shack Shroom Burger Ingredients

This is definitely one of the best vegetarian burger recipes out there. And there's no rule book that says you can't make meat-free burgers taste just as good as their beefy counterparts which is what we've done here. If you love the Shake Shack's Shroom Burger as much as we do, we think you'll love this version (maybe even more).

Oven-Roasted Portobello Ingredients

2 (4-inch) portobello mushrooms, sliced in half horizontally (through the middle)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (28g)
¼ teaspoon kosher salt (1.5g)
freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Cheese Stuffing Ingredients

¼ cup cheddar cheese, grated or diced (50g)
¾ cup provolone or Muenster cheese, grated or diced (125g)
1 large egg yolk (15g) *add the leftover egg white to the egg wash used in breading station
1 tablespoon scallions, minced (14g)
⅛ teaspoon all-purpose flour (.65g)
½ teaspoon smoked paprika (1.5g)
¼ teaspoon dried minced onion (.16g)
a pinch of dried minced garlic
a dash of kosher salt

Breading Station Ingredients

¾ cup all-purpose flour (100g)
1 cup Japanese Panko bread crumbs (60g)
2 eggs + 1 egg white (135g)
¼ cup portobello roasting juice (60g) *or save this juice for dipping your burger into au jus style

Kelly's Smoky Burger Sauce Ingredients *(use these measurements as a guideline only and adjust to your preferences)

¼ cup Hellman's or Duke's mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Heinz ketchup
2 to 3 teaspoons Heinz yellow mustard
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dill pickle brine
1 tablespoon finely diced dill pickles
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

How to Make a Smoky Shake Shack Shroom Burger

If you've ever had Shake Shack's Shroom Burger you'll know why we had to recreate it at home. And if you've never had it, but love mushrooms, cheese and fried things, you'll love this burger. We wanted to make it our own and punch it up with a smoky element and I'm glad we did. It adds a little something extra. If you're not interested in the amount of work that it takes to stuff these mushrooms, skip on down in the post to find out how to get the same flavor, but with less mess and time in the kitchen.

Make Kelly's Smoky Burger Sauce. Combine all the sauce ingredients, adjust seasonings to your taste, and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C. Slice the mushrooms through the middle (horizontally), and place them on a baking pan. Drizzle with enough olive oil to be able to rub the caps all over. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Place mushrooms gill side down in a single layer and roast for 30 to 35 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the oven and pour off the excess mushroom “juice” into a small prep bowl and set the mushrooms aside to cool.
Set up the breading station. Get out three medium bowls and place ¾ cups flour in one, in another beat 2eggs plus the leftover egg white and ¼ cup of mushroom juice from the roasted portobellos (if using), and place the panko bread crumbs in a third bowl and set them aside.
Make the cheese filling. Add all of the cheese filling ingredients to a medium-sized bowl and stir to combine. Shape the filling into 2 equal-sized round mounds that are about ½-inch smaller than the diameter of the mushroom caps. Place the cheese mound directly in the center of each mushroom cap enclosing the cheese mixture in between the mushroom halves. Gently press the mushrooms together to “glue” them together. Place the mushrooms into the freezer for 10 minutes to allow them to firm up before coating them.
Coat the cheese-filled mushrooms. Dredge the stuffed mushroom caps in the flour making sure all surfaces are covered, then coat them in the beaten egg ensuring all surfaces are covered, then coat them in the panko bread crumbs ensuring total coverage. Set prepared mushrooms on a plate and refrigerate while heating the oil to deep-fry them.
Fry the mushrooms. Add about 2 to 3 inches of neutral cooking oil to a deep pot or a deep fryer. Heat oil to 350° F/176°C and fry the mushrooms one or two at a time, until golden brown and crisp all over, turning over periodically for a total of about 3 or 4 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove mushrooms to a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with a little salt.
Assemble the Shroom burger. Spoon Kelly's Smoky Burger Sauce onto the bottom buns, add lettuce, and tomatoes, then the mushroom, and top it with more sauce and the top bun and Enjoy!

a mushroom burger sliced in half being held in my hand with the cheese mixture oozing out

closeup of sesame egg salad on whole wheat bread that's been cut into triangles and the middles facing out and up towards you

two halves of a garlic-ginger shaved beef sandwich lying on a cutting board - one half of made with whole wheat bread slices is covered in shaved beef, caramelized purple carrots and orange carrot ribbons and the other half has a single beautiful slice of cornabel tomato with stem still intact and 3 tiny baby cornichon style cucumbers sliced lengthwise fresh from the garden lying on the tomato from top to bottom with equal distance between them

Looking for A Few Other Good Sandwich or Burger Options?

Here are a few of our favorite sandwiches that we think you might also enjoy♡.

drizzling EVOO onto portobello mushrooms

perfectly oven roasted portobello mushrooms sliced in half

How to Make a Quicker Just as Tasty Shake Shack Shroom Burger The Easy Way (mushroom burgers made easy)

Do you really have to stuff and then fry the shroom burger? The short answer is, no (although it's really good). Below is how to make it instead.

If you're here because you love Shake Shack's mushroom burger as much as we do (or you've never had it but are dying to try it), I'm here to say that it's definitely possible to get all of that delicious shroomy, cheesy, crunchy flavor without all of the work. As I was taking my first bite, my initial thought was, "man, have I missed this". But my next thought was I really don't think you need to stuff these mushrooms for this burger to still be great. Not having to stuff or chill the stuffed mushrooms would shave off quite a bit of time and make this burger so much easier (and less messy) to pull together. I think most busy people can agree this would be a plus. So, to answer the question "Would I go through all of the trouble to make this at home again exactly the same way?". No. Instead, Ill make it the easy way (outlined below) from now on and skip stuffing the mushroom caps altogether.

Here's how to make an easier version of the Shake Shack Shroom Burger that has all of the delicious flavor and texture with just a little less work.

Slice, season, and roast the portobello mushrooms with salt, freshly cracked black pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Pat each mushroom slice dry and coat them with flour (that's been seasoned with a little garlic powder and onion powder), then dip them into egg, then panko bread crumbs, and fry them. Don't throw away the mushroom juice in the roasting pan (it's full of flavor and makes a perfect sauce for dipping the mushroom burger).
Toast the potato buns, add one slice each of provolone and cheddar cheese and a sprinkling of finely diced scallions to the bottom bun, and repeat with the top bun. Place the buns under the broiler just long enough to melt the cheese.
Build the mushroom burger by adding the hot slices of fried mushrooms, shack sauce, shredded lettuce, and anything else you want to add.