What am I, chopped liver? Fortunately, no. Made of onions, mushrooms, and cashews, vegan mock chopped liver has replaced the classic Jewish pâté as a contemporary appetizer for special occasions.
This plant-based look-alike (though not taste-alike) is often served as a Passover appetizer with matzo or matzo crackers. You can serve it with raw vegetables, too.
A sister recipe: A similar, now-classic recipe is made with green beans or peas. In the Ashkenazi tradition, green beans and peas aren’t allowed foods during the Passover week. But if it’s not Passover, or you don’t strictly adhere to the chametz rules, feel free to replace the mushrooms with an equivalent amount of steamed fresh or frozen green beans.
Of course, you need not wait for a holiday, or to be Jewish, to make this delicious spread. It’s welcome all year round. This recipe makes about 2 cups.
Vegan Mock Chopped Liver
Made of onions, mushrooms, and cashews, mock chopped liver has replaced the classic Jewish pâté as a contemporary appetizer, especially for special occasions.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 6 to 8 ounces mushrooms, white or cremini (aka baby bella) mushrooms
- 3/4 cup toasted cashews
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, or to taste
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
For garnish
- Paprika
- Finely minced fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a medium skillet. Sauté the onions slowly over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until lightly browned.
- Remove the stems from the mushrooms, then clean and chop. Add to the skillet, cover, and cook briefly with the onions until wilted, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Combine the onion and mushroom mixture (including any liquid that may have formed) to a food processor along with the cashews and lemon juice. Process until smoothly pureed, scraping down the sides as needed. Season with salt and pepper and additional lemon juice if desired, and pulse on and off to work into the mixture.
- Transfer to a serving bowl, and allow to cool to room temperature before serving. If making ahead of time, cover and store in the refrigerator until needed, then bring to room temperature before serving.
- Just before serving, sprinkle the top with paprika and parsley. Serve with matzo, matzo crackers (for Passover), fresh bread or crackers, and/or raw vegetables.
If you like this mock chopped liver spread, you might also enjoy …
Our selection of Jewish vegan recipes
See also lots more easy vegan appetizers.
This looks deliciuos and I want to make it for Passover. However, I’m not supposed to eat nuts. Do you think it would be as good if I substituted white beans or cannellini beans for the cashews?
Carla, this would work well with white beans; the thing to be aware of, though, is that many Ashekenazi Jews don’t use beans and most grains during Passover week, since they’re kitniyot. Sephardic Jews do, though. So it depends on how strictly you adhere, and the preferences of your guests.
I made this for our Seder to snack on. It came out quite good, I substituted walnuts for cashews, though. I also reduced the salt,
Thank you, Gail — I’m glad you enjoyed it with the tweak. I’ll have to try it with walnuts next time I make it!
I was thinking about substituting chestnuts for the cashews. It would give that brown appearance and be creamy (I think) without all the fat of the nuts. What do you think?
Sounds like a good idea; maybe test it out first before making for guests? And I’d love for you to come back and report your results!
Loving this site…wish I found it before today.Can’t wait to try some recipes for Vegan Jewish cooking…
Thank you
Mary, I’m so sorry I missed your comment, it was in the moderation queue. I hope you found some to your liking!