Our Perfect Passover Chopped "Liver" Recipe

Real chopped liver is a Passover table staple that has anchored Jewish holiday spreads for generations. This vegan chopped liver recipe delivers the same deep, savory flavor, the same satisfying spreadable texture, and the same unmistakable umami that makes the dish worth making, without a single animal product in sight.

The secret is in the combination of caramelized onions, tender mushrooms, and toasted chopped walnuts. Together they build a rich, layered flavor that tastes like it took all day, even though the process is straightforward once you know the steps.

What Is Vegan Chopped Liver

Traditional chopped liver is made with chicken or beef liver, hard-boiled eggs, and schmaltz-fried onions. This vegetarian chopped liver version replaces the liver entirely with mushrooms and walnuts, which together produce a similar earthy, savory depth. The result is a mock chopped liver that holds up at the Passover seder table and beyond. Serve it on matzah, spread it on crackers, or spoon it alongside a bowl of soup.

Why Mushrooms and Walnuts Work

Mushrooms are the backbone of this vegan chopped liver. As they cook, they release their liquid and concentrate into an intensely savory base that mimics the rich quality of liver. Walnuts bring body, fat, and a slightly bitter edge that balances the sweetness of the caramelized onions. No tofu, no beans, no green peas needed. Just mushrooms, walnuts, carrots, and onion, cooked low and slow until every bit of flavor has been drawn out.

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, peeled and diced
• 2 small carrots, peeled and shredded
• .5 pounds of white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• .5 pounds of walnuts, roughly chopped
• 8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1.25 tsp Kosher salt
• Salt and pepper to taste

Serves 8

Recipe note: Use a LARGE pan. If you try to cook everything in a small pot, the ingredients will burn!

Directions

Prep

Pre-heat oven to 350.

Spread walnuts onto a pan and toast in oven until browned but not burned (approximately 8-10 minutes).

Cook

Turn burner onto a medium to low heat.

Add the oil and let it warm (approximately 1 minute).

Add the onions and stir constantly until caramelized. This can take 15-20 minutes! It is important that the onions release their sugars and become brown.

Then, add the carrots and continue to cook until the carrots are soft (another 5-8 minutes), stirring constantly.

Lastly, add the mushrooms and stir. Cook until the mushrooms have released their liquid, and the mixture has absorbed all this mushroom "juice." (approximately 8-10 minutes).

Blend

Add the vegetable mixture, salt, and toasted walnuts into a blender and blend until smooth.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Yield and Serving

Approximately 1 quart. This delicious vegan chopped liver recipe is one we reach for every Passover, though it is equally at home as an appetizer any time you want something rich, plant-based, and genuinely worth the effort. Serve it with matzah, crackers, or toasted bread. It keeps well in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Bring Something Real to the Passover Table

Every Passover, the table deserves food made with honest ingredients and no shortcuts. That is the standard we hold ourselves to at Soupergirl, where every batch is cooked from scratch with the same care you bring to a holiday recipe.

If you are stocking the seder spread, our fresh, vegan soups are made with seasonal ingredients, zero preservatives, and the kind of depth you only get from real cooking. No gimmicks, no fillers. Just good food that earns its place at the table.

Find Soupergirl soups near you and bring something worth passing around.