Recipes

These recipes are intended to get your creative juices flowing in the kitchen rather than provide a prescriptive guideline. Feel free to mix and match recipes with your favorite varieties!

Scroll down below the recipes for a detailed description of how to prepare a basic mushroom saute!

Oyster

Oyster is the bread and butter of mushroom eating – when crispy, it has an amazing taste and texture that can hold its own in strong tasting dishes, or complement more delicate flavors.

Eggplant Mushroom Meatballs: This vegan meatball recipe may fool the meat lovers of your home – the meatballs are moist, flavorful, and hold together well.
Mushroom Medley Stuffing: This recipe calls for “wild mushrooms”, but I recommend a medley of oyster, lions mane, and chestnut.
Savory Baked Brie with Crispy Mushrooms: Impress guests with this delectable offering.
Turkey Mushroom Wild Rice Soup: Use up the leftovers after Thanksgiving with this rich, hearty soup. Choose your favorite mushroom, any would go well in this.
Cheesy Kale and Mushroom Strata: This dish is indulgent and deeply satisfying. I highly recommend it for potlucks because one slice is quite filling.
Oyster Mushroom Toast with Black Pepper Ricotta and Lemon Dressed Microgreens: Pick up your microgreens, bread, lemons, and cheese at the Clement St Market and you’ve got a local meal!

Lions Mane

This mushroom can seem intimidating because of its unusual appearance, but it is in fact one of the most versatile and frankly delightful mushrooms I’ve ever eaten. Its flavor is mild, but its texture can be flaky or dense and meaty depending on how it’s prepared.

Cauliflower steaks have gained popularity in recent years, but I think lions mane steaks are much better – meatier, and better able to absorb marinades.
Lions Mane Fettuccini: While not a huge pasta eater, I absolutely devoured this dish. I especially loved the salty bite of the olives.
Lions Mane Tacos: Lions mane is a standout veggie substitute for carnitas because of its texture and ability to absorb flavors.
Lions Mane Crab Cakes: Who knew that a mushroom could substitute so convincingly for seafood?
Lions Mane Pakora: The crispy chickpea batter and savory, tender mushroom make these a showstopper.
Pan Fried Lions Mane: These lightly battered succulent nuggets taste just like lemon and herb chicken.
Spicy Cumin Lions Mane: These savory, spicy skewers are an absolute treat over rice.
Kimchi, Scallion, and Lions Mane Pancakes: Satisfying, filling, and absolutely delicious – great with a runny egg.
Lions Mane Orange Chicken: Real vegetarian comfort food, this sweet and savory meal will keep you warm this winter.

Chestnut

Chestnuts have an unusually soft texture for a mushroom – you could describe them as “melt in your mouth.” It also has a strong, earthy flavor.

Mushroom Polenta: I especially love this recipe because of the twist of adding chimichurri, but feel free to experiment – this dish has a lot of possibilities.
Brothy Beans and Farro with Eggs and Mushrooms: Beans and mushrooms are a match made in heaven, if you ask me, and both shine through in this soup.
Grilled Halibut Steak with Corn and Chestnuts: A smoky, delicate meal that tastes like late summer.
Creamy Mushroom Gnocchi: I love chestnuts with cream sauce and their buttery texture complements the pillowy gnocchi so well.
Roast Chicken with Mushrooms and Garlic Butter: Chestnuts complement meat extraordinarily well. This recipe is simple and satisfying.
Mushroom and Swiss Dutch Baby: This puffy pancake makes a wonderful brunch food.

Pioppino

Pioppinos have a lovely snap to their stem – similar to asparagus – and a soft cap. Their taste is fairly mild.

Pickled Pioppino with Sesame and Tamari: These can be an accompaniment to a charcuterie board or a topper on steak.
Potato Breakfast Hash with Eggs & Mushrooms: For when you need to feed a crowd – any mushroom variety will work well!
Mushroom Risotto: Pioppinos are my favorite mushrooms to include in a risotto because of the snap of the stem. I think it adds a good textural contrast to the soft, creamy rice.
Pioppino Mushroom Soup with Pancetta: This simple springtime soup hits all the right flavor notes and comes together quickly and easily.
Grilled Mushroom Antipasto Salad: Break out the grill and enjoy a summer treat!
Pasta with Pioppino and Walnuts: I love walnuts and the nutty, buttery flavor is a perfect complement to pioppinos in this delicious recipe.

Black Pearl

Black Pearl mushrooms are a hybrid of tree oysters and king oysters, meaning they have a thick stem and a larger, soft cap. They pack a real umami punch and can hold their own in strong flavored dishes and their chewiness makes them ideal for grilling and searing. They can be substituted in any dish that calls for king oyster.

Sauteed Mushroom and Brie Puff Pastry Bites: Go full on decadent with this recipe – great for holiday hors d’oeuvres.
Blended Burger: Experiment with six different burger recipes that blend mushrooms with meat.
Vegan Mushroom Gravy Trying for a plant-based holiday meal? Try this rich, umami-packed gravy.
Mushroom Ramen Mushrooms, especially black pearl, bring a texture and substance to ramen that makes it easy to leave out the meat.
Seared Mushrooms with Teriyaki Glaze: This is absolutely delectable and flexible as either a main course or an appetizer.
Mushroom Chowder with Bacon and Leeks This is one of my favorite mushroom recipes, and black pearl suits it very well. Just as good if you leave out the bacon.

Nameko

Namekos are cousins of chestnuts and are prized for their naturally gelatinous caps. They have a nutty, earthy flavor and a smell like butterscotch while cooking.

Firm Tofu with Nameko Sauce If you have access to a Japanese grocery and can obtain all the ingredients here, this recipe is definitely worth it.
Spicy Green Beans with Nameko and Shishito Peppers If you’re looking to get a little fancier, check out this delicious and colorful dish.
Stir Fried Mushrooms with Ginger and Garlic This straightforward recipe is a great side dish or topping to rice.
Very Simple Nameko & Tofu Miso Soup: This straightforward soup is comforting and delicious. Great to make for rainy days.
Marinated Japanese Mushrooms: These can be served as a side or on top of noodles as a main.
Nameko Mapo Tofu: This incredibly easy recipe is perfect for a fast weeknight meal.

Dried Mushrooms

Here I’ve tried to feature recipes that require dried mushrooms. There are plenty of recipes online that give an option to sub dried mushrooms for fresh ones, but I always recommend using fresh in these cases.

  • Oyster mushroom jerky I have made so much mushroom jerky since starting Ashby Fungi. It’s a fantastic vegan snack food with endless variations, and it has fooled multiple meat eaters who believed they were eating beef jerky! There are lots of preparation methods online, but this is my favorite and results in a moist final product. I adjust the marinade based on the flavor profile I’m seeking.
  • Chestnut mushroom stock Mushroom stock can be made with a wide variety of mushrooms (shiitakes are a popular choice), but I think chestnuts have a lovely aroma and impart a deep, complicated taste on the broth.
  • Kombu Shiitake Dashi A wonderful base for ramens and other soups.
  • Lion’s Mane Coffee This is a fancy recipe for mushroom latte two ways, but you can also just add it to your morning cup. I recommend a ratio of ⅓ lion’s mane, ⅔ coffee by weight. I just crumble the lion’s mane by hand before adding it to a pour over or french press.
  • Dried Mushroom Tincture This can be undertaken with any of the mushrooms, although people generally focus on the ones with the most powerful medicinal properties, such as lion’s mane and shiitake.

Basic Saute

If you aren’t sure how to cook mushrooms, please don’t feel embarrassed. For most of my life I disliked mushrooms, and I think this is partially because they were frequently undercooked. Nowadays, I like to cook my mushrooms until they’re crispy and carmelized on one side and a bit softer on the other. Below you’ll find instructions and pictures for how to saute mushrooms, which forms the basis of most fungi recipes.

1.Start with a hot pan. Mushrooms don’t have any fat, so I recommend adding oil or butter. While some people cook them in broth or water, it won’t add the delicious crispiness. We use rice bran oil, which has a higher smoke point than olive oil.

2. Rough chop mushrooms – remember they’ll shrink, so not too small. Don’t wash mushrooms – it will make them soggy. 

3. Turn down the pan to medium/low and add the mushrooms, seasoning with salt and other spices (I recommend garlic and pepper).

4. Add a lid and allow the mushrooms to cook for ~10 minutes. 

5. Remove the lid and, stir the mushrooms, allow them to cook for another ~5 minutes. This will crisp up the underside while leaving the top softer and chewier.