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If you’ve watched our videos, you probably know that Brian loves his mushroom powder! He uses it in recipes to add that extra “umami” flavor and get in some extra nutritional benefits at the same time.
For people who do not like mushrooms, this can be a great way to “sneak” them into your cooking. It took a while for mushrooms to grow on me, but I never minded when Brian would add his mushroom powder to dishes. I think my hatred of mushrooms was all in the texture, but I have grown to enjoy them over the last two years.
Check out the “Featured Products” section at the bottom of this post for more information about the products used in this video.
Health Benefits of Mushrooms
In the video, we talk a little bit about some of the health benefits of mushrooms, but since we are not experts, we thought we would link you to some great resources for more information:
Science & Saucery Podcast: Interview with Mycologist Paul Stamets
Dr. Fuhrman: Mighty Mushrooms – Boost Immune Function and Brain Health and Guard Against Cancer
Finding Dehydrated Mushrooms
In order to make your own powder, you’ll need to buy some dehydrated mushrooms. I usually pick ours up at our local Whole Foods, which carries a bunch of varieties from Forest Mushrooms. You can find them at regular grocery stores as well. I find that they are usually located near the produce section, but they do seem to pop up in random places, so be sure to ask!
There are a number of varieties out there, and some of them do get very pricey! I usually pick up Portabella, which run around $3.99/ounce at our local Whole Foods. We also tried out Porcini and Chanterelle in the video.
If you can’t find them locally, I included some links in the featured products section below. You can find a bunch of varieties on Amazon, along with pre-made powders if you don’t want to make it yourself. If you do buy the pre-made powder, just be sure to double check that the ingredient list is ONLY mushroom with nothing else added.
Making Your Own Mushroom Powder
Making your own mushroom powder at home is very simple! Many of you have asked us about it, so we thought we’d make a quick video showing the process.
We usually make it using our spice grinder (aka coffee grinder that we never use for coffee since we don’t drink coffee anyway), but you can also make larger batches in a high speed blender like a Vitamix. We did try our food processor in the video, and well… it didn’t go very smoothly.
Once you have dehydrated mushrooms and the proper equipment, making the powder is super easy. If you just need a little bit of powder, the spice grinder will be your best bet. Just make sure you don’t pack them in too tightly. It will only take a few seconds to grind them into powder, but be extra careful when you are taking the lid off. I like to let it sit and settle for several minutes to avoid a giant mushroom powder cloud!
The Vitamix is great for making large batches. Make sure your blender cup is completely dry and then pour in your dehydrated mushrooms. Blend on a slower speed for a few seconds until the mushrooms break into smaller pieces. Then crank it up to high for a few seconds and watch them turn to dust! You may have to stop and shake it a few times. Again, be super careful taking off the lid to avoid covering your entire kitchen in mushroom powder.
Brian likes to keep the larger batches on hand in mason jars in the pantry so he can add a tablespoon or two to various dishes while he’s cooking!
Using Mushroom Powder in Cooking
Brian mostly likes to add mushroom powder to soups, stews, chili, beans, etc. Here is a list of our recipes (so far) that use mushroom powder:
Brian’s Super Tasty Vegan Chili
Black Bean Umami Burgers
Spicy Refried Pinto Beans
There will definitely be more recipes in the future, so keep an eye out on our YouTube channel!
Have More Questions?
Watch the video to see us show you exactly how we make our mushroom powder and answer a TON of questions you guys asked us about it!
Featured Products:
PLEASE NOTE: If you choose to purchase any products through these links, we receive a small commission from each sale at NO extra cost to you. All proceeds go back into making more content.
Check out our Amazon Page to see more of our favorite products!
Vitamix A2500 Ascent Series Smart BlenderKRUPS F203 Electric Spice and Coffee Grinder
Ball 16 oz Collection Elite Wide Mouth Glass Mason Jars
Wide Mouth Mason Jar Lids [16 Pack]
Mycological Dried Organic Portabella Mushrooms, 1oz bag
Mycological Dried Imported Porcini Mushrooms, 1oz bag
Organic Porcini Mushroom Powder, 1oz bag
Forest, Mushroom Dried Portabella Conventional, 1oz bag
Forest, Mushroom Dried Shiitake Conventional, 1oz bag
Forest, Mushroom Dried Porcini Conventional, 1oz bag
Forest, Mushroom Dried Chanterelle Conventional, 1oz bag
Thank you for all that you do. My husband and I started our weigh loss journey three months ago and together have lost 26 pounds. We love you guys and your recipes. You showed up on our u tube page been watching ever since, keep up the great work.
Hi Jessica and Brian, thanks for all the mushroom tips! I just wanted to add that you can buy an inexpensive dehydrator on Amazon (really, just a cheap one) and you have the power of drying any mushroom you can get your hands on, without paying the premium price. Mushrooms are incredibly easy to dehydrate! Just cut them up and place them on the dehydrator tray. I don’t sell these, btw, I’m just a food saving fan. I enjoy your videos a lot. 👍🏻😊
Hi Brian and Jessica! I had a question for Forest Mushrooms, so I emailed them yesterday and received a very detailed and helpful response today.
But more importantly, I made sure to tell them that I had heard about them from you, and here’s what they had to say about that:
“Thank you for your questions and for making us aware of the video online! I watched it last night and it was quite accurate and informative!”
So apparently even the experts think you’ve got your facts straight. 🙂 Maybe they’ll want to do some sort of collaboration with you eventually! I hope that by mentioning you, a seed (spore?) was planted!
Hi, would you consider Trader Joe’s Unami seasoning to be the same as mushroom powder? Thanks!
It can be a substitute, although it does have salt in it if you are concerned with that!