Mushroom Conversions Equivalents and Substitutions

Mushrooms can be found in many of the recipes on reluctantgourmet.com but they come in all measurements. In this post, I look at the many mushroom conversions, equivalents and substitutions you may come across when you are cooking with them.

How to Convert Mushrooms for Your Recipes

We love mushrooms in our house and cook with them all the time. They are great in salads raw but even better when sauteed and added to sauces, soups and stews.

What I enjoy most about mushrooms is their texture which will vary with the many types of mushrooms now available at most supermarkets. I remember when you would only find button mushrooms at the market but today you’ll find portobello, cremini, oyster, shiitake, morel and plenty more.

Mushrooms in Recipes

I typically buy my mushrooms fresh & whole and then cut them according to the dish I’m preparing or the recipe I’m following. However, you may find a recipe that calls for fresh morels but you can only find dried morels at the market.

•  Or what about converting whole to sliced or chopped or canned?
•  Or what about cooked to uncooked mushrooms?
•  Or you may have a jar of powered mushrooms in your pantry that you want to substitute for dried mushrooms.

Mushroom Conversions & Equivalents & Substitutions

Below are some important mushroom conversions I think you’ll find handy and easy to use when preparing any meal where they are required.

Note: there are so many mushroom varieties and their conversions will differ depending on the individual mushroom. These conversions are looking at button mushrooms, the most common mushroom available, but will be approximately the same for other fresh mushrooms unless noted below.

Button Mushroom Conversions – what does 1 pound of fresh button mushrooms look like?

1 pound of fresh button mushrooms equals:

•  approximately 22 medium sized fresh mushrooms
•  5 cups sliced mushrooms
•  6 cups chopped mushrooms
•  3 ounces dried mushrooms reconstituted
•  2 cups of cooked mushrooms
•  2 cups of sliced, cooked mushrooms

How to Convert Sliced Fresh Mushrooms to Canned Mushrooms

With all the fresh mushrooms now available at my local supermarkets, I don’t typically cook with many canned mushrooms but that doesn’t mean I don’t always have them in my pantry. There may be that occasion I need mushrooms for a recipe and don’t feel like running out to the store for them.

•  1  four ounce can of button mushrooms (sliced or whole) = 3/4 cup of mushrooms
•  8 ounces of sliced fresh button mushrooms = 4 ounces of sliced can mushrooms drained.
•  8 ounces of sliced fresh button mushrooms = 1 1/2 ounces dried mushrooms that have been reconstituted.

How to Convert Dried Button Mushrooms to Fresh Button Mushrooms

•  1.5 ounces of dried mushrooms = 8 ounces of fresh sliced mushrooms
•  1.5 ounces of dried mushrooms = 4 ounces of canned sliced mushrooms drained.

How to Covert Powdered Mushrooms to Fresh Button Mushrooms

•  1 tablespoon of powdered mushrooms = 4 ounces of fresh mushrooms
•  1 tablespoon of powdered mushrooms = 3 tablespoons whole dried mushrooms
•  1 tablespoon of powdered mushrooms = 2 ounces canned mushrooms drained

How to Convert Fresh Mushroom to Dried Mushrooms:

Simple, if you divide the number of ounces of fresh mushrooms by 9 = the number of dried ounces.

For example, if your recipe says you need 18 ounces of fresh mushrooms, you would divide 18 by 9 to equal 2 ounces dried.

If the recipe asks for pounds of fresh mushrooms, you would multiply the number of pounds by 16 and then divide by 9 to give you the number of ounces of dried mushrooms you would need.

Example: If your recipe requires 2 pounds of fresh mushrooms but you only have dried, you would multiply 2 x 16 = 32 then divide by 9 = 3.55 ounces dried.

What if your recipe says you need 3 cups of fresh mushrooms? You would multiply the number of cups times 3 = 9 then divide by 9 = 1 ounce of dried mushrooms.