How to Convert Mushrooms for Your Recipes
Understanding mushroom conversions and equivalents ensures you get the right balance of flavor and texture in your recipes. Whether you need to swap button mushrooms for creminis, adjust dried-to-fresh ratios, or find a plant-based alternative to meat using mushrooms, this guide has you covered.
Mushrooms add depth, umami, and a meaty texture to countless dishes, but not all mushrooms are the same. Whether you’re following a recipe that calls for a specific variety, adjusting for dietary needs, or simply using what’s available, knowing how to convert, substitute, and measure mushrooms correctly can make all the difference in your cooking.
Different types of mushrooms have unique flavors, textures, and moisture levels, which means swapping one for another isn’t always straightforward. Can you replace fresh mushrooms with dried? How much porcini powder equals whole mushrooms? What’s the best substitute if you can’t find shiitakes? These are common questions that can come up when working with mushrooms in the kitchen.
In this post, I’ll break down common mushroom conversions, equivalents, and the best substitutions so you can confidently cook. No matter what’s in your fridge or pantry, you’ll know to make mushrooms work for any recipe.
Mushrooms in Recipes
I usually buy mushrooms fresh and whole, then cut them to suit the specific dish I’m making or the recipe I’m following. However, sometimes, a recipe calls for a particular type of mushroom that’s not readily available in the form you need.
For instance, you may come across a recipe asking for fresh morels, but the only option available at the store is dried morels.
It’s also common to face the challenge of converting mushrooms from one form to another. What do you do when a recipe calls for whole mushrooms, but you only have sliced, chopped, or canned ones?
How about when you need uncooked mushrooms, but all you have are cooked ones? And what if you have powdered mushrooms in your pantry and want to use them as a substitute for dried mushrooms?
These scenarios can leave you wondering how to make the correct substitution or conversion without compromising the flavor or texture of your dish. Understanding how to properly convert and substitute mushrooms, whether fresh, dried, canned, or powdered, can help you confidently navigate any recipe, ensuring you still get the desired result regardless of the form you’re working with.
Mushroom Conversions & Equivalents & Substitutions
Below are some important mushroom conversions 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 look 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 (400 grams) sliced mushrooms
- 6 cups (450 grams) chopped mushrooms
- 3 ounces of dried mushrooms reconstituted
- 2 cups (160 grams) of cooked mushrooms
- 2 cups (160 grams) 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 (113 grams) can of button mushrooms (sliced or whole) = 3/4 cup (177 grams) of mushrooms
- 8 ounces (227 grams) of sliced fresh button mushrooms = 4 ounces (113 grams) of sliced canned mushrooms, drained
- 8 ounces (227 grams) of sliced fresh button mushrooms = 1 1/2 ounces (42 grams) of dried mushrooms that have been reconstituted
How to Convert Dried Button Mushrooms to Fresh Button Mushrooms
- 1.5 ounces (42 grams) of dried mushrooms = 8 ounces (227 grams) of fresh sliced mushrooms
- 1.5 ounces (42 grams) of dried mushrooms = 4 ounces (113 grams) of canned sliced mushrooms, drained
How to Covert Powdered Mushrooms to Fresh Button Mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon of powdered mushrooms = 4 ounces (113 grams) of fresh mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon of powdered mushrooms = 3 tablespoons (approximately 21 grams) of whole dried mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon of powdered mushrooms = 2 ounces (56 grams) of canned mushrooms, drained
How to Convert Fresh Mushrooms to Dried Mushrooms:
The conversion of fresh mushrooms to dried mushrooms for a recipe will depend on what measurement they give you in the recipe – pounds, ounces, or cups. Here we go:
- If the recipe asks for pounds: Multiply the pounds by 16, then divide by 5.33 = ounces of dried you need.
For example, if the recipe requires 2 pounds of fresh mushrooms, the conversion would be 2 x 16 = 32 divided by 5.33 = 6 ounces of dried mushrooms. - If the recipe asks for ounces: Divide the ounces by 5.33 = ounces of dried you need.
For example, if the recipe requires 16 ounces of fresh mushrooms, the conversion would be 16 divided by 5.33 = 3 ounces of dried mushrooms.
How to Convert Dried Mushrooms to Fresh Mushrooms:
The conversion of dried mushrooms to fresh mushrooms for a recipe will depend on what measurement they give you in the recipe – pounds, ounces, or cups. Here we go:
- If the recipe asks for ounces: Multiply the ounces by 5.33 = ounces of fresh mushrooms you need.
For example, if the recipe requires 1 ounce of dried mushrooms and you only have fresh, the conversion would be 1 x 5.33 = 5.33 ounces of fresh mushrooms.
Some of My Favorite Recipes With Mushrooms
Chicken Thighs with Mushrooms and Artichoke Hearts Recipe
Grilled Portobello Mushrooms Au Poivre
Rigatoni with Fresh Mushroom Sauce
18 Responses
My recipe calls for 14g dried mushrooms. I see when you convert in the other direction that a small amount – example 3 oz – of fresh mushrooms = 8 oz dried. But that’s not by weight. What you mean is one cup 8 oz = 1 cup. I am not expected to add 85 g dried mushrooms to the recipe.
I hope I said that right. But you will know what I mean if you tried to convert it in the other direction. Sure, I can lower the amount of liquid I need, but I still don’t know how many fresh mushrooms to use to make up 14g dried, nor whether I should dry them first, in a recipe for baked herbed rice.
Hi Sue, I understand some of your question but not all of it. I’ll try my best to give you an answer. If you recipe calls for 14 grams of dried mushrooms, that’s equal to .5 ounce. Multiply .5 ounce x 9 = 4.5 ounces of fresh mushrooms. If I’m doing my conversion correctly, 4.5 ounces = around 127 grams fresh mushrooms.
Hello!
Thank you for this educational piece! One question – in your conversion, for example the button mushroom section – don’t you have chopped and sliced backwards? After all, when one chops, one can fit MORE into a cup, wouldn’t you agree – so that the number of cups of sliced should be more than the number of cups chopped…? Please explain if I’ve got it wrong – truly wondering.
Thank you,
Vici
Hi Victori, no you don’t have it wrong that more chopped mushrooms will fit into a cup than sliced and you can see that I say one pound of fresh cremini mushrooms is equivalent to about:
5 cups sliced mushrooms
6 cups chopped mushrooms
but if you cook them, 2 cups of sliced, cooked mushrooms
Hi Stephen. Thank you for all this info. However, I agree with Vici that the sliced & chopped mushroom equivalents should be reversed. Ie 5 cups of chopped mushrooms would be equivalent to 6 cups of sliced mushrooms. Because more chopped mushrooms are crammed into each cup, not as many cups are required as for the sliced mushrooms.
Stephen,
They are both right. You said it again in your reply. 1 lb of mushrooms chopped fits a smaller volume than sliced. You can fit more chopped mushrooms into a known volume than you can sliced. So a pound would take less room than a pound of sliced.
1 pound of onions takes more cups than finely diced onions. From order of size, whole mushrooms, sliced mushrooms, chopped mushrooms. Chopped takes the least amount of room.
What they (Patrick & Jenny) said. 💯
my canning recipe calls for a peck of fresh mushrooms. How many pounds of mushrooms would I need for a peck?
In culinary measurements, a peck is a unit of volume equivalent to 8 dry quarts. For fresh mushrooms, this translates to approximately 12 to 14 pounds. Therefore, for your canning recipe, you’ll need about 12 to 14 pounds of fresh mushrooms to equal a peck.
I have a recipe that calls for five(5) shitake mushrooms, rehydrated in 3 three cups of water. (Bad recipe instruction, I know, no actual measurement). I am thinking that this might equal approximately 5 ounces of fresh mushroom. Am I anywhere close, you reckon?
When substituting fresh shiitake mushrooms for dried ones, it’s important to account for the difference in water content and flavor concentration. Dried mushrooms have a more intense flavor due to dehydration, which concentrates their taste. Generally, 1 ounce of dried mushrooms is equivalent to about 8 ounces (1/2 pound) of fresh mushrooms.
In your recipe, which calls for five dried shiitake mushrooms rehydrated in three cups of water, the exact weight isn’t specified. However, if we estimate that 1 ounce of dried shiitake mushrooms contains approximately 8 to 10 whole mushrooms, then five dried mushrooms would weigh about 0.5 to 0.625 ounces. Using the conversion ratio, this would be equivalent to approximately 4 to 5 ounces of fresh shiitake mushrooms.
Therefore, you can substitute the five dried shiitake mushrooms in your recipe with 4 to 5 ounces of fresh shiitake mushrooms. Remember that fresh mushrooms contain more water and have a milder flavor than dried ones. To enhance the depth of flavor, you might consider slightly increasing the quantity or adding a small amount of mushroom stock or another umami-rich ingredient to your dish.
Hi! If a recipe calls for 4.5 cups of oyster mushrooms, how much would I need to purchase by weight? Thank you!
To convert 4.5 cups of oyster mushrooms to weight, it’s helpful to know that 1 cup of sliced oyster mushrooms weighs approximately 3 ounces.
Therefore, 4.5 cups would be:
4.5 cups × 3 ounces per cup = 13.5 ounces
Since there are 16 ounces in a pound:
13.5 ounces ÷ 16 ounces per pound ≈ 0.84 pounds
So, you would need to purchase approximately 13.5 ounces, or 0.84 pounds, of oyster mushrooms for your recipe.
In dry button to fresh you say 1.5 oz = 8 ounce sliced. Below that you say fresh to dry 16 ounces = 1.77. Is the only different is the sliced gives you less? Im confused about this.
Hi Adam, you are absolutely right. My math was off. It should be 16 ounces fresh divided by 5.33 to equal 3 ounces dried. Thanks for catching my mistake.
ounces, pounds, ever heard of the metric system, grammes, kilos? You confuse me. At least put theses side by side. Thank you
My recipe calls for 4 LG. Shitake mushrooms. How many LG. Mini bellas would I use?
Hi Lorraine, Shiitake mushrooms are larger and have a more intense flavor than baby bellas. A large shiitake cap is about 2 to 3 inches in diameter, while baby bellas (cremini mushrooms) are usually 1 to 2 inches across. To replace 4 large shiitakes, you’d need about 6 to 8 baby bellas, depending on their size. If your recipe relies on shiitakes for their meaty texture and deep umami flavor, you could also mix in a little soy sauce or dried mushroom powder to boost the taste.