Stop Sleeping on Canned Mushrooms

Somewhere along the line, we got downright judgmental about canned food. Protein-rich SPAM is frowned upon, the convenient canned potato has been widely dismissed, and the lovable canned mushroom is ignored, at best. In fact, that’s why I brought you all here today. Friends, we need to talk about the humble canned mushroom. It’s the versatile and cheap pantry hero we all deserve.

Canned mushrooms are here to help 

Canned mushrooms are something I always keep on hand for a few reasons: They’re cheap, they taste great, they add incredible texture to dishes, and by golly, they’re convenient. I use a fair amount of fresh mushrooms in my meals, but a tub of creminis can be hit or miss after a week in the fridge. I’m convinced (possibly delusionaly) that I’ll open a container after just buying them, and one out of 10 times, the batch will have gone slimy. 

Not canned mushrooms though. They are reliable, and compared to fresh, they’re dirt cheap (See what I did there?), clocking in at about a dollar for a four-ounce can. Mushrooms are canned in liquid brine as a preservation method. Just like with jarred food, this means you can keep a few cans in your cupboard ready to be used this week or next year, basically whenever an ingredient emergency strikes. 

They’re already cooked

Let’s address the giant fungi in the room, shall we? Canned mushrooms are wet and slimy. But consider this—that’s a good thing. These mushrooms are cooked (steamed or blanched) during the canning process, so as long as you’re using them in a cooked dish, you’ve basically skipped a step, and maybe even two. Canned mushrooms are full of moisture from the liquid they've been stored in, and often that includes a bit of salt, which means you can toss them into a dish at almost any stage of a recipe. That means zero prep (you can buy them sliced), and the freedom to add them on a whim, even when you’re almost done cooking. 

How do you use canned mushrooms?

I think the only time I would refrain from using canned mushrooms is anywhere you’d eat them raw, like in salads. They’re not trying to fool anyone into thinking they’re fresh mushrooms anyway.

Canned whole mushrooms are what I add to chowders and any dish that finishes with a brown or white gravy, like beef stew or meatballs in gravy. I’ll add canned straw mushrooms or button mushrooms to Chinese or Thai dishes that use a mix of vegetables. Whole mushrooms can also be tossed with olive oil and herbs to boost your antipasti or charcuterie platter.

More often, though, I’m grabbing canned sliced mushrooms at the supermarket. They’re slightly more versatile and can fit right at home in a simmering pot of sausage and peppers, stirred into a cheesy risotto, layered into a vegetable lasagna, or added to your cheesesteak sandwich. 

My very favorite way to use canned mushrooms is for quick homemade pan pizza. It’s my favorite topping, and the fact is, canned mushrooms are even better than freshly sliced mushrooms on pizza. Pizzas cook fast and at high temperatures and unfortunately fresh ‘shrooms become dry and leathery under those conditions. Juicy canned mushrooms, however, come out of the oven delivering top notch texture and flavor. So on your next grocery run, add a couple cans to your haul. They’ll come in handy sooner than you’d expect.