Magic Mushroom Powder is my secret weapon in my kitchen! Sprinkle this umami-packed, Whole30-friendly seasoning salt on anything to make it delicious!
DIYers: I bet you glanced at my latest Holiday Gift Guide and shook your heads. Sure, there were lots of sleek gadgets and baubles available for purchase, but you want people to feel your love for them in the form of a homemade edible present. A gift you buy at the store just ain’t the same, right?
Perfect DIY Holiday Gift
Well, guess what? I’ve got a quick and fun project that’ll appeal even to folks who are allergic to crafting: adorably labelled jars of my world-famous Magic Mushroom Powder—published here on my site for the very first time! Every crazy-busy caveperson can channel his or her inner Paleo Martha Stewart with this spiced salt blend. It takes only five minutes to make, and we’ve already created awesome printable labels for you.
In other words, you have no excuse not to make this gift.
Why everyone will love Magic Mushroom Powder
For the past few years, Magic Mushroom Powder has been one of the most popular recipes in our Webby-award winning iPad app, and also in our first cookbook (which—by the way—was named by Serious Eats, Powell’s, and America’s Test Kitchen as one of the best cookbooks of the year!). But until now, Magic Mushroom Powder’s been my secret weapon—one I always keep stocked in my kitchen.
As The Oregonian wrote:
We’re always learning new things when we try out recipes in the Foodday Test Kitchen. But every once in a while we discover an ingredient or technique that makes us rethink everything we’ve been doing in the kitchen.
That just happened with Magic Mushroom Powder. It’s a spice blend with a psychedelic-sounding name, and while it has no hallucinogenic powers, it truly is magic, adding much-desired umami to everything it touches.
How do you use it?
Magic Mushroom Powder can be used in place of salt in virtually any dish, adding an immediate flavor punch to everything from scrambled eggs and ground meat to roasted veggies and chicken wings. Even your vegan friends’ll dig it!
You can use it to sprinkle on roasted broccoli, just like Dylan Dreyer of the Today Show! Watch this Today show segment where she names Magic Mushroom Powder her favorite food seasoning!
I’ve scaled up my original recipe so that you can offer 12 of your favorite people the gift of umami. (Of course, your secret’s safe with me if you prefer to just make a humongous jar for yourself.)
Where can you buy Magic Mushroom Powder?
UPDATE: You can purchase Magic Mushroom Powder online at The Spice Lab (Save 15% off with one-time code: letsgo), on Amazon, and on iHerb (worldwide delivery)!
Ready to knock everyone’s holiday stockings off with Magic Mushroom Powder?
Time to make Magic Mushroom Powder!
Makes about 4 cups — fills 12 (2.7-ounce) jars
Ingredients:
- 3 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
- 2 cups Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
Equipment:
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Glass mixing bowls of various sizes
- Food processor or powerful blender (If you’re just making a small batch, get a cheap coffee grinder like this one.)
- Spoon
- Label paper (full-sheet)
- 12 Weck Mini Mold Jars (2.7 ounces)
- Parchment Paper
Steps:
Measure out all your ingredients.
In my original recipe, I used a spice grinder to pulverize the mushrooms—but to blitz this larger amount of dried porcinis, you’d be wise to use a higher-volume food processor or super-powered blender.
Dump your dried ’shrooms in the food processor and pulse a few times to chop them up uniformly. If the lid of your food processor isn’t on tight, a fine mist of mushroom dust will erupt from the crack, so check the seal before you continue blitzing.
Next, turn the processor on for 2 minutes or as long as it takes for the mushrooms to break down into a fine powder. (If you use a super-charged blender like a Vitamix, you’ll finish in less time.)
Warning: Do not open the container immediately after switching off your processor. A mushroom cloud will literally explode out of the top and you’ll find yourself coughing up Magic Mushroom Powder for the next few minutes. Instead, be patient and let the powder settle before you open it.
In a large bowl, combine the powdered mushrooms, salt…
…red pepper flakes, dried thyme…
…and freshly cracked black pepper.
Stir well to combine.
Once the red pepper flakes are evenly distributed, you’re all set!
If you’re packaging this magical seasoning salt for your friends, print a set of labels on a full sheet of sticker paper. Carefully cut them out and stick them on 12 mini jars.
Scoop out a scant ⅓ cup of the Magic Mushroom Powder, and place it on a piece of parchment paper. Pull up the sides of the parchment and use it as a funnel to transfer the seasoning salt into each jar.
Voilà!
Add a gift tag if you’re feeling fancy—and then hand out jars of umami-packed mushroom dust like some deranged fungus-loving Santa!
Wondering how to use Magic Mushroom Powder? Simply use it in place of salt (in a 1:1 ratio) in all of your favorite recipes!
Need more ideas on how to use Magic Mushroom Powder? Here you go:
-
- Umami Roast Chicken
- Instant Pot Magic Short Ribs
- Sheet Pan Chicken and Mushrooms
- Instant Pot Magic Pork
- Instant Pot Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Magic Crown Roast of Pork
- Magic Wings
- Air Fryer Cracklin’ Chicken
- Easy Paleo Meatloaf
- Carrot Cardamom Soup
- Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
- Sheet Pan Meatballs and Broccolini
- Baked Kale Chips
- Asian Meatballs
- Instant Pot Oxtail Stew
- Instant Pot Zucchini Bolognese
- Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
- Instant Pot Meat Sauce
- Instant Pot Cheater Pork Stew
- Eggs in Purgatory
- Easy Umami Oven Roasted Tomatoes
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Magic Mushroom Powder
Ingredients
- 3 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
- 2 cups Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Measure out all your ingredients.
- In my original recipe, I used a spice grinder to pulverize the mushrooms—but to blitz this larger amount of dried porcinis, you’d be wise to use a higher-volume food processor or super-powered blender.
- Dump your dried ’shrooms in the food processor and pulse a few times to chop them up uniformly. If the lid of your food processor isn’t on tight, a fine mist of mushroom dust will erupt from the crack, so check the seal before you continue blitzing.
- Next, turn the processor on for 2 minutes or as long as it takes for the mushrooms to break down into a fine powder. (If you use a super-charged blender like a Vitamix, you’ll finish in less time.)
- In a large bowl, combine the powdered mushrooms, salt, red pepper flakes, dried thyme, and freshly cracked black pepper. Stir well to mix thoroughly. Once the red pepper flakes are evenly distributed, you’re all set!
- If you’re packaging this magical seasoning salt for your friends, print a set of labels on a full sheet of sticker paper. Carefully cut them out and stick them on 12 mini jars.
- Scoop out a scant ⅓ cup of the Magic Mushroom Powder, and place it on a piece of parchment paper. Pull up the sides of the parchment and use it as a funnel to transfer the seasoning salt into each jar.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What do you think about using Shitake instead of porcini?
That works! It gives it a subtler flavor, but still delicious and packed with umami.
Is there an alternative to Thyme? I really really don’t like the taste of it. Should I just leave it out?
You can leave it out!
I’ve been making this since 2015 and I love it! It makes every dish just that bit more delicious. For those saying it’s too salty (you must be tired of repeating yourself Michelle) that’s because it is a substitute for salt. You only need a very small amount to season your food. It will last for ages!
Michelle, long time Nomster here, just have to say that I came back for this recipe because I use it in my smoked tomatoes (halve Roma tomatoes, sprinkle with MMP, smoke over cherry wood for 4 hours, then remove to a dehydrator until desired dryness is reached). This year I used Aleppo pepper instead of red chili flakes, and I also cut back a bit of the salt and substituted Sandwich Sprinkle from Penzys spices and the results are phenom. Truly the best spice blend I have ever come across, thanks for sharing! And thanks for the labels, what a neat value add!
Appreciate you and all the delicious recipes you share!
I really like mushrooms and need to cut down on sodium, this will be a good way to add flavour to a lot of dishes.
Thank you!
Thank you for this recipe. I’m an avid mushroom forever, and will be making wild mushroom salt as gifts, so will riff off of your proportions. A special thanks to everyone commenting that salt is too salty, I got a great chuckle from that! 😉
From your video it looks more like a medium grain uniform salt like a table salt rather than a chipped salt. What is your take?
I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt in my homemade version of the recipe.
Michelle, really, are you ready to go back to dealing drugs yet 😂. The salt conspiracy!!
How many times can you type Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt before it sinks in😠😡🥵😤
I Michelle, I just bought a jar of your MMP from Whole Foods this afternoon to try for the first time. I have always cooked with Maggi (bouillon) cubes but have been moving away from them and checking out healthy alternatives to ingredients containing MSG. Your MMP sounds so good but as I got online to research the Magic Mushroom further I am truly worried to introduce it in my cooking especially with my young children eating even though you said it has no hallucinogenic powers I am still having a hard time shaking off all the info online from my head. I know you have said Shitake and Porcini mushrooms are a good replacement but I have seen recipes that changing something as such a key ingredient really changes things a bit. Would you by chance have any other great umami type replacement spices you can direct me to try that would come quite close to your MMP?
Thank you kindly
Yve, WI
There are no psychedelic mushrooms in my Magic Mushroom Powder! It is made with porcini mushrooms as stated in this recipe.
Hello Michelle,
Love your Instagram posts and I just bought your new cookbook and absolutely love it! I made the Instant Pot Balsamic Beef Stew substituting a pork loin. It came out soooo good.
I was curious if you could share where you get your porcini mushrooms from to make your magic mushroom powder?
I will be adding your previous cookbooks to my collection.
Thank you,
Marina
I stock up at Costco when I see them for sale! However, these days I don’t make it myself anymore. I just buy them at https://nomnompaleo.com/spices
My family, kids included, love when I add this to our Asian dishes! Their favorite is the Egg Roll in a Bowl, just a teaspoon of this adds such a fantastic umami and kicks the entire dish up a notch! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
https://www.supersimplesaltylife.com/gluten-free-egg-roll-in-a-bowl/