Most jars of pickled mushrooms get the same treatment. Someone eats three with a fork, standing at the open fridge, and the rest sits in the door for a month.
That is a waste, because a pickled mushroom is one of the most useful things you can keep in the fridge. It is savory, sharp and ready to eat, so it does the job of an olive, a caper and a seasoning at once. You never have to cook it, and you rarely need more than a spoonful.
The short answer: eat them cold, put them on bread, toss them through salads and bowls, stir them into hot food at the very end, add them to drinks, and keep the brine. Below are fourteen ways to do that, matched to the five jars we sell, from crisp white shimeji to meaty king oyster.
Which jar for which job
Pickled mushrooms are not interchangeable. A delicate cluster that is perfect on toast disappears in a bowl of ramen, and a thick, meaty coin that holds its own on a steak would bully a green salad. Our five varieties split the work like this:
- White shimeji: bright, delicate and crisp. Toast, salads, rice bowls, anything light.
- Crimini: classic mushroom flavor in whole small caps. Boards, antipasti, sandwiches, pasta and the martini.
- King oyster: meaty coins with truffle oil in the jar. Steak, risotto, seafood, and the corner of a board where you want a showpiece.
- Shiitake: the deepest and most savory of the five, with tamari in the brine. Noodles, ramen, rice, anything with soy in it.
- Black shimeji: savory, firm and chewy, with dark caps. Ramen, roasted vegetables and hearty meat dishes.
If you have never tried one, expect something sharp, savory and a little garlicky, somewhere between an olive and a mushroom. The vinegar comes first, then the mushroom underneath. And each variety is different: crisp and light, earthy and classic, rich with truffle oil, or deep and soy-savory from the tamari.
Whichever jar you open, three habits make it better. Serve the mushrooms cold, straight from the fridge. Let them drip for a moment so the brine stays in the jar rather than on the plate. And add them last, after anything hot has come off the heat.
If you already know what you cook most, start with that jar. If you don't, or you want to work through this list properly, the Build Your Variety Pack lets you mix any of the five in a 2, 4 or 6-Pack. One of each and a second of the one you'll reach for most is a good first order.
Straight from the jar
1. Cold, as a snack
The simplest one, and where most people start. Lift them out with a clean fork, let them drip, and eat them cold. A small bowl beside a drink before dinner does more than a bowl of nuts.
2. On a cheese or charcuterie board
A board is mostly fat and salt, and a pickled mushroom is the sharp, savory bite that keeps the next piece of cheese tasting good. Give them their own small bowl so the brine stays off the crackers. Crimini sit where an olive would; white shimeji is the light thing on a board of heavy ones. There is a whole guide to the best pickles for a charcuterie board, and a step-by-step board if you would rather follow one.
On bread
3. On toast
Thick sourdough, ricotta or soft goat cheese, a few pickled mushrooms, black pepper, good olive oil. White shimeji is the one for this: the clusters stay joined and sit up on the cheese instead of sinking into it. The full version, with browned butter, is our pickled mushroom toast with ricotta.
4. In a sandwich
Anywhere you would use pickles or olives, use mushrooms. Halved crimini in a roast beef or turkey sandwich, sliced king oyster in a grilled cheese, shiitake in a pork roll. They bring acid and savory depth in one go.
5. On a burger
A mushroom Swiss burger without the frying pan. Pile sliced king oyster or halved crimini onto a burger as it comes off the grill, lay the Swiss cheese over the top, and let it melt. The brine cuts through the richness the way a pickle does.
In salads and bowls
6. In a green salad
Halve them and use them the way you would olives. They are especially good with bitter leaves like radicchio, which need something savory underneath. Try the pickled shiitake salad with bitter leaves.
7. In potato salad or egg salad
Chop a few crimini and fold them through where you would otherwise reach for capers or relish. It is the easiest upgrade on this list.
8. On rice and grain bowls
A spoonful on a rice bowl does the work of a pickle and a sauce at once. White shimeji with fish or tofu; shiitake or black shimeji with beef, pork or a fried egg.
In hot food, added last
The one rule for cooking with pickled mushrooms is not to cook them. They are ready to eat, and heat softens them and flattens the brine. Add them at the end, off the heat or just before serving, so they keep their bite.
9. Pasta and risotto
Stir chopped king oyster or crimini through a finished risotto or a buttery pasta right before it goes to the table. The acid cuts the richness the way a squeeze of lemon would.
10. With eggs
Fold chopped shiitake or crimini into scrambled eggs just as they come off the heat, or scatter them over an omelette before you fold it. King oyster on toast with a fried egg is breakfast in five minutes.
11. Ramen and noodles
Pickled shiitake is the jar for this, because its tamari brine already speaks the language of a soy-based broth. Lay a few slices on top of the bowl at the end. More in the best ramen toppings.
12. On steak
Spoon king oyster coins over a rested steak with a little of their brine. It is a steakhouse mushroom side with none of the work.
13. On pizza
Scatter them over the pizza after it comes out of the oven, not before. Baked, they dry out. Added at the end, they bring a sharp, savory bite against the melted cheese. Crimini on a white pizza is the one to try first.
In a drink
14. In a martini, a Bloody Mary or an Old Fashioned
A pickled mushroom does in a glass what an olive does, with more depth. Two crimini on a pick and a teaspoon of their brine make a pickled mushroom martini. A skewer of crimini and king oyster is the best Bloody Mary garnish you have not tried yet. And in Wisconsin, a brandy Old Fashioned ordered "sour" often comes with pickled mushrooms on the pick. The Bloody Mary is in Bloody Mary bar and garnish ideas.
Don't pour the brine away
When the mushrooms are gone, keep the liquid. It is seasoned vinegar with garlic and herbs already in it, which makes it an ingredient in its own right.
- Salad dressing. One part brine to two parts olive oil and a crack of pepper. That is the whole dressing on the shiitake salad.
- Pan sauce. A spoonful of shiitake brine brings salt and acid at the same time, which a spoon of soy sauce cannot.
- Bloody Mary. A teaspoon in the glass, in place of some of the Worcestershire.
Pickled mushroom questions
Do you eat pickled mushrooms hot or cold?
Cold, usually. They are ready to eat straight from the jar, and that is when they are crispest. In a hot dish, add them at the very end so they warm through without cooking.
Are pickled mushrooms slimy?
They shouldn't be. Texture depends on the mushroom. Some wild mushrooms used in traditional Eastern European pickles are naturally slippery, and canned button mushrooms are soft. Firm varieties keep their bite: crimini stay dense, white shimeji stay crisp, black shimeji stay chewy and king oyster coins stay meaty.
"The mushrooms still have a bite to them and don't have that canned texture at all."
— Julia R., Golden Grove customer
Can you cook with pickled mushrooms?
Yes, as a finishing ingredient rather than something to fry or simmer. Long cooking softens them and dulls the brine, so stir them into pasta, risotto, noodles or rice just before serving.
What do pickled mushrooms go with?
Anything rich or salty that needs a sharp edge: cheese, cured meat, steak, eggs, buttery pasta, rice bowls and ramen. To drink, try a crisp white wine or dry sake with white shimeji, an earthy red with crimini, Champagne with king oyster, an amber lager with black shimeji, and Pinot Noir with shiitake.
Do pickled mushrooms need to be refrigerated?
Once the jar is open, yes. Keep it in the fridge, tightly sealed, with the mushrooms under the brine, and use a clean fork every time. For how long an opened jar keeps, see how long pickled mushrooms last.
Are pickled mushrooms the same as marinated mushrooms?
No. Pickled mushrooms sit in a vinegar brine and stay firm. Marinated mushrooms are dressed in oil and vinegar and are softer. Here is how marinated mushrooms differ from pickled.
The short version
Cold from the jar, on a board, on toast, in salads and bowls, stirred into hot food at the last minute, and in a drink. Then use the brine. A jar of pickled mushrooms is not something you buy for one recipe. It is a fridge staple that makes ordinary food taste finished.
To try the whole list, build a variety pack with one jar of each, or see all five varieties side by side.