Air Fryer “Fried” Mushrooms

Crispy “fried” mushrooms made in the air fryer in just a few minutes! Tender and juicy on the inside and crispy crunchy and flavorful on the outside, these “fried” mushrooms will win your heart. With gluten free and vegan options.

So I did it. I broke down and bought an air fryer. After many many months of debating and wondering “should I buy one?” and after my foodie cousin mentioning that she bought one and LOVES it, then my foodie SISTER went and got one. I told her to try it out and then tell me whether she thought I should get one. She highly recommended that I get one and she totally recommended getting the same one that she bought.

Well, my sis pretty much never steers me wrong, so I did. I bought an air fryer. I had my reservations … we are SUPER picky about the flavor, the texture, and the smell of everything we make. My kids are super sensitive to smells in particular and I’d read that air fryers do stink up the place as they cook. My sister said there was a smell the first couple times she used hers, but that after a few times that “new device” smell wore off and it didn’t stink any more.

Okay, I thought, I’m trusting you! And I bought yet ANOTHER silly kitchen appliance to add to my collection. We aren’t really even into eating fried foods, but we do have a few favorites I was hoping this device would help with. Namely: french fries, egg rolls, piroshki and occasionally my daughter wants to make donuts. Frying foods in lots of fat is stinky, so messy, and in general considered unhealthy, so we had high hopes for this air fryer.

Funny enough, for our maiden voyage in the air fryer, I chose none of those options. I had a drawer full of chanterelle mushrooms in my fridge (after our hugely successful mushroom hunt) and I thought that fried mushrooms would be a good “first journey” into air frying. I used this recipe from Sunday Supper Movement as my guide. To minimize that “new device” smell, I set up the air fryer in the garage for our initial voyage. I breaded my mushrooms pretty much as instructed (with my own twist on the coating and the seasonings) and set them in the air fryer and crossed my fingers for good results …

I pulled my first batch out of the oven and took a bite. My son was watching me, inquisitive about the results ( he might have been one of the instigators of this whole air fryer purchase). “It doesn’t taste like fried mushrooms,” I said, “it tastes like air fryer fried mushrooms.”

And honestly it did. I could taste the scent of the “new device” in the results, but my tongue could also detect the lack of oil that makes fried foods so addictive. Of course I expected this, and if you are not yet an air fryer lover, set your expectations accordingly, but aside from that, I really I mean totally absolutely loved them. There was a super satisfying crunchy coating (if you have experience with chanterelles, you know these mushrooms in particular are full of moisture and don’t lend themselves at all to any sort of “crunch”, but here they were! All nice and crunchy!), yet the inside was nice and juicy. Served with a nice creamy dipping sauce like my Sriracha Ranch, they were quite addictive. I made them again and again and again. And right now, looking at these photos and sharing my experience with you, I totally want to go make them AGAIN.

I still have a ton (ok, not really a ton, just several more pounds) of mushrooms … I initially meant to cook them up with garlic and seasonings and freeze them, but after tasting air fryer fried mushrooms, I really want to hang onto them (as long as they will last!) so I can experience these “fried” mushrooms just one more time (and as many more times after that as I can). Maybe it’s worth the risk of letting some of them go bad so I can “fry” the good ones up one more time.

What makes the best air fried mushrooms?

I think the main secret to making the BEST air fried mushrooms is the dipping you do before you fry them. This method works SO well with gilled mushrooms like chanterelles (or oyster mushrooms). First you dip the mushroom in flour (or cornmeal, if you’re gluten free), making sure to get that flour down into the gills of the shroom, THEN you dip it in something wet like egg (or aquafaba, if you’re vegan, or heck, why not ranch dressing?), and then finally in the outer crunchy coating.

The next thing that makes these air fryer “fried” mushrooms super successful is a light coating of oil before cooking. Once I’d dipped my mushrooms in all the coatings, I used my avocado oil spray (just avocado oil, nothing else) and sprayed the top, then flipped the shrooms gently with tongs and sprayed them again so (pretty much) every mushroom was well coated on all sides with both the crunchy coating AND a light layer of oil.

The third thing I think is essential to success is to give the mushrooms space while you’re cooking them. Make sure you leave a little space between each mushroom and the next. This lets the air flow BETWEEN the mushrooms and gives them all that nice crunch.

Of course, like most all other devices, air fryers vary and they are not all consistent, so watch them as they’re cooking and adjust accordingly. Don’t be afraid to “check in” with your mushrooms briefly as they’re cooking.

Do all the mushroom bits need to be the same size?

The surprising thing I found here is no, they don’t. I had equal results cooking little bits of coated mushrooms side by side with full size mushrooms. That said, my mushrooms aren’t very big. I know there are some mushrooms that can weigh several pounds for a single mushroom. Obviously, you’re going to need to cut those big babies into smaller bite-size pieces.

What to dip air “fried” mushrooms in?

Personally, I think my favorite is Sriracha Ranch (made with yogurt), but there are so many more delightful options:

Creamy sauces:

• Sriracha Ranch
• Plain Ranch
• Smokey Chipotle BBQ Ranch
• Avocado Ranch
• Harissa Ranch
• Avocado Cilantro Lime Dressing

Tomato-based and other sauces:

• Marinara sauce
• Ketchup
• Sweet chili dipping sauce
• BBQ Sauce (try my Jack Daniel’s BBQ sauce)
• Honey mustard sauce (simply mix honey with mustard and maybe a bit of garlic and plain yogurt … or try swapping maple syrup for honey with your choice of fancy mustard)

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