{"id":91096,"date":"2026-06-09T15:12:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T21:12:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=91096"},"modified":"2026-06-09T15:14:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T21:14:53","slug":"how-to-grow-mushrooms-at-home-recipes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/how-to-grow-mushrooms-at-home-recipes\/","title":{"rendered":"How to grow nutritious mushrooms at home and cook with varieties like pink oysters and lion’s mane"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"A
A \u201ccrabcake\u201d made from home-grown lion\u2019s mane mushrooms is a perfect dish for vegetarians or vegans. Photo by Bill St. John, for UCHealth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Growing your own food at home is incredibly satisfying.<\/p>\n

Maybe you’ve tried a small herb garden, which does well in a south-facing window.<\/p>\n

You might also consider growing some of your own mushrooms to cook and eat. I did, and it was quite the treat. Plus, they’re packed full of nutritional benefits.<\/p>\n

How to start growing your own mushrooms<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Buy a couple of kits online. I bought mine at FarWest Fungi<\/a>, out of California; prices are in the neighborhood of $30 a piece. You\u2019ll tend your fungi garden for a couple of weeks. In that time, you\u2019ll render two to three crops (\u201cblooms,\u201d they\u2019re commonly called).<\/p>\n

Your \u201cfarmwork\u201d is but to watch and maintain humidity levels in the grow house. Mine were essentially thick plastic bags holding the growing mediums and its mushroom spores, everything inside a cardboard holding box.<\/p>\n

\"Pink
Pink oyster mushrooms, left, and lion\u2019s mane mushrooms, right, in full bloom from grow kits at home. Photo by Bill St. John, for UCHealth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can see that growing your own mushrooms isn\u2019t as cost-effective as simply buying a box of buttons from the grocery store, but it\u2019s both a whole lot more fun than that, and you can grow far more exotic sorts of \u2018shrooms.
\n

More great tips and recipes<\/a> from Bill St. John.<\/div>\n

I fancied growing and cooking with two types: pink oyster mushrooms and lion\u2019s mane mushrooms, this latter of which I became particularly fond. Lion’s mane is both versatile in cooking and well-appreciated for its homeopathic benefits.<\/p>\n

Mushrooms are nutritional powerhouses<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As a food source, mushrooms are a nutritional powerhouse: They contain all the essential B vitamins, as well as the minerals copper and selenium. They\u2019re an excellent source of fiber. And they are the only vegan, non-fortified source of vitamin D, as well as a provider of high-quality protein.<\/p>\n

Here are two recipes, tested and tasted, using both homegrown lion\u2019s mane and pink oyster mushrooms. In the ragout, you can use any number of either homegrown or store-bought fungi, so the recipe isn\u2019t limited to merely mushrooms from your home farm.<\/p>\n

Lion’s Mane Mushroom Crab Cakes recipe<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Adapted from aubreyskitchen.com and prepared by Bill St John. This vegetarian receipe contains dairy and eggs, but you can easily make it vegan. See notes below. Makes 6 cakes.<\/p>\n

\"Some
Some of the ingredients for a recipe for Lion\u2019s Mane \u201cCrabcakes.\u201d Note how much shredded lion\u2019s mane mushrooms resemble shredded crab meat. Photo by Bill St. John, for UCHealth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ingredients<\/strong><\/h3>\n