Air Fryer Oyster Mushrooms cook in just 5 minutes, and make the easiest mushroom side dish that goes great with pretty much any main dish!
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We love cooking with different mushrooms around here! I think fried mushrooms are the perfect combination of healthy, satisfying, delicious, and easy to cook. And these air fryer oyster mushrooms are no exception!
If fried oyster mushrooms sound good to you, then you should check out my pan-fried lion's mane recipe, lion's mane mushroom steaks, lion's mane soup, and fried enoki mushroom appetizer.
Oyster mushrooms side dish
I'm not trying to pretend that oyster mushrooms make a great chicken substitute. Don't get me wrong, they have a great texture and lots of savory flavor. But this oyster mushroom side dish is just that. A side dish to go along with your favorite protein (steak, salmon, chicken, chicken hearts, or tofu would be great here!) and other side dishes (roasted potatoes, grains, etc).
Be sure not to confuse these mushrooms with king oyster mushrooms, which I coat in batter and air fry until crispy.
These oyster mushrooms are seasoned with a little bit of soy sauce, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. I brush on the mixture right before air frying. No marinating needed. No chopping. Super easy.
On top of being very easy to cook, oyster mushrooms are very nutritious and low in calories.
Ready to get started? I'll show you how to cook oyster mushrooms!
Ingredients
- ½ - ¾ lb oyster mushrooms, wiped clean with a damp paper towel. It is not recommended to wash mushrooms under water because they soak up a lot of water. But if your mushrooms are dirty, you can rinse them under water, pat them dry, and leave them out to dry for an hour or so so they're not soaking wet.
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce (I use low-sodium and add a bit of salt, but you can use regular soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, grated, pressed, or very finely minced
- ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper (skip the salt if using full-sodium soy sauce)
- Optional garnish: finely minced parsley or scallions
Where to find oyster mushrooms
I am often able to find mushrooms at local Asian grocery stores and farmer's markets. If you can forage some oyster mushrooms and confidently identify them, then you're in luck! You can also grow your own. I've had great luck with growing my own oyster mushrooms with this kit.
Equipment
- Zester or grater with a zester side, for grating the garlic into tiny pieces
- Air fryer
- Basting brush or silicone brush
- Damp paper towel or clean kitchen towel for wiping the mushrooms clean
- Herb scissors (optional, I use them to chop herbs for garnish without needing to take out a cutting board)
Instructions
Wipe your mushrooms clean with a damp paper towel. Separate them into small groups of 2-3 mushrooms, or individual mushrooms if they're large. Place the mushrooms in the air fryer basket or tray. It's OK if they are close to each other or even slightly overlapping, since they will shrink a lot during cooking.
If your basket or tray has holes underneath, place it on a cutting board or a large plate to catch drips.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, olive oil, grated garlic, salt, and pepper.
Brush the tops of the mushrooms with the soy sauce mixture.
If your air fryer requires preheating, preheat to 375F. Air fry at 375F for 5-7 minutes, or until the mushrooms are cooked to your liking. There's no need to flip the mushrooms, but do check on them after 4-5 minutes to make sure they're not getting too brown or crispy. If they're getting brown, reduce the temperature to 325-350F and cook for another 1-2 minutes. The mushrooms will shrink a lot while cooking.
Serve warm, garnishing with fresh herbs, if desired.
Recipe tips and variations
→ You can use any kind of oyster mushrooms you like—blue oyster, pink oyster, golden—it doesn't matter because they'll cook at the same rate.
→ If your mushrooms are all thicker, you might need closer to 7 minutes of air frying. If yours are all itty bitty, then they might get too crispy even after 5 minutes. So keep an eye on them!
→ Make them spicy! Add ½ - 1 teaspoon chili oil to your seasoning mixture. Watch out though, that stuff is spicy!!
→ Make these gluten-free: use gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos.
→ Make them crispy and breaded: use the breading recipe from my chicken of the woods wings recipe, but cook them for less time than chicken of the woods: 10 minutes at 375F, flipping halfway through and spraying the other side of the mushrooms before putting them back in the air fryer.
→ If you have leftover mushrooms, you can transform them into a dinner by adding them to this chicken with creamy mushroom sauce recipe.
More foraging recipes to try
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Air Fryer Oyster Mushrooms
Ingredients
- ½ - ¾ lb oyster mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce - or regular soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic - grated, pressed, or very finely minced
- ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper - (skip the salt if using full-sodium soy sauce)
- optional garnish: finely minced parsley or scallions
Special equipment
- Zester or grater with a zester side, for grating the garlic into tiny pieces
- Silicone brush or basting brush
- Damp paper towel or clean kitchen towel for wiping the mushrooms clean
- Herb scissors (optional, I use them to chop herbs for garnish without needing to take out a cutting board)
Instructions
- Wipe your mushrooms clean with a damp paper towel. Separate them into small groups of 2-3 mushrooms, or individual mushrooms if they're large. Place the mushrooms in the air fryer basket or tray. It's OK if they are close to each other or even slightly overlapping, since they will shrink a lot during cooking.
- If your basket or tray has holes underneath, place it on a cutting board or a large plate to catch drips.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, olive oil, grated garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Brush the tops of the mushrooms with the soy sauce mixture.
- If your air fryer requires preheating, preheat to 375F. Air fry at 375F for 5-7 minutes, or until the mushrooms are cooked to your liking. There's no need to flip the mushrooms. Check on them after 4-5 minutes to make sure they're not getting too brown or crispy. If they're getting brown, reduce the temperature to 325-350F and cook for another 1-2 minutes. The mushrooms will shrink a lot while cooking.
- Serve warm, garnishing with fresh herbs, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.