5 Fantastic Mushroom Recipes for Your Halloween Parties

Looking to add something earthy, unexpected and delicious to your Halloween spread? Mushrooms make a magical addition to spooky snacks, savory bites and seasonal comfort foods alike. From mushroom cookies to candied (wood) ears, sausage roll “mummies” to a chanterelle “witch’s brew,” these recipes bring mushroom goodness and some creepy vibes to your fall celebrations. 

We gathered five of our favorite ideas from the  Fantastic Fungi Community Cookbook, each inspired by the wonder and versatility of mushrooms. Whether you’re hosting a costume bash or cozy night in, these fantastic fungi recipes are sure to enchant your guests and feed your imagination.

Mushroom Sausage Roll “Mummies”

According to Eugenia Bone, editor of the cookbook, these handheld savory rolls are perfect for the busy fall season. They “are a great party food, late-night snack food, or lunch-while-standing-at-the-counter food,” and they make excellent after-school snacks or as part of a quick dinner. Eugenia used simple button mushrooms in this recipe, but you can swap in your favorites. 

Halloween Tip: Follow the technique in this recipe to turn your mushroom rolls into mummies! Use small circles of mozzarella or Swiss cheese and peppercorns for eyes. 

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

10 ounces white button mushrooms, minced (about 3 cups)

¼ cup minced shallots

3 tablespoons white wine, dry marsala, or sherry

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

One 10-by-10-inch sheet defrosted puff pastry, plus flour for rolling

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

12 ounces sausage meat (either bulk sausage or links with casings removed)

1 small egg, beaten

Note: You can swap in vegan sausage if need be. 

Instructions

TO MAKE THE DUXELLES:

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.

If all the mushrooms and shallots can fit in a single layer, then put them all in your pan. Otherwise, prepare the duxelles in batches. If the skillet is crowded, the mushrooms will steam rather than brown, and your end product will be mushy. Sauté the mushrooms and shallots in batches, if necessary, until the mushrooms give up their liquid and the liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes. Stir frequently. Once all the mushrooms are cooked, return them to the pan (if cooking in batches) and add the wine and salt and pepper to taste. Continue cooking until the duxelles become quite dry and the mushrooms begin to take on a golden color, another 10 minutes (see note). 

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

TO MAKE THE ROLLS:

Lay the sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured board. Sprinkle some flour over the pastry. With a rolling pin, gently roll out the pastry until it is 1 to 2 inches larger on all sides. Cut the pastry into six pieces, each about the size of a Tarot card (or about 2 x 4 inches). Brush off any extra flour, and then brush the mustard on the surface of each piece of pastry.

Season the sausage meat and divide it into six oblong meatballs. Place a sausage ball close to the top of each pastry piece. Spread 1 tablespoon of duxelles along each meatball. Roll the pastry from the top down, encasing the sausage and duxelles. With your brush, add a little beaten egg to the edge of the pastry to seal the dough.

Place the rolls seam down on a baking sheet. (I use a silicone liner on my baking sheet to avoid sticking.) Brush the tops of the rolls with a little more beaten egg. Cut a couple of slits in the rolls so steam can vent during cooking, and pop them in the oven for about 30 minutes, until they are golden brown. Keep an eye out: They burn easily.

These rolls hold great in the refrigerator for a day or so and can be reheated in a low oven.

Black Trumpet Deviled Egg “Eyeballs” 

Looking for a simple appetizer for your Halloween party? These Black Trumpet Deviled Eggs from the Fantastic Fungi Community Cookbook are savory and simple. They feature one of the mushrooms that turned the recipe’s creator, Jill Weiss of New York, into a full-fledged mycophile. If you can’t find Black Trumpets, swap in your favorite mushroom. 

Halloween Tip: Use sliced olives with pimentos to turn some of the eggs into eyeballs — or cut up black olives to top each one with a spider! 

Ingredients 

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

¼ cup minced onion

1 teaspoon minced garlic, or less if you are not a huge garlic fan

¼ cup finely chopped black trumpet mushrooms, fresh or rehydrated dried, about 1 ounce

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 large hard-boiled eggs

2 tablespoons mayonnaise, plus more if needed

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Pinch of smoked paprika or Aleppo pepper, for garnish (optional)

Instructions 

Heat the butter in a small pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, a few minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking for about 5 minutes. If the garlic begins to brown, reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue cooking until the fresh mushrooms look like a dark paste or the rehydrated mushrooms look crumbly, a few minutes more. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Peel and cut the eggs from pole to pole. Carefully scoop out the yolks and place them in a small bowl. Add the mushroom mixture, mayonnaise, and mustard, and mix until smooth. The yolk-and-mushroom mixture should be thick but soft; if it is stiff, add a little more mayonnaise. Spoon the filling into the egg whites or use a piping bag with  a wide tip to fill. Garnish with the paprika or Aleppo pepper, if using.

Witch’s Brew (aka “Enchanted” Chanterelle Shrub)

This sweet-and-sour sip, from Jane B. Mason of Colorado, preserves chanterelles into a tasty non-alcoholic drink. A shrub is generally known as a sweet-and-sour syrup made from vinegar, sugar, and fruit (or, in this case, mushrooms!), served mixed with sparkling water and sometimes alcohol. Serve this with sparkling water for a mushroom-infused mocktail.  

Halloween Tip: Serve in a punchbowl with Halloween-themed ice cubes.

Ingredients 

4 to 5 ounces fresh chanterelle mushrooms, sliced, or ½ ounce dried chanterelles

⅔ cup white wine vinegar

⅓ cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup sugar

Instructions 

Place the chanterelles, white wine vinegar, and apple cider vinegar in a saucepan. The vinegar should cover the mushrooms. Bring to a low simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, and cook for 5 minutes, being careful not to let the mixture come to a boil. Cover, turn off the stove, and let cool, about 20 minutes. 

When the shrub is cool, pour it into a pint-size jar with a lid and leave it at room temperature for 2 to 4 days, shaking once a day or so. 

Place the mixture back in a saucepan, and bring to a bare simmer over medium-low heat. Add the sugar, and cook just until the sugar has dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes. Cool, strain out the mushrooms (the chanterelles are edible, like sweet pickles), and place the shrub back in the pint jar or a bottle, if you like. It will be slightly viscous and will hold in the refrigerator for several months. 

To serve, pour sparkling water into a glass with ice and add the shrub to taste. Add a slice of lemon, if you like.

Candied (Wood) Ears

This treat is perfect for Halloween! Try this simple yet stunning recipe from David Bennett of Leeds, in the UK, that serves up mushrooms as a sweet snack or dessert. This treat is no trick, we promise! 

Halloween Tip: Serve these as “candied ears” to your guests (make sure no one has any dietary restrictions or food allergies if you don’t tell them what’s in the recipe). 

Ingredients 

3 cups sugar

1½ cups water

1½ cups brandy

1 pound fresh wood ears or 3 ounces dried and rehydrated

Instructions

Place the sugar, water, and brandy into a medium pan and bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking occasionally to melt the sugar.

Turn the heat down very low and add the wood ears. Simmer, uncovered, for about 1 hour. The syrup will reduce over time, but do not let it reduce more than 25%. If it does, top it up with water and simmer again for 1 minute or so.

Turn off the heat and cool to room temperature. Pack the wood ears and syrup into a sterilized pint-size jar. (To sterilize, boil the jar and lid in water for 10 minutes at sea level, adding 1 minute for every 1,000 feet above this.) Store in an airtight jar at room temperature, but keep in mind that over time, the mushrooms will lose their snap and become more jellified.

Tip: The key to candying is water evaporation during the simmering stage. Too much evaporation, and the syrup will become overly thick. Too little, and the syrup will not glacé the fruit. A 25 percent reduction of water is ideal. If you don’t want to use brandy, you can candy the mushrooms with just 3 cups of water instead.

“Spooky” Chanterelle Shortbread

Jane B. Mason also shared her delightful shortbread recipe, which serves up a beloved mushroom in an unexpected way. Since chanterelles have a slight apricot essence to them already, she paired them with apricot jam and walnuts for a truly unique cookie! Since these are only slightly sweet, they are equally at home on a cookie tray or charcuterie board. Take a batch to your next holiday gathering. 

Halloween Tip: Skip the jam, roll the dough flat and use Halloween cookie cutters for extra seasonal appeal. 

Ingredients 

4 to 6 ounces fresh chanterelle mushrooms, or ½ ounce dried chanterelles

1 cup (2 sticks) plus 1 to 2 teaspoons salted butter, divided

1⅔ cups all-purpose flour

⅓ cup cornmeal

¾ teaspoon salt

½ cup granulated sugar

⅓ cup toasted walnuts, finely chopped

1 to 2 tablespoons apricot jam (optional)

Yields about 8 bars; feel free to slice them into smaller pieces

Instructions 

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

If using fresh mushrooms, wipe clean as necessary and finely chop. If using dried chanterelles, place them in a bowl, submerge in boiling water, and cover the bowl with a lid. Let rest 20 to 40 minutes until the chanterelles are tender, then drain and finely chop.

Heat a skillet over medium-low heat and add the chanterelles. 

Dry-cook them until they release their water and the water has evaporated, about 10 minutes, then add 1 to 2 tablespoons butter and continue to cook until browned, a few more minutes.

Place the flour, cornmeal, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon to blend. Dice the remaining 1 cup of butter and blend into the flour mixture with your fingers to a crumbly meal, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the sautéed chanterelles, walnuts, and apricot jam, if using.

Press the dough into an ungreased 8-by-8-inch pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Cool on a wire rack or in the pan. Slice into bars when the shortbread is still a bit warm.