Canning Mushrooms – How to Make Your Own Canned Mushrooms
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Have an abundance of mushrooms that you need to find a use for before they go bad? It’s simple to start canning mushrooms!
Canning Mushrooms
Canned mushrooms are so nice to have on hand for the times when you can’t get to the store but really need mushrooms for your recipe.
We don’t use many mushrooms in our home (one child has an allergy!) but when I ended up with a bunch of leftover mushrooms from our bulk foods coop, I decided to can them up to be able to use them for later.
While I know that not everyone likes the texture of canned mushrooms, it’s still better than freezing them, making them slimy and not-so-nice. If you don’t mind using your pressure canner, this really is an easy way to make them shelf stable!
Canning time can be a busy time of year. Here’s How to Prepare for Canning Season to read before you get started.
What You Need to Can Mushrooms
- Pint or Jelly sized Jars
- Pressure Canner
- Canning utensils (lids, rims, bubble remover, funnel, etc.)
- Large stockpot
- 7 pounds of Mushrooms
My trusty Presto Pressure Canner has been going strong for me for ten years. I highly recommend it if you don’t have a canner yet!
Want me to walk you through canning the mushrooms? Check out the video below or the one on my YouTube Channel!
How to Can Mushrooms
**Note that these instructions are ONLY for canning cultivated or domestic mushrooms, not wild ones.
Start by trimming any discolored or bruised sections of the mushrooms. Trim stems to remove bruising at the bottom. Then place the mushrooms in a large bowl and let them soak in cold water for at least 10 minutes to remove the dirt. You can use this time to prepare your jars and begin to heat up the water in a large stockpot.
Rinse the mushrooms after the soak.
If you have small mushrooms, you can leave them whole or cut them in half. The mushrooms I canned were large, so I sliced them first. Since this is also how we will use them later, that made the most sense to me.
Place all the mushrooms into the boiling pot of boiling water and let them boil for 5 minutes. You want just to get them heated through for canning; you don’t need to cook them.
Strain the mushrooms in a colander. Place a kettle, saucepan, or a large pot filled with clean water on the stove to boil. You will fill the jars with fresh hot water and not the water they heated up in.
Place the mushrooms packed tightly into half-pints or pint-sized jars. You can add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to half pints or double that for pints if you’d like. I choose not to add salt to my canned foods. You can add 1/8 teaspoon of ascorbic acid powder or a 500-milligram vitamin C tablet for better color to each pint jar. (Half the amount for half-pint jars.) The discoloration doesn’t bother me, so we chose not to do this.
Fill the jars with the boiling water from the kettle, leaving 1-inch headspace.
Use the bubble remover to eliminate any air bubbles in the jars.
Wipe jar rims with a clean wet cloth to remove residue and place the lids and rims on the jars. Do not overtighten the lids! Fingertip tightness is perfect.
Pressure can the broth at 12 pounds of pressure for 45 minutes processing time in a dial gauge canner. If you are at a higher elevation, adjust your pressure accordingly. (At 5000 feet in elevation, I always have to use 13 lbs of pressure.) Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your specific model of pressure canner or for a weighted gauge canner.
*I would caution against adding white vinegar to your canner. I’ve seen this mentioned in canning circles to prevent water stains on your canner and jars, but you shouldn’t add anything acidic to your canner, or it will eat away the inside.*
Here’s the official Mushroom canning chart from UCHFP.
Once the pressure has gone back down, you can remove the lid of the canner and remove the jars using a jar lifter. I always place them on a cloth on a cutting board so that the heat from the jars doesn’t ruin my countertops.
Let the jars cool undisturbed until they are sealed. After sitting for about 24 hours, you can remove the rims and put the jars in your pantry.
Need to print this recipe for your Recipe Binder? Grab it below!
Canning Mushrooms
Make your own shelf stable canned mushrooms!
Ingredients
- 7 pounds Mushrooms
Instructions
-
Start by trimming any discolored or bruised sections of the mushrooms. Trim stems to remove bruising at the bottom. Then place the mushrooms in a large bowl and let them soak in cold water for at least 10 minutes to remove the dirt. You can use this time to prepare your jars and begin to heat up the water in a large stockpot.
-
Rinse the mushrooms after the soak.
-
If you have small mushrooms, you can leave them whole or cut them in half. The mushrooms I canned were large, so I sliced them first. Since this is also how we will use them later, that made the most sense to me.
-
Place all the mushrooms into the boiling pot of boiling water and let them boil for 5 minutes. You want just to get them heated through for canning; you don't need to cook them.
-
Strain the mushrooms in a colander. Place a kettle, saucepan, or a large pot filled with clean water on the stove to boil. You will fill the jars with fresh hot water and not the water they heated up in.
-
Place the mushrooms packed tightly into half-pints or pint-sized jars. You can add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to half pints or double that for pints if you'd like. I choose not to add salt to my canned foods. You can add 1/8 teaspoon of ascorbic acid powder or a 500-milligram vitamin C tablet for better color to each pint jar. (Half the amount for half-pint jars.) The discoloration doesn't bother me, so we chose not to do this.
-
Fill the jars with the boiling water from the kettle, leaving 1-inch headspace.
-
Use the bubble remover to eliminate any air bubbles in the jars.
-
Wipe jar rims with a clean wet cloth to remove residue and place the lids and rims on the jars. Do not overtighten the lids! Fingertip tightness is perfect.
-
Pressure can the broth at 12 pounds of pressure for 45 minutes processing time in a dial gauge canner. If you are at a higher elevation, adjust your pressure accordingly. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your specific model of pressure canner or for a weighted gauge canner.
-
Once the pressure has gone back down, you can remove the lid of the canner and remove the jars using a jar lifter. I always place them on a cloth on a cutting board so that the heat from the jars doesn't ruin my countertops.
-
Let the jars cool undisturbed until they are sealed. After sitting for about 24 hours, you can remove the rims and put the jars in your pantry.
What to Use Canned Mushrooms For
There are many recipes that mushrooms are great in! You can use canned mushrooms in almost all the same recipes that call for fresh mushrooms. Here are some ideas to try:
Can Mushrooms Be Canned?
Yes, domestic or cultivated mushrooms can be canned. Do not can wild mushrooms; dehydrate them. Mushrooms must be pressure canned as they are a low-acid food.
Do You Have to Cook Mushrooms Before Canning?
You don’t need to cook mushrooms before canning, but you do need to heat them through, which is why we give them 5 minutes in boiling water before packing them into the jars.
How Long Do Home Canned Mushrooms Last?
Canned goods could potentially have a very long shelf life. But for maximum amounts of nutrients and freshness, we try and rotate through all of our canned goods every 3 years.
Can Mushrooms Be Canned in Quart Jars?
Mushroom recipes have only been tested in pint and half-pint-sized jars. Your mileage may vary on canning quart jars since there isn’t a tested time for canning out there.
Can You Can Mushrooms Using a Water Bath?
No, mushrooms are a low-acid food and must be canned in a pressure canner to be safe.
How Else Can You Preserve Raw Mushrooms?
You can dehydrate mushrooms or you can freeze them if you don’t want to can them. I would recommend dehydration or canning as your best options for flavor and texture.
More Canning Recipes
- Canning Dried Soaked Beans
- Canning Tomato Soup
- Canning Apple Pie Filling
- Zucchini Relish Canning Recipe
- Canning Potatoes
- Canning Chicken
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Make sure you check out all the free Canning and Preserving Recipes we have on Little House Living! I recommend a Presto Pressure Canner and the book Putting Food By for all your canning projects! Please check with your local extension office for any changes on times/temps/high altitude.
Merissa has been blogging about and living the simple life since 2009 and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can read about Merissa’s journey from penniless to the 100-acre farm and ministry on the About Page. You can send her a message any time from the Contact Page.
This blog post on Canning Mushrooms was originally posted on Little House Living in May 2023.
Hi Merissa,
Can you use a water canner instead of a pressure cooker for this recipe?
Since this is low acid it needs a pressure canner.
Very informative, thank you!
Do you by chance know why the USDA doesn’t allow for wild mushrooms to be canned?
I think it’s mostly because some are inexperienced “mushroom-pickers” and so they caution against using what might be an “unknown” mushroom in case it’s poisonous. That’s my best guess anyway!