Cooking with Wild Mushrooms

For mushroom enthusiasts, perhaps one of the favorite activities after a long day foraging for wild mushrooms is cooking them up into a variety of dishes. Wild mushrooms have a spectrum of flavors and aromas that are unmatched by the tamer cultivated varieties you find in the supermarket.

We've provided here a few cooking resources for those who are either just getting started or already know their way around a morel. Check out the recipes, cookbooks and links and start enjoying your harvests today! You might also check out our Culinary Committee.

Edible Mushrooms in Northern California

See SOMA’s own Edible Mushrooms of Northern California iNaturalist project for a comprehensive list of edible species throughout Sonoma County and beyond.

Poisonous Mushrooms

CAUTION: Poisonous mushrooms DO occur in Sonoma County. No one should ever eat wild mushrooms without an exact identification and knowledge of the possible look-a-likes that are toxic. Always seek the advice of an expert and when in doubt, throw it out! Mistakes can be easily made and you should never eat any fungus, unless you are 100% certain of their identity. As with all foods, individuals react differently and allergies to wild mushrooms are rather common. If you're concerned about a mushroom you, your child, or even your dog has eaten, check out our Poisoning page for resources on getting them identified.

Mushroom Cookbooks & Recipes

Mushroom cookbooks recommended by our culinary experts.

All of the books should be available at your favorite bookstore, library, or online. See also these Wild Mushroom Recipes.

  • A Passion For Mushrooms

    Antonio Carluccio, 1989

  • A Cook's Book of Mushrooms with 100 Recipes for Common and Uncommon Varieties

    Jack Czarnecki, 1995

  • Cooking With Exotic Mushrooms

    Kay Shimizu, 1977

  • Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America: a Field-to-Kitchen Guide

    David W. Fischer & Alan E. Bessette, 1992

  • Fantastic Fungi Community Cookbook

    Eugenia Bone & Evan Sung, 2021

  • Joe's Book of Mushroom Cookery

    Jack Czarnecki, 1986

  • Malfred Ferndock's Morel Cookbook

    Malfred Ferndock, Peter Leach & Anne Mikkelsen, 1986

  • Mushrooms

    Johnny Action & Nick Sandler, 2001

  • Mushrooms

    Alastair Hendy, 2002

  • Mushrooms: A Book of Recipes

    Sue Lawrence, 1996

  • Mushrooms: Deeply delicious recipes, from soups and salads to pasta and pies

    Jenny Linford, 2017

  • Mushrooms: Mushroom Recipes by Leading Chefs From Around the Globe

    Sam Irvine, 1998

  • Mushrooms: Over 100 Tantalizing International Recipes

    Rita Rosenberg, 1995

  • Mushroom Magic: 100 Fabulous Fungi Feasts and Marvelous Mushroom Meals

    Steven Wheeler, 1996

  • Mushroom Recipes

    Countess Morphy, 1977

  • Some Edible Mushrooms and How to Cook Them

    Nina Lane Faubion, 1964

  • Taming the Wild Mushroom: A Culinary Guide to Market Foraging

    Arleen R Bessette & Alan E. Bessette, 1993

  • The Complete Mushroom Book

    Antonio Carluccio, 2003

  • The Edible Mushroom: A Gourmet Cook's Guide

    Margaret Leibenstein, 1993

  • The Mushroom Book: Recipes for Earthly Delights

    Michael McLaughlin, 1994

  • The Mushroom Cookbook: A Guide to Edible Wild and Cultivated Mushrooms - and Delicious Seasonal Recipes to Cook with Them

    Michael Hyams & Liz O'Keefe, 2018

  • The Mushroom Feast: A Celebration of All Edible Fungi With Over 250 Recipes

    Jane Grigson, 1975

  • The Mushroom Hunter’s Kitchen: Reimagining Comfort Food with a Chef Forager

    Chad Hyatt, 2018

  • The Mushroom Lover's Mushroom Cookbook and Primer

    Amy Farges, 2000

  • The Shiitake Way: Vegetarian Cooking With Shiitake Mushrooms

    Jennifer Snyder, 1993

  • Wild about Mushrooms: The Mycological Society of San Francisco Cookbook

    Louise Freedman, 1987

  • The New Vegan Mushroom Cookbook: Delicious Shroom Recipes For Vegan And Vegetarian

    Dr. Richard Bruce, 2021

  • Wild Edible Mushrooms: Tips And Recipes For Every Mushroom Hunter

    Hope Miller, 2011

  • Wild Mushrooms: A Cookbook and Foraging Guide

    Kristen Blizzard & Trent Blizzard, 2020

  • Wild Mushroom Recipes

    Puget Sound Mycological Society, 1973