Mushroom chips are thin slices of mushroom dried or baked until completely crisp, concentrating their savory flavor into a lightweight, crunchy snack. Fresh mushrooms are about 90% water, so the drying process shrinks them dramatically. Expect roughly one-tenth of your starting weight in finished chips, meaning a full pound of sliced mushrooms yields just over an ounce and a half of chips.
Choosing and Cleaning Your Mushrooms
Any firm, meaty mushroom works well. Shiitake, king oyster, cremini, and portobello are the most popular choices. Shiitake caps hold their shape and concentrate flavor especially well during drying. King oyster mushrooms, sliced lengthwise, produce large, satisfying chips with a mild taste that takes on seasoning easily. Cremini and white button mushrooms are the most affordable option and crisp up nicely, though their flavor is more subtle.
Mushrooms are porous and soak up water quickly, which is the enemy of crispiness. If your mushrooms look clean, just brush off any visible dirt with a dry paper towel or pastry brush. A paring knife works for any stubborn clumps of soil. If they genuinely need washing, run them individually under the faucet while rubbing dirty spots with your fingers, then transfer them immediately to paper towels. The key is to never soak them in a bowl of water unless they’re caked in dirt, and even then, swish and remove them quickly. Pat everything thoroughly dry before slicing.
How to Slice for Even Crisping
Slice thickness matters more than you might expect. Too thin and the chips burn or disintegrate; too thick and you get chewy jerky instead of a crisp snap. Research on shiitake crisps found that about 8 millimeters (roughly a third of an inch) produced the best texture, minimizing shrinkage while still allowing the interior to dry completely. For smaller mushrooms like cremini, aim for slices between 3 and 5 millimeters (about an eighth of an inch), since they have less surface area and dry faster.
A sharp knife or mandoline gives you the most consistent results. Consistency is the real goal here. If some slices are twice as thick as others, half your batch will burn while the other half stays rubbery.
Three Ways to Make Them
Oven Method
This is the most accessible approach. Preheat your oven to 300°F (150°C). Toss sliced mushrooms with a light coating of oil (about a tablespoon per half pound of mushrooms) and spread them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Overlapping slices will steam instead of crisp, so use two sheets if needed.
Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Thicker slices or denser mushroom varieties may need closer to 45 minutes. They should feel dry to the touch and slightly firm when you pull them out. They’ll crisp up further as they cool. If they still feel flexible after cooling for five minutes, put them back in for another five to ten minutes.
Air Fryer Method
The air fryer produces the crispiest results in the shortest time. Set it to 390°F and cook for 12 to 15 minutes. The high-velocity hot air strips moisture aggressively, concentrating the mushroom’s savory flavor into an intensely crunchy chip. The trade-off is that things can go from perfect to burnt in under two minutes, so check at the 10-minute mark and shake the basket to redistribute.
Oil is optional with an air fryer. A light spray helps seasonings stick, but the forced air does the crisping work regardless. Arrange slices in a single layer with space between them. You’ll likely need to work in batches.
Dehydrator Method
A food dehydrator produces the most evenly dried chips with the least hands-on effort, but it takes significantly longer. Set the temperature to 135°F (57°C) and expect a drying time of 6 to 10 hours depending on thickness and mushroom type. The low temperature preserves more of the mushroom’s nutrients compared to oven baking, and the consistent airflow means you don’t need to flip or rotate trays. The downside is that dehydrated chips without any oil have a lighter, more papery texture than oven-baked or air-fried versions.
Seasoning for Maximum Flavor
Mushrooms are naturally rich in glutamate, the compound responsible for umami (that deep, savory taste). The right seasonings amplify what’s already there rather than masking it.
A simple combination that works every time: olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and a pinch of black pepper. Toss slices in this mixture before cooking. For a more complex umami punch, add nutritional yeast. About two tablespoons of nutritional yeast combined with a teaspoon of garlic powder creates a savory, slightly cheesy coating that pairs naturally with the mushroom’s own flavor. This combination is popular enough that the salad chain Sweetgreen uses a similar umami seasoning blend across its menu.
Other directions worth trying:
- Smoky: smoked paprika, salt, and a tiny amount of cayenne
- Ranch-style: dried dill, onion powder, garlic powder, and a squeeze of lemon juice before baking
- Soy glaze: a light brush of soy sauce and sesame oil applied before the last few minutes of cooking (watch carefully, as the sugars in soy sauce burn fast)
- Everything bagel: toss finished chips in everything bagel seasoning while still slightly warm so it adheres
One note on timing: dry seasonings like salt and garlic powder can go on before cooking. Anything with sugar or liquid (soy sauce, honey, maple) should be added near the end to prevent burning.
How They Compare to Potato Chips
Homemade mushroom chips made with a light coating of oil contain a fraction of the fat in commercial potato chips. A standard serving of Lay’s accounts for nearly a quarter of your daily recommended fat intake, and brands like Pringles pack more than twice the saturated fat of regular chips. Mushroom chips baked with a tablespoon of oil across an entire batch come in dramatically lower, since mushrooms themselves contain almost no fat and very few calories. They’re also naturally high in B vitamins and minerals like selenium and potassium.
The texture is different from a potato chip. Mushroom chips are lighter and more brittle, closer to a vegetable crisp than a thick kettle chip. What they deliver that potato chips can’t is a concentrated savory depth that makes a small handful feel satisfying.
Storing Mushroom Chips
Moisture is the only thing that will ruin your finished chips. Before storing, make sure they’re fully cooled and genuinely crisp. If a chip bends instead of snapping, it needs more time in the oven or dehydrator. Any residual moisture trapped in a sealed container will turn the whole batch soft or, worse, encourage mold growth.
Glass jars with tight-sealing lids are the best everyday storage option, keeping out both air and moisture. Vacuum-sealed bags work even better for longer storage, since removing all air prevents the gradual flavor and color loss that happens through oxidation. Tossing a small silica gel packet into the container adds extra insurance against humidity. Stored properly in a cool, dark place, mushroom chips stay crisp for several weeks. Fully dehydrated mushroom chips (dried to a truly brittle texture) can last six months to over two years under ideal conditions, though homemade chips with oil on them have a shorter window and are best eaten within a month or two.
If your chips do soften, spread them on a baking sheet and pop them in a 250°F oven for 5 to 10 minutes. They’ll re-crisp as the absorbed moisture evaporates.