These Crispy Panko Fried Oyster Mushrooms have the absolute best texture! The tender mushrooms are dredged in a well-seasoned coating that adheres the perfectly crunchy, golden-brown Panko crust to the outside for the perfect bite.
I love using Panko to get the crispiest crust (see also: Baked Salmon Nuggets), and this simple oyster mushroom recipe will teach you how to fry them perfectly every single time.
Plus, as a busy mom with an appreciation for big flavor, I love a simple recipe that comes together in less than 30 minutes and requires just 9 ingredients!
Fried Oyster Mushrooms Ingredient Highlights
I used Pearl Oyster Mushrooms which are the most common, but you can also use golden, blue, or phoenix oyster mushrooms interchangeably. If you are using King Oyster mushrooms, cut them in half.
Oyster mushrooms themselves have a very subtle flavor, making them extremely versatile and easy to utilize in a variety of cuisines. Your fried oyster mushrooms will have a meaty texture, making fried oyster mushrooms taste like fried seafood!
The subtle sweetness and thicker consistency of coconut milk works perfectly in this recipe, but you can easily use any unsweetened, unflavored nondairy or any percentage of dairy milk.
The heartiness of whole wheat flour makes for the perfect batter. You can use regular all-purpose flour in place of whole wheat flour, but make sure to add an extra tablespoon.
The Best Oil for Deep Frying
Typically, vegetable, canola, and peanut oil are preferred oils for deep frying. They have high smoke points (meaning they can get very hot before they burn) and a neutral taste, allowing the flavor of your food to shine.
For this recipe in particular, I love using coconut oil! While it does have a lower smoke point, there are other benefits to coconut oil that make it my go-to here.
The subtle sweetness adds a wonderful depth of flavor to these fried mushrooms. It’s also a more sustainable choice. Relatively, the environmental impact of coconut oil is very low. The production of coconuts requires no herbicides or pesticides, uses little land and water, and does not require any tilling or deforestation.
Coconut oil has enough saturated fat to keep stable, creating a crispy exterior and juicy, steamed mushroom inside every breaded bite.
Deep-Fried Oyster Mushrooms Tips and Tricks
How I Fry Oyster Mushrooms so they are Perfectly Crispy
Unlike most mushrooms that grow in the dirt, oyster mushrooms actually grow on trees. This makes them relatively clean compared to oyster mushrooms.
You can opt to brush off any dirt with your fingers or a knife, or you can quickly rinse them under cool water in a colander. Toss them inside the colander with the water gently running over them to get all sides of the mushrooms.
Oyster mushrooms should never be soaked before cooking them, as they’ll get soggy.
Pro tip: The stems on oyster mushrooms are notoriously tough, even when cooked, so it’s best to trim them down.
Oyster mushrooms come bundled in groups, with several mushrooms connected to the same stem. Use a sharp knife to slice each mushroom off the main stem, leaving only about ½ inch – 1 inch of stem on.
The simple batter for these fried oyster mushrooms has minimal ingredients but still has tons of flavor. Add the whole wheat flour and seasonings to a large plate or shallow bowl.
Then, add your coconut milk, using a whisk to ensure there are no lumps. It should yield a thick batter. Get a little assembly line going! You’ll need the batter that you just made, but you’ll also need a shallow bowl to hold your panko breadcrumbs.
Before coating your mushrooms in batter and panko, make sure your frying oil is nice and hot. Depending on the size of your pot, you will need anywhere from ½ cup – 1 cup of oil.
You want it to be about 1 inch deep so that one side of the mushroom can be completely submerged in the oil before flipping it. Add it to a saucepan over medium heat, turn on your thermometer, and monitor the temperature of the oil.
The oil needs to be right around 375°F before you add your coated mushrooms.
Once you get your oil temperature right, it’s time to prep your mushrooms for frying! Dredge your mushrooms in the batter first.
You can use your hands or a fork to completely submerge your mushrooms in the batter. You should end up with a thick coating of batter.
Then, drop the battered mushrooms into the bowl full of panko, tossing them to ensure they are fully coated before dropping them into your hot oil.
Drop your battered and coated oyster mushrooms in the hot oil and allow them to fry until you see the bottom turn golden brown on both sides (you may need to flip them).
Hot oil can splatter out of the pan and burn your skin, so just be careful!
I find the best way to remove your fried mushrooms from the hot oil is with a sieve or a skimmer. Just scoop them up one or two at a time and transfer them to a stack of 2 or 3 paper towels to soak up excess oil.
Serving Crispy Fried Oyster Mushrooms
These Fried Oyster Mushrooms stand tall on their own but also love a good sidekick. My go-to side for this dish is these Old Bay Fries with Quick Aioli. That quick aioli is delicious both on the fries, and on the mushrooms!
Outside of the Old Bay Aioli, some ketchup, BBQ sauce, honey mustard, or this Avocado Ranch all make for a great dunk!
How to Properly Store and Reheat Fried Oyster Mushrooms
Fried Oyster Mushrooms will last in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
To reheat, bake in the oven at 350°F for about 10-15 minutes, until heated through and the exterior starts to get crispy again. Or you can reheat in the air fryer at 325 °F for about 5 minutes.
Crispy Panko Pan-Fried Oyster Mushrooms
SAVE RECIPE TO COLLECTION PIN PRINT RATEEquipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces oyster mushrooms
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup coconut milk (or other unsweetened non-dairy milk)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 to 1 ½ cups coconut oil (or vegetable or canola oil)
Instructions
- Prep your oyster mushrooms by rinsing them and slicing them off of the stem, about 1/2 an inch from the head.8 ounces oyster mushrooms
- Add coconut oil to a large pot or saucepan, so that the oil is about 1 inch deep. Turn your heat source up to medium and monitor the temperature of the oil with a kitchen thermometer. Your target is to get your oil to 375°F.1 to 1 ½ cups coconut oil
- Prepare your batter by adding whole wheat flour, coconut milk, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder to a shallow bowl and whisking to ensure there are no lumps.¾ cup whole wheat flour, 1 cup coconut milk, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder
- In a second shallow bowl, add your panko bread crumbs.¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
- Use your hands or a fork to dredge the mushrooms through the batter, until you’re left with a thick coat of batter on each mushroom.
- Then, toss your battered mushrooms in the panko to coat.
- Carefully drop your battered and coated mushrooms into the hot oil, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. I usually fry 5-7 mushrooms at a time. Fry for about 3-5 minutes on each side, until both sides are golden brown.
- Use a skimmer or sieve to remove the mushrooms from the oil and place them on a stack of 2 or 3 paper towels to soak up any excess oil.
- Transfer to a clean plate and serve hot. Try them with this 3-Ingredient Bang Bang Sauce!
Pro Tips
- You can use peanut, canola, or vegetable oil in place of coconut oil with similar results if you prefer.
- I highly recommend whole wheat flour, but you can absolutely use all-purpose if you prefer. Just add one extra tablespoon to your batter to make sure it is thick enough.
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18 thoughts on “Crispy Panko Pan-Fried Oyster Mushrooms”
This recipe was delicious! The only change I made was using almond milk instead of coconut milk.
SO glad you enjoyed!! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment!
This is a perfect recipe. No need to change anything at all. Everything works, and the mushrooms are so delicious it makes it possible for me to not eat fried chicken, which was one of my most favorite foods. These are better and not only because there is no cruelty involved. They are fabulous.
Kalon! I sooooo agree that this recipe means no need for fried chicken anymore! I’m so so glad you enjoyed. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback.
What can I say yum yum yum. A real winner and so easy. air fried for 7 min and came out perfect .
Yay! It makes me so happy to hear that Jackie, so glad you enjoyed it!
I made these fried oyster mushrooms at home and was blown away at how delicious they turned out! I was concerned the mushrooms would have a fishy taste, as that is pretty common with the kind I’ve purchased in the past, so I added smoked paprika to the flour mix. So glad I did! I also paired it with some spicy mayo for dipping. Thank you for this recipe! I’ve always been reluctant to cook oyster mushrooms, but now I can’t wait to use this recipe for them again.
Hi Ollie, so glad you enjoyed them! I love the addition of paprika to the flour, I’ll certainly try that next time I make them
Hi Marley,
I don’t cook with oil or consume foods that have oil added in them because I’m a whole-food, plant-based eater. How can I cook these oyster mushrooms without frying them in oil?
Hi Dara, good question! I would think that your best bet is to try using an air-fryer if you have one (or if your oven has that setting). Let me know if it works out!
I have been a pescatarian for over a year and have been missing meat lately. This recipe reminds me so much of veal cutlets!!! So yummy and umami and I am so glad I gave this a try.
Hi Oli!
This makes me so happy to hear! Thank you for taking the time out of your day to leave your feedback. Have an awesome day!
Hi there! Is it possible to make prep of this goodies? Can i freeze it and after deep fry it?
Absolutely! You can definitely prep these! They can be frozen up to a month in advance. Just make sure when you store them, there is some separation in between each one so they don’t stick together, and expect to add a couple of minutes to the cooking time. Enjoy!!
This was delicious! I loved the crunch and how yummy it was. I used baby bella mushrooms and sliced them a bit thick. They turned out amazing. What sauce did you use in your picture? My family ate them without any sauce but I think something to dip it in would be great next time.
OH YUM!!! I’ve got to try it with baby bellas!
I actually used honey mustard to dip (my friend has a vegan “hunny” mustard recipe I linked to in the post) and it was TOP NOTCH! Thank you so much for taking the time to review 🙂
Have you tried this in an air fryer?
Hi Rebecca! I haven’t tried it yet, but I am confident it will work if you spray the mushrooms with some olive or coconut oil and put them in at 400 for 8-10 mins. Let me know how it turns out!