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These fried oyster mushrooms are about to revolutionize your vegetarian cooking! Featuring air-fried mushrooms and a crispy coating, they taste just like fried chicken! With over 100 5-star reviews, this recipe is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
save this recipe!KFC…But Better
Making vegetarian fried “chicken” with mushrooms is no small feat. And on top of that, we nixed the deep-frying completely for an even healthier option. It shouldn’t have worked, but oooh it did.
There are a few tricks that make it work. We’ll briefly marinate the oyster mushrooms in buttermilk to infuse them with a tangy flavor. Then, we’ll bread them in a spiced flour mixture plus more buttermilk.
Finally, we’ll throw them into the air fryer! Air frying these mushrooms gives them that distinctly crunchy, Kentucky Fried Chicken texture (with way, way less fat). Introducing the best fried oyster mushrooms you’ll ever taste.
Reader rating
“Gurl, I’m dead. Just made these and am floored by how good this was. It gave allll the KFC vibes I was looking for.” —Uma
Here’s What You’ll Need
Be sure to jump to the recipe card for the quantities.
- Oyster Mushrooms: Oyster mushrooms have a distinct shape and texture, making them a great meat substitute. While you can use a different type of mushrooms, this variety is hands down the best!
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is used to tenderize the meat in traditional fried chicken recipes. We’ll use it for its flavor to help mimic fried chicken! You can veganize this recipe by making a vegan buttermilk substitute.
- Flour and Spices: A quick blend of all-purpose flour and spices will give the coating a crunchy texture and loads of flavor. I like to keep it simple with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and cumin. Adjust the spices to your liking!
Making These Fried Oyster Mushrooms Is Easy Peasy
Here’s a quick overview. Jump to the recipe card for the full instructions.
- Marinate the oyster mushrooms in buttermilk for a tender texture.
- Bread them in a spiced all-purpose flour blend and more buttermilk.
- Cook the mushrooms in your air fryer until they’re golden and crispy.
Recipe Tips
- Skip the Water Bath: We don’t need any soggy shrooms! Ditch rinsing them under water and use a damp paper towel to wipe off any dirt. Trust me here—it makes a world of difference.
- Space is Key: Don’t crowd the air fryer basket (work in batches if needed). Give the mushrooms space to keep them from sticking together and ensure they crisp up evenly.
- Batter Up: Running low on batter? No problem! Just mix up more flour and spices, and add more buttermilk to keep those mushrooms coming.
- Go Gluten-Free: Many of our readers have had success making this fried oyster mushrooms recipe with different types of flour (see the comments)!
more mushroom-tastic recipes
Portobello Mushroom Burgers
15 minutes
Vegan Pulled Pork (With Mushrooms!)
30 minutes
Easy Gourmet Mushroom Risotto
30 minutes
Fried Oyster Mushrooms (Fried Chicken Dupe!)
Ingredients
- 2 heaping cups oyster mushrooms, 125 g
- 1 cup buttermilk, 240 mL, see notes for vegan substitute
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 200 g
- 1 tsp each salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cumin
- 1 Tbsp oil*, 15 mL
Instructions
- Marinate: Preheat air fryer to 375 degrees F (190 C). Clean mushrooms then toss together with buttermilk in a large bowl. Let marinate for 15 minutes.
- Breading: In a large bowl combine flour and spices. Spoon mushrooms out of the buttermilk (save the buttermilk). Dip each mushroom in the flour mixture, shake off excess flour, dip once more in the buttermilk, then once more in the flour (in short: wet > dry > wet > dry).
- Cook: Grease the bottom of your air fry pan well, then place mushrooms in a single layer, leaving space between mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes, then roughly brush all sides with a little oil to promote browning. Continue cooking 5 to 10 more minutes, until golden brown and crispy.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
Made this last night. It was amazing! My partner is vegetarian and has been craving chicken wings (LOL). This recipe had just arrived in my email and I thought it might be a good alternative. We inhaled these. SO good!
So wanted to like this. Couldn’t find oyster mushrms so used baby Bella’s. Wish I hadn’t double breaded them as made too crusty. Time consuming and disappointed at finished product.
Hi Christy! Oyster mushrooms are really what makes this recipe work, both in flavor and texture. Check out a local Asian super market, they almost always have them 🙂
I was excited to try this recipe but was extremely underwhelmed! the batter was way too thick and it took too long for them to properly cook. On to my next adventure!
Loved the breading on these! The double dip is definitely the way to go. My only critique is that 1.5 c of flour was way too much for 120 grams of mushrooms. I basically had over a cup of flour left over. I also adjusted all the spices up given the amount of flour and had a bunch of milk leftover. Next time I’ll probably cut the milk and flour by at least half unless I have triple the amount of mushrooms this recipe calls for.
Absolutely love ❤️ these mushrooms. Thanks
if i package this product (for marketing) like any other oyster mushroom crisp that i can see in the stores, how long will the crispiness last?
I’m honestly not sure, it would probably need to be air fried or baked before eating to get the crispiness back!
Hi Sarah,
I tried the recipe and loved it! Definitely gonna change my usual deep-frying mushroom method to this airfryer recipe 🙂
The only thing is I seem to still have bit of flour dust in the end. Is there a way to get rid of the flour dust? Do I have to add more oil maybe?
Thanks!!
Yep, just a bit more oil will help moisten up the flour and make it golden brown! 😀
How do you clean an oyster mushroom?! I bought some today and plan on making these tomorrow, but am not sure how to clean them. I know you dont want them wet.
I usually just wipe off dirt with a damp cloth!
I made this tonight for meatless Monday. My husband and I both loved it. I don’t typically like mushrooms, it’s a texture thing, but this I will make again. Yum!
I want to make these again tomorrow, but to save time I want to bread them tonight. I went through all of the questions and answers but didn’t see this addressed. What do you think? I love this recipe and am making it for my vegetarian friend for her birthday.
I haven’t tried prepping this recipe so far in advance so I can’t say for sure! If you try it out, I’d love to hear how it goes!
I didn’t get them ready the night before, but early in the day. The breading turned into a sort of really thick batter, which I think made them even crispier. I used Cisco oil, which is what I always used for my chicken back in the day. These are good no matter when you cook them!
YAY! That’s so good to hear. Thanks for dropping back in to let us know how it went – this will be useful for a lot of people!