Mushrooms are fantastic natural immunity boosters as well as great natural sources of protein. Cremini, oyster, shiitake, and portobello mushrooms are all widely available. But, the lesser-known varieties such as maitake, enoki, Lion's mane, shaggy mane, and reishi mushrooms are all also tasty immune boosting mushrooms.
Below we've included 20 of our favorite immune boosting mushroom recipes, from soups and stews to vegan jerkies and mushroom hot chocolate that are just as healthy as they are delicious!
1. Oyster Mushroom Bulgogi Bowls
As well as being a delicious, meaty alternative to beef in these bulgogi bowls, soaking up the delicious Korean-inspired marinade oyster mushrooms are also packed with beta-glucans to protect your immune system. They're also great sources of fiber, protein, Vitamin B5 (which helps break down fat and carbohydrates, as well as helping to produce new blood cells), and Vitamin B3 (which helps convert your food into energy).
2. Maitake Mushroom Jerky
Mushrooms make a fantastic vegan alternative to beef jerky for snacking, and maitake mushrooms are an excellent choice as they're again packed with beta-glucans. They also have a delicious, rich, earthy flavor and a fantastic texture for satisfying snacking!
3. Enoki Mushrooms with Teriyaki Sauce
We love how these long, skinny Japanese enoki mushrooms are cooked with teriyaki sauce and sesame seeds for a delicious and speedy vegan dinner served over Jasmine rice. As well as being great to cook with, they're also packed with polysaccharides and proteins that help regulate your immune system.
4. Easy Mushroom Pho
Dried shiitake mushrooms form the background of this warming, nourishing soup recipe, along with your choice of button mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, or portobello mushrooms for a super adaptable bowlful perfect for chilly days.
5. Spinach Salad with Roasted Shiitake Mushrooms
Shiitake mushrooms are a nutritional powerhouse when it comes to protecting your immune system, doing everything from protecting your cells from damage helping produce new white blood cells to fight off harmful microbes, as well as bestowing anti-inflammatory properties. And, in this delicious, iron-rich salad, they make the perfect savory, umami alternative to crispy bacon bits!
6. Easy Mushroom Tapenade
Both cremini mushrooms and the dried mushrooms of your choice join black olives in this delicious tapenade recipe that is great to serve as an earthy appetizer or spread on crispbreads for a light lunch.
Cremini mushrooms may seem less exciting than some of the other mushroom options available to you, but they're packed with helpful bacteria that are great in aiding digestion as well as boosting your immune response.
7. Mushroom Broth
Aside from their immune boosting properties, did you know that mushrooms are nature's only non-animal derived natural source of vitamin D (essential for healthy bones, teeth, and muscles)? Facts like this are why you must check out this delicious, warming mushroom broth recipe, and not just for the recipe itself!
Swiss brown mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms or pine mushrooms, and dried mixed forest or porcini mushrooms help boost this tasty broth.
8. Mushroom Stew
This hearty mushroom stew calls for 2 pounds of mixed mushrooms, with suggestions including cremini mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, portobello mushrooms, and chanterelle mushrooms.
We love chanterelle for its unique flavor, which manages to be both delicate and bold at the same time. They're also a fantastic source of antioxidants.
9. Soy Marinated Shiitake Mushrooms
We can't wait to make a batch of these soy marinated shiitake mushrooms to make a vegan alternative to our Easy Salmon Poké Bowls. Shiitake are great for soaking up other flavors, making them the perfect choice to marinate or to make quick pickles.
10. Vegan Shiitake BLT Sandwich
If you've never used shiitake mushrooms to make a vegan alternative to bacon yet, you're missing out! Aside from being much healthier than their porky counterpart, their slices are crisp, meaty, and great for adding texture to plant-based wraps, salads and sandwiches in their roasted form.
11. Mushroom Hot Chocolate
Lion's Mane Mushroom Powder and Reishi Mushroom Powder add a little healthy kick to a mug of hot chocolate here: they both have immune boosting properties, the Lion's Mane, in particular, helping protect the body from external pathogens. We love that they help turn something usually indulgent into a good-for-you treat!
12. Vegan Seared Miso Butter Maitake Mushrooms with Black Lentils
Maitake Mushrooms are pan-seared in a savory-boosting miso butter to form the backbone of one of the most impressive plant-based special occasion dishes we've seen in a while! As an added bonus, the black lentils they're served with have also been shown to have immune system-boosting properties!
13. Shaggy Mane Mushroom Waffles
How fun are these breakfast waffles stuffed with shaggy mane mushrooms?? This recipe was written as an excellent, delicious way to pack more protein in a usually carb-heavy brunch option, but we also love that shaggy manes not only boost your immune system and help bring down your blood sugar levels but that some studies are also showing that they might be able to help fight cancer!
14. Jerusalem Artichokes with Baked Portobello Mushroom
If you're after an elegant winter dinner, this recipe for baked portobello mushrooms on a creamy bed of butter beans, Jerusalem artichokes, and Scottish whiskey ticks so many boxes. The portobello mushrooms are also anti-inflammatory and packed with antioxidants.
15. Mushroom Ragu with Polenta
We love a good choose-your-own adventure mushroom recipe, and we think this warming mushroom ragu made with a whatever you fancy mixture of cremini mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, or portobello mushrooms served over creamy polenta looks like the perfect thing for a Friday night with an antioxidant-packed glass of Italian or Californian red.
16. Roasted Portobello Tacos
Portobello mushrooms are at the heart of these vibrant vegan weeknight tacos, but we think this recipe's Mexican-inspired spice mix would also work well with maitake mushrooms!
17. Pearl Barley & Mushroom 'Sausage' Rolls
With the option to make them totally plant-based, these Pearl Barley and Mushroom 'Sausage' Rolls made with whatever mixed mushrooms you have to hand make a far more delicious choice than their meat-based cousins for parties and picnics.
Pearl barley also contains a good amount of selenium which will help your immune system keep functioning healthily.
18. Creamy Polenta with Roasted Mushrooms & Chickpeas
Whatever wild mushrooms are in season are chopped up and mixed with herbs, garlic, and chickpeas before being roasted for this polenta's crunchy topping.
This is what we call comfort food and one of our favorite immune boosting mushroom recipes on The Mindful Fork!
19. Vegan Bolognese with Lentils, Mushrooms & Walnuts
Along with a healthy dose of lentils, cremini mushrooms add body and a meaty texture to this vegan bolognese recipe.
We've already talked about the benefits to your immune system you can get from eating both cremini mushrooms and lentils. But did you know that the walnuts in this recipe can help boost your body's immune response?
20. Reishi Mushroom Infused Red Wine
If you're looking for a delicious treat, I don't think you can do much better than this red wine recipe! It is infused with reishi mushrooms, rosehips, and ashwagandha, all great for their immune-system boosting properties. Cheers!
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