These Lion’s Mane Mushroom Recipes will blow your mind, featuring a Vegan Mushroom Crab Cake so delicious you won’t believe it is meatless!
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If you have been hearing about a popular new ingredient called a lion’s mane mushroom (hericium erinaceus), you are not alone! Sometimes referred to as a lion’s head mushroom, this mushroom is popular in vegan and vegetarian recipes. It is absolutely delicious and provides an amazing hearty and firm texture, very similar to crab. It is mild in flavor and is an excellent vehicle to take on the different flavors that you are cooking with.
Cooking this mushroom is also surprisingly easy! It can be prepared in a number of ways including pan sauté, oven roasted and grilled! I want to share with you some of my favorite lion’s mane mushroom recipes, including my absolute favorite: vegan and vegetarian mushroom cake!
Why this recipe works
- If you have ever wondered how to cook lion’s mane mushroom, I will teach you how!
- This mushroom is super easy to work with, takes on the flavor you are cooking with and is super delicious even with basic preparations. If you are a vegetable lover, you will love my Roasted Asparagus and Roasted Beets.
- The mouth feel and texture is hearty and serves as an excellent meat or seafood substitute in many vegan and vegetarian recipes.
Ingredients in this recipe
- Fresh Lion’s Mane mushroom
- Egg or flax egg: To make a flax egg, mix one tablespoon of flaxseed meal with three tablespoons of water. Allow to sit refrigerated for about 10 minutes to thicken.
- Panko breadcrumbs: I love panko breadcrumbs in this recipe but you can also use regular breadcrumbs.
- Onion: Sweet onion recommended.
- Mayonnaise or Vegan Mayonnaise: If you are enjoying the vegan version of this recipe, I recommend this Vegan Mayonnaise.
- Worcestershire sauce
- Old Bay seasoning: If you don’t have old bay seasoning, you can use Cajun seasoning or Italian seasoning for a slightly different (but still delicious) flavor profile. You might also love my Tempero Baiano Brazilian Spice Blend.
- Dijon mustard: You can also use course ground mustard.
- Parsley
- Salt and pepper
- Oil (to fry cakes): Canola, vegetable or olive oil all work well.
- Optional Garnish: Lemon wedges.
How to make this lion’s mane mushroom crab cake
- Hand shred mushroom into small pieces resembling texture of flakey crab.
- In large bowl, combine egg, mayonnaise, onion, Worcestershire sauce, old bay seasoning, Dijon mustard, parsley (finely chopped), salt and pepper. Mix until fully incorporated.
- Mix in mushroom until fully incorporated.
- Mix in Panko breadcrumbs until fully incorporated.
- Form mixture into 3-4 equal size round flat patties (about ½ to ¾ inch thick).
- Heat oil in sauté pan on medium/high heat.
- Cook patties for approximately 2-3 minutes per side. Should be golden brown and cooked throughout.
- Add optional garnish, squeeze of lemon and enjoy!
Other lion’s mane mushroom recipes
This mushroom is super versatile and mild in flavor, making it an excellent choice for many lion’s mane mushroom recipes. Some of my favorite lion’s mane mushroom recipe preparations include:
- Pan Sautéed with butter
- Oven roasted with olive oil or butter and seasoning of choice
- Grilled
- Vegan crab cakes (my favorite!)
For some other more creative preparations, you can enjoy mushroom powder in a mushroom latte, lion’s mane tea or coffee or mushroom paste in a soup or pasta sauce.
Health benefits
An article published in the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health indicates that “Hericium erinaceus a culinary and medicinal mushroom is a well established candidate for brain and nerve health.” It cites that studies support “neurite outgrowth and neuronal health benefits” and could assist health problems and cognitive abilities in an aging population. To read the full article: Neuronal Health – Can Culinary and Medicinal Mushrooms Help?
Many companies sell lion’s mane in different forms such as supplement as capsules, pills, powder or extract.
Where to buy
You may be lucky enough to live in area where this mushroom is available in your grocery store or local farmer’s market. However, if you don’t live in area where lion’s mane is sold fresh, you have a few options.
Buying online is one option. There are a number of companies online that will sell and ship to you. I purchased my mushrooms on Etsy because of the additional Etsy protections should anything go wrong with your order. The price for this product can vary quite widely so if you are able to purchase fresh, you can avoid shipping costs.
Another option is growing them yourself. This is becoming very popular and you can purchase lion’s mane mushroom kits on Amazon and Etsy. You can also purchase the dried version on Amazon. The dried version is excellent in soups and rehydrated in pastas.
FAQ and expert tips
Store fresh lion’s mane mushrooms in a paper bag in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Some Whole Foods locations sell fresh lion’s mane mushrooms, as well as other derivative products such as lion’s mane powder, capsules or coffee/tea. You can search by location on the Whole Foods website.
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Lion’s Mane Mushroom Recipes: Crab Cakes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 oz Lion's Mane mushroom
- 1 egg (or flax egg)
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup onion (finely diced)
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise or vegan mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¾ teaspoon old bay seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon parsley (finely chopped)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (to your taste)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2-3 tablespoon oil (to fry cakes)
- 2 optimal garnish: lemon wedges
Quick Tartar Sauce
- ¼ cup mayonnaise or vegan mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon dill pickle relish
- ¼ teaspoon old bay seasoning
Instructions
- Hand shred Lion's Mane Mushroom into small pieces resembling texture of flakey crab.
- In large bowl, combine egg, mayonnaise, onion, Worcestershire sauce, old bay seasoning, Dijon mustard, parsley (finely chopped), salt and pepper. Mix until fully incorporated.
- Mix in Lion's Mane Mushroom until fully incorporated.
- Mix in Panko breadcrumbs until fully incorporated.
- Form mixture into 3-4 equal size round flat patties (about ½ to ¾ inch thick).
- Heat oil in sauté pan on medium/high heat.
- Cook patties for approximately 2-3 minutes per side. Should be golden brown and cooked throughout.
- Add optional garnish, squeeze of lemon and enjoy!
Notes
- Leftovers and Storage: Transfer to airtight container or dish. Refrigerate for up to 48 hours. Can reheat and serve.
- Vegan/Vegetarian Substitutions or Omission: You can use vegan mayonnaise and flax egg in place of regular mayonnaise and egg in this recipe.
Stanley B.
Perfect recipe! Texture, flavor, am amazing savory treat!
SUZANNE T
I’ve made several versions of lions mane crab cakes and these were the best however I tripled the Old Bay because I’m from Maryland
Michael
Wow, wow, wow. This exceeded expectations by a mile! Followed the recipe exactly with lots of trepidation and second-guessing while putting everything together. The only deviation I made was to cook the cakes about 5 minutes per side adding a little butter to the olive oil.
When flipping the cakes I found using two spatulas holding the top and bottom and flipping it with the cake compressed top and bottom by the two spatulas worked well for me.
Great texture with how crispy these get on the outside. I think these are better than real dungeness.
This is a winner.
Aubrey
Thanks Michael!!! So happy you enjoyed and thank you for the great tips!
PJ
Delicious! This is my third recipe to try for lions mane “crab” cakes and the one I will go back to. While I am mostly vegan, I did make this with real egg (vegan mayo) and find it worth the sacrifice to do so(real egg just can’t be imitated in my opinion).
JC
Fabulous recipe! My first attempt with comb tooth mushroom, and it was absolutely outstanding. I used the cajun spice option and served the cakes over a bed of greens, with garlic aioli and wild rice-stuffed red peppers. Would make this again whenever I’m lucky enough to find some lion’s mane or comb tooth on the trails!
Veronica
This was delicious! I e been vegan for 3 years and this really hit the spot. It tastes just like I remember!
MsPeppercorn
Easy and really good! I used regular bread crumbs since I didn’t have panko.
E R
Love this recipe! We could not tell the difference in the look or texture from real crabmeat.
Jim
Talk about scrumptious! My wife is a tough (but fair) critic of my cooking. I’ve never received so many yummms & compliments from her after making these. Thank you Aubrey’s Kitchen!! —Jim
Aubrey
Thanks Jim! That makes me so happy to hear!
Kristine
My version was not Vegan–I used regular mayonnaise and an egg white to bind the cakes together–it was delicious! Thanks so much–a new favorite for meatless Mondays.
Laure
This recipe is so delicious! The quick tartar sauce just completes the crab cake so well! Being vegan, I made my own Worcestershire sauce, used the flax egg suggestion and used vegan mayo and everything turned out scrumptious! Thank you!
Gregg
Made these with my wife after picking up some Lion’s Mane mushrooms at the farmers market. They were incredible, not a big faux food guy but these really tasted like crab! Thank you for excellent recipe.
Gayle
These lion mane crab cakes are absolutely one of the best lion mane mushroom recipes I have ever tried. Holy cow. SO good! My whole family (even my meat eating husband) loved them. THANK YOU
Michelle P
This recipe was amazing! I don’t think I’ll ever you use crab meat again. My husband and I are still drooling over these. This will become a weekly meal in our lineup.
Aubrey
Thanks Michelle!!! So happy you enjoyed!
Linda
Wow, so delicious and easy to make! My local mushroom grower provides lion’s mane mushrooms and this is the best recipe I’ve tried. It will definitely go into my regular meal rotation.
Aubrey
Thank you Linda!!! ❤️