Magic Mushroom Powder is my secret weapon in my kitchen! Sprinkle this umami-packed, Whole30-friendly seasoning salt on anything to make it delicious!

A jar of homemade Magic Mushroom Powder with a happy holidays tag.

DIYers: I bet you glanced at my latest Holiday Gift Guide and shook your heads. Sure, there were lots of sleek gadgets and baubles available for purchase, but you want people to feel your love for them in the form of a homemade edible present. A gift you buy at the store just ain’t the same, right?

Perfect DIY Holiday Gift

Well, guess what? I’ve got a quick and fun project that’ll appeal even to folks who are allergic to crafting: adorably labelled jars of my world-famous Magic Mushroom Powder—published here on my site for the very first time! Every crazy-busy caveperson can channel his or her inner Paleo Martha Stewart with this spiced salt blend. It takes only five minutes to make, and we’ve already created awesome printable labels for you.

An empty glass jar with Magic Mushroom Powder labelled on it

In other words, you have no excuse not to make this gift.

Why everyone will love Magic Mushroom Powder

For the past few years, Magic Mushroom Powder has been one of the most popular recipes in our Webby-award winning iPad app, and also in our first cookbook (which—by the way—was named by Serious Eats, Powell’s, and America’s Test Kitchen as one of the best cookbooks of the year!). But until now, Magic Mushroom Powder’s been my secret weapon—one I always keep stocked in my kitchen.

A shot of the Magic Mushroom Powder recipe from the Nom Nom Paleo: Food For Humans cookbook

As The Oregonian wrote:

We’re always learning new things when we try out recipes in the Foodday Test Kitchen. But every once in a while we discover an ingredient or technique that makes us rethink everything we’ve been doing in the kitchen.

That just happened with Magic Mushroom Powder. It’s a spice blend with a psychedelic-sounding name, and while it has no hallucinogenic powers, it truly is magic, adding much-desired umami to everything it touches.

How do you use it?

Magic Mushroom Powder can be used in place of salt in virtually any dish, adding an immediate flavor punch to everything from scrambled eggs and ground meat to roasted veggies and chicken wings. Even your vegan friends’ll dig it!

You can use it to sprinkle on roasted broccoli, just like Dylan Dreyer of the Today Show! Watch this Today show segment where she names Magic Mushroom Powder her favorite food seasoning!

I’ve scaled up my original recipe so that you can offer 12 of your favorite people the gift of umami. (Of course, your secret’s safe with me if you prefer to just make a humongous jar for yourself.)

An overhead shot of the all the ingredients needed to make Magic Mushroom Powder

Where can you buy Magic Mushroom Powder?

UPDATE: You can purchase Magic Mushroom Powder online at The Spice Lab and on Amazon!

Image of the Nom Nom Paleo Magic Mushroom Powder bottle and spice blend

Ready to knock everyone’s holiday stockings off with Magic Mushroom Powder?

Ingredients

Dried porcini mushrooms: Folks have substituted other dried mushrooms for porcinis, but I think they have the best flavor for this seasoning salt. If you use ground dried porcini mushrooms, just use the equivalent weight (3 ounces).
Diamond Crystal Kosher salt: This is a seasoning salt so the Magic Mushroom Powder will taste salty—you use it in place of salt in your recipes! However, I specifically use Diamond Crystal kosher salt because it is 53% lower sodium per volume than table salt so adjust accordingly if you use a different brand or type of salt.
Red pepper flakes: adds a smidge of heat to the seasoning blend, but it doesn’t make it very spicy.
Dried thyme
Freshly ground black pepper

How to make Magic Mushroom Powder

Measure out all your ingredients.

A table covered with bowls filled with Magic Mushroom Powder ingredients

In my original recipe, I used a spice grinder to pulverize the mushrooms—but to blitz this larger amount of dried porcinis, you’d be wise to use a higher-volume food processor or super-powered blender.

Dump your dried ’shrooms in the food processor and pulse a few times to chop them up uniformly. If the lid of your food processor isn’t on tight, a fine mist of mushroom dust will erupt from the crack, so check the seal before you continue blitzing.

Adding a bow of dried porcini mushrooms to a food processor

Next, turn the processor on for 2 minutes or as long as it takes for the mushrooms to break down into a fine powder. (If you use a super-charged blender like a Vitamix, you’ll finish in less time.)

Pulsing the dried porcini mushrooms in a food processor into a powder to make Magic Mushroom Powder

Warning: Do not open the container immediately after switching off your processor. A mushroom cloud will literally explode out of the top and you’ll find yourself coughing up Magic Mushroom Powder for the next few minutes. Instead, be patient and let the powder settle before you open it.

An overhead shot of powdered dried porcini mushrooms in an open food processor

In a large bowl, combine the powdered mushrooms, salt…

Pouring a large bowl of salt into a bowl of powdered porcini mushrooms.

…red pepper flakes, dried thyme…

Adding dried thyme and red crushed peppers to the bowl of salt and porcini mushrooms.

…and freshly cracked black pepper.

Adding freshly ground black pepper to the bowl of Magic Mushroom Powder ingredients

Stir well to combine.

Stirring the Magic Mushroom Powder with a spoon until uniform.

Once the red pepper flakes are evenly distributed, you’re all set!

Scooping Magic Mushroom Powder out of a bowl with a measuring cup.

If you’re packaging this magical seasoning salt for your friends, print a set of labels on a full sheet of sticker paper. Carefully cut them out and stick them on 12 mini jars.

Scoop out a scant ⅓ cup of the Magic Mushroom Powder, and place it on a piece of parchment paper. Pull up the sides of the parchment and use it as a funnel to transfer the seasoning salt into each jar.

Transferring Magic Mushroom Powder to a labelled jar with some parchment paper.

Voilà!

A shot of a glass jar filled with homemade Magic Mushroom Powder

Add a gift tag if you’re feeling fancy—and then hand out jars of umami-packed mushroom dust like some deranged fungus-loving Santa!

An overhead shot of a jar of homemade Magic Mushroom Powder with a happy holidays tag tied on.

Wondering how to use Magic Mushroom Powder? Simply use it in place of Diamond Crystal kosher salt (in a 1:1 ratio) in all of your favorite recipes!

Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).

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