Can Dogs Eat Cooked Mushrooms? Facts, Benefits, And 3 Recipes

The short answer to “Can dogs eat cooked mushrooms?” is YES! It contains plenty of nutritional value that can be a great addition to your furry friend’s diet, especially if you want something that can support their immune and cardiovascular health.

Mushrooms contain protein, fiber, minerals (such as selenium), vitamins B, C, and E, and are low in digestible carbohydrates and total fat. The indigestible carbohydrates and soluble fibers in mushrooms also support the health of the microbiota to promote gut health.

This article will cover the health benefits of feeding mushrooms to your pets and provide three nutrient-dense mushroom recipes for your furry friend.

In This Article

1. What Are Edible Mushrooms for Dogs?
2. Can Dogs Eat Mushrooms Safely?
3. What To Do if Your Dog Eats a Wild Mushroom
4. Benefits of Giving Dogs Cooked Mushrooms
5. Can Dogs Eat Mushrooms Cooked or Raw?
6. 3 Cooked Mushroom Recipes for Dogs
7. Feed Mushrooms Responsibly to Your Furry Friends

What Are Edible Mushrooms for Dogs?

When you’re cooking that savory mushroom dish for yourself, consider setting some aside for your dog.

The general rule of thumb is that if a mushroom is safe for humans, it will be safe for dogs. Therefore, any store-bought mushrooms you buy at the grocery store or trusted farmer's market should be appropriate for your dog.

For example, the humble button mushroom is high in nutritional value and can be a great addition to your pup's diet.

Can Dogs Eat Mushrooms Safely?

Don’t let the sections above give you the automatic go-signal to feed your dogs just any kind of mushrooms, especially wild ones. The chances of your dog finding a poisonous mushroom due to their foraging nature are not that unlikely, so pay attention when bringing your dog on hikes or walks.

Avoid feeding mushrooms you’re unfamiliar with, especially since mushroom poisoning among dogs is difficult to diagnose. Mushroom toxins are hard to identify, with some mushroom species inducing mild to deadly symptoms.

Some symptoms of mushroom poisoning in dogs include:

• Drooling
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Abdominal pain
• Weakness/lethargy

Never feed mushrooms to your dog unless you know exactly what type of mushroom it is and confirm that it’s safe for human and dog consumption. 

It’s best to do your research and only buy mushroom products that are veterinary-certified to be pet-friendly for your furry companions.

What To Do if Your Dog Eats a Wild Mushroom

If your dog finds and eats mushrooms in your backyard or while out on a walk, call your veterinarian immediately. Mushrooms can pop up overnight in your backyard, and many of these wild mushrooms could be poisonous to your pet.

Call Pet Poison Control

Your veterinarian may suggest you call the Pet Poison Control Hotline: 800-213-6680. Besides helping you identify the potential species of wild mushroom your dog ate, they may be able to safely remove them from your home.

Take Pictures

Photographing the area where the mushrooms were found can also be helpful in identifying their species.

Collect Leftover Mushrooms

If possible, try to find some pieces of the mushroom your pet ate and have them ready in a baggie should your vet or poison control want to see them.

Benefits of Giving Dogs Cooked Mushrooms

Why give dogs mushrooms? Mushrooms have vast and far-reaching health benefits, and each variety of fungi has its own unique properties and organs they can support. There are, however, beneficial features of mushrooms common to all of them:

Mushrooms can be an abundant source of vitamin D2 when exposed to UVB light [1]. They are also home to unique antioxidants like ergothioneine and glutathione.

When mushrooms are consumed (as food or supplements), they activate a form of cellular communication in the body. The compounds in edible fungi inform the immune system to give attention to different physiological aspects to maintain balance and vigor.

How does this beneficial immune response occur? Mushrooms are rich in bioactive compounds called polysaccharides, which include beta-glucans.

What are Beta-Glucans?

Beta-glucans are anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, anti-viral, anti-neoplastic, microbiome-supporting, and so much more. Some of the immune cells that beta-glucans interact with are monocytes, natural killer (NK) cells, neutrophils, macrophages, and dendritic cells.

In simple terms, mushrooms activate a “wake up and be alert system” in the body, and a message to send resources where needed. The message is “this isn't an emergency, but it could be, so be vigilant.”

More information on the specific way beta glucans & polysaccharides facilitate this “call to vigilance” can be found here.

Can Dogs Eat Mushrooms Cooked or Raw?

If you decide to give mushrooms to your pet as an alternative to commercial dog foods, it’s recommended that you cook the mushrooms before serving. Doing so allows more of the healthy benefits of the mushrooms to be utilized.

Cooking mushrooms will also make them easier for your dog to digest. This is because all mushrooms contain a component called chitin, which resides in the cell wall of mushrooms.

Chitin is the same material that makes up the hard outer shell of insects and crustaceans [2]. The chitin that makes mushrooms difficult to digest is easily broken down by cooking mushrooms at a minimum of 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 15 minutes.

It’s actually almost impossible to overcook mushrooms, so feel free to cook them well.

We recommend adding mushrooms to bone broth and slow cook for a long time. You can add this mushroom-infused bone broth to your dog’s food.

Utilizing this hot water extraction method of cooking mushrooms breaks down the indigestible polysaccharides that make up the cell wall, which provides mushrooms’ substantial amount of immunomodulatory benefit [2].

3 Cooked Mushroom Recipes for Dogs

Mushrooms are an incredibly versatile ingredient that can be found in various dishes. This remains true for recipes for dog food that your furry companions will enjoy, both in taste and nutritional value.

Here are three cooked mushroom recipes your dogs will surely love:

1. Mushroom Bone Broth For Dogs

Bone broth is chock full of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. The collagen from the bones can also support your pet’s joint health.

Adding mushrooms to this dish can enhance these benefits!

Ingredients:

• 1 to 2 pounds of chicken or turkey bones (depending on the size of your pot) or 2-3 large beef marrow bones. You can also use 6–10 chicken feet- they are a great collagen source
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (this is added to help break down the collagen with its acidity and make it more abundant in the broth)
• 1 cup of diced mushrooms: button, shiitake, maitake, and portobello are good. You can mix the types of mushrooms together or use just a single type
• Filtered water
• Optional: 2 stalks of celery, chopped ginger, grated turmeric

Directions:

1. Add all the ingredients to a large pot, crock pot, or slow cooker. If in a pot, bring the mixture to a boil, skimming the “particulates” that rise to the top, then turn the heat down to a simmer.
2. Cook for at least 10-12 hours or until reduced by 1/3 or 1/2, leaving you with 6-8 cups of bone broth. Strain and use, or store in your freezer for later use.
3. A fat layer may be on the top of the broth. Scoop the fat and throw it out before serving the broth to your pup.

Note: **Do not feed the cooked bones to your dog**

This bone broth can be used as a “gravy” on top of your pup’s food. Dry kibble can be very hard on digestion, so adding this bone broth can add both nutrition and flavor to your dog’s food.

2. Shake and Bake Mushrooms For Dogs

This delightful recipe for dogs was created by Dr. Suzi Beber [3].

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked whole grain brown rice (cook 1 cup of rice in 3 cups filtered water)
• 3 cups filtered boiling water or 2 cups filtered boiling water and 1 cup bone broth
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon first-pressed olive oil or rice bran oil
• 1/2 cup chopped raw or sautéed mushrooms (shiitake mushrooms are great for this recipe)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Sautée the cooked rice in oil until it becomes slightly brown in color.
3. Place in a baking dish and add the mushrooms.
4. Pour boiling water (and bone broth) over rice and mushrooms.
5. Cover and bake for 45 minutes until all liquid has been absorbed.
6. Cool and serve.

3. Keto Turkey-Stuffed Mushrooms For Dogs

This recipe was adapted from a Real Mushrooms stuffed mushroom recipe for humans by Renee Michael for her dog, Roscoe. You can easily make this dish in under an hour with ten minutes of prep time and 35 minutes of cooking time.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound small to medium cremini mushrooms, also called “baby bellas”
• 1 tablespoon avocado or olive oil
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 4 ounces shredded mild cheddar cheese
• 1 teaspoon Real Mushrooms lion’s mane powder for canine cognition support
• Fresh chopped parsley for serving

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
2. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set it aside.
3. Rinse your mushroom caps, pat them dry, and remove the stems.
4. Chop up the mushroom stems to use in the turkey mixture. Set aside.
5. Heat the avocado/olive oil on medium heat in a skillet.
6. Add the chopped-up mushroom stems and sautée for a few minutes.
7. Add the ground turkey to the same skillet and cook until the turkey is no longer pink. This should take about 7 minutes.
8. Add the Real Mushrooms lion’s mane mushroom powder.
9. Stir until everything is mixed.
10. Add your cheese to the skillet and cover for 1-2 minutes.
11. Remove the cover and stir until the cheese is completely melted and combined with the turkey. Remove from heat and set aside.
12. Fill each mushroom cap with some of the turkey mixture and place them on your lined baking tray.
13. Place the pan in the preheated oven and roast until the mushrooms are slightly browned around the edges. This should take around 10-12 minutes.
14. Remove from the oven and serve with a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley.

Depending on the size of your mushroom caps, you might have leftover turkey mixture that you can turn into turkey meatballs for your pup!

Feed Mushrooms Responsibly to Your Furry Friends

Can dogs eat mushrooms? Certainly.

But as a good pet owner, you need to feed mushrooms to your furry friends responsibly. Your dog’s health is a priority, so be cautious of wild mushrooms and know certain mushrooms you should avoid.

Do the research and try out different varieties to see what piques their interest. With the three recipes we shared above, we hope you can try and discover new ways to add more nutritious ingredients to dog food.

One way to ensure you’re giving your pet the right health benefits from mushrooms is by checking out our selection of pet-friendly mushroom supplements. Our products are made from 100% organic mushroom (fruiting body) extracts and come in different varieties, such as Lion’s Mane mushroom extract capsules to Maitake mushroom extract bulk powder.

Check out our pet-friendly mushroom supplements section today!

Related Articles

• Lion’s Mane for Dogs: A Fungi for Your Furry Friend’s Mind
• Turkey Tail Mushrooms for Dogs: A Versatile Fungi for Pet Health
• A Better Bowl of Pet Food: Mushrooms & 5 Other Superfoods for Furry Friends
• Can Dogs Eat Mushrooms? Facts About Fungi for Your Furry Friend

References

1. Cardwell, G., F. Bornman, J., P. James, A., & J. Black, L. 2018, “A Review of Mushrooms as a Potential Source of Dietary Vitamin D”. Nutrients,” vol. 10 . <https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10101498>
2. János Vetter. December 2007. Chitin content of cultivated mushrooms Agaricus bisporus, Pleurotus ostreatus and Lentinula edodes. Food Chemistry 102 (2007) 6-9.
3. Dr. Suzi Beber, H.C. (2022) Dr. Suzi Beber, Honouris Causa, Animal Wellness Academy. Available at: https://animalwellnessacademy.org/author/adonamor/