Magic Mushroom Pizza? Mamma Mia!

According to a survey conducted in 2021, practically every American citizen old enough to consume solid food — 93%! — eats pizza at least once a month. A whopping 40% enjoy a pizza at least once a week. Our friends up north eat nearly as much pizza as we do.

One of the favorite toppings for all of these pizzas is mushrooms. They consistently poll as one of the top three pizza toppings. As magic mushrooms take the food and beverage industries by storm, it was only a matter of time before they found their way to the top of your pizza.

In this article, we will explain what makes magic mushrooms magic and why they are increasingly popular as a pizza topping. We will also share ways to add them to your pizza, a great magic mushroom pizza recipe, and how to make sure you never run out of ‘shrooms.

Pizza: The New “American Pie”

The classic American dish may be the apple pie, but when it comes to consumption, it pales in comparison to the pizza pie. The United States is second only to Norway in the amount of pizza it consumes — around 350 slices every second! 

It all started at the very beginning of the 20th century. In 1905 Lombardi’s in New York City opened up what the Pizza Hall of Fame recognizes as the first pizzeria in the United States. Its popularity surged and began to spread across the country after soldiers stationed in Italy returned from World War II.

Toppings on pizza are limited only by your imagination. Among the plethora of choices, mushrooms are not only one of the most popular but also one of the healthiest. They are low in calories, but high in vitamins, protein, minerals, iron, and fiber. Many of them also have health and wellness properties.

The most common mushrooms used on pizza are the button, shitake, portabella, cremini, and morel. Magic mushrooms not only share all of the nutritional benefits of these mushrooms, but they also give you all of the health and wellness benefits of their psychoactive compound, psilocybin. 

Psilocybin: The “Magic” in Magic Mushrooms

Since a lot of pizza consumption centers around festive activities of some sort, a pizza topping that enhances your mood makes sense. According to a Yale University study, people who use psychedelics — particularly psilocybin — report a “sustained improvement in mood” even after the high has worn off. 

Magic mushrooms also have some pretty impressive health benefits. Studies have shown psilocybin to be effective for treating:

• Obsessive/compulsive disorder
• Cluster headaches
• Depression
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say the most promising potential for psilocybin is for the treatment of addiction — including smoking, alcoholism, cocaine, and opioid addictions. 

Also see: Understanding the Differences Between Psilocybin & Psilocin.

Where Can I Get a Magic Mushroom Pizza? 

Depends on where you live. Psilocybin is on the federal list of Schedule I Controlled Substances, which makes it illegal to possess or use it in all 50 states.

However, since state and local governments have the autonomy to enact legislation it believes is beneficial to their constituents, many cities and counties have elected to decriminalize magic mushrooms. 

Consequently, in these areas, many people are experimenting with topping their pizza with magic mushrooms. Although none of the major pizza chains have tipped their hand on what part magic mushrooms will play in future menus, as more and more cities and states decriminalize them, they will continue to gain in popularity as a pizza topping. 

Related: Trippy Cuisine: Learn How to Cook With Magic Mushrooms.

Decriminalization vs. Legalization

It is important to note that decriminalization is not legalization. To decriminalize a substance is to relegate it to the lowest law enforcement priority; laws restricting its possession and/or use are no longer enforced. To legalize a substance is to remove all criminal penalties governing it.

Topping Your Pizza With Magic Mushrooms

According to Brisan Group, a products insights and development company, the most popular ways people consume pizza are:

• Carryout/delivery
• Frozen
• Take and bake
• Dine in
• Homemade

One of the reasons making pizza at home is at the bottom of this list is it can be labor-intensive. So most people prefer to pick up their favorite pizza from their favorite pizzeria or have it delivered. Here are two ways to use magic mushrooms to make your favorite take-out or delivery pizza a healthy, psychedelic experience:

1. Powderize The Mushrooms

Dried magic mushrooms have a bold flavor. You can powderize them using a coffee grinder and sprinkle them on top of your favorite pizza. If you are into making your own pizza, you can mix the powder with some sauce and spread it on top when you’re done baking. 

Note: Never bake the magic mushrooms into your pizza. The high heat will deactivate the psilocybin, rendering them inert. 

The taste of the powder will be masked, so make sure you are aware of just how much psilocybin you are putting on or in your pizza. An “average” dose of magic mushrooms ranges from 2 to 4 grams of dried mushrooms. So, weigh them before you powder them. Start low and work up to a level you are comfortable with.

2. The Ultimate Topping

Whether you pick it up, have it delivered, or make it at home, a great way to enjoy magic mushrooms on your pizza is to add them as a topping before you heat it up. 

While we advise against baking magic mushrooms into your pizza, the consensus is that gentle heating of a pizza topped with magic shrooms will not degrade the potency of the psilocybin. So it should be okay to throw your shrooms on top during the final stages of cooking to help them melt into the cheesy goodness on top of your pizza. 

Make Your Own Magic Mushroom Pizza

The Mushroom Council has a great recipe for a Taco Pizza that’s quick and easy. With just a tweak you can turn it into a magic mushroom pizza. 

Where the recipe calls for eight ounces of sliced mushrooms, use magic mushrooms. You can slice them on top, or powder them and put them in the sauce for more even distribution. 

This recipe yields five servings of two slices each. So, you should add a total of five doses of magic mushrooms to your pizza, keeping in mind that an “average” dose is around two grams of dried mushrooms. Rember to start with a low dose and work your way up to a dose you are comfortable with.

How to Make Sure You Have Plenty of Magic Mushrooms

Since the psychoactive agent in magic mushrooms, psilocybin, is illegal all over the country, you must live in an area where it has been decriminalized in order to enjoy magic mushroom pizza. 

Magic mushroom spores contain no psilocybin, so they are available for sale in most states. Consequently, if you live in an area where psilocybin has been decriminalized, you can purchase the spores and grow your own magic mushrooms.

Magic mushroom spores are available for sale online. They come in syringes and prints. Spore syringes are oral syringes filled with mushroom spores and distilled water. The water protects the spores from damage. 

Spore prints are spores stamped onto a sheet of paper. The prints and syringes average around 15-$30 each. They can be used to grow your own magic mushrooms. You can do this by purchasing a mushroom grow kit, or you can grow them from scratch.

Mushroom Grow Kit

The mushroom grow kit is a simple, easy way to grow magic mushrooms at home. It is entirely self-contained and comes with detailed instructions. You must purchase the spores separately. 

The kits start at around $50 but they can cost as much as $400, depending on the scope of your operation. It can take up to 4-6 weeks for a mushroom grow kit to produce a harvest, depending on the strain of magic mushrooms you are cultivating.

Growing Magic Mushrooms From Scratch

Many of the things you need to grow magic mushrooms at home from scratch can be found around the house. However, you will still probably need to spend around $200 for miscellaneous equipment.

The process of growing magic mushrooms from scratch is a bold undertaking, but it is worth the effort. You must carefully follow detailed instructions from a reliable source to make sure that you have a safe, successful operation. 

It usually takes about four to eight weeks from cultivation to harvest when growing magic mushrooms at home from scratch. One of the perks of growing them from scratch is complete control over the quality of the product. 

Always make sure that your instructions for growing magic mushrooms at home from scratch come from a well-established, reputable source. Follow them carefully for a safe, productive experience.

Related: How to Transport Growing Magic Mushrooms.

Summary: Magic Mushrooms and Pizza — It Was Bound to Happen

Psychoactive — “magic” — mushrooms have been used for thousands of years by indigenous peoples in many parts of the world, including Europe and the Americas, for medical, recreational, and spiritual purposes.

In the 1950s and early 1960s, psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms, was seriously considered by top medical researchers for its therapeutic properties. The popularity of magic mushrooms in the 1960s counter-culture resulted in the federal government putting a damper on the research into the medical benefits of psilocybin. The decades-long research blackout ended at the beginning of the 21st century.

Today, just as there is a renewed interest in the potential medical benefits of marijuana, researchers are beginning to revisit the potential medical benefits of psilocybin. And, just like it is with marijuana, there is a growing movement across the country to decriminalize or legalize it.

As more and more cities and municipalities decriminalize magic mushrooms, creative people are experimenting with them in all sorts of food and beverage concoctions — smoothies, brownies, salads, coffee and tea, spaghetti, and so much more.

Since mushrooms are the third most popular pizza topping, replacing “regular” mushrooms with “magic” mushrooms on pizza is an idea whose time probably should have come a long time ago. Whether you’re enjoying it with friends or curled up on the couch alone watching a movie, magic mushrooms on your pizza are bound to make a great experience even better.