● Food Intelligence · Vegetable

Mushroom Glycemic Index and Calculate Your Own Glucose Response

Across 45,310 mushroom-containing meals, members averaged +28.0 mg/dL (median +24). With a published GI of 10 and GL of 0, mushrooms are ~3g of carbs per cup — essentially carb-neutral. The cohort signal traces to what mushrooms ride with: on pizza they push to +41.8 mg/dL (+16 mg/dL vs. mushroom-alone), in risotto +39.4 mg/dL (+14 mg/dL), in a stir-fry +37.8 mg/dL (+12 mg/dL) — while in an omelette they barely move the dial at +28.3 mg/dL.

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Reviewed by Grace Shryack
Signos Proprietary Data·Updated May 20, 2026·10 min read

● Powered by Signos cohort dataHigh confidence · n=45,310
The swap calculator below draws on 45,310 matched-pair logs — a broader cohort than the page's single-item primary, used to give every ingredient swap statistical power. Welch's t-test on matched pairs, not third-party glycemic-index tables. Each swap shows its sample size and confidence tier inline.
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Ingredients — Tap to Swap
Meal Context
Pre-meal sequence
Activity after meal
Time of day
36
of 100
Signos Glucose Score
Moderate Spike Risk
75% of members fall between +22 and +32 mg/dL
Predicted Curve · 3-hr window
1401001201401601800m30m60m90m120m150m180m+27
Peak
+27
mg/dL
Time in Range
100%
3hr window
Above 140
0m
danger zone
Swaps
0
applied
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● Key Findings · Do mushrooms spike blood sugar?

Barely — mushrooms have a GI of 10 and GL of 0, and the +28.0 mg/dL cohort mean across 45,310 logs reflects what they're plated with, not the fungus itself. Across 45,310 mushroom-containing meals from 9,818 unique members, the median glucose peak was +24 mg/dL — and 42.5% of all responses landed in the low-spike range. Mushrooms alone (no pizza, no risotto, no stir-fry) averaged +25.9 mg/dL across 34,941 logs. The lever is the dish: on pizza, mushrooms run +41.8 mg/dL (+16 mg/dL over alone, n=1,233); in risotto, +39.4 mg/dL (+14 mg/dL, n=507); in a stir-fry, +37.8 mg/dL (+12 mg/dL, n=2,871). In an omelette, the same mushrooms barely move the dial at +28.3 mg/dL (+2 mg/dL across 3,040 logs).

  • ▸The carb-load effect dominates: meals with ≥60g of carbs alongside mushrooms ran 70.6% higher than the low-carb baseline (n=6,267 vs n=31,988, p<0.001).
  • ▸Pizza is mushroom's biggest pairing penalty: mushrooms on pizza averaged +41.8 mg/dL vs +25.9 mg/dL alone — a +16 mg/dL jump across 1,233 logs (high confidence).
  • ▸The omelette pairing is essentially flat: mushrooms in an omelette or scramble averaged +28.3 mg/dL — just +2 mg/dL above the mushroom-alone baseline across 3,040 logs.
  • ▸Morning timing meaningfully lowers the spike: mushroom-containing meals before 10 am averaged 23.7% lower peaks than later in the day (CI: −7.55 to −6.78 mg/dL, n=10,661, p<0.001).
● Signos Rules

Three citable insights from this recipe's data

Rule 1
"The Pizza-Topping Penalty"
+16 mg/dL vs. alone
Mushrooms on pizza averaged +41.8 mg/dL across 1,233 logs — a +16 mg/dL jump over the mushroom-alone baseline of +25.9 mg/dL (high confidence). The mushroom contributes essentially nothing to that delta; the pizza dough does almost all the work. The same pattern repeats with risotto (+14 mg/dL over baseline, n=507, where the arborio rice drives the spike) and in stir-fries (+12 mg/dL, n=2,871, where the rice or noodle base is the lever).
Rule 2
"The Omelette Pass"
+2 mg/dL vs. alone
Mushrooms in an omelette or scramble averaged +28.3 mg/dL across 3,040 logs — just +2 mg/dL above the mushroom-alone baseline of +25.9 mg/dL (high confidence). The egg-anchored breakfast format is the cleanest mushroom pairing in the cohort by a wide margin. The mechanism is the protein and fat in the eggs slowing gastric emptying enough to absorb the tiny carb contribution mushrooms bring, with no concentrated starch on the plate to spike.
Rule 3
"The Cream-of-Mushroom Soup Tell"
+7 mg/dL vs. alone
Mushrooms in soup averaged +33.1 mg/dL across 2,861 logs — a +7 mg/dL jump over the mushroom-alone baseline (high confidence). That's almost certainly the cream-of-mushroom format, which uses a flour roux thickener and a milk base — both modest glucose drivers. A clear mushroom broth would likely sit closer to baseline, but the modal mushroom-soup log in the cohort is the creamed, flour-thickened version.
● Curious about your own?

Curious how your body responds to mushrooms specifically?

Across 45,310 logged meals containing mushrooms, the average glucose peak was +28.0 mg/dL — but the IQR spans 26 mg/dL (p25: +13, p75: +39), meaning individual responses vary enormously. Your own result depends on meal context, carb pairing, and metabolic state. A CGM tells you which side of that range you actually land on.

Learn how Signos works
Why this meal spikes

This meal stacks 3 independent spike drivers — together they account for +26 mg/dL.

Driver 1
Meal-level carbohydrates (≥60g when paired)
+17 mg/dL
The dominant lever: meals with ≥60g carbs ran 70.6% higher than low-carb logs (n=6,267 vs n=31,988, p<0.001). Mushrooms are GI=10 with GL=0, so this effect is entirely from the pizza dough, risotto rice, or stir-fry base on the plate.
Driver 2
High-sugar pairings (≥20g sugar)
+11.8 mg/dL
Meals containing ≥20g sugar alongside mushrooms spiked 45.8% higher than the low-sugar baseline (n=4,552, CI: 11.15 to 12.43 mg/dL, p<0.001). Sweetened stir-fry sauces — teriyaki, sweet-and-sour — drive much of this effect.
Driver 3
Individual glucose variability (IQR 26 mg/dL)
+13 mg/dL
The interquartile range spans 26 mg/dL (p25: +13, p75: +39 mg/dL), meaning personal metabolic state — insulin sensitivity, microbiome, sleep, stress — accounts for a substantial portion of any single reading.
● Which bucket are you in?

Some members spike +24 mg/dL. Others spike +44.8. The only way to know how you'll spike is to measure with a Signos CGM.

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● What surprised us
What surprised us about mushrooms is how cleanly the data separates the fungus from the dish. Across 45,310 logs, mushrooms alone averaged +25.9 mg/dL — essentially flat. Add them to an omelette and the peak only moves +2 mg/dL. But put the same mushrooms on a pizza and the plate runs +41.8 mg/dL, in risotto +39.4 mg/dL, in a stir-fry +37.8 mg/dL. The cohort number of +28.0 mg/dL is a weighted average of "mushrooms in an omelette" and "mushrooms on a pizza crust" — and the crust, the rice, and the noodles are doing all the work.
— Signos Data Science Team

Why this happens, physiologically

Mushrooms are a fungus with a published GI of 10 and GL of 0 — a 1-cup serving contains roughly 3g of carbs, most of which is fiber and chitin (the cell-wall polysaccharide that humans don't efficiently digest). The +28.0 mg/dL cohort mean across 45,310 logs is therefore not a measurement of the mushroom; it's a measurement of the dishes mushrooms tend to live inside. The data confirms this directly: meals with ≥60g of carbs alongside mushrooms ran 70.6% higher than the low-carb baseline (n=6,267, p<0.001), and the carb-bucket analysis shows a near-linear escalation from +24.0 mg/dL in light (0–40g) meals all the way to +44.8 mg/dL in very-heavy (110g+) meals — an 86.7% jump. Morning timing pulls in the opposite direction: meals before 10 am ran 23.7% lower (n=10,661, p<0.001), with breakfast mushroom logs averaging +23.6 mg/dL — the lowest meal-time slot. The mechanism is observational, not yet causal, but consistent with morning insulin sensitivity damping the carbs that ride alongside the mushrooms.

● Three mechanisms explain mushroom's glucose range

Meal carb load, time of day, and dish format each drive measurable shifts in mushroom's glucose response

  1. Mechanism 1
    +70.6%
    High carb co-load
    Meals logged with ≥60g total carbs showed peaks 70.6% above the low-carb baseline (n=6,267, p<0.001). Mushrooms add ~3g of carbs per cup — every point of that 70.6% comes from the pizza dough, risotto rice, or stir-fry noodles they're served with.
  2. Mechanism 2
    −23.7%
    Morning timing
    Mushroom-containing meals before 10 am ran 23.7% lower than later-in-day logs (n=10,661, CI: −7.55 to −6.78 mg/dL, p<0.001). Breakfast mushroom logs averaged +23.6 mg/dL — the lowest of any meal-time slot — compared to +30.8 mg/dL at dinner.
  3. Mechanism 3
    +16 mg/dL
    Pizza-topping format
    Mushrooms on pizza averaged +41.8 mg/dL vs +25.9 mg/dL alone (n=1,233, p<0.001). The dish format is the lever, not the topping. A near-identical mushroom load in an omelette runs +28.3 mg/dL — a 32% smaller peak from the same fungus.
● Fit Check
Mushrooms are one of the lowest-glycemic foods in the atlas — a fungus whose own glucose impact is essentially zero, until what's plated with it changes the math.
✓ This is for you if
  • ▸You add mushrooms to omelettes and scrambles. That pairing averaged +28.3 mg/dL — just +2 mg/dL above the mushroom-alone baseline across 3,040 logs, the cleanest pairing measured.
  • ▸You reach for cremini or shiitake. Cremini averaged +24.2 mg/dL and shiitake +25.2 mg/dL — both running below the white-button anchor across 2,418 and 1,156 logs.
  • ▸You keep total meal carbs under 40g. Light-carb mushroom meals averaged just +24.0 mg/dL — the lowest carb bucket in the cohort (n=31,988).
  • ▸You eat mushrooms at breakfast. Morning mushroom meals averaged +23.6 mg/dL — 23.7% lower than the rest-of-day average.
✗ Not for you if
  • ▸You order mushroom pizza as a lunch default. Mushrooms on pizza averaged +41.8 mg/dL across 1,233 logs — a +16 mg/dL jump over the mushroom-alone baseline.
  • ▸You order mushroom risotto as a main. That combination averaged +39.4 mg/dL — a +14 mg/dL delta over the mushroom-alone baseline across 507 logs.
  • ▸You build mushrooms into a high-carb meal (110g+ carbs). Very-heavy-carb meals with mushrooms averaged +44.8 mg/dL — 86.7% above the light-carb baseline.
  • ▸You expect cream of mushroom soup to behave like a broth. The cream variant averaged +33.1 mg/dL across 2,861 logs — the flour roux and milk base drive the +7 mg/dL delta.
● How it fits your day

Calorie band and pairings (member-measured)

Per serving
20–1,355 kcal
Ranges from a 1-cup raw mushroom side (~20 kcal) to a full mushroom-and-rice risotto plate (~1,355 kcal in the very-heavy carb bucket); single-item mushroom logs averaged 303 kcal.
● Pair before
  • ▸Pair mushrooms with eggs or another high-protein anchor: omelette pairings ran +28.3 mg/dL — just +2 mg/dL above the mushroom-alone baseline (n=3,040).
  • ▸Keep total meal carbs under 40g: light-carb mushroom meals averaged +24.0 mg/dL vs. +44.8 mg/dL in the 110g+ carb bucket — an 86.7% escalation.
● Pair after
  • ▸Time a 15–20 min walk after high-carb mushroom meals (e.g. mushroom pizza, mushroom risotto, or stir-fries), which averaged +37.8 to +41.8 mg/dL — the highest pairing spikes in the cohort.
  • ▸If dinner is mushroom-heavy, note that breakfast mushroom logs averaged +23.6 mg/dL vs. dinner at +30.8 mg/dL — favor morning timing when possible.
● Avoid pairing
  • ▸Avoid mushroom pizza as a primary lunch: that pairing added +16 mg/dL over baseline (treatment mean +41.8 mg/dL, n=1,233).
  • ▸Avoid stacking mushrooms into a creamed soup expecting a clean read — cream-of-mushroom averaged +33.1 mg/dL across 2,861 logs because of the flour roux, not the mushrooms.
● Quick definitions (click to expand)
mg/dL — milligrams per deciliter. The unit blood glucose is measured in. A rise of "+30 mg/dL above baseline" means blood sugar went up 30 units after the meal.
Glycemic Index (GI) — a 0–100 score for how fast a food raises blood sugar in lab tests. Under 55 = low, 56–69 = medium, 70+ = high.
Glycemic Load (GL) — GI adjusted for portion size. Under 10 = low, 10–19 = medium, 20+ = high.
CGM — Continuous Glucose Monitor. A wearable sensor that tracks blood glucose every few minutes. Signos members wear CGMs while eating meals they log.
● Related Foods: How mushrooms compare to other low-GI vegetables and the carb bases they ride with
Onion Glycemic Index & Glucose Score
Onion is the other universal aromatic — same pattern, near-zero on its own, amplifier of the bun, tortilla, or stir-fry rice it travels with.
Spinach Glycemic Index & Glucose Score
Spinach shares mushroom's near-zero glycemic load — the leafy-green version of the same dough-and-rice-context story.
Broccoli Glycemic Index & Glucose Score
Broccoli is the cruciferous counterpart to mushrooms — glucose-flat alone, amplifier of whatever starch shares the plate.
White Rice Glycemic Index & Glucose Score
The arborio rice under mushroom risotto is doing most of the work — see what white rice looks like on its own in the cohort.
Eggs Glycemic Index & Glucose Score
A mushroom omelette is the cleanest mushroom pairing in the atlas — see how eggs behave alone and why protein anchors lower the meal-level peak.
Track Your Mushroom Response with Signos →
See how your glucose reacts to mushrooms on pizza vs. in an omelette vs. in a risotto — CGM data, personalized to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Methodology

This page draws on 45,310 mushroom-containing logs from 9,818 unique Signos members, collected through the Signos production CGM platform. Data were filtered to postprandial glucose responses (PPGR) between 0 and 100 mg/dL to exclude sensor artifacts and implausible readings. Modifier effects were estimated using Welch's t-test on matched pairs against a defined baseline; all reported effects carry p<0.001 unless noted. We report mean glucose peak across a right-skewed distribution — the median spike of +24 mg/dL is a few mg/dL lower than the mean of +28.0 mg/dL, which is typical for this type of data. The food was identified in member logs using a regex matching "mushroom" as a primary ingredient, excluding mushroom powder (supplement / seasoning) where no fresh-mushroom mass is present. Any food-pair pairing slot requires at least 100 matched meals before it appears in the recipe builder.

Limitations

  • Self-reported portion sizes introduce measurement error — a logged "mushroom" may mean a few slices on a pizza or a full cup in a stir-fry, affecting per-serving estimates.
  • Cohort skews health-motivated; Signos members actively tracking glucose tend to eat more mindfully than the general population, so real-world average spikes may differ.
  • The wild-mushroom sub-cohort (chanterelle / morel / porcini) is small at n=424 and carries medium confidence; the +3.7 mg/dL delta vs. white button likely reflects the rich-dish context of foraged-mushroom meals more than the mushroom itself.
  • The oyster-mushroom sub-cohort (n=215) carries medium confidence; treat its delta vs. white button (−0.2 mg/dL) as directional only.
  • Modifier analyses reflect meal-level correlations, not controlled feeding trials — causality cannot be established from observational CGM data alone.
  • Because mushrooms contribute near-zero carbs, all food-pair deltas are functionally measurements of the paired carb (pizza dough, arborio rice, stir-fry noodles) — not of the mushrooms themselves.
● Get your own data

See your own mushroom response

Across 45,310 logged meals containing mushrooms, the average glucose peak was +28.0 mg/dL — but the IQR spans 26 mg/dL, meaning your personal response could land well above or below that. What you build mushrooms into matters too: pizza adds +16 mg/dL, risotto adds +14 mg/dL, while an omelette adds just +2 mg/dL. A CGM shows you exactly where you land and which builds work best for your biology.

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