Fat Ronnie’s Deep Fried Mushrooms

In the heart of Topeka, Kansas, during the 1970s, Fat Ronnie’s restaurant was pioneering a culinary innovation that would capture the hearts of mushroom lovers everywhere. Ronald Williams, the mastermind behind Fat Ronnie’s, became the first person to offer deep-fried mushrooms in Kansas, creating an appetizer that was crispy and crunchy on the outside while remaining perfectly tender on the inside.

Served in overflowing paper bags, these golden treasures became legendary among locals and visitors alike. While Fat Ronnie’s may be gone, this faithful copycat recipe preserves the magic of those original deep-fried mushrooms, bringing back the crispy perfection that made them unforgettable.

deep fried fresh mushrooms in a paper bag


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Why This Recipe Works

The secret to Fat Ronnie’s perfectly crispy mushrooms lies in the strategic combination of baking powder and buttermilk in the batter. The baking powder creates lift and bubbles for extra crunch, while the buttermilk’s acidity tenderizes the coating and reacts with the baking powder for superior texture. The dry-wet-dry breading method ensures maximum coating adhesion, creating that signature golden crust that made Fat Ronnie’s mushrooms legendary.

Ingredients

  • All-purpose flour – Creates the foundation for the crispy coating
  • Salt – Enhances natural mushroom flavors and seasons the batter
  • Ground black pepper – Adds subtle heat and depth
  • Baking powder – The secret ingredient that creates extra crispiness and lift
  • Buttermilk – Provides a tangy flavor and reacts with baking powder for superior texture
  • Fresh mushrooms – Button or cremini mushrooms work best for frying
  • Vegetable oil for frying – High smoke point is essential for proper deep frying
white button mushrooms, flour, buttermilk, and seasonings

What types of mushrooms can you fry?

You can fry just about any fresh mushroom. For this recipe, we will use fresh button mushrooms. You could use cremini, also known as baby portobello mushrooms. I like to get mushrooms at Costco, they are a good value there.

Snap off the stems, and brush off the mushrooms with a moist paper towel to clean the mushrooms. Don’t rinse off the mushrooms or use your sprayer on them. Mushrooms are delicate and you may damage them.

How to Make Fried Mushrooms

This recipe uses a dry-wet-dry method for breading the mushrooms before frying.

  1. Preheat vegetable oil to 375 degrees.
  2. Mix flour, salt, pepper, and baking powder in a bowl.
preparing seasoned flour
  1. Place buttermilk into a separate bowl.
  2. Dip mushrooms into the seasoned flour, shake off excess flour.
fresh mushrooms being dusted with seasoned flour
  1. Place floured mushrooms into the buttermilk.
  2. Coat the mushrooms with buttermilk, shake off excess buttermilk.
  3. Place mushrooms back into the seasoned flour. Shake off excess flour.
mushrooms coated in batter
  1. Fry mushrooms for 1 to 2 minutes or until they turn golden brown.
  2. Drain mushrooms on a wire rack over a baking sheet.
draining fresh fried mushrooms on a wire rack

Storage & Reheating Instructions

  • Best Practice: Fried mushrooms are best served immediately for optimal texture and flavor.
  • Short-Term Storage: Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days in paper towel-lined containers.
  • Reheating Method: Reheat in 375°F oven for 5-7 minutes or air fryer at 375°F for 3-4 minutes to restore crispiness. Avoid the microwave as it makes coating soggy.
cooked mushrooms in a paper bag

Perfect Dipping Sauces

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deep fried fresh mushrooms in a paper bag

Fat Ronnie’s Deep Fried Mushrooms Easy Copycat Recipe

Crispy, golden fried mushrooms with buttermilk batter. Perfect copycat of Fat Ronnie's legendary deep-fried mushroom appetizer!
5 from 9 votes
Print Pin Rate Add to Collection
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Fried Mushrooms
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 264kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1 cup Buttermilk
  • 8 ounces Fresh Mushrooms (washed, dried, and stems removed)
  • vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

  • Preheat vegetable oil to 375 degrees.
  • Mix flour, salt, pepper, and baking powder in a bowl.
  • Place buttermilk into a bowl.

Battering mushrooms

  • Dip into the seasoned flour, shake off excess flour. Place floured mushrooms into the buttermilk.
  • Coat the mushrooms with buttermilk, shake off excess buttermilk.
  • Place mushrooms back into the seasoned flour. Shake off excess buttermilk.
  • Cook mushrooms for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the turn golden brown. Be sure to stir the mushrooms, and flip them over to both sides cook.
  • Drain mushrooms on a wire rack resting in a bar pan.

Notes

If the buttermilk becomes too thick, it is ok to add a few tablespoons of water to the buttermilk.   

Nutrition

Calories: 264kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 626mg | Potassium: 252mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 65IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 2.2mg

About Fat Ronnie’s

Fat Ronnie’s was located in Topeka, Kansas in the 1970s. Fat Ronnie’s was known for its delicious food. He was the first person to offer deep-fried mushrooms in Kansas. This restaurant was a favorite of my family when we lived in the area.

Ronnie served his deep-fried goodness in paper bags. The bags were always full and everything they served was delicious. Fat Ronnie’s was the brainchild of Ronald Williams. Sadly, he isn’t around anymore but you can still make food just as good as his!

About Stephanie Manley

Stephanie Manley is the creator of CopyKat.com. She has been recreating copycat recipes since 1995. Learn more about Stephanie Manley.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. TS

    5 stars
    Where did you get the salt and pepper wells shown in the photo? And great recipe, can not wait to try this out during Morel season!

  2. Beth S

    5 stars
    I was pleasantly surprised at how crispy these turned out. I used the leftover flour and buttermilk to fry some zucchini slices..

  3. Penny H Warren

    5 stars
    These fried mushrooms are ahhmazing!! The receipe is very easy to follow and also excellent for using to make your own fried pickles.

  4. Brittany

    This recipe looks delicious! I’ve never thought of deep frying mushrooms before! It would be tasty to add horseradish too. Thank you for sharing!

  5. Jahchild

    5 stars
    My my my just made these and fat tommies onion rings my my my they are great I and my family thank you so much I have tried many recipes and all where a hit

  6. Jpgangel803

    this is a great recipe, but i think they are rad with home made ken’s honey mustard dressing.

    1/2 cup of mayo
    1/4 yellow mustard
    1/4 cup honey
    1 tsp rice wine vinegar
    salt and pepper to taste..

    Thanks Fat Ronnie… you rule.. the are better than the kind you get at Zaxby’s….

  7. valleygirl

    I love, love, love this recipe — Thank you for posting and thank you Fat Ronnie for the original. Never ate there, but I can only imagine how good everything else on the menu was if the sides were soooo good!!

  8. valleygirl

    I love, love, love this recipe — Thank you for posting and thank you Fat Ronnie for the original. Never ate there, but I can only imagine how good everything else on the menu was if the sides were soooo good!!

  9. beverly

    We are making your deep fried mushrooms tonite. The responses that I read brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for sharing. I worked in a school cafeteria for a lot of years and treasure recipes. Am not anyways near Topeka and never been there. We live in the Mississippi Gulf Coast area. Praise the Lord, we survived Katrina. God bless Copy Kat and Ronnie too

  10. Shana

    So… I had some yummy steaks that I made tonight, saw a couple of packages of white mushrooms in the fridge as I grabbed the steaks, and decided to Google a yummy recipe for fried mushrooms to dip in a sour cream horseradish sauce. I found this recipe.

    Firstly, it was DEEEEEEEELISH.
    Secondly, reading Fat Ronnie’s wife’s and son’s and customer’s comments made me feel really good. I’ve never heard of the place- it sounds like one of those local treasures that lives on in town memory for years. Thank you for the recipe and thank you for sharing the feelings and memories that cooks are driven to create with their food.

  11. LA

    I’m going to try these tonight! I’m from the Topeka area, but never heard of Fat Ronnie’s – where were they located?
    Fat Ronnie’s is no longer in business 🙁 Stephanie

    • Teresa Williams

      The first location was 21st and Hwy 75 (he thinks).
      Second location was 21st and Gage.
      Last location was on 29th and California Ave.
      Ron is touched that people are making his recipes and enjoying them nearly 40 years later. Anyone who would like to contact Ron can do so at rkw2@cox.net.

  12. Teresa

    This is “Fat Ronnie’s” wife and he is so thrilled to see his recipes up and alive on the web. His health is failing now (he has a multitude of health issues and has recently had his right leg amputated). He wishes that Fat Ronnie’s was still around or that we could open a “Fat Ronnie’s Jr” type of place – but only in his dreams.

    If I can get more recipes from him, I will send them. Most of them are just a “I used to do this…” type of thing.

    Anyone interested in reading about Ron can check out my blog. Most of it is about him.

    I am really sorry to hear that Ron is going through so much, his restaurant was one of my favorite memories when growing up. I know my family has always talked about going there and getting some of his tasty food. ~stephanie

  13. Fat Ronnie Jr.

    I’ll be sure to pass that along. Most of his recipes are resting safely in his head for now. He hasn’t even given them to his own son! The image you used for the mushrooms and for the Fried onions are pretty spot on. When we were talking about them, he made it a point to let me know that they *always* filled up a brown paper bag.

    • Stephanie

      For those who didn’t go to Fat Ronnie’s he served everything in paper bags, you would walk out of there with fresh steaming bags of fried goodies.

  14. Fat Ronnie Jr.

    Fat Ronnie’s was owned an operated by my father, Fat Ronnie Sr. It brings me a real sense of pride to know that his food was so well remembered that people still make it 35 years later.

      • Teresa Williams

        Stephanie, his memory is not good any more and he can only remember bits and pieces of things, but not enough to put anything together. 🙁

      • stephaniemanley

        If you ever want to share what he does remember, i’ll see what I can do to construct a recipe. I loved this place as a kid. I can remember my Mom stopping there before we went to the pool in the summer. Loved it.

5 from 9 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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