How to Get Red Mushrooms in Stardew Valley

There are quite a few different mushrooms for players to find in Stardew Valley as the seasons go by. While some can be used in helpful cooking recipes, others can reduce players’ energy just by eating it.

Stardew Valley players may find themselves needing Red Mushrooms for bundles and a helpful crafting recipe. This mushroom can be found in a variety of places, with players just needing to know where to look beforehand.

Updated on April 26, 2025 by Renri Seong: Red mushrooms are one of many forageable items in Stardew Valley, and with the 1.6 update, there are new ways of obtaining them. While not as rare as their purple counterpart, red mushrooms aren’t as common as the brown common mushroom, and you may have better luck finding them in the fall than you would in other seasons. There are some exceptions to this rule, and if you have Ginger Island unlocked, then you can potentially have two mushroom caves on one file, increasing your chances of farming red mushrooms and more. The following guide has been updated and revamped to include all methods of getting red mushrooms and what they can be used for in Stardew Valley 1.6.

Where to Find Red Mushrooms

Red Mushrooms in Stardew Valley 1.6

As forage items, Red Mushrooms can be found on the Forest Farm during fall. If you didn’t choose the Forest Farm, then you can find them in the Secret Woods during both summer and fall. You’ll need to upgrade to a Steel Axe in order to gain access to the Secret Woods, which is in the northwest corner of Cindersap Forest.

If you’re exploring the Mines, then you may stumble upon a Mushroom Floor (from floor 81 onward). As the name indicates, this is a special floor that has a 3.5% chance of appearing upon entering the Mines. Here, you’ll find Red Mushrooms and the rarer Purple Mushrooms.

If you’re someone who wants a more reliable way of collecting the mushroom foreagables, then you’ll want to look at these other methods:

Mushroom Cave (Farm)

Once you make 25000g total earnings, you’ll be visited by Demetrius the following morning. He wants to use the empty cave on your land for research and will give you the choice between fruit bats or mushrooms. Select the mushrooms, and your Farm Cave will be set up appropriately.

Once you make your decision regarding the Cave, you won’t be able to change it for that file. Meaning if you chose the fruit bats, you’re stuck with those and will not be able to get the Mushroom Cave on your farm.

There are six boxes in the Mushroom Cave as well as a Dehydrator (1.6 version). Every other day, mushrooms will be automatically collected in the boxes. You can get the following mushrooms from your farm’s Mushroom Cave:

• Red Mushroom (Common)
• Purple Mushroom (Rare)
• Chanterelle (Uncommon)
• Morel (Uncommon)
• Common Mushroom (Very Common)

Red Mushrooms have a 12.3% chance of spawning in the cave. You’re likely to get more Common Mushrooms than anything else, but you’ll occasionally get a Red Mushroom or something rarer. If you’re really lucky, the Red Mushroom may be high quality.

Red Mushrooms have a chance to appear as a foraged item in the Secret Woods in both the summer and fall seasons. It has a much higher chance to spawn in the summer among the Fiddlehead Ferns compared to fall.

Mushroom Cave (Ginger Island)

In the 1.5 update, a new region was added to Stardew Valley called Ginger Island. You will unlock this area upon completing the Community Center or JojaMart’s development projects. Ginger Island is split up into several sections, but to reach them, you’ll need to collect Golden Walnuts to feed the island parrots.

On the northern section of Ginger Island, there’s the Volcano and the Dig Site. The Dig Site is located west of the tent/Professor Snail’s office. In order to access it, you’ll need 10 Golden Walnuts.

Once you’ve repaired the bridge to the Dig Site, you’ll notice a large boulder blocking a cave entrance. Use a bomb or explosive ammo to free Professor Snail and unlock the Ginger Island Mushroom Cave. Every day, mushrooms will spawn in this cave, so be sure to check now and then.

Chop Down Mushroom Trees

During the fall, you may get a rare event in which a regular tree (not fruit tree) will be turned into a Mushroom Tree overnight. Cutting these down will drop Red Mushrooms, but if you place a tapper on them, you can get Common, Red, or Purple Mushrooms during every season except winter.

In 1.5, Stardew Valley added the Mushroom Tree Seed. As you’d expect, planting these on your farm is how you get Mushroom Trees. To get a Mushroom Tree Seed, you’ll need to unlock Qi’s Walnut Room on Ginger Island. One Mushroom Tree Seed costs 5 Qi Gems.

How to Craft Mushroom Log

How to Grow Mushrooms

1.6 added a new crafting item called the Mushroom Log. You will unlock the crafting recipe when you reach Foraging Level 4. Every four in-game days, the Mushroom Log will produce x1 Mushroom. If it rains or if you use a Rain Totem, then the wait-period will be shortened by one day.

To get better-quality mushrooms, you’ll want to place it near trees (not fruit trees). These trees need to be within the 7×7 square surrounding the log. You can refer to an example in the above image.

Mushroom Log crafting recipe:

What Are Red Mushrooms Used For?

Should You Eat Red Mushrooms?

Although they can be eaten, you’ll want to refrain from snacking on a Red Mushroom during your cave expeditions. Doing so will lower your Energy, and the higher quality the Red Mushroom, the more Energy you’ll lose.

Red Mushrooms aren’t a liked gift by anyone, so you should refrain from giving them to anyone unless they were specifically requested for a “Help Wanted” task.

You should use Red Mushrooms for the following instead:

• If you haven’t completed the Bulletin Board in the Community Center, then you’ll want to save x1 Red Mushroom for the Dye Bundle. You can also use a Red Mushroom in the Exotic Foraging Bundle (Crafts Room).
• You can tailor a Red Mushroom using the sewing machine (Emily’s house, or your own) to get a Spotted Headscarf.
• Sometimes, a Red Mushroom will be requested in the “Help Wanted” quests outside Pierre’s Store.
• Red Mushrooms are used in the Life Elixir crafting recipe (unlocks at Combat Level 2). Life Elixirs fully restore your health, but to make one, you’ll need:
  • x1 Red Mushroom
  • x1 Purple Mushroom
  • x1 Morel
  • x1 Chanterelle

A Life Elixir added to your Grange Display during the Stardew Valley Fair is worth 6 points.