► Pleurotus eryngii possessed higher total phenolics, RSA on DPPH and growth/day. ► Higher ascorbic acid and chelating activity was found in Pleurotus citrinopileatus. ► Based on AHC, studied edible mushroom species were fall into two clusters. ► Enhanced BE of P. eryngii was achieved using spent compost casing overlay. Total phenolics, radical scavenging activity (RSA) on DPPH, ascorbic acid content and chelating activity on Fe2+ of Pleurotus citrinopileatus, Pleurotus djamor, Pleurotus eryngii, Pleurotus flabellatus, Pleurotus florida, Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus sajor-caju and Hypsizygus ulmarius have been evaluated. The assayed mushrooms contained 3.94–21.67mg TAE of phenolics, 13.63–69.67% DPPH scavenging activity, 3.76–6.76mg ascorbic acid and 60.25–82.7% chelating activity. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that significantly higher total phenolics, RSA on DPPH and growth/day was present in P. eryngii whereas P. citrinopileatus showed higher ascorbic acid and chelating activity. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering analysis revealed that studied mushroom species fall into two clusters; Cluster I included P. djamor, P. eryngii and P. flabellatus, while Cluster II included H. ulmarius, P. sajor-caju, P. citrinopileatus, P. ostreatus and P. florida. Enhanced yield of P. eryngii was achieved on spent compost casing material. Use of casing materials enhanced yield by 21–107% over non-cased substrate.