[Background] In the directed fruiting mode, the number of fruiting bodies produced affects the quality and yield of individual fruiting bodies due to the limitation of the fruiting area. However, the effects of artificial bud thinning on the quality and yield of Lentinula edodes remain to be studied. [Objective] To reveal the effects of artificial bud thinning (retaining different number of fruiting body buds) on the yield and quality of L. edodes in directed fruiting. [Methods] The substrate utilization in each group was monitored. The morphological indexes, yield, and texture characteristics of fruiting bodies after harvest were measured. [Results] The group with 10–20 mushroom buds retained showed better agronomic traits than other groups, with a single fruiting body weight of 15.74–23.76 g and a cap diameter of 45.98-52.37 mm. The group with 30 mushroom buds retained had the highest yield (368.9 g) of first-batch mushrooms. Artificial bud thinning had little effect on the texture of the stalk. With the increase in the number of mushroom buds retained, the hardness, gluing, reversibility, and chewiness of the mushroom caps decreased. The group with 10–20 mushroom buds retained had the best quality and the best texture. Moreover, this group showed high crude protein, crude fat, and amino acid content in the fruiting body. [Conclusion] Retaining 15–20 mushroom buds in each bag can help to obtain high yield and quality. The mushroom quality is the best in the group with 10 buds retained, which, however, decreases the biological efficiency and increases the workload. Therefore, we suggest retaining 15–20 buds in each bag.