What’s the one thing that makes this Mushroom Soup stand out from the rest? You’ll enjoy mushroom flavour in every mouthful. As strange and obvious as that sounds, most mushroom soups are actually nothing more than mushroom bits floating in a generically-flavoured creamy soup broth. But this one is 100% mushroom flavour – down to the last spoonful!
Mushroom Soup
It’s easy enough to sauté up some mushrooms in butter, then add some flour, broth followed by a good glug of cream, and call it a day. And while it will taste just fine, it won’t really taste that much like mushrooms, except for the bites you get with mushroom bits in it.
So in presenting you with a mushroom soup recipe I wanted to make sure it actually tasted like – gasp, shock, horror – mushrooms!
And how do we achieve that? Simple: Blitz the soup! Only this way can we release all the gorgeous, sweet and earthy flavours locked up in the mushrooms into every luscious, creamy mouthful!!
What goes in Mushroom Soup
1. Mushrooms!
Swiss Brown / cremini mushrooms have a stronger mushroom flavour than regular white / button mushrooms but make the soup browner. So I like to use a combination of both Swiss Brown and standard white mushrooms. This gives you the best of both worlds: an intense mushroom flavour with an elegant pale cream colour rather than a (very) brown one!
(Fun fact: White / button, Swiss Brown / cremini and portobello mushrooms are actually all the same mushroom – just in different stages of the mushroom’s life cycle. True story!)
2. Mushroom Soup – other ingredients
One really nice thing about this Mushroom Soup recipe is how few ingredients are actually called for. Why gild the lily with extra unnecessary flavourings when we already have a soup full of beautiful mushroom flavour!
Vegetable stock – Store-bought stock works fine here, but I really recommend trying this with Homemade Vegetable Stock one of these days! Vegetable stock is much easier and less messy to make than meat-based stocks like beef stock and chicken stock, calling for just basic vegetables and flavourings (carrot, celery, onion, garlic, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns, coriander seeds);
Cream, or creme fraiche – This adds a luxuriously velvety mouthfeel to the soup so I really recommend not skipping it. If you don’t have either, stir in a knob of butter at the end.
Cream or creme fraiche? Cream is the obvious option, but I’ve also suggested creme fraiche for something a bit different.
What exactly is creme fraiche, anyway? Creme fraiche is a lightly soured cream, and unsurprisingly tastes like a cross between sour cream and heavy/thickened cream. It has the same velvety richness of cream with a slight tanginess (but not as tangy as sour cream). It’s also thicker like sour cream and can be dolloped rather than poured. It lends a lovely faintly sharpened note to the soup.
Which is better? I’d go cream for every day purposes, and reserve creme fraiche for company (yes, it’s more expensive and not carried by all grocery stores). But it’s no lesser a soup with “just” plain cream, I assure you!
Onion and garlic – Essential flavour base; and
Butter – For sautéing.
How to make Mushroom Soup
This soup is very straightforward to make, but there is time involved in sautéing and simmering. This task is essential to bring out all the wonderful flavours!
Sauté onion and garlic in butter for 5 minutes over medium heat until softened, but don’t let them go golden;
Cook mushrooms for 10 minutes until they become soft. They will release quite a lot of water during this stage but the water will evaporate. Don’t try to cook them until golden; they will refuse to because the pot is too crowded and we’re OK with this;
Simmer 15 minutes – Add vegetable stock, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium and simmer gently for 15 minutes without a lid;
Add cream or creme fraiche and simmer for a further 5 minutes;
Blitz until smooth – Transfer the soup to a blender and blitz until smooth. WARNING! Make sure you remove the lid of the feeder (the hole in the lid of the blender), and cover the hole with a folded tea towel before you blend. Hot soup in a tightly sealed blender on full speed = soup explosion!! The lid will blow off, and you’ll end up with hot soup all over the ceiling – and all over yourself. Been there, done that!
Stick blender option: You could also use a stick blender, but I find that it doesn’t puree the soup as smoothly as pictured. It works fine, but a blender is better; and
Return to pot and simmer further on a low heat for a couple of minutes until bubbles caused by blending subside, then serve! Ladle into bowls and garnish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or cream, croutons and parsley or, if you’re feeling a bit Frenchy ‘n fancy, chervil.
I added some golden sautéed slices of mushrooms for the photos, as a cue so you’d know what this bowl of brown liquid actually is. I must confess I’ve never done that in real life before!! 😂
Oh and as I always say when sharing a soup recipe, bread for dunking really is not optional. I say it is in the recipe, but everyone knows I’m lying through my teeth! – Nagi x
PS. I guess I should follow that cheeky statement up with some bread recommendations! 😂 Here are my top 3 picks:
Crusty Artisan Bread – By far the most popular bread recipe I’ve shared, famed for the exceptional results and dead-easy method;
No Yeast Bread Loaf – Loved as an excellent speedy alternative that does not require yeast, along with Irish Soda Bread;
Focaccia – The latest addition to my bread collection, an Italian favourite wildly popular straight out of the gate!
Or choose your own bread recipe!
Watch how to make it
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Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 onion , chopped
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 400g / 14 oz white mushrooms (Note 1)
- 200g/ 7 oz Swiss Brown/Cremini mushroom (Note 1)
- 3 1/4 cups vegetable stock (bonus points for homemade veg stock! – Note 2), or chicken stock
- 1/4 tsp salt , cooking/kosher
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 cup crème fraiche or cream (any full-fat) (Note 3)
Garnishes/serving:
- Croutons (Note 4)
- Cream or extra virgin olive oil , for drizzling
- Parsley (roughly chopped), chervil (if you're feeling a bit fancy), or thyme leaves
- Bread for dunking
Instructions
- Chopping mushrooms: Cut mushrooms into 4 slices, then dice into 3 or 4 pieces.
- Saute onion and garlic: Melt butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes until softened, but not golden.
- Cook mushrooms: Add mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Do not try to brown; they won't as the pot is too crowded but we do not need colour.
- Simmer 15 min: Add vegetable stock, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium and simmer gently for 15 minutes without a lid.
- Cream: Stir in cream (or crème fraiche), then simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Blitz: Transfer to a blender (do in batches, if necessary). Remove the cap from the feeding hole in the blender lid (Note 5), cover the hole with a folded tea towel. Blend until completely smooth.
- Return to pot, simmer for a minute or two until bubbles caused by blending largely subside and soup is hot.
- Serve: Ladle into bowls. Garnish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or cream, croutons and parsley or (if you're feeling a bit fancy), chervil. Don't forget bread for dunking!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
More vegetable soups
Life of Dozer
Builders are here jackhammering up a concrete slab all day today, and I can’t find Dozer’s earplugs. So I sent him off to spend the day with the golden retriever boarder!
Wow, I’ve only had mushroom soup from a can …this is what real mushroom soup tastes like. Yummy!
hi nagi, is it not advisable to use a hand blender for this recipe?
Oh this is far better than anything from a can Prudence, I’m so happy you enjoyed it!! N x
I don’t have a blender. Can I use a food processor?
Hi Chris, I don’t think you’ll get quite as smooth texture with a food processor sorry! N x
Absolutely amazing mushroom soup! Better than in any Italian restaurant as my husband said. Thank you so much Nagi for this wonderful recipe.
Best mushroom soup I have tasted! Thank you it was brilliant!
WOOT! Thanks so much Jo, that’s great to hear! N x
OMG!!!! This was so delicious and easy. The hardest part was cutting all the mushrooms. Ha,ha. Even using chicken stock, that’s all I had, the Mushrooms were the STARS of the soup!!!! Another winner!!!!!
DELICIOUS! A friend posted this recipe on Facebook and I just had to try it. My wife and I made tonight and loved it. Simple to make and plenty of leftovers. Will definitely make this again.
Hi Nagi,
You have proven once again, you’re a natural kitchen master.
Can’t wait to see what wonders you have in store for us in future
🧡🍄🌶🧡
Thanks so much JanS 🙂 N x
This was so delicious! Will definitely make again
I’m so glad you loved it Kailli!! N x
We had this soup with cheesy garlic bread for dinner tonight and it was an absolute winner. Five stars from each of the boys and (most importantly) me!
I substituted half of the vegetable stock with beef stock (i.e. Massel stock cubes) to enhance the mushroom meatiness. And because I didn’t have cream, I threw in a chunk of Philly cream cheese, which worked just as well 🤤
I’m so happy it was a hit Kathy, sounds like you nailed it (and cheesy garlic bread – a MUST!) – N x
amazing !! your recipes are easy to follow and always turn out perfect… thank you
You’re so welcome Teri! N x
Hi Nagi,
I haven’t made this yet, it’s now on my list but just wondering would a stick blender work instead of putting it in a blender?
You could definitely use a stick blender if you prefer Bri! N x
Great recipe! I added a splash (or two) of cooking wine. Turned out great.
Sounds amazing Nina!! N. x
This was the best cream of mushroom soup ever and it’s so easy to make. Thanks for sharing this fabulous recipe!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it Anastasia, great food doesn’t have to be complicated! N x
Such a wonderful dish my god woman who teach you thank you so much I will introduce this dish to my chinese family thank you again Bill
You’re so welcome Bill, enjoy!! N x
omg!!! There was no way I was doing homemade stock (sorry Nagi) so I used store brought vegetable stock (the little pots that you dissolve in water). This soup was so easy to make and SO delicious. The mushroom flavour was intense and delicious (as Nagi promised). I have not had one fail from any of Nagi’s recipes and I have probably made at least 20 of them. This mushroom soup is my new favourite. Thank you Nagi (again)!
I love hearing this Wendy, I don’t blame you with the stock – sometimes it’s just not viable to make your own! N x
Oh yummy! I must try this! I found out by accident that blitzed mushrooms give the ultimate mushroom flavour when I blitzed a mushroom-spinach-cream cheese filling for turnovers. Mmm, haven’t made those in awhile….
I’ve never had homemade veg broth turn out well, it’s always bitter, so I’ll be giving your version a try because your recipes never steer me wrong.
Oh I love that combo for a savoury filling Viva, sounds amazing! I hope you try this one too! N x
Delish! I couldn’t find cremini mushrooms, so used a combo of white and baby bellas. Also no creme fraiche so I used Greek yogurt with a bit of half-and-half. Went back for seconds. Next time I’ll make a double recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Pat!! N x
Tonight’s dinner.. to die for!!!
Enjoy Jo!! N x
Hi i was wondering is i can use milk instead of cream?
I was also wondering if i can use other kind oh mushroom? Like portobello, oyster mushroom, chantrelle or shitake?
Hi Louis, white / button, Swiss Brown / cremini and portobello mushrooms are actually all the same mushroom – just in different stages of the mushroom’s life cycle! But you could use any mushroom you like, a mix of all of them would be amazing too. I find milk will dilute this a little and you won’t get that richness like you would from cream, so I would use 1/2 cup milk. N x
You can use different types of mushrooms other than button mushrooms. You can use evaporated milk or yoghurt instead of cream.
I so need this in my life!!! Aside from just being yummy soup, it looks like I could use it for any of my recipes calling for cream of mushroom soup, too. And we have a little food co-op here in my city, and they just happen to grow their own mushrooms…. oh my, I’m getting hungry thinking g about this!!!
YESSSS!! Perfect Steph!! N x
Oh & I absolutely LOOOOOVE that you include Dozer & his antics in your newsletter and stuff— he’s awesome and I always get a smile even on Bad Days. Thank you!!!