I’m all about the creamy soups during the cold winter months, and this incredibly creamy Mushroom Soup is one of the best. This mushroom soup recipe is so easy to make and is as cozy as it gets. You’ll want to serve this soup with some crusty bread or crackers to soak up every drop of that savory creamy broth because it is just to die for. And the best part? Because this mushroom soup is so simple and uncomplicated, it’s also very inexpensive, even when the cost of mushrooms is on the higher side!
Ingredients for Mushroom Soup
I love this Creamy Mushroom Soup for its simplicity. It’s just sautéed mushrooms, a creamy broth, and a few simple seasonings. Here’s what you’ll need to make this mushroom soup:
- Mushrooms: I highly suggest using baby bella mushrooms for this soup because they have a nice deep color and rich flavor. White button mushrooms will not add as much color or flavor to the soup. You could also chop up some larger portobello mushroom caps to use in place of the Baby Bellas.
- Olive Oil: Olive oil is used to sauté the mushrooms so they get a nice deep brown color, which adds both flavor and color to the soup.
- Garlic: Garlic adds depth to the flavor and Pairs just perfectly with the flavor of the mushrooms.
- Butter: Butter adds richness to the soup and combines with the flour to create a roux, which thickens the broth.
- Flour: All-purpose flour combines with the butter to create a roux, which thickens the broth. Without the flour, the broth will be very thin.
- Vegetable Broth: Vegetable broth is the base for this soup and it provides complexity to the flavor, as well as a nice brown color. You can use mushroom broth instead if you have it.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream adds a deliciously rich and creamy flavor to the soup.
- Seasonings: This mushroom soup is seasoned simply with salt, pepper, thyme, and soy sauce. The soy sauce adds a wonderfully earthy umami flavor that enhances the mushrooms.
What Else Can I Add?
If you want to put your own spin on this mushroom soup recipe, here are a few other ingredients you can add:
- Paprika: Add sweet paprika to make it closer to a Hungarian Mushroom Soup.
- Onion: If you want even more savory vegetable flavor, sauté a finely diced onion with the mushrooms.
- Sour Cream: To make the soup even richer and to add a slight tang, stir a few dollops of sour cream into the broth at the end.
- Homemade Croutons: Top your soup with homemade croutons for a delicious garlicky crunch!
Make it Vegan
It’s very easy to convert this recipe to a vegan mushroom soup. Simply use coconut oil in place of the butter to make the roux, and then use full-fat coconut milk in place of the heavy cream. Coconut milk tastes really good in savory recipes like this and actually pairs very well with mushrooms! Check out our Vegan Creamy Mushroom Ramen for another example of these flavors together.
What to Serve with mushroom Soup
The broth in this soup is extremely rich and creamy and you’re going to want to sop up every drop, so I highly suggest serving it with some crusty bread like our No-Knead Bread, Focaccia Rolls, or Soda Bread. Or, if you don’t want to make homemade bread, at least make sure you have some crackers on hand!
I’d also suggest adding some vegetables on the side to lighten things up, and I’d go for a wintery roasted vegetable like Roasted Brussels Sprouts or our Roasted Cauliflower Salad.
How to Make Mushroom Soup Taste Better
Using really good, full-flavored broth is key to making mushroom soup taste its best. We suggest using Better Than Bouillon to make the broth used in this soup because it has tons of flavor, is budget-friendly, and reduces waste compared to boxed and canned broths. We used their vegetable-flavored bouillon, but you could certainly use their mushroom flavor if you have it.
Creamy Mushroom Soup
Servings 4 (1 cup each)Ingredients
- 1 lb. baby bella mushrooms ($4.59)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced ($0.24)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 1 pinch salt & pepper ($0.05)
- 4 Tbsp butter ($0.47)
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour ($0.04)
- 3 cups vegetable broth ($0.51)
- 1 tsp soy sauce ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp dried thyme ($0.02)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream ($0.75)
Instructions
- Wash the mushrooms to remove any dirt or debris. Slice the mushrooms and mince the garlic.
- Add the olive oil, mushrooms, and a pinch of salt and pepper to a soup pot. Sauté the mushrooms over medium heat until they have released all of their moisture, all the liquid has evaporated from the bottom of the pot, and the mushrooms become very dark brown. Add the minced garlic and continue to sauté for one minute more.
- Add the butter and flour to the pot. Stir and cook for about two minutes more, or until the butter coats the bottom of the pot and turns deep golden brown.
- Once the flour mixture is a bit browned, add the vegetable broth, soy sauce, and thyme. Stir to dissolve all of the flour from the bottom of the pot. Allow the liquid to come up to a simmer, at which point the flour will slightly thicken the broth.
- Finally, stir the cream into the soup. Give the soup a taste and adjust the salt or pepper to your liking. Serve with crusty bread and enjoy!
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Nutrition
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How to Make Creamy Mushroom Soup – Step by Step Photos
Begin by rinsing and slicing one pound of baby Bella mushrooms.
Add the mushrooms to a soup pot with 1 Tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté the mushrooms over medium heat until they release all of their water, the water evaporates, and the mushrooms begin to brown. Add three cloves of minced garlic and sauté for about one minute more.
Add 3 Tbsp of salted butter and 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour to the pot. Continue to stir and cook over medium heat, allowing the butter to melt and create a paste with the flour that coats the mushrooms.
The butter and flour will begin to coat the bottom of the pot. When it becomes medium brown, it’s time to add the liquid to the pot.
Add three cups of vegetable broth, ⅛ tsp thyme, and 1 tsp soy sauce to the soup pot and stir to dissolve all of the browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Allow the broth to come up to a boil, at which point it will thicken slightly from the flour and butter roux.
Once the soup has reached a boil, turn the heat down to medium-low and add ½ cup heavy cream. Allow the soup to heat through and begin to simmer gently.
Taste the soup and adjust the salt or other seasonings if desired. The soup may need additional salt depending on the salt content of the broth used. We used Better Than Bouillon, which tends to be on the salty side, so we did not need any additional salt.
Serve the creamy mushroom soup with your favorite crusty bread and enjoy!
Hey, great recipe! I wonder is this soup can be freezed?
I don’t suggest freezing this one. Cream based soups can tend to separate when frozen and then thawed.
I just made this. It was delicious! I didn’t change anything.
I really enjoyed this soup. I started with a half of an onion, diced, just for more flavor. My soup didn’t thicken too much – I might add more flour or a cornstarch slurry next time. But overall, the flavor was amazing. Thank you!
This soup looks amazing, I can’t wait to make it! Just one questions, is heavy cream the same as heavy whipping cream?
Yes. :)
My mother used to throw some canned cream of mushroom soup on some spaghetti with parmesan and chili flakes as a quick lunch. At the last second while making this I decided to do that – OMG. This soup is SO good. I must say, your recipes are getting better and better.
Hi Beth. Although I am not one to write reviews, this recipe absolutely changed that. When I came across this recipe not so long ago I desperately wanted to make it. I mean, the pictures alone had me drooling all over my keyboard. Anyway, fast forward to today, and while my mushrooms were starting to go south, I was determined to make it, and, boy, am I so glad that I did. Trust me, I will never buy canned mushroom soup again. Even though I was a bit skeptical (I do not always follow directions exactly as stated), almost used half and half for the heavy cream, and even considered tossing the whole thing, I kept going. The end result was delicious. The only thing that I would do differently next time (and there will be a next time) is use about 12 ounces of mushrooms. A whole pound was a bit much for my taste. Mine even looked like yours, and that is saying a lot. Thank you for the recipe. It is a keeper!
So glad you liked it!! :)
I made a few small changes but this turned out YUM!!!!! I did have a carton of mushroom broth on hand so I used that. I also tossed in a medium onion. And since I never have cream of any sort I just used 2%. Sure it’s not as creamy as yours turned out, but it still is darn awesome.
Sadly mushrooms are expensive, costs 4-5$ for a pound of fresh mushrooms, so won’t be able to make it often. Very awesome.
Made this soup yesterday exactly as-is and looooooooved it. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!
Wow is this soup perfect for fall, or in my case late summer when I’m just beginning to feel fall in my bones. I made a couple changes adding more mushrooms, two big meaty portabella caps minced, a couple more garlic cloves, and an unknown quantity of Thyme. It knocked the socks off the boyfriend, he couldn’t stop talking about how good it was. Also I think that a nice touch also is to serve it in wooden bowls. It made it feel so much more earthy and homely.
What milk could I use to keep it vegan!!!???
coconut milk :)
I’ve had a lot of success with soy milk in other creamy soups
Cashew milk?
I’m not vegan, but I am lactose intolerant. I made it with almond milk and added more oil instead of using butter. It wasn’t as thick and creamy, but it was still delicious :)
They have almond milk soup base that makes it a little more creamer than the regular almond
Don’t use coconut milk ugh!!! There is soy cream at most grocery stores that will keep the flavour!
Oat milk (unflavored version, obviously)
Soy milk and almond milk (again, obviously unflavored versions) were both also declared acceptable substitutes in the “blind taste test” I subjected my family to after reading your question.
The cashew milk samples were rejected by everyone as inedible. I did not include a coconut milk version but I imagine it might have the same problem as the cashew milk (strong, immediately identifiable flavor that fights the other flavors in the soup).
In the interest of full disclosure, I am an ovo-lacto vegetarian, not a vegan, and had made the soup as written by Beth (with butter and heavy cream) for my family before reading Melinda’s question and attempting vegan versions. So we went into the taste test with an expectation of what the soup “should” taste like with oat milk being the winner. Without that expectation, I think two people may have chosen the almond milk version despite it being a bit thinner because of the extra dimension the subtle nuttiness of the almond milk added to the other flavors of the soup. As it was, I integrate enough vegan meals into meal planning that most of the family preferred the vegan oat milk version over the original cream/butter version… still rich and creamy but without being as oily while essentially retaining the same flavor as the original.
This soup was incredible. Pure heaven. I baked some chickpeas with thyme and olive oil to give it more fiber. I’ll definitely make it again soon.
I made this and it was great! the only changes i made were that i just sliced all the mushrooms (because i’m too lazy for even a rough chop!) and also, my husband is gluten free, so i used bob’s red mill gluten-free all purpose flour.
another fantastic recipe. thank you!!
Made this tonight and it was amazing! Not only did my kids rave about it, they asked if I could save enough leftovers for their lunch tomorrow, and make another batch this weekend.
Girl!! You hit this one out of the park!! What a hit!
This looks delicious! However is there anyway to substitute the mushrooms. I’m allergic to them. :(
No, unfortunately this is a mushroom recipe and that is the main ingredient.