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!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
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!
This soup is excellent!
I’ve tried a few other mushroom soup recipes before coming across this one. It’s by far the best. My daughter loves can mushroom soup, of course with all the sodium and additives I wanted something healthier she would eat. This is perfect! Quick, easy and delicious. I use a box of mushroom broth (it equals 4 cups so no water) and follow everything else to a t!
It’s a family staple now.
Thank you. Love your blog. Can’t wait to try some more recipes. 😊
I made this vegan by using Earth Balance instead of butter and coconut cream instead of heavy cream, and it was SO good! Super creamy. flavorful, and rich. Thanks for the tasty recipe (as always!).
I just made some of this today when I realized I had mushrooms I’d forgotten to throw in some other recipe. Substituted half a cup of evaporated milk because I didn’t have heavy cream , used reduce sodium beef broth in place of part broth part water, and added a lot more pepper than they call for. It was very tasty. :)
Would Shiitake mushrooms work? I got those in my produce box this week and I’ve been looking for a good use (also, check out if imperfect produce is in your area, they’re great!)
Oh man, I WISH imperfect produce was in my area! I see them on Instagram all the time and I’m so jealous!! I haven’t cooked a lot with shiitake, though, so I’m not sure how they do in recipes like this. I’ve only ever used them as an accent ingredient.
Do you know if I can freeze some?
Creamy soups and sauces often don’t freeze well, so while I haven’t tried freezing this one I would guess that it’s not a good candidate.
Cook it and don’t add the cream. Do that when you register it & you should be fine… Cheers Em
P.s fabulous soup!!!
Defrost not register lol!!
Not sure how you prep in 5 min but looks like a scrumptious recipe. Going to try it today. Will let you know
The only thing that needs to be chopped are the mushrooms and I used a garlic press, so that’s about five minutes. The rest of the time needed to make the soup is included in the “cook time.” :)
Online calorie counter states one serving is 214 calories.
This is an awesome recipe. I followed it to the letter, except for adding fresh spinach. It was rich and delicious. I’m gonna do wild mushrooms next try. This will be a more than once recipe if you try it!
I used mushroom broth for this and i am now an actual fungus that was gr8 10/10
I love how you have the price per meal. Do you happen to have a calorie count per serving??
No, I’m sorry, I don’t have a reliable source for that information.
It’s fab! Yes, first time it was made w beef bouillon. Nice to have that touch of green when serving so I used thin sliced green onion.
What did you garnish with? Basil?
Never mind! Found it in an earlier reply, parsley!! Thank you, trying this tomorrow for catholic simplicity meal :)
I did used half and half cream and then I add 8 oz of Brie. Just chop up in block and then when melted in soup just take the ring chuck out. Delicious !
Have you tried this with beef broth? I have some on hand that I’d like to use up.
That would probably be awesome!
That was some kind of wonderful! Nice crusty bread to soak up the broth and we had a meal.