Easy Old Fashioned Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
Stop buying canned cream of mushroom soup when this version takes 35 minutes and tastes like you simmered it all day. A homemade cream of mushroom soup recipe that is deeply earthy, silky smooth, and made from scratch with real mushrooms in a Dutch oven. This is a soup your grandma would be proud of. Homemade soup doesn’t have to be complicated. This classic creamy mushroom soup uses bella mushrooms and a handful of ingredients you probably already have. Full recipe card below.
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What is Cream of Mushroom Soup?
When you hear mushroom soup, you probably think of canned soup at the grocery store meant for green beans, pot roasts, and casserole holiday meals. Spoiler alert, Campbell’s did not invent mushroom soup, they invented the can of cream of mushroom soup with a laundry list of seed oils and ingredients no one can pronounce. Real mushroom soup originated in French and Italian cuisine and tastes like real wild mushrooms with a luscious and velvety texture.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Homemade soup is so much easier than you think! This is a simple creamy soup with a short ingredient list and it’s ready in just 35 minutes! Perfect for a light dinner, soup and sandwich meal, or serve it with some crusty bread on a cold day! I have been on a Sunday soup and panini kick lately and this is one of my favorite recipes to make!
Mushroom Soup Ingredients
This creamy mushroom soup uses basic pantry staples you might already have stocked in your pantry and if not, I will tell you what will give you the best results and how to make it.
- Bella Mushrooms – You need fresh mushrooms for this recipe. Bellas are my go to, aka cremini or baby bellas. They are simply young portobello mushrooms. They have more flavor and firmer texture than white mushrooms. I prefer to buy them whole and slice them myself because pre-sliced mushrooms tend to go bad quickly. Costco sells whole bellas in the exact quantity needed here. Pro tip: Never wash mushrooms and store them whole in a brown paper bag in the fridge to keep them from becoming slimy.
- Unsalted Butter – This is the fat component of the roux and adds flavor to the mushrooms and onion while cooking. You can use salted, but cut back on the salt you add. Do not swap for margarine or olive oil here. The roux will not develop correctly and the soup will be greasy and separate.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic or jarred garlic work here. I have used both without any issues.
- Onion – Onion adds a lot of flavor to the soup and pairs well with the mushrooms. I used a yellow onion here since it gets cooked down. A white onion would also work though. Both are good for cooked dishes since they stand up to heat better and they become sweeter the longer they cook, making them the perfect choice for soups.
- Thyme Leaves – Thyme is the classic herb for mushroom soup because it has an earthy flavor that complements mushrooms without overpowering them. I use dried thyme but fresh is also good if you have fresh herbs growing in your garden.
- Salt & Pepper – A little salt and pepper goes a long way with the flavor.
- Flour – All purpose flour thickens the soup. It cooks into the butter and soaks up the liquid from the mushrooms to form the roux, which is what keeps the soup from separating. Do not skip this or the soup will be too thin. You can substitute for cornstarch for a gluten free option, just use half the amount.
- White Wine – This ingredient adds some acidity cutting the richness of the cream and deglazes the pan adding another layer of flavor to the soup. Cooking wine or a dry white like Pinot Grigio work well here. I have used both methods.
- Chicken Broth – The base of this soup uses a combination of broth and cream. I use the low sodium chicken broth so keep that in mind when salting the soup if you don’t use reduced sodium. If you are looking for a vegetarian option you can also use vegetable broth. You can also substitute chicken broth for chicken stock, or vegetable stock for broth for but you may have to add more salt and pepper since stock usually contains no added seasonings.
- Half and Half – This is a creamy soup and therefore needs a creamy element. I have tested this many ways and straight cream is a bit too heavy in my opinion and straight milk is just way too thin. Half and half is the perfect mix with a finish of cream. If you don’t want to buy added ingredients, just buy the cream and mix 1/2 cup of regular milk (not skim) with 1/2 cup of cream for this step.
- Heavy Cream – This is what makes it cream of mushroom soup. It adds richness and rounds out the earthy, umami flavors. Do not use milk because it is too thin.
Mixing Options for Mushroom Soup
I recommend using an immersion blender because you can stick it right in the pot. You can use a regular blender or food processor too, it’s just another step.
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Easy Old Fashioned Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 cups 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Ditch the canned soup and make cream of mushroom soup from scratch in just 35 minutes! A homemade creamy mushroom soup recipe that is deeply earthy, silky smooth, and made with fresh mushrooms in a Dutch oven. A flavorful hot soup that feels like comfort, not a chemistry experiment. This is the version that makes you wonder why you ever settled for the canned stuff.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs Baby Bella Mushrooms sliced
- 6 tbsp Butter
- 6 tsp Garlic minced
- 1/2 Yellow Onion diced
- 1/2 tsp Thyme
- 1 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 6 tbsp Flour
- 1/4 cup White Wine
- 14.5 oz Chicken Broth reduced sodium
- 1 cup Half and Half room temperature
- 1/2 cup Heavy Cream room temperature
Instructions
- If using whole mushrooms remove the stems from the mushrooms and slice them. Do not wash them.
- Melt butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add sliced mushrooms, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook down, stirring occasionally. Cook for about 7 minutes then add the onions and cook for another 7 minutes. DO NOT add the onions until the mushrooms have cooked down halfway. The onions will cook faster and burn if you add them all together. They are done when the mushrooms reduce in size and give off excess water and the onions are translucent.
- Scoop out 1 cup of the sauteed mushrooms and onion mixture and reserve in a bowl for later.
- Slowly stir in the flour. This will soak up all the excess water the mushrooms gave off and thicken the soup. It will be quite chunky and clumpy.
- Add the white wine and deglaze the pan. This will loosen any dried bits on the bottom of the pot and add flavor to the liquid.
- Slowly stir in the chicken broth and half and half. The half and half should be room temperature and not cold so it doesn’t curdle in the pot. Once combined, remove from heat and use an immersion blender to blend the soup in the pot. Blending the soup is what gives it a rich mushroom flavor.
- Return to low heat and stir in the reserved mushrooms from step 3 and the heavy cream. Simmer on low for about 5 minutes.
- Garnish with thyme or fresh herbs.
Notes
Makes about 4 cups, 4-8 servings depending on size.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Lunch, Soup
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
More Soup Recipes to Try
- Copycat Panera Autumn Squash Soup
- Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Sweet and Smoky Corn Soup
- Creamy Tomato Basil and Garlic Soup
Storage and Leftovers
If you have leftover cream of mushroom soup you can store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to five days. This is the kind of leftover that tastes just as good the second day because the mushrooms and cream have more time to meld.
For reheating I personally think the microwave works just fine. It is the quickest and easiest method just don’t do too much too fast. Microwave in 30 second intervals in a microwave safe bowl stirring in between until soup is hot all the way through. I recommend covering with a paper towel so the soup doesn’t splatter in the microwave.
You can also reheat leftovers on the stove top. Add the soup to a small pot and heat over medium-low heat until the soup is hot. Do not boil.
When to Make Homemade Mushroom Soup
This delicious creamy soup recipe is the perfect dish to make when the weather gets chilly and you are in the mood for comfort food! Serve as a main course, a side, or make ahead for quick soup and sandwich lunches. You can even use this instead of the store-bought version in green bean casserole! No matter when you make it, you won’t want the canned stuff again 😉
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