Mycological Magic
Mushrooms are underrated. Fabulous, flavor-bomb fungi like cremini or button mushrooms are widely available all year long, relatively inexpensive, and incredibly versatile in the kitchen. Almost every time we’re at the store, we make sure to pick up a good bag full of buttons or creminis. And if wild mushrooms like chanterelles or morels are in season, we’ll often treat ourselves to those, too. Why? Because you can easily build an entire meal around their earthy, savory, meaty goodness. You can make a simple risotto, or a creamy sauce for pasta, or—if you really want the mushroomy flavor to shine—you can make a hearty, silky potful of cream of mushroom soup.
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What’s In Cream of Mushroom Soup?
When we talk about the ingredients in our cream of mushroom soup recipe, we might also talk about what’s *not* in a pot of homemade mushroom soup. Why? Because a lot of us grew up eating canned, condensed cream of mushroom soup and while we’ve got some pretty cozy memories around that canned stuff, it was loaded with sodium and unhealthy preservatives. Meanwhile, this mushroom soup recipe is built completely out of whole foods. It’s indulgent, yes, but it’s also a much better alternative to processed food. Here’s what you’ll need to make cream of mushroom soup from scratch:
- Butter
- Onion
- Mushrooms. You can use either cremini or white button, or a mixture of the two. Or, you can even make this with wild mushrooms for an even richer, headier mushroom flavor.
- Garlic
- White wine
- Fresh thyme
- Nutmeg. This might sound odd, but nutmeg is a wonderful partner for cream-based soups like this! It adds a hint of warmth that is subtle but powerful. It’s OK to skip it, but we think it makes a wonderful addition.
- Garlic & onion powder
- Dijon mustard
- Stock. Veggie stock will make this a completely vegetarian soup, or you can use chicken stock if that’s not a concern.
- Heavy cream
- Cornstarch. This is an optional ingredient. Basically, cornstarch can be mixed with water to make a paste or slurry, which acts as a thickener for the soup.
How Do You Make Cream of Mushroom Soup From Scratch?
Start to finish, our cream of mushroom soup recipe takes barely over 25 minutes—and that includes prep time! That’s barely longer than it’d take to warm up a can of soup, right? And making soup from scratch a really quick, easy, satisfying thing to do, particularly on a chilly day. Crank up that burner, and fill your home with the warm, autumnal smell of mushroom soup. Here’s how to make it!
- Sauté onions in butter, then add the mushrooms and garlic. Get a good brown color on the ‘shrooms before you continue—this is your most important flavor-building moment.
- Pour in the wine, seasonings and stock. Bring the soup base to a good boil.
- Blend the soup! You can carefully transfer it to a blender, or use an immersion blender.
- Pour in the cream. If you’d like a thick soup, this is your moment to add the cornstarch slurry along with the cream.
- Pour into bowls and tuck in!
What Goes With Cream of Mushroom Soup?
You can eat a bowl of mushroom soup all on its own, but it also goes well with lots of things if you’d like to round it out into a more hearty meal. Here are a few things we like to pair it with:
Tools You’ll Need
It’s Officially Soup Season!
Hard as it is to say goodbye to summer, it helps to know that with the cooler weather comes a chance to eat more soup! If you make this cream of mushroom soup recipe, let us know how you like it! Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!
