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    Wild Mushroom Chowder with Bacon and Leeks

    December 8, 2024

    Potatoes, bacon, leeks, and mushrooms are sautéed in a bath of butter and herbs for a hearty chowder recipe that is like a hug in a bowl.

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    wild mushroom chowder with bacon and leeks in a bowl with a spoon

    A-Hunting We Will Go.

    Here in the great Pacific Northwest, we’re lucky enough to have miles upon miles of soggy, rain-drenched forest right in our backyard, teaming with wild mushrooms. Chanterelles are our very favorite, and every autumn—once enough rain has fallen—we drive out to our secret spot and hunt to our hearts content. Deliciously earthy with a slightly fruity aroma, we love adding our prized mounds of foraged chanterelles to everything from risotto to pasta to this creamy chanterelle chowder.

    Loaded with bacon, potatoes, chanterelles, and plenty of heavy cream it’s basically one big pot of everything good in life.

    wild mushroom chowder in a large pot topped with fresh chives

    Comfort Food, Upgraded.

    Sophisticated ingredients deserve the royal treatment, and wild mushrooms fall in to that category for sure. If you foraged your own, you worked really hard for every last one of these golden mushrooms, and if you bought them at the store, you surely paid a premium. But don’t stress about it—just enjoy your spoils! And if you decide to make this soup, trust that you’re doing the very best by those precious fungi that you possibly could. Here’s everything you’ll need to make this cozy, elegant mushroom chowder:

    • Bacon
    • Butter
    • Leeks
    • Celery
    • Chanterelles
    • Fresh thyme & a bay leaf
    • Flour
    • White wine. (Oh, darn. You’ll have to open a bottle of wine. Better pour yourself a glass while you’re at it).
    • Chicken or vegetable stock
    • Nutmeg & cayenne pepper.
    • Potatoes, cut in half
    • Cream
    ingredients for wild mushroom chowder in small bowls
    bacon and onions sauteed in a large pot
    wild mushrooms sauteed in a large pot
    wild mushroom soup in a large pot

    How to Make Wild Mushroom Soup

    This chanterelle soup requires only one pot so you don’t need to wash any extra dishes. If you can’t find chanterelles at your local market, use any wild mushrooms that you can find at the store—morels or lobster mushrooms would be delicious—or regular old white button or cremini mushrooms will also work.

    1. Pop and sizzle! Fry the bacon in a Dutch oven until crispy.
    2. Toss in your foraged mushrooms and herbs into the same pot until they smell deliciously fragrant and are slightly darkened around the edges.
    3. Thicken the chowder base with a dusting of flour.
    4. Deglaze with white wine, scraping the bottom of the pot to ensure you get all the good bits. Next comes chicken broth, potatoes, and spices.
    5. Simmer.
    6. Pour in the cream and cook on low until as you stir in the cream.
    wild mushroom soup in a large pot topped with fresh chives

    Tools You’ll Need:

    wild mushroom soup in a white bowl topped with fresh chives

    Other Mushroom Dishes For The Adventurous Soul:

    Meaty, earthy and just a little mysterious—we’re talking fungi here, after all!—mushrooms are one of our very favorite ingredients. Try these mushroom recipes the next time you go hunting (or just have a hankering):

    A Chanterelle Mushroom Recipe Worthy of The Fabulous Fungi.

    Dig into a bowl of chowder that warms your belly from the inside out. Snap a photo of your wild mushroom soup, and maybe even a video of the beautiful people you feed it to. Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!

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    Wild Mushroom Chowder with Bacon and Leeks

    Updated on December 8, 2024

    • Serves:  4
    • Prep Time:  15 min
    • Cook Time:  40 min
    • Calories:  324
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    Ingredients

    • 6 strips thick-cut bacon, chopped
    • 2 tablespoons salted butter
    • 1 large leek, white and light green parts, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
    • ½ cup finely chopped celery
    • 8 ounces chanterelles (or mushrooms of your choice), roughly chopped
    • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, plus more for serving
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 1 tablespoon flour
    • ¾ cup dry white wine, (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
    • 4 cups chicken stock
    • 1 pound baby Yukon gold potatoes, halved
    • 1 teaspoon sea salt
    • ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, plus more for serving
    • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
    • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
    • 1 cup heavy cream

    Method

    1. Place the bacon in a large Dutch oven or soup pot. Set the pot over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon crisps and the fat is rendered, 8 minutes. Add the butter, leeks, and celery and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes more, or until the leeks and celery begin to soften.

    2. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the chanterelles, thyme, and bay leaf and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the flour until incorporated.

    3. Pour in the wine and simmer, scraping up any brown bits as you stir, until the liquid is reduced by half, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock, potatoes, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the cream until incorporated and heated through.

    4. Serve topped with pepper and thyme.

    Nutrition Info

    • Per Serving
    • Amount
    • Calories 324
    • Protein 9 g
    • Carbohydrates 37 g
    • Total Fat 13 g
    • Dietary Fiber 5 g
    • Cholesterol 32 mg
    • sodium 476 mg
    • Total Sugars 12 g

    Wild Mushroom Chowder with Bacon and Leeks

    Questions & Reviews

    Join the discussion below.

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    • Nikki

      Recommendation for a dairy free alternative to the cream? I worry coconut milk will significantly alter the flavor.

      We'd recommend canned coconut milk. Closest to consistency and don't think it will alter flavor too much.

    • Rom

      Would morels be a good substitute? I have a bunch dried from this spring.

      Sure! Hope you enjoy Rom!

    • Mitch

      Hey any recommendations on how to make this in a crockpot?

      Hi Mitch, we haven't tested this in a crock pot yet.

    • Clare

      Could you recommend some "herbs" for serving with? I usually have cilantro at hand, but I'm not sure that works well with this kind of mellow soup flavor.

      Chives are our favorite, parsley would work as well. Hope you enjoy Clare!

    • Martha

      I’d like to freeze this. You say it should be ok but I wonder if turned out for someone who did.
      Btw it’s absolutely delicious! I used sake instead of white wine cuz that’s what I had and used my homemade bone broth. Yum!!

      We haven't tried freezing this one yet Martha. If you give it a shot we'd recommend fully thawing in the fridge then reheating slowly.

    • Kaelan

      I love this soup! I have made it several times and it is now in my go-to list of soups! I added some ground Italian sausage for extra protein and did a combination of rutabaga and potatoes this last time. Absolutely delicious and I am always excited to make it!

      Thanks Kaelan, we are so glad you loved it!

    • Allison

      My husband and I make a lot of soup, soup connoisseurs, if you will--and this is easily one of our top 5, if not in the top 2. We've made this at least 5 times since first discovering it. The first time we cooked this in our house, we were having a "soup off." My husband chose this recipe. I chose the Hungarian Mushroom recipe. Both were absolutely delicious. But this soup edged out the other. It's definitely decadent, but not overwhelmingly so.

      Chanterelles are $20/lb where we are, so we have substituted a mix of shiitake and baby bellas without issue. We also have started doubling the mushrooms in the recipe. If you love mushrooms, highly recommend. We do not add flour. We serve with a crusty french or sourdough, sliced at medium thickness and toasted.

      This makes about 5 servings in our house, which gives us two nights of dinner and one serving at lunch for me on the third day.

      Thanks Allison, so happy you loved it!

    • Klenke

      This is the fourth soup I have made from this site and they have all been wonderful! I left the flour out because my husband is not eating grains but otherwise followed the recipe perfectly.
      I also recommend the chicken vegetable soup and the Hungarian mushroom. The golden soup is great if you like cauliflower.

      Thanks Klenke! We are so happy you loved it!

    • Carinn

      Delicious!

      Thanks Carinn, so happy you loved it!

    • Nick

      Hello! Thanks for such a delicious recipe! My only changes were using a bit of white wine vinegar in place of the wine (just didn’t have any), which ended up adding a nice tangy flavour. Also mashed a few of the potatoes with a wooden spoon just for additional texture. Really delicious - will definitely be making again :-)

      Thanks Nick, so glad you enjoyed it!