A simple healthy mushroom soup recipe that is ready in about 30 minutes, and will soon become your go-to favorite soup!
This hearty mushroom soup is easy to make, low fat, dairy free, vegan, paleo, Whole30 and keto friendly. See below for great additions to this creamy mushroom soup and tasty substitutions.
4 reasons you will love this mushroom soup
- The simplicity of the ingredients makes the mushrooms the star of this soup. This soup has such a depth of flavor from the fresh mushrooms and thyme, it’s better than any canned soup on the market!
- Ready in under 30 minutes, this soup is better than store bought and will really be the best mushroom soup you have ever had!
- This vegan mushroom soup is thick and creamy without the use of heavy cream or milk making it dairy free and low fat!
- Vegan, dairy free, gluten free and Whole30 friendly, this creamy mushroom soup is great for entertaining or weeknight meals! Even better it all cooks in just one pot making clean up so simple!
Ingredients
- Onions – onions help build the base of flavor for this mushroom soup. The help give it that comfort food factor and also go so well with fresh mushrooms. You can use white or yellow onions, I don’t recommend red onions for this soup though as they have a slightly different flavor when cooked down. If you don’t have onions on hand, you could also use the white part of green onions.
- Sliced mushrooms – to keep the mushrooms in this recipe easy to find, I used a combination of white mushrooms and baby bella mushrooms (cremini mushrooms). However, you could use shitake mushrooms or larger portobello mushrooms cut down into bite size pieces. Also if you have just white button mushrooms on hand or just baby portobello mushrooms on hand, you don’t have to mix them, the flavor will still be great!
- Fresh Thyme – fresh time is what really gives this mushroom soup it’s fantastic flavor! Mushrooms and fresh time are made for each other and the thyme really enhances the overall flavor of the dish. You can make this with dried thyme, just note that you won’t need as much dried as you do fresh!
- Salt – salt helps to elevate the flavors of the soup and is really an essential ingredient. Don’t add the salt to the mushrooms too early or it can cause them to not release all their liquid.
- Garlic Powder – I love using garlic powder in this recipe because I find that fresh garlic can sometimes overpower the mushroom flavor. However if you love fresh garlic, you can use minced garlic in place of the powder, you will want to use 2-3 cloves worth!
- Bay Leaves – bay leaves help make the soup taste like it’s been cooking all day long! If you don’t have bay leaves though, it’s ok to leave them out! To use bay leaves, just add 1-2 to the pot while it simmers. Be sure to remove the bay leaves before serving (and especially before blending if you choose to blend a bit with the immersion blender).
- Coconut aminos (or soy sauce) – coconut aminos or tamari (gluten free soy sauce) help to elevate all the flavors in the dish and give an even deeper flavor to the mushrooms.
- Vegetable broth – vegetable broth (or vegetable stock) brings in so many flavors (celery, carrots, onions, spices) and also helps the soup taste like it’s been cooking all day on the stove. If you are not vegan or vegetarian, you can also use chicken broth or chicken stock.
- Arrowroot powder – arrowroot powder helps to thicken the soup, helping create a creamy mushroom soup texture without being too thick. You can also use tapioca starch or cornstarch in place of the arrowroot powder.
- Dairy free milk – dairy free milk helps create that creamy vegan mushroom soup consistency and flavor without using any dairy. You can use almond milk, cashew milk, canned coconut milk (full fat coconut milk), or whatever your favorite non dairy milk is!
How to make mushroom soup
- Chop the onions and slice the mushrooms. Bring a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the onions until slightly softened.
- Add the mushrooms to the onions in the pot and cook mushrooms and onions for 5-6 minutes.
- Add the fresh thyme, salt, garlic powder, bay leaves and coconut aminos to the mushroom and onion mixture.
- Mix the arrowroot powder into the vegetable broth (or vegetable stock) and stir well until completely combined. Pour the arrowroot powder and vegetable broth slurry and the dairy free milk into the mushroom and onion mixture and allow it to come to a simmer for 15 minutes to thicken.
- After 15 minutes, serve hot or you can blend up some of the soup with an immersion blender to thicken the soup a little more to create a creamy mushroom soup.
Top tips
- Be sure to wipe down your mushrooms with a damp towel or paper towel if you notice they have soil/dirt on them. Unlike other vegetables, mushrooms can absorb a bit of water if you run them directly under water to wash them, so it’s best practice to just wipe them with a towel to remove dirt/debris.
- Time saving tip: You can buy pre-sliced mushrooms (white baby mushrooms or cremini mushrooms) in most grocery stores! This can help save you time on the prep of this recipe!
- Use whatever mushrooms you have on hand! You don’t have to use the mixture of baby white mushrooms and baby bella mushrooms (cremini). You can use whatever you have on hand, just make sure they are sliced down to an appropriate size for soup. Cremini mushrooms would also be great in this soup, but they aren’t always easy to find in local grocery stores, so I used what is widely available to make this vegan mushroom soup very approachable and easy to make!
- Double or triple the recipe! As written, this soup only makes 2 large bowls, which disappears quickly! You can double or triple the ingredients to make a larger batch of soup. Just note that it may take longer to sweat out the mushrooms when you are cooking such a large quantity. Also be sure to use a large pot as the soup will quickly start to fill up the pot!
What to serve with vegan mushroom soup
This soup is incredibly flavorful but isn’t the most filling soup since it’s mostly mushrooms and doesn’t have a ton of fat (unless you use canned full fat coconut milk). Because of this, I often serve something on the side to make it a more filling meal! Here are ideas on what you can serve with vegan creamy mushroom soup:
- Salad: Soup and salad go together so well (add a hunk of bread and call it a meal). Some great options would be Shaved Brussel Sprouts Salad with Balsamic Dressing, Vegan Greek Salad, or Cruciferous Crunch Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing
- Bread or crackers: Homemade Hemp Flax Crackers or Homemade Seed Crackers, Lentil Flatbread or your favorite gluten free crusty bread
- Make the soup more filling: Add 1/2 cup of your favorite grain to the soup (rice, quinoa, farro) with a cup of water to make the soup more filling. You may need to add more cooking time to ensure the grains are fully cooked.
- Veggies: Serve with 5 minute creamy kale, air fryer frozen broccoli or healthy sauteed broccoli for a low carb meal!
Common Questions
What are the best mushrooms for soup
This vegan mushroom soup uses a mixture of cremini mushrooms (baby portabella mushrooms) and white button mushrooms. The cremini mushrooms add a depth of flavor and umami that you don’t get with just white button mushrooms. You could also use shitake mushrooms, but those are usually more expensive so I stick to cremini and white button to save money.
To save time, you can buy the mushrooms pre-sliced but I prefer to buy them whole and slice them myself since the pre-cut mushrooms can go bad faster.
Tips for working with mushrooms
To prepare the mushrooms, use a dry paper towel to brush off any soil/dirt you see. Don’t run mushrooms under water, as they are very porous and will absorb the water, and never really develop their flavor fully.
Wait to salt the mushrooms until after they have cooked down for some time. Adding salt too early can cause the mushrooms to not fully release all their water.
What herbs are best in vegan mushroom soup
- Fresh thyme: Fresh thyme and mushrooms are a match made in heaven! To remove the little thyme leaves from the stalk, simply hold the stalk at the very top (so the leaves are pointing up) and run your fingers down the stalk pulling the leaves down with your fingers. The stalks can be very fibrous and tough, so be sure to remove as much of them as you can.
- Don’t have fresh thyme? You can always use dried thyme! Just remember that the dried herbs are much stronger, so you will want to use about 1 teaspoon.
- Herbs de Provence: this spice blend is incredibly flavorful and would also be a great addition to this healthy mushroom soup. It’s a spice blend from the South of France that often includes dried parsley, rosemary, fennel, tarragon, thyme, lavender and other herbs.
- To get the most flavor out of dried herbs, it’s best to rub the leaves between your fingers to crush them up before adding them to the soup to help release some of their natural oils!
- Fresh or dried rosemary: Fresh and dried rosemary can quickly overpower a recipe but using just a small amount (1 teaspoon fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried) would be a great flavorful addition.
- Dried Italian seasoning: Italian seasoning is a great go to spice blend if you don’t keep many fresh or dried herbs on hand. Use about 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning if you don’t have fresh or dried thyme or about 1 teaspoon to just elevate the flavors.
How to thicken without heavy cream
This recipe for dairy free mushroom soup uses arrowroot (or tapioca flour) to thicken the soup (no cream or milk needed). It’s important that you mix in the arrowroot powder into a cold or room temperature liquid before adding it to the heat. This is to ensure the mixture is smooth since the heat will cause any clumps to clump together more.
Tip: If you wanted a creamier soup, you could blend half of the soup with an immersion blender or high speed blender to help thicken it more! You could also add pureed white beans or mashed potatoes to the soup to help thicken it without cream.
How to make creamy mushroom soup even creamier
The hearty vegan mushroom soup can also be made creamier with the addition of white beans to make the best ever vegan white bean mushroom soup, or boiled potatoes for a vegan and paleo recipe! Both of these are an awesome way to add creaminess.
You could also add 1-2 tablespoons of vegan (or regular) cream cheese. The Kite Hill Chive Cream Cheese would be delicious stirred into this soup!
How to make cream of mushroom soup
To make this vegan cream of mushroom soup, reduce the vegetable broth by half and blend the soup in the blender in batches or using an immersion blender.
Once blended, continue to add more non-dairy milk as needed until it reaches your desired thickness. If you add too much liquid, you can always add in more arrowroot powder (just remember to dissolve it in water before adding it in so it doesn’t clump).
FAQs
What dairy free milk can be used
Any dairy free milk you enjoy would be great! This includes but is not limited to:
Can this soup be made ahead of time
This easy mushroom soup is almost better the next day, so if you are having company, this would be a great make ahead meal. Just give the soup a few minutes to come back up to temperature over medium low heat before serving.
Note: This recipe only makes 2 servings, so if you are making it for company, you will want to double the recipe.
How to store mushroom soup
Fridge: This recipe will last 4-5 days in the fridge once prepared. Be sure to store it in a covered glass container (I use mason jars for easy storage). Reheat in the microwave or on the stove!
Freezer: This recipe can be frozen. However, if you choose to freeze this recipe, the arrowroot powder can get a little gritty after freezing but this doesn’t always happen, so I prefer to make it fresh!
Substitutions
Mushrooms: You can use all white button mushrooms, all baby portobello mushrooms, cremini mushrooms or a mixture of your favorite mushrooms in this soup.
Onions: The onions compliment the mushrooms and add a depth of flavor. You could also use shallots, green onions or omit the onions completely.
Fresh thyme: As I mentioned above, thyme and mushrooms are made for each other. You can also use dried thyme (about 1 tsp) or italian seasoning (1-2 tsp).
Vegetable broth: You can also use vegetable stock, chicken stock or broth or even a bouillon cube in place of the vegetable broth.
Tapioca starch/flour: This helps to thicken the low-fat mushroom soup. You can also use arrowroot flour or corn starch to thicken. You will need equal measurements of either of these substitutions.
Dairy free milk: You can use any dairy-free milk you enjoy (be sure it’s not sweetened or vanilla though). You could also use regular milk of you are not dairy free.
Bay leaf: This helps add a depth of flavor to the soup. If you don’t have a bay leaf, add an additional teaspoon of coconut aminos (or soy sauce).
Coconut aminos: These are a soy-free and gluten free version of soy sauce. You can also use tamari (gluten free soy sauce) or soy sauce in place of the coconut aminos.
Garlic powder: I like to use garlic powder in this recipe so it doesn’t take over the flavor (as garlic can be very powerful). If you love garlic, you could use 2-3 cloves of fresh garlic, added with the onions in the beginning of the recipe.
If you love this recipe, you should try
Best Ever Mushroom Soup
Guided Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 1 large white onion - diced
- 1 package white button mushrooms - 10 oz sliced
- 1 package baby portobello mushrooms - 10 oz sliced
- 10 stalks fresh thyme - leaves removed
- 1 cup organic vegetable broth
- 1 tbs. tapioca flour - or arrowroot or cornstarch
- 1 cup dairy free milk - unsweetened
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tbs. coconut aminos - liquid aminos as an alternative
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder - optional
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, over medium heat, add the diced onions. Allow to sweat while slicing the mushrooms. About 5-7 minutes.
- Move onions to the sides of the saucepan and add mushrooms, allow to cook 5 minutes uncovered.
- Stir the onions and mushrooms together. Add fresh thyme and allow to continue to cook, at least 10 minutes.
- You will notice a substantial amount of water has come out of the mushrooms, and they are reduced in volume by half.
- Add the bay leaf, the salt and the liquid aminos to the mushrooms.
- Stir the 1 tbs. of tapioca starch into the organic broth. Add to mushrooms and stir. Add almond milk.
- Allow to cook for at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and add freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Anne
Wednesday 15th of March 2023
I love the ideas about adding greens and white beans. I added celery, garlic, baby romaine, vegan bouillon and white beans for protein. I used the immersion blender to thicken. I didn’t have aminos so this was my solution. Thanks for offering a dairy free oil free recipe!
Val
Tuesday 14th of March 2023
This was pretty good. I was just very disappointed that it barely was enough for two people.
Sara
Wednesday 22nd of February 2023
Delicious! Next time I will double the quantity. I cooked the onions covered for longer than 4 minutes as if I was making onion soup, but other than that I stuck to the recipe. Blending part of the soup at the end definitely added to the thickness and flavour.
Xenia
Wednesday 25th of January 2023
could I use a can of white mushrooms? I only have 1/2 a pack of mushrooms & not feeling well to go n buy more. Thx
Samantha Rowland
Wednesday 25th of January 2023
Hey there Xenia - canned mushrooms can have a different taste/texture than fresh mushrooms. You could certainly try this (I would recommend rinsing the mushrooms to get rid of any of the canning liquid on the mushrooms) to get the best results. If you do use canned, please let me know how that turns out. Hope you feel better!
Dylan
Monday 26th of December 2022
I made this with potatoes, cooked down from the beginning with the onions. I also added cooked brown rice at the end, and threw in a little turmeric powder. The mushrooms I used were shiitake and baby portabello. Literally one of the best dishes I've ever made.