Easy Dairy Free Mushroom Soup

Dairy free mushroom soup is a must for any mushroom lover. Easy to make, ready in 30 minutes and cooks in just one pot! This recipe uses simple ingredients but is full of deep savory flavors. It’s sure to become your go-to favorite.

If you your go-to comfort food meal is soup, you should check out my favorite soup recipes, including Greek Lemon Chickpea Soup and Butternut Squash Soup.

Here, you’ll find simple, gluten free recipes that are easy to make, quick and and packed with the best ingredients. I love sharing easy, from-scratch meals that fit into busy lives. To get to know more about Bites of Wellness and my fresh take on food, head over to the About page!

Why you will love this recipe

• Simple ingredients that let mushrooms be the stary
• Quick and easy
• 30 minute meal
• Better than store bought
• No canned soup
• Thick and creamy without any dairy!
• One pot meal
• Great for entertaining – this recipe is perfect for entertaining because its not only flavorful but also vegan, dairy free, gluten free and Whole30 friendly.

Spotlight on key ingredients

• Sliced mushrooms – I recommend a combination of white mushrooms and baby bella mushrooms (cremini mushrooms). You could also use all white mushrooms or all baby bella mushrooms.
  • Shitake mushrooms or larger portobello mushrooms cut down into bite size pieces can also be used..
• Fresh Thyme – fresh thyme is what really gives this recipe its fantastic flavor. You can make this with dried thyme, you will only need 1 teaspoon.
• Vegetable broth – vegetable broth helps the soup taste like it’s been cooking all day on the stove.
• Arrowroot powder – arrowroot powder helps to thicken the soup, helping to create a creamy mushroom soup texture without being too thick. You can also use tapioca starch or cornstarch.
• Dairy free milk – dairy free milk helps create that creamy mushroom soup consistency and flavor without using any dairy. You can use almond milk, cashew milk, oat milk, canned coconut milk (full fat coconut milk), or whatever your favorite nondairy milk is.

How to make dairy free 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

• 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.
• 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. Also be sure to use a large pot.
• To prepare the mushrooms, use a dry paper towel to brush off any soil/dirt you see.
• 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, which can give them a spongy texture.

Serving suggestions

This soup is creamy and hearty but not super filling since it’s mostly just mushrooms. Therefore, I recommend serving it as a starter/appetizer or served with salad and/or bread.

• 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, or Cruciferous Crunch Salad
• Bread or crackers –Homemade Seed Crackers, pita bread, or crusty bread warmed up in the oven.
• Grains – To make the soup more filling you could add 1 cup of cooked grains (rice, quinoa) to the soup.

Topping Ideas

Give the soup more texture by adding a topping. Some great options include:

• Croutons
• Fried onions
• Parmesan cheese (regular or vegan)
• Microgreens (broccoli, kale, arugula, radish)
• Fresh thyme leaves

Common Questions

What if you don’t have fresh thyme?

• Dried thyme – Dried herbs are much stronger, so you will want to use about 1 teaspoon.
• Herbs de Provence – add about 1-2 teaspoons
• Dried Italian seasoning – add about 1-2 teaspoons.

When using dried herbs, I recommend to rub them through your fingers, this helps release some of the natural oils in the herbs, giving them more flavor.

How to thicken soup without heavy cream

Arrowroot (or tapioca flour or cornstarch) is used to thicken the soup.

It’s important that you fully mix in the arrowroot powder into cold or room temperature liquid before adding it to the heat. This is to ensure the arrowroot doesn’t clump in the soup.

To make the soup even creamier, 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.

Can this soup be made ahead of time?

The beauty of this easy mushroom soup is that it’s 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.