This is the best ever mushroom soup! Ready in about 30 minutes, this healthy recipe will soon become your go-to favorite soup! This creamy mushroom soup is easy to make, low carb, dairy free, vegan, paleo, Whole30 and keto friendly.
4 reasons I love this recipe:
- The simplicity of the ingredients makes the mushrooms the star of this soup.
- 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 soup is thick and creamy without the use of heavy cream or milk making is dairy free and low fat!
- Vegan, dairy free, gluten free and Whole30 friendly, this mushroom soup is great for entertaining or weeknight meals!
Ingredients:
- Onions
- Sliced mushrooms (I like white button mushrooms and baby portobello)
- Fresh Thyme
- Salt
- Garlic Powder
- Bay Leaves
- Coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
- Vegetable broth
- Arrowroot powder
- Dairy free milk
Instructions:
- Step 1: Chop the onions and slice the mushrooms. Sauté the onions until slightly softened. Add the mushrooms and allow the mushrooms to cook for 5-6 minutes.
- Step 2: Add the fresh thyme, salt, garlic powder, bay leaves and coconut aminos to the mushroom and onion mixture.
- Step 3: Mix the arrowroot powder into the vegetable broth 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.
- Step 4: 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.
What mushrooms are best for soup?
This recipe 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.
GET MY 10 FAVORITE EASY VEGAN SOUP RECIPES
What herbs are best in mushroom soup?
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 of dried thyme.
- To get the most flavor out of dried thyme, 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!
Garlic powder is used in this recipe because fresh garlic can get a little overwhelming and burns easily. This way you get the garlic flavor without worrying about it burning!
Bay leaves are one of the ways to take a soup to the next level, especially soups that don’t have much cooking time. Add one or two bay leaves and let them do their magic! Just don’t forget to remove them before serving the soup (or pureeing it).
How to thicken without heavy cream?
This recipe for the best ever mushroom soup uses arrowroot (or tapioca flour) to thicken the soup. 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.
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 this mushroom soup creamier?
The 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 to this vegan mushroom soup.
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 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).
Substitutions and FAQ’s
What 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 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.
Storage:
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!
Looking for more soup recipes?
- Crockpot Low carb vegetable soup
- Minestrone Soup (vegan)
- Frozen Vegetable Soup
- Slow Cooker Cauliflower Soup
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 dried 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.
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Notes
Nutrition Information
Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted in February of 2015, but was published again in May 2019 to include step by step directions, recipe notes and new photos.
Ak
Delicious. I used the white beans to thicken and blended half
Of the soup. I also didn’t have fresh thyme so used rosemary. Thank you
Donna M
Best ever soup! The fresh thyme adds so much flavor to the soup. I also added sliced carrots and celery to my soup.
Krista
I don’t have a non-stick saucepan. Directions don’t mention using olive oil or butter. Should I use one or another ? Or none at all?
Samantha Rowland
Typically I will spray the pan with a little olive oil spray but I don’t usually add a large amount of oil or butter for cooking my veggies. Hope this helps!
bistro sk
What a tasty dish!!!. Thanks for sharing. I think your dish is very delicious. I will make this recipe for my family and my friend. I hope you have more recipe like this.
B3thanyT
This has been a winter staple and family favorite for years. Asian market mushrooms make every bite a fun experience. Many mushroom soup recipes are heavy to eat and low in flavor. This one is just the opposite. Delicious!
Orlando
Can i use 2% milk instead of coconut milk?
Samantha Rowland
Yes! Any milk you have on hand will work!
Anne
Seriously the best Mushroom soup ever!