Simple healthy mushroom soup recipe 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.
4 reasons you will 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 it 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.
GET MY 10 FAVORITE EASY VEGAN SOUP RECIPESThe 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 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 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
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).
FAQ’s
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.
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!
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) in place of fresh thyme.
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
- Pasta fagioli
- 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 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.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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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.
Mary Ellen
Just made this for lunch. Delicious,quick, super easy. Followed the recipe as written with one small change: one clove of minced fresh garlic added with the vegetables instead of the powder.
Shirley Warwick
Wow ! Excellent recipe. EXACTLY like in picture and the taste was super delish.
Renae
This soup is excellent!!!
Deb M
Thanks for the great recipe!! I made the soup using 16 oz. baby bellas mushrooms and it worked well. I actually mis-read the recipe prior to going shopping and thought it was just calling for one package of mushrooms vs. two. The mushrooms here generally come in 8 or 16 oz sizes so next time I think I would still use the 16 oz baby bellas. I used almond milk and would use the same again.
Pam
Delicious mushroom soup. East to make.
Rebecca A DuBois
Excellent soup!! Our new go to…
Chrissy
This truly is the BEST Mushroom Soup, and also healthy. I have made it before, making it again and will surely continue to make it many times over. I have also shared it with a number of family members and friends!! It is easy and tastes creamy, yet no cream was used.
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!
Emily
Made this for dinner and it was delicious. I used baby bellas since we had a big package of that from the wholesale club. I used mashed potatoes as thickeners, since someone else suggested that, as well as using an immersion blender. I also added just a bit of white wine to up the flavor. I could tell that even if I stuck completely to the recipe it would be delicious.
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!
Cathleen
My soup tasted fine, but it was more gray in color than brown which was a turnoff. I used veg broth with cornmeal, almond milk, baby portabella and white button mushrooms. Any ideas on how to make it more visually appealing or what I did wrong?
Samantha Rowland
Hey there Cathleen! It’s likely due to the broth you are using. Often vegetable stock will have a more deep brown color (in comparison to broth), which can help make the sauce look more brown. Also I cannot comment on how cornmeal will change the color of the soup at all (although that is likely not the issue).
Pam
Delicious and for those of you who don’t have all the super healthy ingredients….I used dried thyme, I mashed Leftover potatoes into 2% milk. I also reconstituted dried bistro mushrooms in hot water then mixed the cornstarch with that water minus mushrooms. I did not use any aminos and used homemade beef broth. The basics of the recipe must be good because even with all the changes I made it was delicious. BTW, throw away the reconstituted mushrooms because they are too chewy!