Cream of Mushroom Soup

This homemade cream of mushroom soup is smooth, rich, and easy to make with simple ingredients. It's a comforting classic that tastes far better than the canned version.

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

Servings servings

Calories 201kcal

Author Vered DeLeeuw

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound cremini mushrooms sliced
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon garlic minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour optional
3 cups chicken broth
¼ teaspoon white pepper black is OK, but will be visible
⅛ teaspoon dried thyme
½ cup heavy cream remove it from the fridge when you start cooking

Instructions

Heat the butter in a large, heavy stockpot over medium-high heat. When the butter starts to foam, add the mushrooms and salt. Cook, stirring often, for 5-7 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 pound cremini mushrooms, ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
1 tablespoon garlic
If using, sprinkle the flour evenly over the mushrooms. Stir constantly for 1 minute.
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Slowly pour in the chicken broth, stirring as you go to prevent lumps, then stir in the white pepper and thyme.
3 cups chicken broth, ¼ teaspoon white pepper, ⅛ teaspoon dried thyme
Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
Turn the heat off. Puree the soup using an immersion blender. Before blending the soup, you can reserve a few mushrooms to use as decoration.
Stir the heavy cream into the pureed soup. Taste and decide if you'd like to add more salt. This would depend on how salty your chicken broth is.
½ cup heavy cream
Turn the heat back to medium and bring the soup to a low simmer. Continue heating the soup (but don't bring it to a boil - lower the heat if needed), stirring, until heated through, 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately.

Video

Notes

Seasonings, especially salt, are guidelines. Adjust to taste.
If you use the flour, this is not a gluten-free recipe. It's OK to skip it - the soup will be delicious, but thinner.
You can use frozen mushrooms, but they will dilute the soup with excess water, so it's better to use fresh ones.
White mushrooms will work, but cremini are better because they are more flavorful and develop a deeper brown color when cooked.
You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat them gently, covered, in the microwave at 50% power or on the stovetop over medium heat, taking care not to bring the soup to a boil. You might need to thin the soup slightly by adding a tablespoon or two of milk.
As for freezing the soup, cream-based soups tend to separate when thawed and become grainy, so it's best to freeze the soup before adding the cream, then stir the cream in when reheating.

Nutrition