Cream of Mushroom Soup is simply amazing when made from scratch. A true culinary staple found in many recipes. One of the most popular and simple recipes to make.
I was looking through culinary school recipes and came across Le Cordon Bleu's "cream of mushroom soup." The day we made it in class, it was like no student had ever experienced cream of mushroom before. Top-notch recipe!
Recipes to try that use cream of mushroom, King Ranch Chicken, Instant Pot Beef, or Cheesy Chicken Casserole.
Ingredients
- 🍄 Crimini Mushrooms
- 🧈 Butter
- All-Purpose Flour
- 🧅 Shallots
- 🐄 Heavy Cream /or Half & Half
- 🌿 Fresh Thyme
- Chicken Stock
- 🧂 Sea Salt
- Black /or White Pepper
- 🍷 Sherry Wine or Sherry Vinegar
Instructions
Step 1
Wash the cremini mushrooms under cold water, removing any dirt. If the mushrooms are very dirty, use a washcloth or sponge to clean them.
Step 2
Saute chopped shallots in browned butter.
- Add the butter to a pot over medium-high heat
- Cook until the milk solids begin to brown
- Then add the chopped shallots.
- Cook 3 minutes
Step 3
Creating the cream of mushroom soup base using a Roux.
Once the shallots have cooked for 3 minutes;
- Add the chopped mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms release their natural water.
- Next, add the sherry wine or vinegar.
- Cook for 1 to 2 minutes to remove the rawness from the sherry.
Next step, add the butter and melt, then add the all-purpose flour. Combine. The base will be thickening at this point.
Add the flour after the butter has melted
Add the chicken stock to the roux base, plus one large bay leaf, fresh chopped thyme, salt, and pepper.
Step 4
Bring the soup base to a boil to begin thickening the soup.
Step 5
Blend the soup in a blender until smooth. Add the heavy cream at this point. Add enough to get the consistency you enjoy. Yet a little bit thinner, the soup will cook on the stovetop once blended. The heat from the stovetop will cause the soup to continue thickening.
Return the soup back to the pot to finish the cream of mushroom soup.
Cook the soup until the thickness you enjoy!
Cream of Mushroom Soup
In the recipe, I used Cremini mushrooms. They look like this
Cremini mushroom is the smaller sibling of a larger mushroom, its big brother, so to speak, the Portobello. As seen in the photo below.
Cremini and the Portobello mushrooms have a deep, meaty flavor often used in vegetarian/vegan recipes as a meat substitute.
Substitute Ingredients
The options for this soup are endless. From going vegetarian or adding more protein.
Stock Liquid Replacements
- Coconut milk
- Beef stock
- Almond milk
- Soy milk
- Cashew milk
- Vegetable stock
Types of Mushroom To Use
- White Button mushrooms
- Portobello mushrooms
- Shiitake mushrooms
- Chanterelle mushrooms
- Porcini mushrooms
- Shimeji Mushrooms
- Morel Mushrooms
Faqs
Can Cream of Mushroom Soup Be Frozen
It freezes very easily; just add a little water before freezing. When you pull the cream of mushroom out of the freezer for use, if the consistency is a little too loose after thawing out, place the cream of mushroom soup in a pot and cook on the stovetop on medium heat. The heat will cause the soup to reduce a little, and that will tighten up the soup.
Next Option: If the soup is too thick after freezing, cook on the stovetop adding water and/or heavy cream to revive the soup texture.
How Long Will The Soup Last In The Refrigerator?
Three days on average. Store in an airtight container. To revive the soup from the cold, frigged air, add it to a pot and warm it on the stovetop. You will need to add water to fix the consistency because the soup will get thicker once cooled down to 41 degrees (the refrigerator temperature).
Plating The Cream of Mushroom Soup
Slice some mushrooms thinly and place them into the bottom of each serving bowl. Top the soup with a sprig of fresh thyme and freshly sliced mushrooms. The mushrooms add additional texture to the soup.
Recipes To Try
45 Types of Mushrooms | A-to-Z | Defined | Photos
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Suggested Equipment
Ingredients
The Roux / The Soup Base
- Butter 5 Tablespoons
- All Purpose Flour 3 Tablespoons
Soup Ingredients
- Mushrooms (Chopped) (/ crimini mushrooms have more flavor than white mushrooms) 2 ½ cups
- Shallot (Chopped) 3 Tablespoons
- Heavy Cream or Half & Half 8 ounces
- Fresh Thyme or (¾ tablespoon dried thyme) (/ Rub dry herbs in your hands to release the natural oils) 1 Tablespoons
- Chicken Stock (or Vegetable Stock) 32 ounces
- Bay Leaf 1 leaf
- Sea Salt 1 teaspoon
- Black or White Pepper pinch
- Sherry Vinegar (or Sherry Wine / optional) 1 splash
Instructions
Preparing the Mushrooms
- First, begin by washing & rinsing the mushrooms under cold water to remove any dirt. Use your fingers and feel each mushroom cap ensuring there is zero dirt left behind.Next, do a rough chop up the mushrooms, they will end up in a blender so the way they look isn't important. Just make sure you chop them up to medium pieces.
- In a medium pot, add 1 tablespoon of butter, melt the butter, then add all of the shallots - 3 tablespoons.Saute/cook the shallots for 2 - 3 minutes over medium heat. At this point, add in a pinch of sea salt or kosher salt.
- After the shallots have cooked a few minutes then add in the chopped mushrooms and sautee them for 4 to 5 minutes. Add more butter if needed.Once the mushrooms are lightly browned, add a splash of sherry wine or sherry vinegar. Around 1 tablespoon.Cook off the raw wine/vinegar.
The Roux
- As soon as the sherry is cooked off, add in the rest of the butter and melt. (4 tablespoons)Add 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour to the mushrooms and combine and cook away the raw flour.
Creating The Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Add half of the chicken stock to the soup base/roux. The soup will begin to thicken. Once you see it begin to thicken, add the rest of the chicken stock.You can add in more chicken stock if you believe it is needed to control the thickness. Tip: The longer the soup cooks the tighter the soup will become. Then add the fresh thyme (chop before adding), reduce the temperature to medium-low and simmer.Cook the soup for a few minutes to develop the flavor. (5 mins or more) Low heat...
- Transfer the soup base to a blender. Turn on the blender and while blending add in the heavy cream or half & half.
- The amount of heavy cream or half & half will depend on how thick you want your soup. If you feel like you've added too much heavy cream, turn up the heat and reduce the soup some on the stovetop.
- The Fix: If the soup is too thin, watery. If you needed to, mix cornstarch and water together to make a slurry, then add to the soup base. Start with a small amount and see how much the soup thickens before adding all of it.
Plating Idea
- Keep a few mushrooms for garnish. Make very thin slices and arrange them over the soup once you've plated. Add some fresh thyme flowers for a pop of color, plus showing which ingredients are in the soup.
Added Texture
- Slice and add raw mushrooms to the bottom of each soup bowl.
Video
Notes
- If you do not have sherry wine or vinegar, substitute with cognac, brandy or wine white.
- Other types of mushrooms to add, Maitake, shiitake
- If you love garlic, roast a full bulb of garlic in the oven with olive oil and salt and pepper wrapped in aluminum foil. Add to while making the roux.
- For decoration, learning how to tourne a mushroom is fine dining fancy addition. Check youtube.
Linda
I added more mushrooms but otherwise followed the recipe. Absolutely delicious. Would definitely make it again.
Steven Pennington
Glad you enjoyed it. Using good technique is the key to good food. You added more mushrooms. That real cooking. Looking at what you have and making adjustments. Thanks for the comment, Linda! I'll give adding more mushrooms at try next time.
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Jennifer Cook
I didn't rate this, although I am sure it is very good. I make my own mushroom soup for recipes using cornstarch because of gluten intolerance. I will take as advice the Crimini mushrooms.
Steven Pennington
Crimini mushrooms are great mushrooms and priced so well. The white button mushrooms aren't bad, just lacking in flavor in comparison. I bet the next time you make cream of mushroom soup it possibly could be your best work. Hope so. All the best. Thanks for the comment.