Mushroom Soup with Crab

Mushroom Soup with Dungeness Crab is a perfect soup for winter. It has a savory flavor of mushrooms and a sweet taste of crab. You don't need many ingredients to make this delicious mushroom soup. What makes this recipe excellent is the technique used.

It's November, which means Dungeness Crab season has opened. Each year, the season begins in California on the first Saturday of the month and runs until late June. If you're one of the lucky few, who gets to go fishing for Dungeness Crab, remember that the ones who give up the biggest fight are the true winners when it comes to picking out just the right one.

When grocery shopping, buy whichever crab looks the best that day. Snow crab is an excellent choice, along with the option of Dungeness crab. Using both is highly suggested.

Ingredients

Crab Stock

• ▢1 32oz Chicken Stock
• ▢2 clusters Dungeness Crab Remove the crab meat, use only the shells
• ▢3 sprigs Fresh Thyme
• ▢½ large Onion
• ▢3 Tablespoon Butter

The Mushrooms

• ▢25 Cremini Mushrooms
• ▢6 Portobello Mushrooms

Soup Ingredients

• ▢31 cleaned Mushrooms Chopped
• ▢1 medium Shallot Chopped
• ▢2 tablespoon All-Purpose Flour / Roux
• ▢½ stick Butter / Roux
• ▢2 teaspoons Fresh Thyme
• ▢½ teaspoon Sea Salt
• ▢¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
• ▢½ cup Heavy Cream Optional

How to Make Crab Stock

• First clean / remove the crab meat from the shells making sure to keep all the shells. 
• In a medium saucepot, add 3 Tablespoons of butter along with the crab shells. Saute First clean / remove the crab meat from the shells making sure to keep all the shells. 
• In a medium saucepot, add 3 Tablespoons of butter along with the crab shells. Saute the crab shell with the butter over medium heat. 3 minutes. Next, add the chicken stock and sprigs of fresh thyme and bring it to a boil.
• Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes. You can add a pinch of salt.

The Mushrooms

Clean the mushrooms. Using a spoon, scoop out the gills out from under the mushroom caps. The gills in large quantity create a muddy, almost dirty flavor profile. Do not skip this step.

Once the mushrooms are cleaned, chop them into medium-sized pieces. Everything will end up in a blender or food processor, so knife cuts aren't meaningful.

Do you love mushrooms? Be sure to visit our extensive post on 45 Types Of Mushrooms to learn about various mushrooms types.

How to Make Mushroom Soup with Crab

• Add 2 Tablespoons of butter to a medium-large skillet and melt, then add the shallot and sweat them for 1 minute. Make sure to keep stirring to help with even cooking.
• Next, add in all of the mushrooms and cook them for 6 to 7 minutes. You will notice the mushrooms will give off their water and reduce in size. 
• Once the mushrooms have reduced in size and given off their water, add in the thyme & a pinch of salt.
• Next, add in half a stick of butter and melt; once melted, add in 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, creating a roux. Cook for 2 minutes to remove the raw flour taste.
• Add the crab stock to the mushrooms and roux-Cook for 2 minutes.
• Tastes, season, and adjust at this point. Add in the salt and pepper.
• Blend the soup base in a food processor
• Add heavy cream or half-and-half milk to smoothen out the soup to the consistency you enjoy. If the soup looks too thin, you can place it on the stovetop on medium heat. The soup will tighten up as it cooks.

Plating Tips:

• Warm up some butter in a small pan and add the crab meat to warm through before plating.
• Tip: Place the bowls into a preheated oven for ( 3 minutes) or zap in the microwave for 1 minute+. This will help the soup stay warm once served.
• Line up your serving bowls. Using a Ladle, add the warm soup to each bowl, then in the middle of each bowl nest large pieces of crab meat.

Mushroom Soup with Crab FAQS

Recipe Resources

• Make homemade chicken stock, Le Cordon Bleu method
• Learn about cleaning mushrooms - visit our crab stuffed mushrooms post
• Learn how to clean crab meat - Cleaning snow crab fine dining style

📖 Recipe

Mushroom Soup with Crab

Steven Pennington

The lovely combination of Mushroom and Crab in a perfect marriage. So much flavor and texture you won't even need heavy cream to finish the soup. 

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Cooking The Crab Stock 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Soup

Cuisine French | American

Servings 4 People

Ingredients

  

Crab Stock

• 1 32oz Chicken Stock
• 2 clusters Dungeness Crab Remove the crab meat, use only the shells
• 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme
• ½ large Onion
• 3 Tablespoon Butter

The Mushrooms

• 25 Cremini Mushrooms
• 6 Portobello Mushrooms

Soup Ingredients

• 31 cleaned Mushrooms Chopped
• 1 medium Shallot Chopped
• 2 tablespoon All-Purpose Flour / Roux
• ½ stick Butter / Roux
• 2 teaspoons Fresh Thyme
• ½ teaspoon Sea Salt
• ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
• ½ cup Heavy Cream Optional

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

 

Making The Crab Stock

• First clean / remove the crab meat from the shells making sure to keep all the shells. 

  In a medium saucepot, add 3 Tablespoons of butter along with the crab shells. Saute the crab shell with the butter over medium heat. 3 minutes.

  Next, add the chicken stock and sprigs of fresh thyme and bring it to a boil. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes. You can add a pinch of salt.

The Mushrooms

• Clean the mushrooms. Using a spoon, scoop out the gills out from under the mushroom caps. The gills in large quantity create a muddy, almost dirty flavor profile. Do not skip this step.

  Once the mushrooms are cleaned, chop them into medium-sized pieces. Everything will end up in a blender or food processor, so knife cuts aren't meaningful.

Making the Soup

• Add 2 Tablespoons of butter to a medium-large skillet and melt, then add the shallot and sweat them for 1 minute.

  Make sure to keep stirring to help with even cooking.

  Next, add in all of the mushrooms and cook them for 6 to 7 minutes.

  You will notice the mushrooms will give off their water and reduce in size. Once the mushrooms have reduced in size and given off their water, add in the thyme & a pinch of salt.

  Next, add in half a stick of butter and melt; once melted, add in 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, creating a roux. Cook for 2 minutes to remove the raw flour taste.

  Add the crab stock to the mushrooms and roux—Cook for 2 minutes. Tastes, season, and adjust at this point. Add in the salt and pepper.

  Blend the soup base in a food processor. Add heavy cream or half-and-half milk to smoothen out the soup to the consistency you enjoy.

  If the soup looks too thin, you can place it on the stovetop on medium heat. The soup will tighten up as it cooks.

Plating The Soup

• Warm up some butter in a small pan and add the crab meat to warm through before plating.

  Tip: Place the bowls into a preheated oven for ( 3 minutes) or zap in the microwave for 1 minute+. This will help the soup stay warm once served.

  Line up your serving bowls. Using a Ladle, add the warm soup to each bowl, then in the middle of each bowl nest large pieces of crab meat.

Video

Fine Dining Cream of Mushroom Soup | Le Cordon Bleu Recipe

Notes

Need help with cleaning the crab meat from the shells. We have an article covering cleaning snow crab fine dining style.

The technique works with Dungeness crab as well

How To Clean Snow Crab Fine Dining Style

Keyword Crab Stock, Mushroom Soup with Dungeness Crab