Cream of Mushroom Soup
This flavorful and delicious Cream of Mushroom soup has a hint of sweetness and savory! Made with all-natural ingredients, this bowl of comfort is ready in 40-minutes, you’ll never open another can of mushroom soup again!
This recipe was inspired by the delicious soup served at the landmark Italian restaurant in Dallas, Bugatti’s. Restaurant owner, Zee, never would give me his recipe, but he did tell me the two secret ingredients — sugar and dry sherry.
I experimented for years trying to match his delicious Zuppa du jour ! His version uses chicken stock; in my version, you can use chicken or vegetable broth/stock.
- Simple ingredients – nothing fancy! Mushrooms, onion, chicken broth, a touch of sugar, dry sherry, heavy cream, fresh thyme sprigs, salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Versatile – make it thick or thin, creamy or chunky -it’s your call!
Serve this easy homemade cream of mushroom soup with Chicken Fricassee, warm bread and a side salad!
This easy mushroom soup is light and relatively healthy, except for the heavy cream. If you want a super healthy version, just omit the cream. It won’t be creamy, but it will still be delicious!
Ingredients
The ingredient list for cream of mushroom soup is probably already in your kitchen! You’ll need a little butter or vegetable oil to saute the onions and mushrooms. Chicken broth, onions, a pinch of sugar, a little dry sherry, heavy cream, fresh or dried thyme
Types of mushrooms
You can use any of these in this recipe:white button mushrooms, shiitake or cremini (baby portobellas)vare the most popular because of their mild flavor. These young mushrooms are found in salads, pizza toppings and mushroom sauce.
How to make it
- First, take the heavy cream out of the refrigerator; clean the mushrooms and remove the stems. Use a damp paper towel and wipe off any debris from the fresh mushrooms. Rough cut the mushrooms and set aside
- Finely chop the onion. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven on medium heat, add the butter (or oil) and saute the onions; meanwhile, add half of the chopped mushrooms to the food processor and pulse a few times until the mushrooms are in tiny chunks
- Add the pulsed mushrooms to the stockpot and saute 5 minutes
- Add in the broth, sugar, sherry and a few sprigs of fresh thyme to the onions and sauteed mushrooms. Let this cook on medium high heat about 10 minutes; add in remaining sliced mushrooms, remove the pan from the stovetop heat and let it cool a bit
- Once it’s a little bit cool, add heavy cream (make sure it’s not cold or it will curdle!) stir and return to medium low heat.
- Let it cook for 15 minutes or so, remove the sprigs of thyme, season to taste with salt and pepper; serve
Sometimes, I leave a portion of the mushrooms sliced, just to give added texture. It’s up to you. If you want a chunky cream of mushroom soup, don’t put all the mushrooms in the food processor.
Recipe Tips
Don’t have any sherry?
Substitute with any dry white wine; do not use cooking sherry. It is sweeter than dry sherry. If you don’t have either, add a teaspoon of white vinegar.
How to thicken the mushroom soup
This recipe is a relatively thin soup; if you prefer a thicker version, make a thickening slurry: combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 3/4 cup tap water.
Bring soup to boil; add in slurry, whisking constantly. Allow mushroom soup to cook on high heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let it sit a few minutes uncovered. If you still want it thicker, repeat the slurry. Note: cornstarch thickens at high temperatures, so be sure the it comes to a rolling boil in order to activate the cornstarch.
Want a silky smooth texture?
Use an immersion blender or pour soup into food processor and pulse to desired consistency. Whichever method you use, make sure the soup isn’t too hot when you puree it. You may have to process the soup in batches using the food processor.
Storage and reheating
Store mushroom soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze it for up to 3 months. It may thicken upon storage, so when you reheat it, you may have to add a cup of water.
Reheat on the stovetop or microwave. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 6 months. Allow to thaw in refrigerator then reheat on stovetop or in microwave.
Serving suggestions
Serve Cream of Mushroom soup with warm French bread as an appetizer or as a main course. As an appetizer, this pairs well with beef or chicken. If you have any leftover mushroom broth, freeze it to use it in other broth-based soups and stews later on.
Homemade cream of mushroom soup is perfect for a light lunch or dinner!
Related recipes
- Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Vegetable Soup
- Irish-American Guinness Beef Stew
- Creamy White Bean Soup
- How to Fix Over Salted Soups and Stews
If you make this recipe, please scroll down and leave a comment and rating! I love to hear from you!
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound whole button mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup yellow onion , chopped
- 1 package fresh thyme , for soup and garnish
- 32 ounces broth , vegetable or chicken
- 1½ cups heavy cream room temperature
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons sherry (dry)
- salt and ground white pepper to taste
Slurry Ingredients (optional)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch See recipe notes
- ¾ cup water
Instructions
- Clean mushrooms with damp paper towel; remove stems and slice1 pound whole button mushrooms
- In a food processor, pulse 1/2 of the mushrooms until they are fine; leave the other half of the mushrooms sliced
- In a large stockpot, heat oil to medium and add onions; cook 5 minutes2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 cup yellow onion
- Add processed mushrooms to the onions and oil; combine well and cook for 5 minutes
- Add broth, sugar, sherry; bring to boil for 5 minutes; reduce heat to medium low; add remaining sliced mushrooms and thyme (about 4 sprigs)32 ounces broth, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons sherry (dry), 1 package fresh thyme
- Reduce heat to low and add room temperature heavy cream; combine well; cover and cook for 15 minutes1½ cups heavy cream room temperature
- Taste for salt and pepper; adjust seasonings to taste; remove thyme sprigssalt and ground white pepper to taste
- If you want a thicker soup, add a slurry now; bring soup to boil; combine cornstarch and water in a measuring cup; whisk until there are no lumps. Stir in the slurry and allow soup to cook another 5 minutes or until it reaches desired thickness; (If you want it even thicker, add another slurry to the mixture)¾ cup water, 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Once soup has reached desired consistency, plate and garnish with thyme
Notes
- Do not add cold cream to the hot soup; take the cream out of the fridge and let it sit about 10 minutes before adding it
- This recipe uses button (white) mushrooms, but you can substitute with any other cultivated mushroom.
- If you want a chunky cream of mushroom soup, don’t put the mushrooms in the food processor; just add them (sliced) to the onion and resume recipe.
- This recipe is a relatively thin soup; if you prefer a thicker soup, make a thickening slurry: combine 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 3/4 cup tap water.
- If you add a cornstarch slurry, turn the heat up and bring soup to boil; add in slurry, whisking constantly. Cornstarch thickens at high heat. Allow mushroom soup to cook on high heat until it reaches the desired consistency.
- If it’s still not thick enough for you, you can either add another slurry
- If you add a second slurry, you may have to add a little more sugar and sherry
- Adjust salt and pepper after adding slurry
- Use an immersion blender or pour soup into food processor and pulse
- Do either of these before the soup gets too hot or after it’s cooled
- Let the soup cool in the refrigerator and skim the fat off the top
- Use a clean paper towel and gently drag it over the top of the soup
- Use a fat separator and remove the fat
Didn’t know I liked cream of mushroom soup until I made this! Now it’s my favorite!
This soup is the bomb! Any 5-star restaurant that served a tiny cup of this before the meal would have customers coming back over and over just for the soup!!!
What a compliment! Thank you very much!