Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
The creamiest mushroom soup that tastes just like the canned stuff – except it’s so much healthier, creamier and tastier!
Homemade cream of mushroom soup has been on my bucket list for years. And I honestly don’t know why it took me so long to make it because this is one of the easiest soups I have ever made. Plus, it tastes a million times better than the canned stuff!
The hardest part about this is probably the slicing of the mushrooms – that’s it! Once that’s done, it’s smooth sailing and everything gets thrown into the pot. Done and done. And if you’re not the biggest wine person, you can also reduce the amount of wine and add more chicken broth as needed.
So there you have it – the creamiest of mushroom soups that tastes just like the canned stuff – except it’s so much healthier, creamier and tastier. Plus, this can be made in 30 minutes or less – you can’t beat that!
Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ pounds cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 onion, diced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup red wine
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned, about 5-6 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in onion and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in wine and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, heavy cream and thyme.
- In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. Stir in mixture to the soup until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. If the soup is too thin, add more cornstarch as needed until desired consistency is reached.
- Serve immediately.
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Ive used an extremely similar recipe to this in the past. The ingredients are really quite similar, but the technique is different. First, I used a homemade mushroom stock instead of chicken stock. Gives a more earthy rich flavor. I sauteed the onions in butter until they were almost translucent, then threw the garlic in. Then I added all my liquid and let it simmer. I also sliced up the mushrooms and tossed them in fresh thyme, rosemary, and marjoram. I put them on a large cookie sheet and slow roasted them in the oven. I only put the oven on 250 and roasted them for about 20 minutes. I didn’t want them totally done, but I wanted the majority of the moisture cooked out. After the mushrooms were done in the oven, then I threw them in the pot on the stove. I finished it off pretty much the same as the recipe, only I used a blonde Roux instead of cornstarch.
My way takes WAY longer, I know. Trust me I know. It is a labor of love, but worth it. If you want to make it super creamy, you can puree it, but my family likes it a little more rustic so we leave the mushrooms a little bit bigger.
Followed it to a tee! Tastes like wine to me. Any suggestions?? Thanks
Kara, you may not have reduced the wine as directed in the recipe:
Stir in wine and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, heavy cream and thyme.
It is best to let it reduce and simmer as written, or you can try reducing the amount of wine for next time. I hope that helps!
I just made this. use 2lbs of mushrooms, using a mix of portobello, crimini and a chef sampler pack of exotics and pulsed in the food processor so some are really tiny bits and some are still chunky. I eyeballed it and probably added *smidge* more Merlot than the recipe called for and did 2x the thyme, quite a bit of cracked pepper and the full amount of cornstarch/water to get it really thick. Then after it was done I took the breasts off a roasted chicken that was in the fridge and diced them up. Now it’s hearty Cream of Mushroom with Roast Chicken soup and dear gawd, it is DELISH! This was a great basic mushroom soup to start from. Thanks!
Thanks for this receipe!! I just finished making it for our New Year’s Eve dinner.Can I say…so ooo fabulous!!! I love it!! I just HAD to have a pre bowl and it is just wonderful!!!!!
Thanks so much!
Just wondering why you slice mushrooms when you can buy the sliced mushrooms? Is it best to start with whole mushrooms?
Gina, I personally prefer to start with whole mushrooms so that I have complete control when slicing – sometimes the pre-sliced mushrooms are just too thick for my taste!
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I ended up using white wine instead of the red and I really enjoyed the flavors that I ended up with. Thank you for sharing your recipe. It was a delicious pairing to my stuffed pork chops!
Just made this; I used a sauvignon blanc instead of a red because that’s what I had. It turned out amazing! Thanks for the great recipe.
I just made this for this first time, and it’s so delicious! I added chicken sausage and potatoes for some heartiness, used 1/2 & 1/2 instead of heavy cream, and oregano instead of thyme…it’s so good! A I also add a little more corn starch for thickness. I’ll definitely be making this one again!
I just obtained 10# of organic large portabellas from a local mushroom farm. I am going to triple the receipe and can the rest.
I substituted creamed corn for the mushrooms and maple syrup instead of 1/2 and 1/2 and this was a hit at my house! Thanks for sharing!
Please do not even review or comment on a recipe you didn’t follow. This is a MUSHROOM soup recipe, NOT a corn with maple syrup recipe. 🙁
This soup was a great hit with my 19 year old son and his girlfriend. I substituted white wine for red as this was something my Grandma did. A simple to follow, excellent recipe. My son had three bowls full before he slowed down. This is great with fresh multi-grain rolls.
Next time I will try adding some dried mushrooms (portabello and shitake). When my dad cooks with these he soaks them then adds the soaking water to this dish for extra flavour, could be worth a shot.
Thank you so very much for sharing this recipe.
I just made this and my mom told me to substitute white wine for the red wine as that is customary(and she drank the last bottle we had) it’s flaky and not very flavorful… COuld that be the coconut milk(I can’t have milk) or the wine? Thanks
Barb, substituting 2 very crucial ingredients may have caused the problem. It is always best to use all the ingredients listed in the recipe to obtain the best results possible but if substitutions must be made to fit your dietary restrictions, I cannot speak for how much this will affect the overall taste/texture of the dish.
A little late to the party, but in the future when a recipe calls for heavy cream, use the canned coconut milk- it’s much thicker and works wonderfully has a cream replacement!! I NEVER have milk or cream on hand due to a slight lactose intolerance so coconut milk to the rescue! Check the “ethnic” aisle of the super market, specifically the Thai/Asian sections if you’re lucky enough to have a big enough store to merit one.
I would like to try making for green bean casserole for thanksgiving in place of the canned cream of mushroom. Any suggestions on how to get it as thick as the condensed canned stuff
You can try adding in cornstarch as needed (mixed with a little bit of water) to thicken it up.
I’m going to use arrowroot next time. It’s a better thickener. Made it tonight with baby portabella mushrooms and it was delish.
If a recipe calls for a can of mushroom soup, does anyone know how much of this recipe you would use in place of the can brand?
Made this today, it is absolutely delicious. I followed the recipe as exactly as possible, though I have been known to change a thing or two in the past. While reading the comments, I decided to try my hand at answering some of the questions and just commenting on some things.
Coconut milk would be exotic and delicious in this soup, think Tom Kha with mushrooms. Cashew milk or almond milk would be excellent, too, although I think almond milk may be a bit too thin, flavor-wise.
Sorry folks, but there is no decent analog for red wine. I used the remainder of a bottle of Bordeaux we drank yesterday. I suggest a hearty wine, as the author does, such as Merlot, and I will try with a good Bougoulais-Villages (did I spell that right? Who cares?). If you don’t find red wine suited to your palate, I suggest substituting some very rich beef stock for some of the chicken broth. Be warned, it will be a shameful thing to do to this dish, and will change the flavor completely.
Portabella mushrooms will work very well. Crimini mushrooms are smaller but very similar in taste and texture. Different mushrooms will definitely yield different flavors, so experiment!
I really like the toothiness of large slices of mushroom, so I didn’t use the immersion blender, but I may do that for “thermos” versions. Good idea.
That’s all. Happy eating!
Thanks for providing the community with some great tips, Anthony.
Very respectfully, I must disagree with this statement: “it will be a shameful thing to do to this dish….” There are many reasons someone might seek to replace the red wine in this recipe, none of them shameful. Devout religious practitioners, recovering alcoholics, those with allergies, those who simply don’t like red wine, or those who don’t happen to have 1 cup of wine at the moment, are all persons with a more than adequate reason to seek a substitute.
An additional 1 cup of chicken stock will be an excellent replacement.
The alcohol does cook off…..
Yes but an alcoholic wouldn’t want alcohol around to tempt them to drink. It’s a disease they can’t control.
Sorry, but that’s wrong. I know alcoholics who are also quite accomplished home cooks. They keep and use alcohol for their cooking because they can control their disease. That’s not to say there are not some who could not, especially early in their recovery, but you shouldn’t imply all alcoholics are alike.
Hello Chungah!
What will you suggest if I need to substitute red wine out? And do you think different mushrooms give a different taste to the soup?
Btw, I’m loving your blog and can’t stop looking through the recipes! 😀
Aisyah, you can certainly substitute something else for the red wine and for the mushrooms but I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish without further recipe testing. It is always best to use the ingredients listed in the recipe to obtain the best results possible.
This is what I found on the kitchn.com site:
Red wine substitutes:
• Chicken, beef, or vegetable stock
• Grape, pomegranate, or cranberry juice
• For acidity or deglazing, add about a tablespoon of red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar per cup of stock or fruit juice
• For sweetness, add sugar or honey
Personally, I would never substitute the wine, however. The alcohol cooks off, if that’s a concern. The wine imparts such a great flavor, in my opinion.
*that should read…big pieces of mushroom, not big prices…although, mushrooms have gone up quite a bit!
I wasn’t in the mood for big prices of mushrooms so after I sautéed and added the wine, I put it all in a food proccessor…..my husband loved the “gritty” texture of the processed mushroom and onions. I used a dry red wine that I purchased in Fredericksburg, Texas from Fat A$$ Winery. Delicious!
Oh gosh – I LOVE Fredericksburg!! I’d love to move there. My oldest son and his family live in San Antonio. I’m in CA :(. Sorry, I know this is off topic, but I got excited when I saw the town’s name 🙂
Staying off topic, I’ve been fascinated with Fredericksburg ever since reading the Adelsverein series by Celia Hayes, about the German families settling that area. Also, we’re frozen in here in Nashville so I made the mushroom soup and it’s fantastic for the middle of this ice storm!
I have no red wine st home, so if I buy a bottle, what kind should I buy? Please give at least 2 recommendations. We are not wine drinkers at all. Only one person mentioned Shiraz. Thanks
Karen, a hearty wine such as merlot should work well in a soup like this.
I just made this soup and it’s a big hit with my hubby!!!
I doubled the butter and added a table soon of truffle oil right before I served it.
I also used a hand blender to purée the mushrooms.
Thanks for the recipe.