This is a super easy vegan cream of mushroom soup that can be done under 30 minutes. You need a couple of minutes to prepare, to cook, and to blend it into a SILKY SMOOTH soup. We are using a mix of different mushrooms (cremini, portobello, and shiitake) to have a delicious, rich and creamy soup at the end. Perfect on its on accord or part of a Green Bean Casserole.
We love all kinds of soups and we are adding more and more soup recipes like our daughter’s favorite Vegan Spinach Soup or my husband’s favorite Vegan Cabbage Soup with Sausages or one of my favorite Creamy Hokkaido Pumpkin Soup. Every veggie can be turned into a delicious soup, so stay tuned for even more recipes.
⇒ If you need an Easy 7-day VEGAN MEAL PLAN, click to download our free e-book with a shopping list.
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Best mushrooms for soup
Any fresh mushrooms can be a good candidate. Start with whatever you have on hand or find in your local store. You will most probably able to buy button mushrooms being the most common type out of all. As the different mushrooms have subtle differences in taste and texture, we recommend to mix and match at least TWO different kinds of mushrooms so the flavors can bring your soup up a notch.
Our favorite ones are…
- white/brown button mushrooms,
- portobello mushrooms,
- shiitake mushrooms,
- oyster mushrooms,
- porcini mushrooms,
- other wild mushrooms.
Other names for button mushrooms -> If you don’t find button mushrooms in your local store, try to look for cremini/crimini, or small portobello, or baby bella, or Italian brown, or champignon, or chestnut mushroom. They are practically the same both in taste and texture.
How to cook with dried mushrooms?
If you don’t have fresh mushrooms, you can definitely make this soup with dried mushrooms as well. We have two reasons why you should give them a chance:
- long shelf life
- high concentrate of mushroom flavor
You don’t have to do much to prepare them for cooking. Soak them in warm water until they are tender. Drain and sautée or cook them as you would fresh ones. They usually packed sliced or chopped like this cremini mushrooms pack* or this mix pack*. If not, you can slice and chop them after soaking and draining. Here is a detailed article on The Kitchn about how to prepare dried mushrooms.
How to make vegan cream of mushroom soup
You need only 8 ingredients. Nothing fancy or hard to get. All of them are pantry staples: onion, garlic, mushrooms, dried or fresh thyme, bay leaves, soy sauce, dairy-free milk (e.g.: unsweetened almond milk, soy milk) and vegetable broth.
My husband cooked this cream of mushroom soup in a cast-iron Dutch oven*. Don’t worry if you don’t have one, this recipe is absolutely perfect in a stockpot* too. We made it lots of times and will show you below step-by-step how to cook the best cream of mushroom soup every time.
Prepare your vegetables – step 1
Peel and finely chop the onion and the garlic.
Gently wash any dirt off of the mushrooms by using a colander* or a sieve*. Dry them with a paper towel or clean kitchen cloth. We never peel mushrooms, but sometimes cut out the stem if they feel too dry or too hard. Then slice them.
Making vegan mushroom soup – step 2
Cook onion and garlic in olive oil or vegan butter and cook them until soft and glassy (photo #1). When they are ready, add sliced mushrooms (photo #2). Stir, cover and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the seasoning: salt, black pepper, and dried thyme (photo #3). Stir and cook covered until mushrooms are soft and have shrunk (photo #4). Add soy sauce, vegetable broth and bay leaves (photo #5). Cover it with a lid and bring to boil. When the vegetable broth is boiling, add dairy-free milk (photo #6). Cover it with a lid and bring to boil.
Creamy mushroom soup – step 3
Your mushroom soup is ready. At this point, you can decide whether you want
- a silky smooth cream of mushroom soup or
- creamy soup with some mushroom chunks to bite on
In the first case, add the whole soup to a blender and mix until smooth. We use Vitamix* for an extra silky smooth texture. If it will be too thick, then add veggie broth or milk to reach desired consistency.
In the latter case, we only blend half of the soup (photo #7) and add it back to the stockpot or Dutch oven (photo #8) to mix.
Tone down and thicken the soup – step 4
If you’re not yet an absolute mushroom fan and want to tone down the mushroom flavor, you can always add vegan sour cream, unsweetened cashew cream, silken tofu or even coconut cream. Although this latter will alter the taste significantly. You can definitely add more dairy-milk, but that means you need to thicken the soup back.
How to thicken it?
As we eat gluten-free, we chose to thicken with corn starch. However, if you don’t need it to be gluten-free, you can thicken it with all-purpose flour.
In both cases, to avoid lumps, you need to use a separate bowl to mix the corn starch or flour and a bit of liquid from the soup. If it is thoroughly combined, you can add the mixture back. Stir vigorously for a couple of seconds. The corn starch or the flour is only activated (starts to thicken it) if it is heated, so bring the soup back to boil. You will see the result almost immediately. If you are not happy with the thickness, make another round. Take 1 Tbsp at a time!!!
FAQs and substitutions
Is soy sauce gluten-free?
You would think that, but unfortunately, they are not. All is explained in our “Is soy sauce gluten-free?” post. You can use any of the 5 gluten-free soy sauce substitutes we listed. We usually use tamari*, which has the same flavor, but gluten-free.
Is soy sauce paleo?
No, it is sadly not. You can use coconut aminos* instead, which will get your dish to be suitable not only for gluten-free and soy-free but for paleo as well. Don’t forget to use dairy milk or coconut milk (if you still need dairy-free) to have a fully compliant paleo mushroom soup.
What can you use instead of soy sauce?
You can use balsamic vinegar or Worcestershire sauce for an extra umami flavor. Yes, there are vegan and gluten-free sauce brands listed in our “Is Worcestershire sauce gluten-free?” post.
Can you make soup from canned mushrooms?
Yes, you can, but they are very watery and I find that they have less flavor compared to fresh or even dried mushrooms.
What other herbs go well with mushrooms?
We like rosemary or thyme, but mushrooms are great with Italian seasoning as well like oregano and basil. It all depending on your taste.
What to serve with a vegan mushroom soup?
We tried it with so many different garnishes like
- breadsticks (I like these Schar gluten-free breadsticks*)
- croutons or crackers
- seeds, chopped nuts or trail mix
- sauteed mushrooms in soy sauce glaze
- vegan bacon bits
- vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast
- canned legumes (any beans or lentils) or even better something like crispy baked chickpeas for added protein
- veggie balls/veggie patties – have you seen our chickpea meatballs, or eggplant meatballs, or mixed veggie balls recipe.
What is your favorite mushroom soup garnish?
This Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe is vegan/vegetarian, so meat-free, dairy-free and egg-free. It also fits within the paleo diet if you use coconut aminos and paleo-compliant milk. It is only gluten-free if you use GF veggie broth and tamari instead of soy sauce. This recipe is WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) if you cook the vegetables directly in veggie broth.
⇒ If you need an Easy 7-day VEGAN MEAL PLAN, click to download our free e-book with a shopping list.
More vegan mushroom recipes
We love mushrooms more and more every day. We already have many different mushroom recipes to choose from. It is damn hard to decide which one is our favorite.
- Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
- Grilled Vegetable Kabobs
- Roasted Asparagus and Mushrooms
- Vegan Mushroom Risotto
- Chickpea Mushroom Curry
Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1 Onion (medium)
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 3 cup Button mushrooms 500 g
- 2 cup Portobello mushrooms (chopped) 240 g
- 1 tsp Thyme (dried)
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp Soy sauce or tamari (for gluten-free)
- 2 cup Veggie broth 5 dl
- 1 cup Dairy-free milk 2,4 dl (homemade cashew milk recipe)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Optional topping (see more in Notes)
- Sauteed Mushrooms in Soy Sauce made of 100 g shiitake mushrooms
- Spring onion or chives
Instructions
Prepare the vegetables
- Peel and finely chop the onion and the garlic.
- Gently wash any dirt off of the mushrooms by using a colander or a sieve. Dry them with a paper towel or clean kitchen cloth. We never peel mushrooms, but sometimes cut out the stem if they feel too dry or too hard. Then slice them.
Making vegan mushroom soup
- Cook onion and garlic in olive oil and cook them until soft and glassy.
- When they are ready, add sliced mushrooms. Stir, cover and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the seasoning: salt, pepper, and thyme. Stir and cook covered until mushrooms are soft and have shrunk.
- Add soy sauce, veggie broth and bay leaves. Cover it with a lid and bring to boil.
- When the veggie broth is boiling, add dairy-free milk. Cover it with a lid and bring to boil.
Make it creamy!
- Your mushroom soup is ready. At this point, you can decide whether you want- a silky smooth cream of mushroom soup or- creamy soup with some mushroom chunks to bite on.
- In the first case, add the whole soup to a blender and mix until smooth. If it will be too thick then add veggie broth or milk to reach desired consistency.
- In the latter case, we only blend half of the soup and add it back to the stockpot or Dutch oven.
Optional topping
- Sautee shiitake mushrooms in soy sauce and top your mushroom soup with it.
Notes
Recommended toppings
- breadsticks (I like these Schar gluten-free breadsticks)
- croutons or crackers
- seeds, chopped nuts or trail mix
- sauteed mushrooms
- vegan bacon bits
- canned legumes (any beans or lentils) for added protein if need-be
- veggie balls/veggie patties
FAQs and Subsitutions
For gluten-free - use tamari instead of soy sauce. For paleo - use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. And don't forget to use dairy milk or coconut milk (if you still need dairy-free) to have a fully compliant paleo mushroom soup. From WFPB - cook onion, garlic and mushroom directly in veggie broth or on a low heat without oil.Video
Nutrition
UPDATED: This recipe was originally posted in Jan 2020, but was rewritten with more tips and tricks, and republished in Oct 2020.
Amanda
This looks so easy and delicious. I am going to make this one night for dinner this week!! Can’t wait to see what you come up with next!
kerri
Homemade is so much better than store bought. I love the flavor of this. It truly is an incredibly comforting soup.
Dolly
What a great idea! Cream of mushroom is such a comfort food, it’s so great to have a vegan version too!
Gina
I just made a creamy vegan mushroom soup last week and absolutely loved it. So intrigued by the soy sauce in your recipe though and will definitely be making it next time!
Kate
I really miss creamy mushroom soup since going vegan and this looks STUNNING! Love the shiitake mushrooms on top, looks like something you would be served at a restaurant! Pinned to try later in the week – thanks so much.
Jacqueline Meldrum
You had me at mushrooms. I love mushrooms and mushrooms soup! Yum!
joy
it look very delicious.