You can make this absolutely delicious, Easy Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup in just 20 minutes! Perfect for a comforting homemade mushroom soup any time.
I have been sharing some classic recipes in the past few weeks that, while not glamorous, are just solid recipes for every-day dishes. This classic cream of mushroom soup recipe is one of those.
Beyond being incredibly delicious, this soup is ready to eat in just about 20 minutes. Just let that sink in for a few seconds ... delicious ... soup ... 20 minutes. You'll never open a can of mushroom soup again!
This mushroom soup is not super thick, at least not like the gelatinous canned version. It's pleasantly thick. If you like, you can puree a bit and add it back in to the soup to thicken it more, as well. The thyme is the perfect spice for mushroom soup. It's subtle, but present and complements the mushrooms without overpowering them. I often just use plain, old pre-sliced button or mini bella mushrooms, but a combination is nice, as well. Whatever you like or you have around is fine.
The real beauty of this soup is that you can walk in to the kitchen, throw together just a few ingredients and then walk out with a bowl of delicious and comforting soup in minutes. There are not a lot of recipes you can say that about!
Cook's Notes for Easy Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
This recipe makes 2 large bowls or 3 smaller ones. I keep the recipe in these increments since it equates to one tray of mushrooms and the better part of one carton of chicken broth. I'm also only cooking for 2 or 3 most often. That said, you can double or triple the as needed, to feed more.
Be sure to taste your soup before serving and adjust seasoning as necessary. While the chicken stock will have some salt, you will probably want to add a bit more. And some freshly ground pepper is always nice! If you taste it and it seems like it needs something, it's probably salt!
Finally, a word about the cream. If I have it, I'll always use heavy, whipping cream in this soup. It doesn't need a lot and it doesn't put this soup over the top in the richness department. It also makes for a thicker/creamier soup. If you don't have or want to use heavy cream, I'd suggest mixing whatever lighter cream or milk you use with a couple of teaspoons of cornstarch and adding to the soup. It will thicken up the lighter cream.
Easy Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter cut into 3 pieces
- 1/2 cup yellow onions finely diced
- 8 oz fresh mushrooms (button or mixture of button, cremini oyster etc), cleaned and sliced (1 standard "tray")
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 tsp. dried thyme leaves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream if using a lighter cream, mix with a couple teaspoons of cornstarch before adding to soup
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, melt 1 Tbsp. of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms, thyme, salt, and pepper and the second 1 Tbsp. of butter. Cook, stirring regularly, until the mushrooms start to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the last 1 Tbsp. of butter and stir to melt. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly for about 30 seconds to a minute. Add the stock and stir while returning the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
- *At this point, if you like a thicker soup, you can remove a few of the mushrooms with a bit of soup to puree and return to the pot or simply pulse a few seconds with an immersion blender. Neither is necessary if you'd rather leave it with all whole mushroom pieces.
- Add the cream and cook for a further minute or two to heat. Taste and adjust seasoning, as necessary. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition (per serving)
More Mushroom Soup Recipes from Seasons and Suppers
Joy says
Can I add water instead of chicken broth?
Jennifer says
Hi Joy, As I always say, you can do whatever you want, but if you want a soup that has some flavour, I don't think water is a great choice. If you are looking for a vegetarian option, I would try vegetable broth.
Marie Louis says
Easy peasy and really really good!!! I tweaked a little. I added 2 chopped garlic cloves to the onions. I increased butter to 4 tablespoons and flour to a 1/3 cup which made it perfect. Thickened up nicely I might add. Great receipe I will be making again and again
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much :)
Caeli says
Excellent soup. Baked bread bowls and this was the perfect thing to fill them with!
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it and I love the sound of homemade bread bowls :)
Kathleen says
Can you substitute beef broth for the chicken broth?
Jennifer says
Hi Kathleen, While yes, you could use beef broth here, to my taste, beef broth is quite strong in flavour and might overwhelm the mushroom flavour. I find the chicken broth makes for a nicer background flavour, myself.
Carole Ann O’Connell says
This soup is delicious and so easy to prepare. I used the Immersion blender at the end leaving only a few mushrooms in tact. A real crowd pleaser. Thank you, Jennifer.
Jennifer says
Thanks! So glad you enjoyed it :)
Vicky says
Absolutely awesome soup - best cream of mushroom soup ever - you won’t be disappointed!!
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Vicky! Thanks so much :)
Jocelyn says
Made this with evaporated milk instead of cream (and a little extra flour) with great results. Everyone loved it! Fresh herbs make all the difference and really aren't that expensive.
Jennifer says
Sounds delicious, Jocelyn! Thanks so much :)
Scott Murray says
So simple and Wow!!
The flavour is amazing
Family loved it
Thanks for the recipe
Jennifer says
So glad you all enjoyed it, Scott! Thanks :)