You can make this delicious, Easy Classic 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 Classic 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.
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1 Tbsp. pieces
- 1/2 cup yellow onions, finely diced finely diced
- 8-10 oz 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, if your thyme is powdered
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups chicken stock/broth
- 1/2 cup heavy (35%) whipping cream (if using a lighter cream, mix with a couple teaspoons of cornstarch before adding to soup)
Instructions
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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.
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*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.
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Add the cream and cook for a further minute or two to heat. Taste and adjust seasoning, as necessary. Enjoy!
There is nothing better than the classics!! This soup looks delicious!
Thanks so much, Katie. It is one of my favourite soups.
I love anything with mushrooms & thyme, this soup sounds so comforting!
Thyme and mushrooms go perfectly together and yes, this soup is good for the soul :)
Looks delicious Jennifer! I like it when you revisit the classics!
Thanks Renee. These are all recipes that have served me well for many years. Hope others might enjoy them too!
Love that this is made completely from scratch – something I’ve been wanting to do for years!
You would love it. From scratch in 20 minutes!
Made this soupl last night, and it was so quick and easy! Simple, straightforward ingredients…delicious.
So glad you enjoyed it, Dianna. I love it for too, for just those reasons!
Just made this and I’m having trouble not eating the whole pot because it’s DELICIOUS!!! So glad I found your blog and such a fantastic recipe :D
So glad you enjoyed it. If you’re like me, you’ll now be regretting all the years you didn’t know you could enjoy such a great soup in so little time :)
I’ve cooked this half a dozen times now. It’s delicious. Today’s is a triple batch for a potluck at work.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I keep cooking this regularly and I found that added a block of cream cheese makes it even better.
I have spent years looking for a simple and delicious mushroom soup that tasted like my mom used to make.Hers was called Campbells and required a can opener.lol.Well the hunt is over.So simple and so delicious.Thankyou.Cant wait to try some of the other recipes.
So glad you enjoyed it, Gwen. My Mom’s soup was called Campbells, too :) If you’re a lover of simple soups, the tomato is awesome (especially with the goat cheese toasts!)
I made this soup last night and let me tell you, It’s to die for. Can’t wait to make it for my mom.
So glad you enjoyed it, Debbie. It’s amazing how such a simple soup is so delicious, isn’t it?! :)
Delicious recipe! I used organic unsweetened almond milk with cornstarch instead of the cream and it was just as good! Thank you for sharing!
Glad you enjoyed it, Aura :)
This soup is amazing and easy to make. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks Linda and so glad you enjoyed it :)
the pot of deliciousness is on the stove as I type………….tasting make me feel all warm and fuzzy. Weather perfect for this.
Thanks Barb :)
I have made this soup twice in the last 3 days and still can’t get enough. I have sent the recipe to my daughters and sister so they can make it too. Thanks!
I am going to make some of your other dishes and soups too because they all look so good! So glad I found you. : )
So glad you are enjoying it Brandy :)
I am not a fan of Thyme, but LOVE Tarragon–I substituted one “T” for the other—-I also added 3 large cloves of pulverized Garlic (I am a Polish Girl, and Garlic improves just about EVERYTHING!!)……I am now making it for the Third time, absolutely wonderful!! Hope you don’t mind my substitutions, as it sound like a lot of Thyme with Mushroom lovers out there!~~~
I love tarragon, Linda, so it sounds great to me :)
I came across this yesterday and put it together last night… Excellent on a rainy night, served with warm, crusty Italian bread for dipping..
I like that it doesn’t make a bunch as there are only the two of us at home.. I sent the link to your site to my daughter.. She and her husband will love this recipe..
Thank you… :O)
So glad to hear! It’s been raining here, too (not very Christmas-y). This is one of my favourite soups and like you, I love the small batch, as I just make up a pot for the two of us for lunch or dinner and we eat it all up :)
This is SO delicious. I loved it so much. Since I’m single, I appreciate that it makes a modest sized batch… not a HUGE batch. I am making it AGAIN this weekend!
So glad you enjoyed it Mary and I agree about the small batch. I love to just make a small pot for lunch whenever :)
I’m very excited to try this recipe this weekend. Just a quick question, does it freeze well? I’m planning on freezing lunch sized portions and I am worried the soup might separate. Any insight would be lovely!
Hi Madison, I have to confess I’ve never frozen this, as it makes a very small batch and we tend to eat it in one sitting. You might want to make a double batch if you are looking to freeze some for lunches. Now as for the freezing, I suspect it would separate a bit, but would probably come back together nicely when re-heated. That’s my guess.
Hey,
Im from India and we predominantly get button mushrooms here so was looking for a recipe that would ne suitable.
This recipe was delicious!!!!!!!!!
Everyone loved have already got requests to make it again. Thamk you for the wonderful recipe.
Thanks so much, Christine. So glad you enjoyed it :)
I just finished eating this soup. So easy and quick to make with a delicious, comforting result. It’s a moody day today, and this hit the spot. My only mistake was not doubling the recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Rebekah and so glad you enjoyed it :) It’s a great soup to just whip up any time. So easy, but so delicious!
My husband and I LOVE this mushroom soup recipe!
This recipe was my first attempt, ever, of making fresh mushroom soup; and it was gone by night’s end. It is that good! The recipe is so simple and the results are so good and rich (ok…I may have added a little extra butter at the very end, 1-2 Tbsp of “salted” butter. Mmmmm!, Oh my!, Delicious!) Tonight I decided to make it again but this time I doubled the recipe. I use both button top and baby portabella mushrooms, yum! I also do the immersion step to make it a little thicker, plus I enjoy the different size pieces using this method. It really is fantastic!!
Thank you for sharing this recipe, well done! I will be checking your other recipes too. That way I can try some of those as well!
So glad you are enjoying it :) It is one of my favourites and the fact that it is so easy to make is just a huge bonus!
Fantastic. Didn’t use flour as we don’t eat grains. Added small pieces of mesquite tri tip that we over cooked (new smoker) with 3 types of mushrooms. Juice & fat from meat along with homemade bone broth. Heavy cream and lots of butter. Amazing & will make again and again.
Sounds lovely Margie! So glad you enjoyed it :)