Whenever I want something warm and comforting, I almost exclusively choose this creamy mushroom soup. It checks all the boxes: it’s easy to make, it has deep earthy flavors, smooth texture and golden-brown perfectly cooked mushrooms. In half an hour you’ll have a luscious creamy soup, ready to be devoured. You’ll love how easy this is to make!
The mushrooms I used were a combination of brown champignons, shiitake and shimeji. I like to use a mix because they help to deepen the flavor, but you can make this soup with any kind you have on hand and it will turn out amazing. Another trick that adds to the texture is cooking some of the mushrooms separately in a skillet until golden-brown and slightly crisp. You can totally skip this step if you’re in a hurry, just add all of them to the pan and reserve some when they soften, or blend it all.
The onion, celery, garlic and fresh herbs compliment the earthy flavor of the mushrooms and add to the subtle but well balanced taste. The heavy cream gives a thicker and richer texture, but you can substitute it with a couple of tablespoons of milk. Fresh herbs are always a great addition to a soup. Thyme is perfect with mushrooms, but if you don’t like it, replace it with parsley or rosemary.
Quick Mushroom Cream Soup
Ingredients
- 700 g mixed mushrooms sliced
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 sticks celery diced
- 3 garlic cloves diced
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 l chicken or vegetable stock
- 100 ml heavy cream
- salt to taste
- black pepper freshly ground
Instructions
- Prepare the ingredients: chop onion and celery, clean and slice mushrooms, dice garlic, pick thyme leaves.
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan, add onion, celery, garlic, cook for 2-3 minutes over a medium heat, until softened.
- Add 600g sliced mushrooms and thyme leaves and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all the water evaporates and the vegetables are slightly golden-brown.
- Pour stock into the pan and bring to the boil over a high heat. Simmer for 15 minutes turning the heat down to low.
- Melt butter in a skillet, add the remaining mushrooms, salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook for 10-15 minutes until golden-brown. Set aside.
- After simmering, season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then whiz with an immersion blender until smooth.
- Add heavy cream, bring back to the boil, then turn off the heat.
- When serving, garnish the soup with fresh thyme leaves and some of the mushrooms made separately.
