ISO best cream of mushroom soup recipe

October 13, 2024 8:28 AM

I bought $15 of wildcrafted mushrooms and need to use them ASAP. I'd like to make the best cream o' mushroom soup ever, suitable for freezing so I can eat them months from now.

I'd like it to be vegetarian, creamy, and something that can withstand freezing for later.
I live in a large US metro area so any specialty ingredients can probably be found, although I don't really want to engage with a lot of food science type stuff for this.
I have all the usual kitchen items, like crock pot, instant pot, rice maker, oven etc.
I am willing to make a broth or stock from scratch but usually use the Better than Boullion vegetable version. I don't eat eggs or nuts due to allergies, although I can't imagine any good soup recipes would call for them. I'm meh on rice in it because rice in soup doesn't freeze super well.
There’s a local deli that makes a mushroom soup in the fall I've been trying to re-create without success. Here's a picture.

posted by fiercekitten to Food & Drink (10 answers total)

Response by poster: Oh, I forgot to mention what mushrooms I got: maitake, matsutake, shitake, chanterelle, maybe a lobster, oysters. I can supplement with crimini, button, shitake and maybe more chanterelles and oysters from the local stores.
posted by fiercekitten at 8:31 AM on October 13

I made the Hungarian Mushroom Soup from the Modern Proper and it came out well. If I did it again I’d just do a roux instead of the slurry they recommend. I’s also probably make the freezer part without dairy. Note that it uses Worcestershire, which I think is not strictly vegetarian.
posted by vunder at 9:03 AM on October 13

I've made Budget Bytes' creamy mushroom soup before, and it's delicious. I'd imagine you can easily swap in whatever varieties of mushrooms you've got on hand.
posted by hydra77 at 9:50 AM on October 13 [1 favorite]

I think pretty much any mushroom soup benefits from a bit of sherry.
posted by theora55 at 10:17 AM on October 13 [2 favorites]

I've mostly made mushroom soup from scratch for purposes of a green bean casserole, but woo-oee does the from scratch stuff delight the tastebuds. Here are the tips I'd recommend:

- Similar to the recipe that hyrda77 linked to, thyme is a key addition.
- I use the Better Than Bullion veggie, and it works great.
- The soy sauce in that recipe or a some Worcestershire sauce would add some good umami and depth of flavor.
- Butter and half and half (or cream) adds the richness.
- Some shallots, diced and fried first, would add some flavor. Regular onion works too, but it's sharper and might overwhelm the delicate mushroom flavor.
- Salt and pepper to taste, of course.
- Depending on your preferences, a little bit of freshly grated nutmeg might really bring it to another level.
- A bit of paprika or red pepper would give it some kick.
posted by past unusual at 1:38 PM on October 13

For freezing, I also recommend making the base without the dairy for freezing (while having some fresh with dairy today), then thaw that beautiful mushroom and broth base, warm it on the stove, add the cream/half-n-half and warm some more, oooh, and add a nip of sherry as recommended above & enjoy!
posted by childofTethys at 2:24 PM on October 13 [3 favorites]

Agreed on leaving the cream and probably broth out of the frozen part and adding them fresh during reheating, as they're the last thing you add anyway, and I find are degraded by freezing as well as taking up space. I'd cut the mushrooms into two piles – trimmings to be diced finely and fried vigorously in butter with diced shallot until very brown for the taste, and nice looking large pieces to be fried a bit but fussily turned about and left whole for the final dish. Deglaze all the mess with sherry, and add a teaspoon of marmite to a pint of finished soup, or a quarter teaspoon of straight msg to the same.
posted by lucidium at 2:45 PM on October 13

Kenji has you covered:

Quick and Easy Creamy Mushroom Soup

Creamy Chanterelle Soup - the fancy, high end restaurant version of the above

Vegan Cream of Mushroom - A vegan! version of the fancy dish.
posted by mmascolino at 7:30 AM on October 14

Grab some dried porcini and soak them in hot water and add them to your mushrooms, then strain the soaking liquid and add that to your broth for extra deep mushroomy flavor. Nthing freeze without the cream.
posted by Daily Alice at 8:12 AM on October 14

I’m not at home so the recipe is out of reach but coconut milk is the magic ingredient.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 1:24 PM on October 14