While it is most often purchased in can form, you can actually make a homemade cream of mushroom soup that is far, far better. My recipe is not fast, but you end up with a much better soup than anything you would buy at the store.

Cream of mushroom soup is often used, not as a standalone meal, but as a component in the famous Thanksgiving side dish Green Bean Casserole. However a well made cream of mushroom soup is a total delight, and one of my favorite things to make after a day of mushroom hunting.
As I go mushroom hunting basically every week during the season I always end up with more shrooms than I know what to do with. Whether I cook them into a quiche for brunch or a risotto for a fancy dinner, I’m always looking for more great mushroom recipes to add to my repertoire. And remember, if you have too many – freeze them!
What Type of Mushrooms to Use in Cream of Mushroom Soup?

If you are planning on making a homemade cream of mushroom soup the first question that comes to mind is what mushrooms go in it. In fact, you can use any edible mushroom to make a cream of mushroom soup. Just remember, the better the mushroom, the better the soup.
What do I mean by that? Well, if you use some boring, near flavorless white button mushrooms then your final soup won’t be as good as using a higher quality mushroom. I’m not saying use 100% white truffles, but pick a mushroom that you adore. For this recipe I use 100% Boletus Edulis, a.k.a. porcinis. This is the same mushroom I use for this blog’s wildly popular Carpathian Mushroom Soup, since it is the main treasure I look for when I go mushroom hunting.
Can You Use Frozen Mushrooms in a Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup?

Yes, you can use frozen mushrooms when you made a homemade cream of mushroom soup. I always have frozen mushrooms on hand, plus you can often find them in the frozen section at your local market. You can also use fresh or dried mushrooms, provided you properly rehydrate the latter.
Ingredients
- 500 grams Mushrooms – fresh, frozen, or properly rehydrated dried mushrooms all work. I suggest picking a ‘shroom that is flavorful like porcini, chanterelle, morel, hen-of-the-woods, or a combination. Reserve a few mushrooms to slice and fry up as a garnish.
- 1.5 liters Chicken Stock – you can use mushroom stock if you want to keep this recipe vegetarian.
- 1 large Onion – chopped, yellow onion works best. If your onion is small then use 2-3.
- 5-6 Shallots – chopped, these add a more complex flavor than just using regular onions.
- 50 grams Butter
- 375 ml Heavy Cream – about 1.5 cups. Use more if you want the final soup to be extra creamy.
- 75 grams Flour – this is a little more than half a cup, but you will need to adjust by feel depending on how much moisture your mushrooms and onions have given off when you add it.
- 6 cloves Garlic – minced
- 4 sprigs Fresh Thyme – plucked
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp Pedro Ximenez Sherry – if you don’t want to add alcohol you can leave this ingredient out, but I do find that it adds a great complexity to the finished soup
- 1 tsp Salt – adjust accordingly depending on if your stock has salt in it. You don’t need to add the salt early on in this recipe, so definitely taste before adding to determine how much you need.
- Black Pepper – freshly cracked, to taste
- Parsley – chopped, for garnish
How To Make The Best Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

The first step in making an absolutely delicious homemade cream of mushroom soup is to caramelize the onions and shallots. Add the butter to a pot or pan on medium-low heat and when melted add the onions and shallot. Don’t worry if they are not all a similar size, they will be blended later. Do not rush this step, it should take about 30-45 minutes. Keep an eye on the pan and stir everything every few minutes or so.

Once the onion and shallot are caramelized, add in the minced garlic and stir it in. Garlic cooks extremely fast and burns easily so only plan on cooking it about 30 seconds.

Once the garlic gets fragrant add in all of your mushrooms and olive oil and stir everything together. As the mushrooms release water quickly they will prevent the garlic from burning. Mushrooms are notoriously hard to overcook on a low saute so don’t worry about carefully watching this step. I like to cook the mushrooms for about 15-20 minutes here, but you can easily go for longer.

Once you are happy with your mushrooms add in the flour. Stir it in so it absorbs all the liquid from the onions and mushrooms. You should end up with a sticky, clumpy mess that almost looks like a brown dough.

Add in the chicken stock and plucked thyme and turn the heat up to high. The stock will thin out the floury mushroom dough and you will end up with a very liquid soup with mushroom chunks floating around.

Cook on high heat until the flour activates and the soup begins to naturally thicken.

Once you are happy with the soup thickness, add the sherry. Stir it in and let the soup cook for 5 minutes.

Reduce the heat back to low and use a stick blender to blend everything up. You can also use a standing blender but that means you have to transfer the contents back and forth. You can blend everything as much as you want – just be careful not to splash everything all over the place.

Pour in your heavy cream and stir to combine. Taste for seasonings and add salt and pepper accordingly. Feel free to add other spices and herbs you want like basil, oregano, dill, parsley, or anything else you enjoy.

Once the homemade cream of mushroom soup is done I confit a few sliced porcini mushrooms to decorate the top of the cream of mushroom soup when I serve it. I also chop up the parsley and sprinkle it as a garnish. These steps are optional, but it does make for a nice presentation.
Ways To Customize a Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup 🥄
- Hot Sauce! If you prefer a spicier soup go ahead and add your favorite hot sauce to the soup after plating. I often add a couple drops of my homemade carolina reaper sauce if I’m under the weather to help clear the sinuses.
- Soup Meet Meat. Go ahead and throw in some shredded chicken or pork if you want to make a thicker, meatier, stew-like dish. Mushrooms go well with all meat so use whatever you like.
- White…Chili? If you want to add meat, beans, and some other spices you can use this cream of mushroom soup as a base for a mushroomy, creamy, white chili. It isn’t an authentic chili – but it tastes very good and a great way to utilize leftovers.

Cream Of Mushroom Soup
Equipment
- 1 Pan or Pot | large enough to hold at least 2 liters of liquid
- 1 Stick Blender | or a standing blender if you prefer
Ingredients
- 500 grams Mushrooms fresh, frozen, or properly rehydrated dried mushrooms all work. I suggest picking a 'shroom that is flavorful like porcini, chanterelle, morel, hen-of-the-woods, or a combination. Reserve a few mushrooms to slice and fry up as a garnish.
- 1.5 liters Chicken Stock you can use mushroom stock if you want to keep this recipe vegetarian.
- 1 large Onion chopped, yellow onion works best. If your onion is small then use 2-3.
- 5-6 Shallots chopped, these add a more complex flavor than just using regular onions.
- 50 grams Butter
- 375 ml Heavy Cream about 1.5 cups. Use more if you want the final soup to be extra creamy.
- 75 grams Flour this is a little more than half a cup but you will need to adjust by feel depending on how much moisture your mushrooms and onions have given off when you add it.
- 6 cloves Garlic minced
- 4 sprigs Fresh Thyme plucked
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp Pedro Ximenez Sherry if you don't want to add alcohol you can leave this ingredient out but I do find that it adds a great complexity to the finished soup
- 1 tsp Salt adjust accordingly depending on if your stock has salt in it. You don't need to add the salt early on in this recipe so definitely taste before adding to determine how much you need.
- Black Pepper freshly cracked, to taste
- Parsley chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Add the butter to a pot or pan on medium-low heat and when melted add the onions and shallot to caramelize. Don’t worry if they are not all a similar size, they will be blended later. Do not rush this step, it should take about 30-45 minutes. Keep an eye on the pan and stir everything every few minutes or so.
- Once the onion and shallot are caramelized, add in the minced garlic and stir it in. Garlic cooks extremely fast and burns easily so only plan on cooking it about 30 seconds.
- Once the garlic gets fragrant add in all of your mushrooms and olive oil and stir everything together.I like to cook the mushrooms for about 15-20 minutes here, but you can easily go for longer.
- Once you are happy with your mushrooms add in the flour. Stir it in so it absorbs all the liquid from the onions and mushrooms.
- Add in the chicken stock and plucked thyme and turn the heat up to high. The stock will thin out the floury mushroom dough and you will end up with a very liquid soup with mushroom chunks floating around.
- Cook on high heat until the flour activates and the soup begins to naturally thicken.
- Once you are happy with the soup thickness, add the sherry. Stir it in and let the soup cook for 5 minutes.
- Reduce the heat back to low and use a stick blender to blend everything up. You can also use a standing blender but that means you have to transfer the contents back and forth. You can blend everything as much as you want – just be careful not to splash everything all over the place.
- Pour in your heavy cream and stir to combine. Taste for seasonings and add salt and pepper accordingly. Feel free to add other spices and herbs you want like basil, oregano, dill, parsley, or anything else you enjoy.
- Move to a bowl to plate and serve. You can garnish with some fried mushrooms and parsley sprinkled on top. Enjoy!
