Creamy Garlic Mushroom Soup

I’m already experiencing temperatures in the 50’s and 60’s here in Nashville and it’s got me in FULL BLOWN fall-mode. I’m ready for cozy sweaters, campfires, and SOUP. Creamy mushroom soup has been on my “to make” list for years and now that I have access to inexpensive mushrooms (thank you, Aldi) I decided to go for it. This Creamy Garlic Mushroom Soup was rich without being too heavy, and oh so delightfully earthy. I suggest pairing it with a nice crusty bread to soak up all that creamy goodness, like a loaf of No-Knead Bread.

Creamy Garlic Mushroom Soup

What Kind of Mushrooms Should I Use?

I used Baby Bella mushrooms for this Creamy Garlic Mushroom Soup because they’re still on the inexpensive side compared to most mushrooms, but they give more flavor and color than a white button mushroom. Thankfully these baby portobella mushrooms are becoming really popular and I’ve seen them at several grocery store chains.

Broth Matters

For the broth I used vegetable flavored Better Than Bouillon to make the broth used in this soup, but you could certainly use their mushroom flavor if you have it. Their vegetable broth does have a rather distinct flavor, though, so I used half broth and half water to prevent overpowering the mushroom flavor. I find that Better than Bouillon broths tend to be quite strong in flavor, so if you’re using a different brand you may want to increase your broth to water ratio.

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Creamy Garlic Mushroom Soup

This rich and Creamy Garlic Mushroom Soup is perfect for fall with it's deep earthy flavors. Serve with crusty bread for dipping!

Keyword Soup, Vegetarian

Total Cost 4.75 recipe / $1.19 serving

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 4 1.5 cups each

Ingredients

• 1 lb. baby bella mushrooms $3.38
• 1 Tbsp olive oil $0.13
• 3 cloves garlic, minced $0.24
• Pinch salt & pepper $0.05
• 2 Tbsp butter $0.26
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour $0.04
• 2 cups vegetable broth* $0.18
• 2 cups water $0.00
• 1/8 tsp dried thyme $0.02
• 1/2 cup heavy cream** $0.42
• 1 tsp soy sauce $0.03

Instructions

1. Wash the mushrooms to remove any dirt or debris. Slice half of the mushrooms and roughly chop the other half.

2. Add the olive oil, mushrooms, garlic, and a pinch of salt and pepper to a soup pot. Sauté the mushrooms over medium heat until they have released all of their moisture, all the liquid has evaporated from the bottom of the pot, and the mushrooms become very dark brown.

3. Add the butter and flour to the pot. Stir and cook for about two minutes more. The flour and butter will form a thick paste and coat the mushrooms and the bottom of the pot. It's okay for the flour to coat the pot and brown a bit, just don't let it burn.

4. Finally, add the vegetable broth, water, and dried thyme. Stir to dissolve all of the flour from the bottom of the pot. Allow the liquid to come up to a simmer, at which point the flour will slightly thicken the broth.

5. Stir the cream into the soup. Finally, add the soy sauce, taste the soup, and add an additional pinch of salt if needed (depending on the salt content of the broth you used). Serve hot.

Recipe Notes

*I use Better Than Bouillon to make my broth.

**You can use half and half instead of heavy cream, but your soup will be less rich.

Step by Step Photos

These are the “baby bella” mushrooms I used, which are just baby portobella mushrooms. These will give you a much better color and flavor than a white button mushroom. You’ll want one pound of these babies.

I wanted a lot of texture for the soup, so I sliced half of the mushrooms and chopped the other half.

Add the mushrooms to a soup pot along with 1 Tbsp olive oil, 3 cloves of garlic (minced) and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté the mushrooms until they release all of their moisture and then that liquid evaporates away. You want the bottom of the pot to be dry again. Why? You don’t want the mushrooms just steamed, you want them to actually brown a little and this doesn’t happen until the moisture is gone.

Once the mushrooms are a nice dark brown color and all the moisture has evaporated, add 2 Tbsp butter and 1/4 cup flour.

Continue to stir and cook the flour and butter for about two minutes more. The flour will form a thick paste that coats the mushrooms and will begin to stick to the bottom of the pot. The flour will turn a nice golden brown, but keep an eye on it and don’t let it burn.

Add 2 cups vegetable broth, 2 cups water, and 1/8 tsp dried thyme, then stir to dissolve the flour off the bottom of the pot. Let the liquid come up to a rapid simmer, at which point the flour will slightly thicken the broth.

Add 1/2 cup heavy cream to the soup…

Add 1 tsp soy sauce, then taste the soup and add more salt if needed (this will depend on how salty the broth is that you used). And that’s it!