creamy mushroom soup

Why this recipe works

Tasty and simple: This creamy mushroom soup with cashews is packed with rich, umami flavor without much effort. Just sauté, simmer and blend, and you’ll have an absolutely delicious creamy soup in no time! Pair with some crusty bread to soak up all that creamy goodness!

Good for you: This mushroom soup is not only super tasty, but also good for you! It’s made with wholesome ingredients and no meat or dairy products in sight, making this a great option for our vegan friends. Both mushrooms and cashews are packed with vitamins and nutrients and make this soup filling and satisfying!

Ingredients

Our No-Cream Creamy Mushroom Soup uses simple staples you may already have on hand! This is what you need:

• Onion: To build flavor, let’s start with onion! You can chop it however you want because we are going to mix it all in the end.
• Salt pepper: Samples!
• Garlic: Fresh garlic is best, but canned garlic also works.
• Thyme: I like to add fresh sprigs of thyme to this. If you prefer to add dry, go for it!
• Mushrooms: I used baby bella mushrooms, but any small mushrooms will do, such as white or cremini mushrooms!
• White wine: I like to add a splash of white wine for depth of flavor! If you prefer not to cook with alcohol, add an extra dash of stock.
• vegetable stock: For a vegan mushroom soup, use vegetable stock. If you prefer to use chicken stock, you can certainly do that.
• Raw Cashew Nuts: Raw cashews soften in the soup and make it super creamy once mixed! This is a great way to make soup creamy without dairy.
• Truffle oil: Add a little truffle oil at the end for extra flavor! If you don’t have truffle oil, you can add a drizzle of high-quality extra virgin olive oil instead.

Here’s how to make it

Step by step instructions

1. Sautéing aromatics: Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pan over medium heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook until soft and starting to brown. Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook for another minute.
2. Add mushrooms: Stir in the mushrooms and cook, stirring every few minutes, until the mushrooms are soft, starting to color and most of the liquid released by the mushrooms at the bottom of the pan has evaporated.
3. Deglaze the pan: Add a generous splash of wine to the pan and use your wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan as it evaporates. You can also use a dash of vegetable stock.
4. Add stock: Add the stock and cashews and increase the heat to high to bring the pan to the boil. Immediately reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes until cashews are tender.
5. Remove thyme and mix: Remove the thyme sprigs and puree the soup with a hand blender until smooth. Season with salt (to make the soup even spicier!) and black pepper before stirring in the truffle or olive oil. Serve in warm bowls.

Expert tips

• Don’t have a hand blender? No problem! You can blend this soup in a regular blender, but you can’t blend it until it has cooled. Mixing it hot can build pressure in the blender and make it dangerous to mix. After blending, put back in the pan to reheat!
• If you prefer not to cook with wine, skip the splash of white wine and use a little stock. However, if you have white wine on hand, I highly recommend using a splash for the extra flavor in this creamy mushroom soup recipe!
• Truffle oil can have a strong mushroom flavor! If you don’t want that extra flavor, you can add less and replace the rest with olive oil, or just use olive oil.