This is one of my favorite soups too.

I can't wait to try this. There's a place in Nashville called Bread & Company and they had a version of cream of mushroom soup that came in a bread bowl that was fantastic. It had some kind of cheese melted in it, though. Does anyone have any recommendations of what kind of cheese would go best melted in this soup?

Have you tried this with any other types of "gourmet" mushrooms, like Morels?

Note from Elise: Hi Jason, yes, see our cream of wild mushroom soup recipe. Wild mushrooms like morels and porcini are incredibly good, the only problem is that they run about $25 a pound, compared to button or cremini mushrooms which you can get for about $3-$4 a pound, maybe even less.

As a kid I used to absolutely hate mushroom soup. Especially the smell. And now I love it but my partner hates the smell and can't bear to be in the same house as it. Think mushroom soup and I are not destined to be.

Yumm!

This looks so delicious.
I love mushroom!
Gotta try this soon.

Oh my....this sounds absolutely delightful, can't wait to try it. My 3 year old loves mushrooms & loves soup...so this is bound to be a hit with him. Thanks for your site, I love it, the recipes, the pictures, the comments...very enjoyable...keep it flowing.

Laura

Hi. This sounds like one for me. Just found out I cannot have milk. In your view, can I substitute non-dairy coffe creamer or non-dairy half and half? Would this be true in other recipes as well? Thank you.

Note from Elise: If you are lactose intolerant (can't drink milk or cream, or eat cheese), I suggest that you find a different recipe that is not so reliant on cream. Many mushroom soup recipes use flour as a thickener and milk instead of cream. Start there and substitute the milk with soy milk or rice milk. I do not recommend at all using some non-dairy creamer for this or any recipe.

Elise,
Next time you make it try adding a couple of ounce of dried, rehydrated wild mushrooms to it. Makes a huge difference.

Finally! A cream of mushroom soup recipe that doesn't call for alcohol! I am a huge fan of cream of mushroom, but every recipe I find calls for either white wine or sherry. And we don't drink often enough to warrant buying alcohol just for cooking. I'm looking forward to trying it!

I had my wedding reception at Wente Vineyards in Livermore, and the first course was their mushroom soup. It was so wonderful - my husband's uncle said that we could've ended the dinner right there!

I had an idea for the lactose-intolerent - you could also experiment with coconut milk mixed with some more neutral tasting milk substitute. (I seem to have red curry on my mind.) It doesn't taste as coconutty when mixed with chicken broth.

For buddy - Here's a "creamless" (non-dairy) mushroom soup which I'm sure you'll find every bit as rich and delicious as Elise's. It gets it's richness from stewing and pureeing the vegetables.

Creamless Mushroom Soup (serves 6)
(from NYC's "The Union Square Cafe Cookbook" Harper Collins 1994)

2 T. butter
1 c. sliced carrots
1 c. sliced onions
1 c. slice leeks, washed, white & light green parts only
1/2 c. sliced celery
1 t. fresh thyme leaves
2 pounds cleaned/sliced white mushrooms
6 c. chicken stock
1 1/2 t. kosher salt (or to taste)
1/8 t. freshly ground black pepper
4 t. minced chives
3 T. extra-virgin olive oil (optional)

1. Melt butter over medium heat in a large soup pot. Add carrots, onions, leeks and celery and cook until tender but not browned, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the thyme and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes until the mushrooms have softened. add the chicken stock, salt and pepper and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
3. Puree the soup in a food processor or blender in as many batches as necessary. Adjust seasoning to taste. Serve in warm bowls with a sprinkling of chives and drizzle with the extra-virgin olive oil, if desired.

Add some nice bread and a salad and...voila! Funghi heaven.

Just wondering about using an immersion blender to get an even smoother soup. Yes, no? Makes it creamier w/ a smoother appearance or could it "break" it?

Thank you so much, Kim and Jonathan, for taking the time to give me an assist. That's what community is all about, isn't it? As you can imagine, I'm floundering right now, so your help is much appreciated.

Here's a different version of Mushroom Soup with Brie Cheese - enjoy.

Mushroom Brie Soup
Makes 4 - 6 servings

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
4 (8 oz. packages) mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste
3/4 teaspoon each: dried basil and oregano
4 teaspoons chicken base or more to taste (see note)
1 1/4 cups whipping cream
1 3/4 cups milk
3 oz. brie cheese, trimmed of rind and cubed
Salt to taste
Parsley to taste, chopped (optional)

Melt butter in large saucepan. Saute onion over medium heat until wilted; about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic; saute 1 minute. Stir mushrooms into butter mixture; cover and cook over low to medium heat 10 minutes or until mushrooms are cooked down, giving off liquid. Stir in flour, pepper, basil, oregano and chicken base; cook 5 minutes. Add cream, milk and brie; let simmer 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley.

NOTE: Chicken Base: A non-refrigerated chicken base is available in most super-markets. Comes in a jar and texture is paste like.

This has been my favorite mushroom recipe; but I haven't made Elise's yet!

I had the same love of campbell's- but with tomato soup! I loved how easy it was when I was a kid. although, I always stuck with water instead of the milk. I have to admit, while making my own tomato soup is satisfying, every now and then I have to open a can of the original!

If you're intolerant to lactose, I suggest using Lactaid products. There's pills that you can take before you indulge in ice cream, there's a liquid drop one that you can add to milk. And they even sell the milk already with the Lactaid in it.

I grew up loving milk, drinking 2 cups morning, 2 of those milk cartons at at lunch, 2 or 3 cups in the afternoon, and a couple cups more at dinner.

But all of a sudden I became lactose intolerant in my middle age and would drink milk only if I wanted a laxative.

But discovering Lactaid has reopened my world to milk!

Hi there! I was just dreaming of mushroom soup and here's the recipe!
Need some advice - I find it hard to get heavy cream at my local store. Can I substitute with whipping cream instead?

Note from Elise: Yes, you can use whipping cream.

Greetings: (especially for Buddy)

I am not lactose intolerant, but casein or the protein in ALL dairy (tis a drag), and I can ALMOST guarantee that if you use 'SOYA CREAM' for cooking or as they call it here in French 'Soya Cuisine' which means Soya for Cooking the results will be fabulous with 0 fat, but high in protein. I haven't tried this particular recipe but I have previously made mushroom soup with Soya Cream and one cannot tell the difference. Honest it's true. I substitute Soya Cream in almost everything that calls for milk; or Rice Milk, Almond Milk or Soya Milk for all my baking and it works just fine. I use many Simply Recipes.......recipes and the Soya Cream has never failed me as a replacement for cream. I love your site by the way.....Marlene (gluten and dairy PROTEIN intolerant)

ooopppsss - Re the comment 'I substitute Soya Cream when it calls for milk.....NO - I spaced that...use only the milk substitutes for milk and the $oya Cream for Cream substitutes -....Sorry about that! Marlene

The best cream of mushroom soup I ever had was at a restaurant on the way to Mendocino maybe 20 years ago. When I asked what was in it, that gave it the special flavor, they said "yams." Never have seen a recipe for mushroom soup with yams in it!

Wow - this was great!! We had it tonight and my kids loved it (ages 1 & 3)!! Thanks!

One of the benefits of Campbells is the ease of popping open the can and using it for cooking (i.e. chicken bakes and such). But homemade is so much better and so much better for you! Do you think this recipe could be frozen? Or maybe canned (I don't do canning, but would like to start.)

I was wondering if there was a reason for the lemon juice, or if it was simply for flavoring. Because I found it too strong... Also, next time I don't think I'll process a whole 1 lb of sliced mushrooms in the food processor at once. You can't really get coarsely chopped - it's more "fine" if you want it all a similar consistency. Or maybe I'll just stop sooner and deal with the larger chunks.

Note from Elise: the acidity of the lemon juice balances the fat from the cream, but it is all a matter of taste. I would start with one Tbsp and then just add to taste.

Made this last week and am making it again tonight! Very simple and easy to make. I skipped using the food processor because I couldn't find it (heehee..) so I just chopped up the mushrooms coarsely, sprinkled them with lemon juice, cooked them as instructed, and used an electric hand-held blender to mix it all together with the soup.

Excellent Mushroom soup!
I just got back from sailing on Puget Sound (cold this time of year!) and wanted some mushroom soup.
I found your Blog from Google, read the Recipe and just finished making some Great!
The lemon was unexpected but I think it makes the soup! I'm happy to find a site like yours, not commercial and not just random directions like "add a can of soup to... "
Thank you

Can't wait to try this recipe for my family who loves mushroom!

However, are there any suggestion to an alternative instead of Cream (or milk)? My toddler is allergic to cow's milk, so any dairy product is better to be avoided : (