You will not miss the dairy in this luscious vegan cream of mushroom soup! Made with savory herbs, cremini mushrooms and white wine in a silky coconut milk base, this soup is pure comfort in a bowl.
As a kid who hated meat from an early age, cream of mushroom soup was always my jam.
As an adult, I'm still a big fan of creamy mushroom soups. This vegan mushroom barley soup and this mushroom wild rice soup are two of my favorites. But I've yet to a dairy-free version of that classic cream of mushroom soup I loved so much growing up. Until today!
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Why This Recipe Works
Texture. Cream of mushroom soup needs to be super creamy. Duh! Coconut milk, thickened with a bit of flour is what we're using in this recipe. It's my favorite dairy substitute for making creamy vegan soups these days. Yes, I still love cashews, but coconut milk has the advantage of being ready to go. No soaking or blending required!
But does it make our vegan cream of mushroom soup taste like coconut? Nope! At least not as far as I can tell. The savory seasonings disguise the coconut flavor pretty well, so all you're left with is silky smooth soup that you'd never know was dairy-free.
Flavor. We also need the flavor to be super savory. Traditional cream of mushroom soup is made with beef or chicken stock. We need to replicate that flavor!
We're using cremini mushrooms, as they're flavor is a bit more complex than traditional white button mushrooms. White wine adds a touch of zip, while thyme adds savory notes.
Tip: Not all wine is vegan. Check with Barnivore to ensure the brand you buy is.
How to Prep and Cook Mushrooms
The first step to making amazing vegan cream of mushroom soup is properly prepping and cooking your mushrooms. This makes such a big difference! Part of me is convinced that all the mushroom haters in the world just never had mushrooms done right. So listen up!
First, let's talk cleaning. Don't immerse your mushrooms in water, and if you can help it, skip rinsing them. Mushrooms are super porous, so they'll suck up water like crazy. This means when you cook them they'll get soggy instead of tender and browned, which is what we want. Instead, wipe your mushrooms down with a damp cloth.
When it comes to sautéing mushrooms, there are a few things to keep in mind.
- Don't crowd your mushrooms. You want them in an even layer in your cooking vessel. This often means cooking your mushrooms in batches.
- Use plenty of fat. Mushrooms suck up oil when they cook. If you don't use enough of it your pan will dry out and they can burn.
- Leave them be. Don't stir them around like you might with an onion. In order for mushrooms to brown, they need to sit still in the pan for a few minutes.
Making the Soup
Start by cooking up those mushrooms. You'll need a large nonstick cooking surface. If the pot you're planning on cooking your soup in has this, feel free to use it for the mushrooms. I'm using a cast iron skillet because it's got a bit more cooking surface than my Dutch oven.
Heat up some olive oil in your cooking vessel and add the mushrooms in an even layer. You'll probably need to cook the mushrooms in batches in order to avoid crowding the pan.
Once the mushrooms are done cooking, heat up a bit more oil in a large pot. Add an onion and cook it for about 5 minutes, just until it softens up a bit. Now add some garlic and let it cook for a minute or so.
Next, add some white wine. Heat it up, bring it to a boil, and let it simmer until almost all of the liquid has dried up.
Now start sprinkling in some flour. Add just a bit at a time and stir it in to coat the onions. Once you've got the onions evenly coated with flour, start whisking in broth, a bit at a time.
When all of the broth has been added you can add your coconut milk, thyme, and mushrooms.
Bring the mixture to a boil and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. The mushrooms should be very tender and the broth should have thickened up a bit during this time.
Finally, ladle about half of the soup into a food processor or blender and blend it up until smooth and creamy.
Ladle your vegan cream of mushroom soup into bowls and grab a spoon!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan cream of mushroom soup will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not to me, and not to my husband. You might be able to detect some coconut if you're very sensitive to the taste.
You could probably get away with any unsweetened and unflavored variety of non-dairy milk, although the soup won't be quite as rich and creamy as with coconut milk.
You can simply leave it out and skip step 10 of the recipe if you'd prefer.
I haven't tried making a gluten-free version, but my best advice for those seeking to try would be to use cornstarch instead of flour. Simply whisk a few tablespoons into a small cup of ice-cold water. After blending the soup (step 16), return it to the pot, place it back over heat, and bring it back to a simmer. Slowly whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Be sure to add just a bit at a time as the thickening effect can take a minute. Continue adding it until the soup is as thick as you'd like it.
More Creamy Vegan Soups
- Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
- Creamy Vegan Corn Chowder
- Vegan Butternut Squash Soup
- Vegan Cream of Asparagus Soup
- Vegan Tomato Bisque
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 24 ounces fresh cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 (14 ounce) can full fat coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large nonstick skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Give the oil a minute to heat up, and then add some of the mushrooms to the skillet. Add only as many as you can fit without crowding, arranging them in an even layer.
- Let the mushrooms cook for about 5 minutes, flip them, and cook them for about 5 minutes more, until tender and browned on both sides.
- Remove the mushrooms from the skillet and transfer them to a plate.
- Cook the remaining mushrooms in batches in the same manner, adding oil to the skillet as needed between batches, using up to 4 tablespoons total.
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with the remaining tablespoon of oil and place it over medium heat.
- Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the onion.
- Sweat the onion for about 5 minutes, until it becomes soft and translucent.
- Add the garlic and continue cooking and stirring for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
- Stir in the wine, raise the heat, and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and allow the wine to simmer until most of the liquid has cooked off, about 5 minutes.
- Begin adding the flour, a bit at a time. Stir the flour in between each addition to form a paste that coats the onions and garlic. Cook everything for about a minute, stirring constantly.
- Begin whisking in the broth, a bit at a time, until all of the broth has been added and the flour is blended in.
- Stir in the coconut milk, thyme, and mushrooms.
- Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Lower the heat and allow the soup to simmer for about 15 minutes, until the liquid thickens up a bit.
- Remove the pot from the heat.
- Transfer about half of the soup to a food processor or blender and blend it until smooth. Return it to the pot.
- Reheat the soup if needed, then season it with salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle into bowls and serve.
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very good! as you say it didn't taste like coconut which worked for my husband!
Love love love this soup! Is there a way to thicken it? Should I try adding more flour after the wine? I wasn’t sure…
I'm so happy to hear that! And you're correct - more flour will make it thicker!
Very delicious! I used less oil, and subbed leek for onion.
Came out delicious and a perfect consistency. Be sure to really sweat those mushrooms on low heat...it takes a little longer but so worth it.
My soup looked grainy from the coconut. Any fixes for that?
Oh, that's odd. My only suggestion would be to try a different brand of coconut milk. They shouldn't be grainy when heated, but I know different brands use different fillers and additives that can sometimes cause weird things like that to happen.
Garnishing with parsley, as in the picture, just adds another flavor to balance out the richness.
Yumm! I skipped the cooking wine (didn't have any around), and used gluten-free flour. I love a creamy soup made without dairy. Delicious! Thank you!
I love your recipes and the helpful tips! Looks like I have found my new cream of shroom soup recipe! Can't wait to try! Any reason I couldn't use an emersion blender for this? Used it for some broccoli soup I made yesterday, and it worked just fine. Sometimes I just don't want to have to do the extra dishes! ;)
Glad you're enjoying the recipes! I wanted to get a nice mix of perfectly smooth soup and unblended mushroom slices, which is why I went with a food processor instead of immersion blender. If you wanted to you could probably remove some of the soup from the pot before blending and still achieve that result. You could also just blend all of the soup until it's completely smooth. I totally get not wanting to do extra dishes! Enjoy!
Very good and exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!
Made this tonight and it was delicious! I didn't have coconut milk on hand so I made a quick cashew cream in the Vitamix. It worked perfectly. Thanks for another amazing recipe!!
Wonderful!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks wendy!
I'm sorry but this is not mushroom soup. It's mushroom gravy. I make a lot of your recipes and have never commented on yours or any others. But, this is certainly not soup. I made it twice following the directions exactly and the second time ended up serving it over mashed potatoes. I'm still looking for a nice recipe for SOUP. Other than this recipe I find all the others are great.
Sorry you didn't enjoy it! Do you mean to say it was too thick for you? Mine never comes out terribly thick, so I'm not sure, but if that's the case you could easily just thin it with some extra broth or non-dairy milk.
I agree 100% with you and coconut milk is easiest dairy milk substitute!
It's one of my favorites lately!
Do you think it would significantly change the flavor is you used lower fat coconut milk? This recipe looks amazing, but the fat numbers seem a bit high for our family
I think it would still be good with light coconut milk. To really cut down on the fat and keep it creamy, you might even want to try replacing the broth and coconut milk with a neutral-flavored non-dairy milk like soy or cashew, and then using bullion or paste (Better Than Bullion brand is my favorite) for flavor.
This was wonderfully delicious! Thank you Alissa