This homemade cream of mushroom soup recipe is perfect for special occasions or anytime you just want to indulge. This recipe gives you options for both condensed and regular consistency.

I am excited to share my cream of mushroom soup recipe today. It's so much better than the canned stuff that you'll never go back—and it's easy to make.
The soup is rich, creamy, and intensely flavorful.
It pairs wonderfully with those special date night dinners like Prime Rib Roast or Reverse Seared Ribeye.
Stay tuned: I'll show you some amazing flavoring hacks that make this the best cream of mushroom soup recipe out there.
Ingredients for cream of mushroom soup
The ingredients are simple and it’s likely you already have these items in your pantry and refrigerator.
Best mushrooms for soup
This recipe uses fresh and dried mushrooms.
I use fresh Cremini mushrooms (a.k.a., baby bella) and dried Shitaki mushrooms.
Fresh or dry Porcini mushrooms or mixed wild mushrooms would also be awesome in this soup, but they are a bit more expensive.
Cream for mushroom soup
Keep in mind that the reason this soup is thick and creamy is mostly due to the roux rather than the type of cream you use.
I prefer half and half but you can opt for heavy whipping cream or whole milk (even skim!) depending on the degree of richness you're after (using all heavy cream will result in a thicker soup).
One of my favorite ways to serve this soup is with shot glasses at parties: if I'm serving just a tiny bit, I like to make it rich!
On the other hand, if you're eating the soup as a meal, I might suggest using mostly whole milk with a half cup of heavy cream.
You can also opt for a dairy-free version by using plant-based milks.
Other remaining ingredients
- Finely chopped shallots
- Butter
- Dried thyme
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Flour
- Dry sherry
- Maggi seasoning sauce
How to make cream of mushroom soup
Making this soup involves a few steps, but it's all very simple:
- Rehydrate dried mushrooms to make broth
- Saute the mushrooms and shallots
- Mix in seasonings and make the roux
- Add the rehydrated mushroom broth
- Mix in cream, Maggi seasoning sauce, and sherry
- Simmer 15 minutes
- Saute the sliced mushroom topping
If you're looking for a condensed cream of mushroom soup recipe, watch for the red boxes: I'll explain what you need to do differently.
1. Rehydrate the dried mushrooms
Flavoring hack #1: Using the broth from rehydrated dried mushrooms brings intense mushroom flavor to this soup compared to what you'd get from off-the-shelf vegetable stock.
To rehydrate, bring a saucepan with 3 cups of water to a boil. Turn off the heat, then add 1 cup of dried mushrooms and a sprig of fresh sage, cover and steep for 45 minutes.
Once steeped, strain into a container and set the broth aside for future use. You'll want to bring the final volume to 3 cups (use water or chicken broth). Discard remaining mushrooms and sage.
For condensed soup, rehydrate ½ cup of dried mushrooms in 1 ½ cups of water. Bring the final volume of the strained broth to 1 ½ cups.
Good news: you can do this part up to three days in advance!
2. Saute the fresh mushrooms and shallots
In a large dutch oven, add the butter, chopped fresh mushrooms and shallots. Sauté on medium/high heat until the liquid released from the mushrooms has evaporated, 8–10 minutes.
Then add salt, pepper and dried thyme. Stir to combine.
3. Make the roux
A roux is a thickener used in soups and stews. It is a paste made up of equal parts fat and flour. Sounds complicated, right? It's really easy, I promise.
This roux is what is going to make our cream of mushroom soup thick and creamy.
Since the butter is already in the mushroom mixture, we just need to add the flour.
Once the flour is added, stir continuously for about 2 minutes. If you don't cook the roux, your soup will taste flour-ey and not delicious. Flour also has a tendency to stick and burn if not moved around constantly. You'll notice that the mixture is a bit clumpy and sticky: this is normal.
4. Add the rehydrated mushroom broth
Now we begin to add the rehydrated mushroom broth to this roux: we do this in small intervals by only adding one ladleful at a time.
After each ladle of mushroom broth is added, stir the mixture for about a minute until it is fully absorbed into the roux. Continue adding one ladle at a time, each time stirring until incorporated, until about 2 cups of broth have been added.
At this point, you can pour in the remaining mushroom broth and stir thoroughly.
5. Mix in the cream, Maggi sauce, and sherry
After the mushroom broth has been added, add in your milk or cream (3 cups total).
Flavoring hack #2: At this point, I add a tiny amount of Maggi seasoning sauce. We call this "magic sauce" because it packs a ton of flavor and deepens the umami flavor of the soup.
I also add some dry sherry (this is an optional addition: most of the alcohol will cook off while the soup simmers).
Add only 1 ½ cup of milk or cream for condensed soup. Leave the sherry out.
Stir and let it simmer on low for 15 minutes or until thickened.
At this point, the condensed version of the soup is done. Cool and store in airtight containers in the freezer for up to 3 months, or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Back to the regular-consistency soup. While the soup simmers, you can make an optional topping of caramelized mushroom slices. This is a simple matter of melting butter in a skillet and sauteing the mushrooms until golden-brown on both sides.
If it's morel season, I'll buy a quarter pound and saute them for the topping. Or, use a wild mushroom mix.
How to make cream of mushroom soup smooth
If you object to the texture of mushrooms or have picky eaters who don't like chunky mushroom pieces, fear not! I've got you covered.
To make this soup smooth, place an immersion blender into the soup and zap it for 2-3 minutes. BONUS: this will extract even more flavor from the mushrooms.
Viola! Perfectly smooth cream of mushroom soup.
What to serve with mushroom soup
If you're not making the caramelized mushroom topping, another good topper for this soup is my Easy Stovetop Croutons.
If you want to ratchet the decadence up a bit more, you could decorate the finished soup with a few dots of truffle oil right before serving.
As for main courses, this soup can go with just about any dish but—because it is a bit on the decadent side—we tend to serve it with special-occasion meals like Date Night Prime Rib Roast, Reverse-Seared Filet Mignon Steak with Compound Herb Butter, or Herb-Roasted Rack of Pork.
Recipes with cream of mushroom soup
Keep in mind that the condensed version of the soup is not meant to be eaten without first thinning it out with additional broth and milk.
You can use it in any recipe where you'd normally dump in a can of condensed soup. Did you know? This stuff is called "Lutheran Glue" because so many potluck casserole—a.k.a. "hotdish"— recipes call for it.
A classic use of cream-of-mushroom soup is green bean casserole. My Make-Ahead Green Bean Casserole recipe has instructions for making an ever-so-slightly different condensed version: you're welcome to use either.
Sure, it's harder to make cream of mushroom soup from scratch rather than opening a can. But rest assured: the amazing flavor is worth it.
You can easily turn this soup into a heartier main course by adding wild rice, or a protein like rotisserie chicken.
Is cream of mushroom soup healthy?
Wellllll...not really.
There is a good amount of butter and cream. Because of this, we enjoy this soup in moderation and serve it on special occasions.
I will say, though, that this soup is healthier than the gunk you get out of a can.
Want other soul warming soup recipes?
- One Pot American Goulash
- Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup
- Easy Pasta e Fagioli Soup
- Italian Sausage and Beans (Salsiccia e Fagioli)
- Crockpot Ham Split-Pea Soup
That's all there is to it.
Stay safe, my friends. Stay well.
—xoxo, Michelle
Cream of Mushroom Soup
This homemade cream of mushroom soup recipe is perfect for special occasions or anytime you just want to indulge. This recipe gives you options for both condensed and regular consistency (modifications for the condensed version are in the notes).
Ingredients
For the mushroom broth
- 1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 sprig fresh sage
- 3 cups boiling water
For the soup
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 16 ounces fresh cremini mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and roughly chopped
- 1 cup shallots, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste)
- teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup flour
- 3 cups mushroom broth (see Recipe Note #1)
- 3 cups whole milk (see Recipe Notes #2 and #3)
- ½ teaspoon Maggi seasoning sauce (see Recipe Note #4)
- ¼ cup dry sherry (optional)
For the caramelized mushroom topping (optional)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ cup cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Add the shiitake mushrooms and sage sprig to boiling water. Turn off the heat and steep for 45 minutes.
- Pour mixture through a coarse-mesh strainer, pressing on solids. Discard solids. Add water (or stock) to bring volume up to 3 cups; refrigerate in an airtight container up to 3 days.
- Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.
- When the butter is foaming, add the chopped mushrooms and shallots. Saute, stirring frequently, until the liquid given off by the mushrooms has mostly evaporated. Meanwhile, reheat the mushroom broth.
- Add salt, pepper, thyme, and flour. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add mushroom broth, one ladle at a time, stirring vigorously to incorporate before stirring in the next ladle of broth to avoid clumps. Repeat until about ¾ of the broth has been mixed in: then pour in the remaining broth and mix well.
- Stir in the milk, Maggi seasoning sauce, and dry sherry (see Recipe Note #4). Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the mushroom topping. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sliced mushrooms and saute, stirring frequently, until deeply caramelized on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Remove from skillet with a slotted spoon and discard excess butter.
- Serve soup, topping each bowl with a few caramelized mushroom slices.
Make the mushroom broth
Make the soup
Notes
- For condensed soup: use only 1 ½ cups of mushroom broth. (You can also use store-bought vegetable broth)
- For condensed soup: use only 1 ½ cups of milk.
- To make the soup richer, reduce the amount of milk and make up the difference with heavy cream or half and half.
- For condensed soup: leave out the dry sherry. If you decide to thin out the condensed soup, add the sherry when you're re-heating and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Store condensed soup in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer. This recipe makes approximately 32 ounces, which is equal to about 3 cans of condensed cream of mushroom soup.
- For a smooth soup, blend with an immersion blender for 2–3 minutes until smooth.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 bowl, about 1 ½ cupsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 595Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 76mgSodium: 969mgCarbohydrates: 77gFiber: 9gSugar: 15gProtein: 17g
Nutrition data provided here is only an estimate: if you are tracking this information for medical purposes, please consult a trusted external source. Thanks!
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