My thoughts
These vegan cream of mushroom soup recipes comes in real handy, when throwing together a quick casserole or just heating up a pain old snack! I was first turned on to this recipe when my mom showed me how to make one of my favorite dishes growing up.
The dish is irrelevant, what I took from the recipe was how much I could use this particular ingredient.
Vegan Cream of Mushroom History
While the business variants of canned Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup are more normal nowadays, the arrangement began in homes on the more established occasions, a few hundred years prior.
This soup is looked at by some as the immediate descendent of the French Béchamel and Italian Salsa Colla sauces, which is the reason the soup is additionally called as “America’s béchamel” .
The Campbell Soup Company started selling the soup financially in 1934. Ifood states, In Minnesota, the soup being a typical fixing in the Lutheran hot dishes, is additionally called “Lutheran folio,” and finds an extraordinary notice in the Lutheran church cookbooks.
Cream of mushroom soup is a simple type of soup where a basic roux is thinned with cream or milk and then mushrooms and/or mushroom broth are added. It is well known in North America as a common type of condensed canned soup.
Cream of mushroom soup is often used as a base ingredient in casseroles and comfort foods. This use is similar to that of a mushroom-flavored gravy.
Soups made with cream and mushrooms are much older than the canned variety. Ancient Italian (Salsa colla) and French (Béchamel) cream sauces, and soups based on them have been made for many hundreds of years.
In America, the Campbell Soup Company began producing its well-known “Cream of Mushroom Soup” in 1934, the same year that it introduced “Chicken with Noodles”.
What is Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup?
This soup is a derivative one of the 5 mother sauces, called a béchamel. A béchamel in layman’s terms is a gravy. You may be thinking, “then why is it called cream of mushroom soup?”, well the answer to that is ask Campbells.
This could be cooked down into a soup consistency, which is exactly what we are going to do. This recipe features a super useful tool in any cooks arsenal which is a roux.
A roux is a thickening agent that will add depth, color, and flavor to your recipe. A roux is typically 1 part fat and 1 part flour. The fat can be any type of oil, butter, or grease. You can use whatever type of flour as well.
How to use Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup
Casseroles
The possibilities of casseroles are endless. Take whatever left over vegetables you have from another recipe or buy your favorites, it’s up to you! Toss your vegetables with this soup and place in a baking pan, then bake it off. Its super simple!
Use this soup for what it is an don’t over think it. I like to think of it as an adhesive when it comes to casseroles.
Pasta or Rice
This recipe is delicious as is. If you want to make a complete meal out of it, simply cook some pasta or rice. Treat this recipe like a sauce for pasta or even a gravy for rice!
Thickening Agent
Cook this recipe down until it is a thick soup . Whatever you don’t eat be sure to save it. You will realize once it cools down it almost becomes a solid, rather than a liquid.
Now that you have this congealed soup you can use it to thicken other soups and sauces. Being that this is a mushroom soup it can pretty much go with any flavor profile.
Flavor
In the same respect you use this as a thickener, you can also use it as a flavor additive as well. Add some of this to a soup, stock, or sauce and create another level of flavor in your recipes.
Eat it as is
This doesn’t have to be a well thought out process. You can simply make this recipe, then eat it as is. I like mine served with a side of toast and a squeeze of fresh lemon. You can also add some vinegar to spruce it up or hot sauce. Maybe some vegan parmesan will make you a believer.
Vegan Cream of Mushroom Tricks and Tips
Color and Flavor
I this particular recipe color and flavor directly correlate. This all begins with the roux. Once you combine the flour into the oil and vegetables cooking in the pot, you start to cook your roux. This is fine, you want to cook your roux a couple minutes to cook out that raw four flavor.
After a few minutes you can choose to keep cooking your roux by whisking it periodically to keep from burning. The more you cook the roux the darker it will become, the darker it becomes you will get a nuttier flavor.
Vegetables
The vegetables will seem like way to much for the amount of liquid. Keep in mind that mushrooms will shrink a lot during the cooking process, they will also release their liquid into the soup.
Adding Milk
The best way to move forward with this step, is to add your milk in small doses while whisking. This will ensure that you avoid clumping from your flour mixture.
Take this advice seriously , if you add all the milk at once and you get clumps, they are almost impossible to remove without removing the vegetables too.
Acid
In this recipe I use lemon juice as the acid. In my opinion, this recipes really benefits from the acid. You may also use sherry vinegar. You must also choose when to add your acid.
If you add the acid while cooking it will cook out its veracity over time. If you add your acid at the end, you will get a nice pop in flavor. I like to add my lemon juice right before I take the soup off the stove.
Consistency
You can choose the consistency you like in this recipe by how much you cook it. If you want your soup a little thinner take it off the heat before the recipe calls for, it you want it thicker then cook it more. This is a super simple recipe that can be made to your liking.
You may also decide to blend your soup smooth or keep it chunky. It’s totally up to you!
Reheating
Reheating this vegan cream of mushroom needs to be a gentle process. Whatever milk you use in this recipe, add ¼ of a cup more while reheat to prevent burning. Reheat this soup on low, this will take longer but it will ensure it won’t burn.
Storage
Once you take the vegan cream of mushroom soup off the stove, transfer to a storage container. Don’t cover or put in fridge right away. Let the soup cool down at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes or so. After this time, you can put it in the fridge or freezer.
Equipment Needed
- 1 stock pot
- 1 rubber spatula
- 1 whisk
- 1 storage vessel
- Vessels for ingredients
- 1 ladle
- 1 chef knife
- 1 cutting board
- 1 Microplane
Vegan Cream Of Mushroom Soup Recipe
Perks: Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Soy-free
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time 30 minutes
Ingredients
- ¼ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Vegan Butter
- ½ Lb. Mushrooms chopped (1 qt )
- 1 Ea. Yellow Onion finely chopped
- 4 Cloves Garlic minced
- 2 Tbsp Thyme (Chopped)
- ½ Cup Chickpea Flour (or 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour)
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 Cup Vegetable Stock
- 3 Cups Unsweetened Almond Milk or and Non-Dairy Milk
- 1 Pinch Nutmeg finely grated w/ Microplane
- ½ tsp Kosher Salt
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
- In a medium stock pot, heat oil over medium high heat.
- Once the oil is heated, you should be able to see streaking in the oil; Add mushrooms, onions, garlic, and thyme. Cook these ingredients until the mushrooms have secreted their liquid. About 10 minutes.
- Next, add flour. With a whisk, fully incorporate the flour into the mixture. Turn heat down to medium low. Cook the roux for 2-3 minutes. Be sure to stir the roux to keep from sticking.
- In small increments, add the stock. Add the stock 1 cup at a time while whisking thoroughly. Then do the same for the milk.
- It is important to keep whisking periodically at this point. Cook this soup to your desired consistency.
- Once the soup is to your liking, season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and lemon juice.
- You may want to make your soup smooth. That is definitely an option! Transfer your soup to a blender or you can use an immersion blender. I prefer my Vegan Cream of Mushroom soup to be smooth.
Nutrition Facts for this Recipe
Check out this Healthy, flour-less alternative!
Flour-less Cream of Mushroom Soup
Perks: Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Soy- free
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
¼ Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 Cups Mushrooms, Small Diced
1 Ea. Yellow Onion, Small Diced
4 Clove Garlic, Minced
2 cups Cauliflower Florets
1 Tbsp Thyme, Chopped
¼ cup White wine
2 cup Unsweetened Original Almond Milk
2 tsp Onion Powder
¼ tsp Himalayan Rock Salt
¼ tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
- In a small sauce pot combine cauliflower, milk, onion powder and bring to a simmer. Once at a simmer, cover and continue to cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove cauliflower from the liquid and transfer to a blender or food processor. Add the cauliflower liquid into the blender to get your desired consistency.
- In another sauce pot, heat oil over medium high heat.
- Once the oil is hot combine mushrooms, onions, garlic, and thyme. And cook until soft .
- Add white wine and reduce by half
- Now add your cauliflower puree and simmer for 5 minutes, or continue to cook until your desired consistency. If you don’t want to mix the two, that’s ok! You can just garnish your cauliflower soup with the sautéed vegetables!!
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts For This Recipe
FAQs
- How would you store the mushroom soup?
This mushroom soup can be put away in the freezer or refrigerator, in an airtight container. It will keep in the cooler for as long as 7 days and in the freezer for as long as 2 months.
- How would you warm mushroom soup?
While warming from the freezer, permit this soup to defrost, at that point heat it on the stove or in the microwave.
- What Goes with Cream of Mushroom Soup?
What’s extraordinary about cream of mushroom soup is that it tends to be eaten alone, filled in as a side, or utilized in other principle courses.
- Is Cream of Mushroom Soup Healthy?
Well that relies upon the formula. The canned cream of mushroom soups are commonly not beneficial – they contain a ton of sodium and handled fixings. Be that as it may, this hand crafted form is brimming with new and solid fixings!
- What do you serve with Cream of Mushroom Soup?
- breadsticks or toasted bread
- seeds, nuts , grains
- roasted mushrooms
- vegan bacon or sausage
- any beans or lentils for included protein if need-be
- What are the best mushrooms for Cream of Mushroom Soup?
- White/brown buttons are the most cost efficient
- Shitakes have the best mushroom flavor
- Portobellos have the best favor for the price
- Cremini mushrooms are essentially 1 step up from button mushrooms