Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup with Fresh Herbs {gluten free + vegan + whole30}

This simple and healthy homemade cream of mushroom soup with fresh herbs is gluten free, vegan, paleo, and Whole30 compliant! A super yummy and easy alternative to store bought cream of mushroom soup. Made with plenty of mushrooms, spices, and herbs for a full flavored combo! Perfect on it’s own or as a base for your favorite comfort food recipes.

A quick note on this recipe! The original version of this post was published back in 2015. Since then I’ve re-tested the recipe, updated the photographs, and the content. I’m republishing it for you today to enjoy! I hope you continue to make and love this homemade cream of mushroom soup. xo

Homemade cream of mushroom soup with fresh herbs!

If you’re a soup lover like me get excited because this is the GOOD stuff, you guys 🙌🏼

A favorite go-to soup of ours that is delicious on it’s own, or as a base for other comforting recipes. A clean and wholesome replacement for store bought cream of mushroom soup. Naturally gluten free, dairy free, paleo, vegan, low carb / keto friendly, and whole30 compliant!

Adding the perfect blend of spices and fresh herbs gives this homemade soup a serious upgrade to any canned version.

This easy-to-make soup is:

• Full flavored
• Creamy
• Healthy
• Versatile
• Hearty
• Comforting
• Luxurious

How to make this homemade cream of mushroom soup with fresh herbs

This healthy homemade cream of mushroom soup is incredibly easy to make.

All you need is a handful of healthy ingredients, a soup pot, and a blender.

1. Start by soaking some raw cashews in boiling water, and set aside. Instead of using cream like more traditional cream of mushroom soup recipes, this recipe blends raw soaked cashews with some of the soup to make a creamy and flavorful base. Raw cashews make the BEST dairy free cream substitute IMHO. If you haven’t ever tried experimenting with them I would highly recommend you give it a try! Their creamy consistency and neutral flavor make them an excellent choice to replace cream or milk.
2. After you soak the cashews you can start making the soup.
3. In the large soup pot saute diced onions until soft, and then add all the diced mushrooms. It will seem like A LOT of mushrooms, but they shrink so much when they cook. As they shrink they will release a lot of liquid. Just be patient and keep cooking until all of the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms start to stick to the bottom of the pan.
4. Make sure you don’t cut this step short! Letting the mushrooms cook down all the way and caramelize gives the soup the most amazing concentrated mushroom-y flavor 😍
5. Then you add a few sprigs of fresh thyme (or a little bit of dried thyme), and some GOOD tasting broth so everything can simmer together.
6. Once the soup has simmered for about 15 minutes and it’s smelling amazing, drain your cashews and add them to your vitamix blender along with about 1/2 of the soup. Blend together until rich and creamy.
7. Return this creamy base to the pot with the rest of the soup and bring back to a simmer. Simmer for another 5 minutes or so to thicken. Stir in fresh herbs, and season to taste with salt and pepper. 
8. If you like your mushroom soup completely smooth and creamy with no mushroom pieces you can blend all of it in the blender in batches. 

If the idea of using cashew cream in your non dairy cooking has your attention check out these other great recipes:

• How to Make Cashew Cream
• Easy Garlic Dill Cashew Sauce
• Easy Gluten Free and Vegan Mushroom Gravy
• Creamy Dairy Free Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Homemade cream of mushroom soup ingredients

Simple and fresh ingredients give this gluten free and vegan mushroom soup some full flavored magic that you just won’t find in canned soup.

This homemade cream of mushroom soup with fresh herbs is made with:

• Raw cashews: used instead of cream – cashews make the soup dairy free + creamy and luscious
• Onion: the ultimate recipe flavor maker
• Crimini and portobello mushrooms: This recipe calls for LOTS of mushrooms for an intense mushroom flavor to keep your soup from tasting bland or boring! Crimini and portobello are my go to choices but you could easily use another mix of your favorite mushrooms!
• Good tasting broth: Mushroom broth, vegetable broth, or chicken broth are all great choices. The most important thing is that the broth has a lot of flavor to give the mushroom soup some added depth.
• Fresh thyme or dried thyme: Thyme is a great choice to compliment the flavor of mushrooms, but if you don’t like it or don’t have any you can get creative and use another herb instead! Try adding a bay leaf, a sprig of rosemary, tarragon, or oregano. If you don’t have any of those a teaspoon or so of poultry / all purpose seasoning added to the mushrooms and onions and sauteed a little bit before adding the broth will keep your soup from tasting bland!
• Fresh parsley and chives: these fresh herbs are added at the end for some nice bright green flavor.
• Salt & pepper to taste: I include an amount for seasoning with salt and pepper in the recipe, but you may want to play it by ear depending on how salty your broth is.

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What makes this homemade cream of mushroom soup healthier than store bought soup

Of course there is a range of quality in store bought soups, but many versions of canned cream of mushroom soup are loaded up with potentially inflammatory and highly processed ingredients.

It’s not uncommon to find binders, additives, highly processed vegetable oils, dairy, MSG, wheat, soy, and high levels of sodium, not to mention the BPA (a known endocrine disrupter) that may be hiding in the can itself.

Yuck! Those ingredients represent a hard no for this girl.

But there is a better option that uses good-for-you ingredients.

This homemade cream of mushroom soup with fresh herbs is made with just a few healthy REAL food ingredients that are nourishing and wholesome.

The mushrooms boast a healthy dose of Vitamin D and other essential vitamins and minerals, and there’s plenty of heart healthy fats from the avocado oil and raw cashews.

A better + simple homemade option that tastes even better than cream of mushroom soup from the store!

Serving suggestions for this soup

This homemade mushroom soup is amazing on it’s own, but it also makes a great base for your favorite comfort food meals!

Serve it for lunch or dinner, or use it as the start of your favorite casserole. This Whole30 compliant casserole with chicken, broccoli, rice, and mushrooms from 40 Aprons would be a great place to start!

Dietary modifications

Since this mushroom soup is made without cream and wheat flour this recipe is already gluten free, dairy free, vegan, paleo, whole30 compliant, and keto friendly!

If you want to make it nut free and you eat dairy, simply swap out the soaked raw cashews for about 1/2 cup of heavy cream.

A few notes on the recipe

• To make this soup more of a concentrated cream of mushroom soup, I would suggest reducing the amount of broth that you use in the recipe. I have not tested this yet but I think reducing from 5 cups of broth to 3ish would be a good place to start. If it seems too thick you can always add a little more broth to thin as needed.
• This mushroom soup can be prepared either completely smooth, or with some mushroom pieces. To make it 100% smooth and creamy just blend all of the soup in your vitamix / high speed blender instead of just a portion.
• To serve topped with some glistening sautéed mushrooms separate a handful of sliced mushrooms from the chopped mushrooms you’re using in the soup. Sauté them in a separate frying pan with a pinch of salt and pepper until they’re brown and caramelized.

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