Vegan Mushroom Soup

This vegan mushroom soup is rich, creamy and full of yummy umami flavour. It’s quick and easy to make in 15 minutes with just 8 simple ingredients. Come and enjoy a bowl of this comforting soup!

Table of Contents

•  Ingredient tips
• Step by step
• Variations & substitutions
• Serving
• Storage
• More vegan soup recipes
• 📖 Recipe

I’ve got a confession - I never used to like mushrooms. When I became vegan, that all changed and I discovered how awesome mushrooms are! 

Did you know fresh mushrooms are a great plant-based source of Vitamin D, especially if you leave them in the sunlight before using them?

And mushrooms are also a great source of the so-called ‘fifth taste’ umami (which roughly translates as deliciousness!). This meaty and rich depth of flavor leaves you wanting more. 

We use them all the time now, whether it's in our amazing Vegan Mushroom Wellington for a special occasion, this incredible Mushroom Pate or in our Kale Mushroom Pasta for a quick dinner.

But this vegan mushroom soup recipe is a go-to when we want something really easy and full of mushroom flavor.

 Ingredient tips

Our vegan cream of mushroom soup recipe has just 8 ingredients:

• Mushrooms - cremini mushrooms or chestnut mushrooms work great.
• Onion and garlic
• Olive oil - We use organic olive oil, you could also use a bit of vegan butter for extra flavour.
• Soy sauce - this add saltiness and enhances the umami flavour of the mushrooms. We love the flavour this organic brand!
• Stock powder - We use Marigold Swiss Bouillon to easily make our vegetable stock. Better than Bouillon - no beef base is also a great vegan option if you are in the US. Of course, you can also use homemade vegetable broth too.
• Coconut milk - this adds a subtle sweetness and makes the soup thick and creamy. We recommend organic coconut milk that's not full of stabilisers. Use full-fat coconut milk for the most creamy results.
• Dried herbs - herbes de provence are our favourite. Italian seasoning is also a good option, or use a mix of individually dried herbs.

Step by step

Here’s a visual guide on how you make our creamy vegan mushroom soup - it’s quick and easy! You’ll find the full ingredient amounts in the recipe card below.

Variations & substitutions

Vary the texture to your taste. You can enjoy this soup completely smooth, by blending it all. Or you can take some of the mushrooms out before blending, so you can have a soup with some texture. 

We think the mushroom flavour is best if you blend it at least a little, but if you don’t have a blender or want a chunky soup, you can just dice the mushrooms before frying. 

Use a variety of different mushrooms. Instead of just white button mushrooms or brown mushrooms, you can use other varieties like portobellos or shiitakes.

You could also add some dried porcini mushrooms, or wild mushroom powder to strengthen the mushroom flavour. If you’ve got chanterelle mushrooms, then make our Creamy Chanterelle Soup instead. 

To make this a vegan and gluten-free mushroom soup, make sure you use a GF stock powder, bouillon or veggie broth and replace the soy sauce with tamari sauce. 

The coconut flavour is mild and just adds a little sweetness. But if you are keen to make vegan mushroom soup without coconut milk, then you could use a store-bought plant-based cream or homemade cashew cream as an alternative.

Another alternative is to use your favourite non-dairy milk. Thicker and creamier varieties like cashew or almond milk work best, but you can also use soy milk or oat milk too. To help thicken the soup, you can add a little plain/all-purpose flour when adding the garlic or add a corn starch slurry towards the end of cooking.

Use fresh herbs. When they are in season, it's lovely to use fresh herbs in this creamy soup.

To replace the dried herbs, use three times the amount of chopped fresh herbs.

Fresh thyme goes brilliantly with mushrooms but can be a little strong on its own, so combine it with other herbs such as parsley or chives for a more balanced flavour.

Serving

If you want to serve this as a main meal, then it will serve two generous portions. For a starter or side, then we find it's enough to serve four people. 

The soy sauce and stock powder add saltiness, so you may not want to add extra salt, but some black pepper is nice for seasoning. 

A swirl of coconut milk, vegan sour cream or vegan yoghurt and a sprinkle of fresh herbs is a nice finishing touch!

Our vegan potato scones are super tasty as a side to this soup. We also love to serve it with some tasty bread, like our rye bread or these crunchy homemade crostini.

Storage

Store leftover soup in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

You can also freeze this soup. When it's cool, fill the soup into freezer-safe containers or individual portions and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before reheating.

To reheat this soup, pour it into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until hot all the way through. In the microwave, heat individual bowls of soup in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until fully heated.

More vegan soup recipes

📖 Recipe