Dairy-Free Mushroom Soup

Dairy-Free Mushroom Soup is made with just a few simple ingredients like fresh mushrooms, leek, fresh herbs, and vegetable broth, along with an unexpected ingredient to make it thick and creamy without milk or dairy-free milk. This easy, homemade soup is healthy, low-calorie, and accidentally vegan. Great as an appetizer or serve with a sandwich for a main meal.

This homemade vegan, gluten-free mushroom soup is the kind of comfort food everyone loves—and it’s been a reader favorite here since 2016. Rich, thick, and full of deep mushroom flavor, this dairy-free cream of mushroom soup proves you won’t miss the cream at all. Made without full-fat milk or heavy cream, it’s lighter in fat and calories while still delivering cozy, satisfying richness.

I like the combination of leeks with the mushrooms as the mild onion flavor does not overpower the flavor of the fresh mushrooms.

Steps

This is about as quick as a soup gets. It takes about 30 minutes with prep and cooking.

Sauté the mushrooms and leeks, garlic and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cashews or potato and vegetable broth. Simmer for 15 minutes until the cashews or potato have softened, then simply blend. 

Cashews for thickening

Just like my recipe for Zucchini and Sweet Potato Soup,  I had learned that cashew nuts make a really good soup thickener, and it turned out really well.

There’s no need for any type of milk when it comes to thickening soup; all you need is raw cashew nuts. They soften as the soup cooks and are blended into the soup, resulting in the perfect creamy texture.

I find that almond milk, oat milk, cashew milk, or soy milk are all too thin to add body and thickness to the soup. Blended cashews create a thick consistency without the need for starches like potatoes, all-purpose flour, or tapioca flour.

I promise, you won’t miss the cream in this creamy vegan mushroom soup, and for those of you who are not able to tolerate dairy and missed out on all those creamy soups, this recipe is for you.

I’ve tried the recipe a few times, and this is the best-tasting version so far. To give the soup texture, I reserve some of the cooked chopped mushrooms before blending the soup. It’s nice to have a meaty mushroom bite.

Cashew nut substitute

If you don’t want to use nuts of any kind, you can substitute a small potato. Just peel, chop, and add in place of the cashews. Coconut cream or full-fat coconut milk is a consideration, but you may detect a light coconut flavor.

Best mushrooms for creamy soup

Any of your favorites will work; cremini mushrooms, baby bella mushrooms, and portobello mushrooms are my favorite choices. White button mushrooms will work, but they don’t have as much mushroom flavor, in my opinion. Shiitake mushrooms are a delicious option, but they can be pricey. You can also use a variety of mushrooms.

Flavor tip

If you’re a fan of black pepper, go a little heavier and it will really enhance and bring fantastic flavor to the mushrooms.

Fresh herbs

I like fresh rosemary paired with mushrooms. Fresh thyme is also a delicious option, or use both.

Blending vegetable soup

There are two ways of doing this. To cut down on dishes, I like to use my immersion blender and blend it right in the pan it cooks in. If you blend using a regular blender, make sure the soup is cooled slightly, as hot liquids expand quickly when blended.

Leftover mushroom soup

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. This dairy-free cream of mushroom soup is also perfect for making a vegan green bean casserole.

Freezing mushroom soup

Next time you make this soup, make a double batch and freeze the other half. I’m always glad when I do this. Just seal well in a freezer-safe container and it will keep for up to 3 months.

5 from 18 reviews

Dairy-Free Mushroom Soup

Janette

A hearty soup made with fresh mushrooms, leeks, savory broth, and thickened with cashew or potato.

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Servings: 6

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Ingredients

 

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Yields 6 cups/1 ½ quarts/3 pints

• ▢ 4 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1 ½ pounds (680 grams) brown mushrooms, sliced
• ▢ 1 ½ cups (120 grams) leek (white and light green part), washed and chopped
• ▢ 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ ⅔ cup (100 grams) raw, unsalted cashews
• ▢ OR
• ▢ ½ cup (75 grams) potato, peeled and chopped
• ▢ 4 cups (2 pints) vegetable stock

Instructions

 

• To a large saucepan, add the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add all the mushrooms, sauté until softened and a little browned. Remove ⅓ of the mushrooms and set aside to add to soup later (optional step if you want a completely smooth soup).
• Add the leek to the mushrooms. Continue to cook, stirring until leeks are soft. Adjust the temperature so the leeks don't brown too much Add the garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring so the garlic doesn’t brown. Add the cashews (or potato) and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes (partially covered with a lid) until the cashews or the potatoes are softened.
• If you have an immersion blender, use this to blend the soup in the pan. If not, transfer ¼ of the soup to a blender and blend until smooth, if it’s too thick, add a little broth or water to get the consistency you like. Transfer to a bowl and continue with the rest of the soup.
• Put all the soup back into the soup pan, add the mushrooms that were set aside. Reheat and test for seasoning, add salt if needed. Serve.

Notes

 

 

Serving: 1cup, Calories: 193kcal, Carbohydrates: 14g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g, Cholesterol: 2mg, Sodium: 359mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 4g

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