Easy, Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

So why would you want to make homemade cream of mushroom soup? We don’t use processed foods anymore which meant I had to come up with a recipe for cream of mushroom soup. My recipe is super easy and fast, and the taste is unbelievable. You can use it in any recipe you’d use the canned stuff in or simply eat it by itself. Surprise your family with the creamy, delicious taste of homemade cream of mushroom soup. Let’s get cooking!

Cream of mushroom soup is the main ingredient of many casseroles. What would the holiday meals be without it? The homemade version is so rich and dreamily creamy and the taste and texture it gives my casseroles makes them better than ever before.

Every time I serve it, my family still remarks how funny it is that I would make my own cream of mushroom soup. Before I started making it, I didn’t even like mushrooms! The smell of the stuff in the can made me gag, I hated it. 

We made some major life changes and moved to an organic, non-GMO diet with no processed foods. To keep our holiday traditions, I had to come up with a way to make cream of mushroom soup!

Once I discovered how incredibly fast and easy it was to make my own, I can’t believe I ever even thought about buying it in a can. We use it all year in various dishes. I’ve even added it to recipes I wouldn’t have used it in before.

I add it to leftover turkey for a creamy gravy. We pour it over hot biscuits, rice, and fettuccine noodles. When added to sauteed garlic shrimp and served over rice you have a smile-winning, heartwarming meal. Serve with a salad and homemade buns on the side.

Besides the taste of the homemade version, there are the health benefits of making it yourself. You avoid the preservatives, additives, and other ingredients of the store-bought version. If you make it with organic, non-GMO ingredients, you’ll have an even healthier soup.

I like this recipe because it can be made three days in advance with all the cooking involved with the holidays. I wanted to share this recipe with you in the hope that it might help you make your meal just a little more special.

The reward of course will be the “Mom, what did you put in this? It tastes so good!” Trust me.

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

• 1 cup sliced mushrooms – I use Shitake but use the kind you like
• 4 TBS unsalted butter
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped (can be omitted, but why would you want to?)
• 1 medium or large onion, chopped – I use a large one because we eat a lot of onion
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 cups of whole milk
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 – 1 tsp real salt
• black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Melt butter in a skillet and saute` onions and mushrooms until onions are tender.
2. Combine 1 cup of milk and cornstarch. Stir well to dissolve the cornstarch.
   • Be sure to stir the bottom of the cup so that you get it mixed well.
3. Add chopped garlic to the skillet and saute` for about 3 minutes. Just to release the garlic oils.
   • Don’t let the garlic get dark. This will cause a bitter taste in the soup.
4. Slowly add the milk with cornstarch to the skillet and stir well on medium heat.
   • I recommend using a whisk for this. You can purchase my favorite one that I use all the time.
5. Add the remaining milk and cream to the skillet stirring well with your whisk.
6. Let this boil until the desired thickness is reached.

Notes:

• If you use salted butter, decrease or eliminate the salt from the recipe.
• Use in any recipe as you would the “canned stuff”

Tips for homemade cream of mushroom soup

• I buy mushrooms on sale and dehydrate them. They work really well in this recipe too.
• Use more milk to make a thinner soup.
• If you don’t like the richness of heavy whipping cream or prefer not to use it, just use milk and cornstarch to thicken it.
• This recipe can easily be adapted to whatever amount of soup you need, just increase the ingredients as desired.
• The soup will keep in the refrigerator for a week – 10 days. I store mine in a glass jar.
• Add spices your family likes to make this recipe your own.

Wrap Up

This recipe took some trial and error to perfect, but I know you’ll be just as thrilled with it as my family is. It’s fast and easy and the taste is superb.

Use the kind of mushrooms your family likes, the size and amount of onions you want, and add spices your family loves to make this recipe your own.

I can’t wait to hear how this homemade cream of mushroom soup turns out for you.