Creamy Mushroom Soup

This creamy mushroom soup is earthy and herby, luxurious and rich. It's not too thick, but it has enough body to feel luscious. The croutons on top offer lots of earthy-savory flavor and hearty crunch thanks to a genius trick you'll use to impress your friends.

Learn how to make creamy mushroom soup, and enjoy it as an appetizer at your next dinner party or the main dish of a weeknight supper.

Ingredients for Creamy Mushroom Soup

For this creamy mushroom soup, you'll need:

• Porcini mushrooms: Some are soaked in hot water to create a rich stock and hydrate the mushrooms until tender. The others are ground into a fine powder, added to melted butter, and then tossed with bread pieces to make incredibly flavorful (and impressive) croutons.
• Salted butter: Used to sauté the onion, thyme, garlic, and mushrooms.
• Dry sherry: Adds a subtle nutty, yeasty flavor.
• Chicken stock: We prefer to use unsalted stock so we can control the salt level ourselves. If you use salted, just be sure to taste the soup before adding any additional salt.
• All-purpose flour: This is used to thicken the soup and make it velvety.
• Salt and pepper: For seasoning.
• French baguette: For easy, homemade croutons.
• Heavy cream: Doubles down on the creamy factor of this creamy mushroom soup.
• Fresh chives: Adds a hint of grassy freshness.

How To Make Creamy Mushroom Soup

There are a few steps to make this soup, but the whole dish is ready in about 40 minutes. Here's a brief outline. The full recipe with step-by-step photos is further below:

• Step 1. Hydrate half of the porcini mushrooms by combining them with water in a glass measuring cup. Heat in a microwave to boiling. Let sit.
• Step 2. Melt butter, and add onion. Sauté until tender, then add thyme, garlic, and cremini mushrooms. Cook until the liquid evaporates. Turn up the heat. Add sherry, and cook until it's evaporated, too.
• Step 3. Separate the porcini mushrooms and liquid. Retain the liquid. Chop the mushrooms. In another bowl, combine the flour and stock. Add it to the cooked mushroom mixture with the porcini liquid, the mushrooms, and salt and pepper.
• Step 4. Bring to a boil, and simmer on lower heat.
• Step 5. Put remaining porcini mushrooms in a food processor or blender, and blend until they're a powder. Melt butter, and add the mushroom powder to it. Toss the torn bread pieces with the mushroom-butter mixture. Toast until browned/
• Step 6. Add cream to the soup mixture. Cook one or two more minutes. Serve warm, with croutons and chives.

Tips for the Best Mushroom Soup

Mushroom soup is rarely difficult, but it can pay to know a few insider tips with this recipe. Remember these as you're cooking:

• Add more mushrooms if you want. This soup strikes a good balance between creamy and meaty. But if you like lots of mushrooms in each spoonful, add more to the mix.
• Tearing the bread by hand creates an irregular, craggy shape that makes for crunchier croutons—and allows for more butter to soak in.
• Don't toss the porcini water. That's liquid gold, a quick version of a mushroom broth. It's loaded with flavor.

What To Serve With Creamy Mushroom Soup

This soup is a wonderful appetizer or main course. We wouldn't add much to it really. It manages to be filling and meaty without being too heavy. However, if you want to add more to the meal, serve with a green salad and a roll or piece of garlic bread for dipping into the soup.

How To Store Creamy Mushroom Soup

You can keep leftover mushroom soup in an airtight container up to 5 days. Stir well to distribute the ingredients during heating in the microwave. You can also reheat in a saucepan on the stovetop.

Keep the croutons stored separately in a ziplock bag. If they get a little soggy, you can bring them back to crispy in the oven or an air fryer.

Can You Freeze Creamy Mushroom Soup?

No, this soup is not a good candidate for freezing. The cream may separate from the soup when it thaws. It would be difficult to combine them again, leaving you with a lackluster soup.