Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup (Gluten, Oil Free)

This healthy Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup is made without cream, flour, cornstarch, or oil. Instead it’s made thick and creamy and silky smooth with plant-based milk and cashew butter. Have this comfort food classic on the table in just 25 minutes and serve with vegan garlic bread for dunking.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Just 1 pot. This mushroom soup can be blended smooth with an immersion blender, making it a true 1 pot recipe. Less dishes means less work.
• Great for busy weeknights. Start to finish, this soup is ready in 25 minutes.
• 8 simple ingredients. No roux, complicated ingredients, or unnecessary extras.
• Make ahead friendly. This soup will last up to 4 days in the fridge and the flavor gets better over time.
• Freezer friendly. If you’ve got a lot of mushrooms to use up, make a big batch and stash some away for later!

Ingredients and Substitutions

• white mushrooms – I used white mushrooms to make this soup, but if you’re looking for a bolder mushroom flavor, you can use cremini, or a combination of the two. Any mushroom will work but a general rule of thumb to keep in mind is the larger and darker the mushroom, the more prominent the mushroom flavor will be.
• vegetable broth – I recommend using low sodium vegetable broth to make this mushroom soup. I tested this recipe with vegan beef broth and vegan chicken broth but both were way too salty, in my opinion. Especially if the cashew butter you are using is already salted. If you are using an unsalted cashew butter, you may get away with using a full sodium broth but less is more, if you ask me!
• cashew butter – I use the salted cashew butter found at Trader Joe’s. It’s very reasonably priced, neutral in taste, and the best way to make this soup taste extra creamy without having to use your blender or any refined oil.
• plant-based milk – I’ve used both homemade cashew milk and homemade almond milk to make this mushroom soup, and both were great. Any neutral tasting, unsweetened plant-based milk will work – even full fat coconut milk if you want to make your cream of mushroom soup EXTRA thick and creamy.
• white wine vinegar – A majority of homemade mushroom soups call for dry white wine. I don’t always have a bottle of white wine, and even if I do, I don’t want to open it just to use a tiny amount to make a soup. White wine vinegar is a better solution because it’s more affordable, I always have it in the pantry, and I don’t have to use it right away once it’s open.

Step by Step Instructions

1. In a 4 qt+ pot heated over medium high heat, sauté the sliced onions for 2-3 minutes in a splash of vegetable broth until soft and fragrant. Add in the minced garlic, then sauté for an additional minute, stirring constantly to prevent burning.

2. Add in the white wine vinegar, sliced white mushrooms, and black pepper and sauté for an additional 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms have reduced in size and darkened in color. If anything is sticking to the bottom of the pot, add in a splash of vegetable broth as needed to deglaze the bottom.
3. If desired, remove 1 cup of mushrooms from the pot to stir into the soup. Set aside.

3. Add in the broth, milk, and cashew butter and stir to combine. Bring to a low simmer, then reduce to low heat and cover the pot for 5 minutes.

4. Blend the soup smooth with an immersion blender or transfer to a blender, blending in batches as necessary. Stir in reserved mushrooms, if set aside, then serve mushroom soup immediately with additional black pepper and crusty bread (gluten free bread, if needed!).

FAQs

Expert Tips

• If using a blender to blend this soup smooth, please do so in batches. Hot foods expand tremendously in the blender and needs ample space to do so. If you fill the blender too high, you risk having the lid blown off (not kidding). Not only is this dangerous because the soup will be piping hot but it is also messy.
• Before pouring a store-bought milk into your soup, smell it and taste it! Some store-bought unsweetened vegan milks are being made with a sweet, perfume like preservative that completely defeats the purpose of the milk being unsweetened. If it tastes at all sweet and/or has an artificial sweet smell, it will ruin the flavor of your savory soup. Steer clear of Safeway’s Organics line as well as Whole Foods Brand unsweetened milks. They all have this issue.
• When in doubt, make your own vegan milk at home! I bought an Almond Cow for making milk at home and it’s been worth every penny. There are also several guides out there teaching you how to make your own vegan milk in a blender.

More Vegan Soup Recipes to Try

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