My family is really into mushrooms. We hunt wild morels every spring and we get super excited when the chanterelles start coming in in the middle of the summer. We spent a couple of days a few winters ago inoculating over 100 logs with wild mushroom spores of lion’s mane, shitake and 2 different types of oyster mushroom. We are big big fans of fungi.
Right now (autumn) is the perfect time of year for two things: soup and oyster and shitake mushrooms. We have been blessed with several really good flushes of wild mushrooms and I’ve gotta do something with them! Enter this delicious Quick and Easy Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup.
This recipe is super fast and would make a delicious appetizer or a light lunch for anyone. You can swap out mushrooms for whatever you have on hand. Oyster, shitake, lion’s mane and chanterelle would be fine here, but I would stay away from using any mushroom that’s really delicate (like enoki).
Where to buy wild mushrooms
If you aren’t a mushroom hunter or don’t have a plethora of inoculated logs, you can buy fresh wild mushrooms in your produce section. Higher end and Asian grocery stores usually have a pretty good selection.
Also, if you’ve got a really good farmer’s market near you, you can probably find some wild mushrooms there ( definitely some shitake mushrooms).
Buy mushrooms that look plump and fresh. Wild mushrooms can be a little expensive, so buy what you can afford and fill in with button or bella mushrooms.
Make Ahead Mushroom Soup
You can absolutely make this Quick and Easy Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup a day or two ahead. You can even store it in the freezer for a couple of months (thaw it overnight in the fridge before using)! The trick is in the reheating. Reheat this soup low and slow and don’t let it come to a boil to avoid the soup splitting. Even if it does split, it will still taste delicious it just won’t look very pretty.
Using dehydrated mushrooms
Can you use dehydrated mushrooms in this Quick and Easy Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup? Sure you can! Simply rehydrate your dried mushrooms first in boiling water. Squeeze out the excess and use them like regular mushrooms. The rehydrating liquid is a great substitute for some of the chicken broth in this recipe, too and it has lots of great flavor. I don’t recommend using only dried mushrooms but a mixture of dry and fresh would be totally fine.
More Mushroom Recipes
Ingredients
- 2 shallots peeled and minced
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 ounces fresh shitake mushrooms sliced
- 8 ounces fresh oyster mushrooms sliced
- 4 ounces fresh button mushrooms sliced
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1.5 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1.5 cups heavy cream or half and half
- Pinch of saffron ground or threads
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are tender and have begun to release their liquid, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the flour, salt, pepper and thyme and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the broth and try to smooth out any lumps of flour. Cook until thickened slightly then add in the heavy cream and saffron. Reduce heat to low and heat through. Serve and enjoy!
The sounds good I’d like to try it
Took home a pound of lion’s mane from a visit to a permacultute garden today, grown in coffee mould. Found your recipe, added a half zucchini and a portobello, and made dinner for tomorrow. Herbs from the garden, of course. Thanks!
I love those additions! Thanks for commenting.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I made it second time yesterday and substituted most of the heavy cream for coconut milk and it worked great!
I was afraid that the coconut will overtake the flavors but it actually worked good. I put about 1 1/4 of a cup of coconut and 1/4 cup cream and it was wonderful
I’m so glad it worked out. Thanks for commenting!
I made this recipe as well. Delicious. I a going to make it for my girlfriends for soup swap. Thanks for the tip to substitute coconut milk for some of the cream.
This is delicious! I made it once before for my grade 3 class with oyster mushrooms we grew as a project. I want to make it again, but I’m wondering, do you think GF flour would work? I can always try it and let you know, lol!
That’s great!
I’ve never tried with GF flour but cornstarch may work as a substitute. You’d need to mix it in a little cold cream before you added it in the soup to thicken. Good luck!