This divine Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup hugs you with warmth and deliciousness. This is a super simple, eight-ingredient recipe, and you can make it gluten-free and oil-free.
If you've been missing the delicious, creamy flavor of a cream of mushroom soup since you went dairy-free, here's the recipe to satisfy that craving and more besides: my vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup.
This really is comfort food in a bowl. It's thick and creamy and rich and fragrant and it gives you that perfect warm and gooey feeling you need, say, after the worst possible day at work when the only thing that can comfort you is imagining the look on your boss's face when you hand in your resignation.
But before you rush in to do that, try this soup instead, and you might just start picturing yourself signing copies of your bestseller on 101 ways to deftly handle the boss from hell and get a promotion. Problem solved. 😉
How to make the best vegan cream of mushroom soup
Here's what I do: I make a roux of flour, much as you'd do with a traditional cream of mushroom soup, and then I add in some creamy cashew milk.
The most important part to remember with this recipe, as you would with any, really, is to build in layers of flavor to ensure that you end up with an awesome dish. And to keep the flavors close to the real stuff. Cashew cream or milk makes the best substitute for dairy cream in this recipe, because it tastes the closest, and it also doesn't add a strong flavor that wouldn't be in the original recipe like, say, coconut milk would. You can use almond milk too, and it would be fine, although I really prefer the cashew.
If you are nut-free, I'd recommend using an unsweetened soy milk or any nondairy milk that's thick and not too watery.
This recipe is simple as they come, with just eight ingredients, besides the salt and pepper: mushrooms, a smidgen of oil, onions, garlic, flour, sage or thyme, a good vegetable stock and nutmeg. And if you want to picture your boss turning green with envy over your perfect abs when you're throwing your resignation at him or her, you can make this recipe free of oil (although it won't be free of healthy fats) by sauteeing your onions and mushrooms in vegetable stock.
What do you serve with the vegan cream of mushroom soup?
This recipe doesn't need much to make it a meal to remember, but serving a crusty French bread on the side won't hurt at all. And a green salad would take it over the top.
If you make this recipe, I want to hear, of course. Leave me a comment below or tag @HolyCowVegan on Instagram. You can also follow me on Pinterest to keep up with my latest recipes, or subscribe to my free email updates.
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Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup Recipe
Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (or 2 tablespoon vegetable stock for an oil-free version)
- 1 medium white or yellow onion (cut into a very fine dice)
- 1 large clove garlic (minced)
- ½ pound button mushrooms (sliced thinly or chopped)
- 1 teaspoon thyme or sage
- 3 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour (for a gluten-free version, use 2 tablespoon rice flour)
- 3-4 cups vegetable stock
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup cashews
Instructions
- Blend the cashews with 1 cup of the vegetable stock and set aside.
- In a saucepan, heat the oil or vegetable stock. Add the onions and garlic along with a pinch of salt and ground black pepper. Saute, stirring frequently, until the onions turn translucent but do not brown. It is important that you cut the onions really fine so they just melt into the soup.
- Add the mushrooms. At this stage you can add a splosh of white wine for more flavor, if you wish. Saute the mushrooms over medium-high heat until they are tender, about 5-8 minutes.
- Add the thyme or sage, stir to mix, and then add the all purpose flour or rice flour. Mix well and let the flour cook for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently to let it cook evenly.
- Add a cup of the vegetable stock, stirring vigorously as you do so to avoid any lumps from forming. You can also use a whisk to mix at this stage. Add one more cup of stock, continuing to stir, and when it comes to a boil, stir in the blended cashew milk.
- Once the soup comes to a boil, you can thin out with more stock to get it to the consistency you like. Check for seasoning and add more salt and pepper as needed. You can also add a tablespoon of soy sauce for more flavor, unless you want to be soy-free.
- When the soup comes to a boil, stir, and turn off. Serve hot.
Jason
It was delicious! I added leeks in with the onions at the start. Great recipe! Thank you
Patty
This recipe was fabulous! I used cashew butter for the evoo and substitute 1/2 can of coconut milk for some of the veggie Broth. It was rich and creamy.
Charles Hugo
Outstanding! Thanks for the recipe
Vaishali
So happy you loved it!
Tracie
Nice recipe, just made it and it’s on point! Thank you 🙂
kb
Wonderful recipe! Delicious and so easy.
Tried miso broth instead of veg broth and it worked really well.
Catherine
Fabulous soup! So tasy and healthy, and yet so easy! I served this to my friends and they raved and requested the recipe.
Anonymous
Really nice!
Ashley
Could you substitute the cashews with cashew milk? Just curious how that could be incorporated into the recipe and if you think any other adjustments should be made if doing that sub. Either way, I can’t wait to try this!
Vaishali
Cashew milk might make it a bit thin. You can add more flour to the roux to compensate.
Kirstin Hagglund
I used fresh ground almond butter from the grocery store because where I shop you can buy it in bulk and this was an amazing recipe!
Vaishali
So happy you loved it! Happy to hear it worked with almond butter.
Gina
Great recipe!
I cooked the mushrooms separately, pureed the onions + 1c broth after they were cooked, then combined with mushrooms and the additional 1c broth and 1c broth + cashews. Added soy sauce and salt.
This soup is thick and creamy, hearty, and warming - so flavorful! Love it!
Sharon
I followed your recipe to the letter. The only different thing I did was after it was all prepared and cooked. I found it a little too watery although I used only about 3 cups of stock, one of which is blended with the cashews. So I removed a cup of the soup and put it in the blender to purée and then returned it to the pot. Then it was perfect having a thicker consistency and there were still plenty of mushroom slices left in the soup. It required 3/4 tsp of salt toward the end of cooking. Delicious, thank you.
Laura
The best mushroom soup I've ever made and possibly the best soup I've ever made! I made it for my soup club at work and everyone loved it and requested the recipe! Will make again, definitely! Thank you!
Vaishali
That's so lovely to hear, Laura. Happy you enjoyed the soup!
Marci
Sooooo good. I used half of the recipe to make a vegan green bean casserole (with fresh green beans) and it was the best ever!
Vaishali
So happy you loved it, Marci!
JoEllen
I just made this and i am so pleased. I used portobello mushrooms, i pureed the onions in the broth. This is the most flavorful mushroom soup. Thank you for sharing!!!
Vaishali
Awesome, happy to hear you enjoyed it!
Heidi
Delicious! I used 1 TBSp cornstarch mixed with cold broth instead of the flour. Thanks so much for the recipe!!
Vaishali
Nice way to make it gluten-free. So happy you enjoyed the soup, Heidi.
Ari
We are a family with a lactose intolerance. Finding this recipe has been a game changer for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Vaishali
Ari, so happy to hear!
Sydney
After looking everywhere for vegan cream of mushroom soup, I decided to look for recipes to make my own for green bean casserole. I came upon your recipe and it is fantastic! So happy to have found this recipe thank you! I added it to the casserole and even had some leftover for a yummy bowl of soup. YAY!
Vaishali
Awesome, so happy to hear, Sydney!