Mushroom Soup Without Cream
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This is not your average homemade cream of mushroom soup recipe! No canned condensed soup here with tiny bits of mushrooms, and a thick congealed cream – nope! This soup is everything you love about a comforting and hearty meal, full of fresh ingredients, vitamins, and minerals.
When the weather cools, there’s nothing like a big bowl of soup. And I absolutely love creamy soups too! They’re thick, warm, satisfying, and stick to the bones. But the problem with most creamy soups is that they’re made with heavy cream and butter which is loaded with calories and fat.
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This healthy mushroom soup without cream has everything you love about creamy soups but is much better for you! Big chunks of mushrooms are simmered with garlic, and onion, in a combination of vegetable stock and low-fat milk. It’s thickened with flour to create a roux that gives this delicious vegetarian soup its luxurious texture. Fresh thyme and parsley round out the ingredients to give this soup a rich and herbal flavor.
It’s the perfect soup to make during cold nights to warm you up – great for any mushroom lover!
👩🍳 Why This Recipe Works
- Ultra Creamy
- Warm and Comforting Soup
- Loaded with Big Pieces of Mushrooms
- Flavored with Fresh Herbs
- Low in Calories and Fat
- Rich in Vitamins and Nutrients
- Family Friendly
- Weeknight Recipe
- Quick and Easy
- Simple Ingredients
- Best cream of mushroom soup ever!
🥘 Ingredients
Mushrooms: You can use any type of mushrooms you like in this recipe. Choose one that is firm, such as mini Bella mushrooms, white button mushrooms, or cremini mushrooms. To save yourself some time, choose the ones that are pre-sliced. You can also create your own mushroom mixture with different varieties for more complex flavor. Buy them fresh as mushrooms can go bad rather quickly.
Fresh Herbs: A combination of fresh thyme and fresh chopped parsley give this dish a deep aroma and fresh flavor. Use fresh herbs if possible. However, if you cannot find fresh thyme when you prepare this soup, you can opt for dried thyme instead.
Stock: The stock for this soup is made with low-fat milk, that is combined with flour to create a roux, then the vegetable stock is added for more broth. The roux is our secret ingredient in this low calorie mushroom soup – ithelps provide a creamy mouthfeel without adding a ton of calories and fat. If you’re not vegetarian, you can also opt for chicken stock instead. For a more indulgent feel you can use regular milk (whole milk). For deeper mushroom flavor, use a mushroom broth!
📖 Variations
Make it a Vegan Mushroom Soup: Use a plant milk like canned light coconut milk, oat milk, or almond milk instead of low fat milk to make this recipe vegan.
Make it Gluten-Free: Use a gluten-free flour blend instead of all-purpose flour to make this recipe gluten-free.
Try Different Seasonings: Feel free to add different herbs depending on what is in season. For example, in the spring or summer, you might want to add fresh basil. In the fall and winter, you could add fresh sage.
🔪 Instructions
Step 1: Heat olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over low heat. Sauté the diced onion for 3-4 minutes. Add the crushed fresh garlic and chopped thyme. Stir for an additional 3 minutes.
Step 2: Add the sliced fresh mushrooms and sauté for 5-8 minutes until softened and cooked through.
Step 3: Add the flour, stir and cook for 3-4 minutes over medium heat.
Step 4: Pour in the vegetable stock over medium-high heat, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Add a bay leaf (optional).
Step 5: Remove half of the soup and blend in a blender or food processor until smooth. Or, if you have an immersion blender, use that to blend the soup until you reach the desired consistency and creamy texture. Return the blended soup to the pot, add the milk and seasonings, stir through and bring to a simmer.
Step 6: Taste the soup for seasoning. Add more a touch of soy sauce or additional salt if needed. Top with one tablespoon of chopped parsley. Serve this healthy cream of mushroom soup with a sprinkling of cracked black pepper.
❓ Recipe FAQs
Is mushroom soup healthy?
Unfortunately no, because many mushroom soups are made with heavy cream. This adds a ton of unwanted fat and calories, making it one of the more unhealthy soups. However, with a few swaps, mushroom soup can be made healthy! Here’s how to make a healthy mushroom soup recipe:
1) Use low-fat milk to reduce the overall fat and calories.
2) Instead of using all milk or cream, vegetable stock and flour is added to make a rich broth that is low in saturated fat. Note: When using vegetable broth opt for a low-sodium broth, or make your own! Many store-bought soups and broths are very high in sodium.
3) Add flavor with herbs, and add lots of mushrooms! This homemade mushroom soup recipe is rich in vitamins and minerals thanks to the big chunks of hearty mushrooms. Mushrooms are a good source of copper, potassium, magnesium, zinc, and a number of B vitamins including folate.
What goes best with mushroom soup?
This mushroom soup without cream tastes great as a light main course served with a side of crusty whole-grain bread or garlic bread for dipping, and a light side salad with balsamic dressing.
Amp up the protein by adding some chickpeas or black beans to the salad, or topping the mushroom soup with shredded chicken or diced tofu or tempeh. Another option is to serve it on top of wild rice or brown rice, and alongside a glass of white wine.
How do you store and keep mushroom soup?
Refrigerate: Allow your homemade soup to cool completely before transferring leftovers to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freeze: You can also freeze this soup. To freeze, allow the leftover soup to cool to room temperature. Transfer to a freezer-safe container with all air pushed out. Label with the contents and the date. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Reheat: When ready to reheat from frozen, transfer to a large saucepan. Heat on low until the soup begins to defrost, then turn it up to medium to heat through.
💭 Expert Tips
- Buy your mushrooms fresh.
- Wash well before cooking.
- Don’t rinse mushrooms with water. They act as sponges and will absorb the water. Instead, use a damp cloth or paper towel to wipe the mushrooms clean.
- Buy pre-sliced mushrooms to save yourself some time.
- Use fresh thyme and parsley if possible and in season.
🍲 More Delicious Creamy Soup Recipes!
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Vegan Mushroom And Wild Rice Soup
- Tomato Soup With Canned Tomatoes
- Pumpkin Sweet Potato Soup
- Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
- Garbanzo Bean Soup
- Instant Pot Tomato Soup
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📋 Recipe Card
🎥 Watch How to Make It
Mushroom Soup Without Cream
An ultra-creamy mushroom soup without cream! Loaded with mushrooms, garlic, and fresh herbs it's a comforting and hearty soup without the extra calories and fat!
Servings: 4
Calories: 143kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme chopped
- 1 lb mushrooms sliced
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 4 cups vegetable stock low-sodium
- ¾ cup low-fat milk
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped for serving
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot, sauté the diced onion for 3-4 minutes. Add the crushed garlic and chopped thyme. Stir for an additional 3 minutes.
- Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté for 5-8 minutes until softened and cooked through.
- Add the flour, stir and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Pour in the vegetable stock, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove ½ of the soup and blend in a blender until smooth. Return the blended soup to the pot, add the milk and seasonings, stir through and bring to a simmer.
- Taste the soup for seasoning. Add more salt if needed. Top with one tablespoon of chopped parsley.
- Serve with a sprinkling of cracked pepper.
Notes
- Buy your mushrooms fresh.
- Wash well before cooking.
- Don’t rinse mushrooms with water. They act like sponges and will absorb the water. Instead, use a damp cloth or paper towel to wipe the mushrooms clean.
- Buy pre-sliced mushrooms to save yourself some time.
- Use fresh thyme and parsley if possible and in season.
- Keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Calories: 143kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 1258mg | Potassium: 486mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g
This is a great recipe! So easy to make and so delicious! Do you have an instant pot version of this recipe? Has any one tried adding wild rice and/or chicken?
Thank you so much Shawna!! I’m so glad you liked it! I haven’t made this in the Instant Pot, but I would assume it could work with just a quick pressure cook (5 minutes) and manual release. But I can guarantee it would work as well as the stove top version since I haven’t tested it out! Adding wild rice would be delicious!!
I ran out of milk so I replaced it with greek yogurt and it was sooo good! I also just added extra garlic cloves, some garlic powder & onion powder.
Yay! I’m so glad you loved this recipe Rose!
This was delicious and so easy with ingredients I mostly already had at home, I replaced the milk with soya milk and my husband didn’t even realize he was eating a vegan dish! Thank you ❤️
Oh awesome!! I’m so glad you all liked this recipe Nicola – love the substitution you made too!
This is a nice start.
I added 1 can of coconut milk which helps thicken and give creaminess to the soup!.
Sauteed carrots and celery with onions add some more flavor.
A large red potato peeled and shredded helped thicken instead of flour.
Love the additions you made, and I’m so glad you liked this soup!
I substituted the non-fat milk with oat milk. I also added a red pepper. Vegan AND low calorie. Fabulous.
What great substitutions!! And I’m so happy to hear that it turned out well for you – thanks for letting me know Dale!
Easy, delicious. I put half the flour and no cream and it was a terrific quick soup to prepare.
Thank you so much Diana! I’m so glad you liked this recipe!
I need to prepare this ahead and just warm up to serve. Any tips? Should I stop at a certain point in the recipe and then just finish it up or make the whole thing and warm up a few hours later?
I would just make the whole thing and warm it up a few hours later!
Wow! We were super impressed with this simple and delicious recipe. Took no time and I had all the ingredients already (who ever has half-and- half or heavy cream just laying around?!) This will be my go to base for any creams I make from now on. Thank you!
Yay!! Thank you so much Alex – so glad to hear that! 🙂
Looking to try out this recipe. Will t work with almond milk? Thanks
Hi Sherry! I think theoretically it could work with almond milk but I’ve never tried making it with almond milk before. Almond milk might be a little thin to get the right consistency for the soup, but I think it’s worth a shot! If you do try it with almond milk, let me know how it goes!
You can also use plain Almond Breeze if you want to avoid milk. Nothing replaces butter though! I also used better than bouillon Mushroom stock instead of water. More mushroom flavor.
Thanks for sharing this! Love the idea of the better than bouillon mushroom stock too!
This was fabulous and so easy to make! I’m substituted the low-fat milk with dairy free whipping cream. Yum!!!
This is our new family favorite soup.
Oh yay!! I’m so happy to hear that Rae! 🙂
Delicious soup I’m a picky eater so will be looking at some of your healthy recipes.
Great! I’m sure you will love this recipe – keep me posted on the ones you try and how they turn out!
Delicious and hearty soup!
Small question though: is the nutritional information per serving and if so how much is a serving? Thank you!
Thanks Caroline! Yes the nutritional information is per serving — one serving is about 1.5 cups of soup!
This was out of this world. Prep took a little longer than you say but well worth it. Hope you have recipes for other non-cream cream soups like cauliflower
Aw yay! I’m so glad you liked this recipe Lauren!! I do have a curried cauliflower soup but not a cream of cauliflower without cream (but I’ll see if I can develop one that’s just as tasty as this one! 🙂 )
so delicious – i love anything with mushrooms so this was right up my alley – i will make it all winter long!
Woohoo! Thanks Heather! Enjoy!
It’s crazy how this is so creamy but without any cream! I love soup so this one is a winner.
Awesome!! Glad you enjoyed it!
We really enjoyed this — it was super creamy and comforting. Thank you! 🙂
Awesome!! So happy to hear that Kristen!
One of my favorite soups as I’m a HUGE mushroom lover and really liking this healthier approach!
Aw thank you so much Gina!