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    Creamy mushroom soup with Shiitake

    Published: Dec 10, 2012 / 134 Comments

    126.2K shares
    • Facebook1.3K
    Recipe Print

    Creamy mushroom soup with Shiitake - made completely from scratch! So easy and delicious! If you haven't tried shiitake mushrooms yet in a soup - make this recipe and you'll love it!

    Creamy wild mushroom soup

    In between the Christmas cookie recipes, I have to fit in this cream of Shiitake mushroom soup I made last week from scratch without using any heavy cream, and using only 1.5 cups of half-and-half. And, by the way, you can use any type of wild mushrooms in place of Shiitake. I've made this soup years before, with different types of mushrooms, and it's always been popular with the family, and I thought it would be nice to make a rendition of it during the holidays this year. Warm and hearty creamy mushroom soup is so welcome on cold winter nights, as a prelude to any dinner. In fact, for the past 2 weeks, a bowl of this wild mushroom soup with shiitake or a carrot-lentil soup always awaits me and my husband as a warming appetizer before dinner. And I wholeheartedly recommend the same for you: fill yourself up with soup before dinner, and you won't be as hungry and will probably eat less for dinner.

    mushrooms by the bowl

    I know many people use store-bought cream of mushroom for gravies, but this is a SOUP! This recipe doesn't use any heavy cream and uses only 1.5 cups half-and-half, majority of creaminess in the soup comes from pureeing mushrooms, carrots, onions and vegetable stock (which you make yourself by boiling water with vegetables) into a wonderful thick concoction that looks like it's full of cream. The thick density of pureed mushrooms is easily solved by adding a bit of half-and-half. Or, if you're a purist and don't want any cream, you could even get away by substituting half-and-half with lesser amount of milk. Then, right before serving, sprinkle the soup with freshly ground black pepper and salt and enjoy your quiet winter evening warmed by a comforting homemade mushroom soup!

    creamy wild mushroom soup with shiitake

    Step-by-step photos: how to make creamy mushroom soup with shiitake

    Scroll down for the recipe, but these photos will help you to make this soup.

    Start with preparing beautiful Shiitake mushrooms

    shiitake mushrooms

    Slice them up!

    sliced shiitake mushrooms

    Chop up onions and carrotschopped onions and carrots

    Cook mushrooms, carrots, onions

    cooking mushrooms, carrots, onions

    Add 2.5 cups water to vegetables

    adding water to vegetables

    Use food processor to puree vegetables and vegetable stock you just made

    pureeing in food processor

    pureeing vegetables and vegetable stock in food processor

    pureeing vegetables and chicken stock in food processor

    pureed vegetables and vegetable stock

    pureed vegetables and chicken stock

    Put puree back in the pan - see how thick and rich in color it is! Just a little bit of half-and-half will make perfect! No need for heavy cream.

    cooking the soup

    Green onions are optional but I highly recommend using them!

    green onions

    Chop up the green onions!

    chopped green onions

    Soup with added half-and-half. Nice cream of mushroom color!

    soup

    creamy mushroom soup with shiitake
    4.88 from 49 votes

    Creamy Mushroom Soup with Shiitake

    Make this creamy shiitake mushroom soup from scratch!  This recipe doesn't use any heavy cream and uses only 1.5 cups half-and-half, majority of creaminess in the soup comes from pureeing mushrooms, carrots, onions and vegetable stock.  So good! 
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 mins
    Cook Time 30 mins
    Total Time 50 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American
    Servings 8 people
    Calories per serving 109 kcal
    Author: Julia

    Ingredients

    • 10 oz shiitake mushrooms , large whole
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 tablespoon butter
    • 1 onion chopped
    • 1 carrot chopped
    • 1 teaspoon thyme
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
    • 2.5 cups water
    • 1.5 cups half-and-half (or heavy cream)
    • 3 green onions chopped (OPTIONAL)

    Instructions 

    How to make creamy mushroom soup with shiitake

    • Slice mushrooms into bite-sized pieces. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large pan, add sliced mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes until mushrooms soften. Remove half of cooked mushrooms to a separate plate.
    • To the other half of mushrooms, remaining in a large pan, add chopped onion, carrots, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper to taste. Continue cooking vegetables for 10 more minutes, until onions and carrots soften a bit.
    • Add 2.5 cups of water to vegetables (mushrooms, carrots, onions) in the pan, bring to boil and boil on medium heat for 20 minutes. Some liquid should visibly evaporate, leaving reduced stock, but don’t let all water evaporate. add more water if that’s the case.
    • Remove from heat and add the stock you just made (water with mushrooms, carrots, onions) into the food processor. Process the mixture until it achieves puree consistency.
    • Put puree back into the same cooking pan, add reserved cooked mushrooms that you removed to the plate earlier. Add 1.5 cups of half and half. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer (low heat) and cook covered for 5 minutes, constantly stirring. Add more salt and pepper if desired. Your soup is done at this point, or you can add chopped onions towards the end or use them as garnish, or skip them altogether (depends if you like green onions in your soup).

    Notes

    • What can you use instead of half-and-half?  You can heavy cream instead.  It will work just fine! Or, even better, use half milk and half heavy cream.

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Information
    Creamy Mushroom Soup with Shiitake
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    109
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    8
    g
    12
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    4
    g
    25
    %
    Cholesterol
     
    20
    mg
    7
    %
    Sodium
     
    335
    mg
    15
    %
    Potassium
     
    223
    mg
    6
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    6
    g
    2
    %
    Fiber
     
    1
    g
    4
    %
    Sugar
     
    1
    g
    1
    %
    Protein
     
    2
    g
    4
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    1535
    IU
    31
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    3.1
    mg
    4
    %
    Calcium
     
    59
    mg
    6
    %
    Iron
     
    0.3
    mg
    2
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

    Tried this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment and provide a Star Rating below - I love your feedback and try to respond to every comment!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Mary

      June 14, 2022 at 11:41 am

      Making it for teh second time! Thanks for introducing me to shitake mushrooms. Very popular with my guest

      Reply
    2. Miriam

      March 24, 2022 at 8:52 am

      Thanks for this delicious soup!!!

      Reply
    3. Erica

      February 21, 2022 at 6:07 pm

      Looks great! Does this soup freeze well if I make extra?

      Reply
      • Julia

        March 22, 2022 at 2:00 am

        Erica, yes, this soup freezes really well! When reheating, you might have to add small amounts of milk, half-and-half, or cream to thin out the soup.

        Reply
    4. Sandra

      October 22, 2021 at 2:06 pm

      Can I use milk instead?

      Reply
      • Julia

        October 23, 2021 at 1:52 pm

        Yes, you can! The soup itself (before even adding milk product) is so thick from being blended in the food processor, that milk will work great! I would use whole milk.

        Reply
      • Dave

        November 06, 2021 at 11:09 pm

        A very very tasty Mushroom soup! You HAVE to try it!! My wife is not big on cream, but that's ok, it's all mine then. No need to freeze it, I pour a small bowl of soup each day until the pot is empty. It's THAT good!!! Top notch recipe thanks to Julia.

        Reply
        • Dave

          November 06, 2021 at 11:16 pm

          ...part 2
          ...sorry forgot to rate the recipe. 5 stars

          Reply
          • Julia

            November 10, 2021 at 8:34 pm

            Thank you for the rating - I appreciate it!

            Reply
        • Julia

          November 10, 2021 at 8:35 pm

          Dave, your comment made my day! Thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to share such a positive and enthusiastic comment! 🙂

          Reply
    5. Lisa M.

      September 17, 2021 at 5:39 pm

      This recipe produces the tastiest mushroom soup I've ever had! Anyone I've shared it with agrees. Some things I've done that also result in deliciousness is to add additional mushrooms for a thicker soup, and also to top the individual bowls off with some truffle oil which. Paired with some warm ciabatta and it's heaven in a bowl!

      Reply
      • Julia

        September 22, 2021 at 3:57 pm

        Lisa, I am so happy you tried this soup and enjoyed it! Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your comment and a 5-star review! I so appreciate it! 🙂 Truffle oil on top of soup sounds delicious!

        Reply
    6. Jenny

      July 20, 2021 at 7:04 pm

      BEST MUSHROOM SOUP RECIPE I'VE MADE IN MY 55 YEARS OF COOKING! I would rate this soup a 10 if I could.
      We can't have dairy so I substitute Thai Kitchen full fat coconut milk for the half & half and it's still outstanding & delicious! I can't make enough of this soup, everyone I serve it to loves it. In a seniors community in FL we run a cooking club and I made it for our group. Everyone in the group loved it and were grateful for this wonderful recipe. Julia.....This recipe has the full flavor of mushrooms that has been missing in all the other recipes I've made. I wonder if it's the thyme helps brings out the shiitake mushroom flavor. Thanks for sharing this great recipe with us.

      Reply
      • Julia

        August 13, 2021 at 9:45 pm

        Jenny, WOW, your comment truly made my day! Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to share such a positive, 5-star review - I really appreciate it! 🙂

        Reply
    7. T.L.

      May 08, 2021 at 1:17 pm

      Used 2Tsp Better Than Bullion Mushroom paste; added 2 Tsp Siracha; used 15 ounces of mushrooms. Delicious recipe.

      Reply
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