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A rich, comforting creamy mushroom soup with slow caramelized mushrooms, garlic, cream, and fresh thyme for deep umami flavor and silky texture.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 (16 ounce) packages sliced fresh mushrooms (32 ounces total)
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup water
  • 6 sprigs fresh thyme, tied in a bundle with kitchen twine
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (for garnish)

Instructions

  1. Gather ingredients and prep: slice mushrooms if not pre-sliced, dice the onion, peel garlic, and tie thyme sprigs into a bundle.
  2. Heat butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.
  3. Add mushrooms and a pinch of salt; cook until they release moisture (about 5–10 minutes).
  4. Lower heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring often, until the liquid evaporates and mushrooms are golden brown and caramelized (about 15–25 minutes); reserve a few mushroom slices for garnish if desired.
  5. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent (about 5 minutes).
  6. Sprinkle in the flour and stir constantly for about 2 minutes to cook off the raw flour taste.
  7. Pour in the chicken broth and water, add the thyme bundle and garlic cloves, reduce heat to low, and simmer gently for 1 hour.
  8. Remove and discard the thyme bundle.
  9. Carefully blend the hot soup in batches: fill the blender halfway, hold the lid down with a towel, pulse to release steam, then blend until smooth; return blended soup to the pot and repeat with remaining soup.
  10. Stir the heavy cream into the soup; thin with extra broth or water if needed and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
  11. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with reserved mushroom slices and fresh thyme leaves.

Notes

Use an immersion blender as an alternative to a countertop blender for puréeing., If using fresh pre-sliced mushrooms, prep time is quicker; otherwise allow extra time for slicing., To keep the soup vegetarian, substitute chicken broth with vegetable broth without changing cooking method., For a lighter soup, replace heavy cream with half-and-half or whole milk, noting the soup will be thinner and less rich., Add a splash of dry sherry or white wine before adding the broth for extra flavor., Finish with a drizzle of truffle oil or a dollop of sour cream for luxury., Adjust soup thickness by simmering longer for thicker consistency or adding more liquid to thin., For varied texture, puree only half the soup or blend briefly to leave mushroom pieces intact., Store cooled soup in the refrigerator for up to one week or freeze for up to two months., For best freezing results, freeze soup without cream and stir cream in fresh when reheating to prevent separation.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://gingerbaking.com/chef-johns-creamy-mushroom-soup/