I don’t know about you, but before we switched over to “real food” we used to make quite a few recipes that called for canned cream of mushroom soup. With over a dozen ingredients (including MSG in some brands) this item definitely doesn’t pass the “real food” test. Even when Michael Pollan discusses the importance of cooking food yourself (to ensure you know where your food comes from) he specifically says “all bets are off…[if] you’re the kind of cook who Want to Save this Recipe? Enter your email below & we'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you'll get great new recipes from us every week!
I just assumed I would have to give up all of those old casserole, stuffing, dip, and potpie recipes…but not anymore! Thanks to a casserole recipe (pictured) that I found in Eating Well Magazine I was able to extract an easy-to-make “cream of mushroom” binding agent to use in other dishes as well. A blog reader even suggested making extra and freezing the leftovers. Now instead of reaching for a factory made ingredient out of a can how about something similar (but better of course) right out of your freezer? You certainly can’t beat knowing exactly what’s in your food!
Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 leeks (chopped and then rinsed (or I think an equivalent amount of onion would work))
- 1 1/2 pounds mushrooms (sliced)
- 1 cup dry sherry ((you could experiment with other wines as well))
- 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (grated)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup parsley (flat-leaf, chopped)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Heat oil over medium heat. Add leeks (or onion) and cook, stirring occasionally, until just starting to brown, 4 or 5 minutes.
- Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until their liquid has been released and has evaporated, 10 or 12 minutes.
- Add sherry (or other wine), increase heat to high and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle the vegetables with the flour and stir to coat.
- Add milk; bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute while stirring.
- Stir in Parmesan, sour cream, parsley, salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
Notes
Nutrition Facts
Could you replace sherry with broth?
I’d love recipes for the other “cream of” soups!
Hi Cindy, yes, other readers have used broth and it has turned out great for them. – Nicole
I don’t think the pic with this recipe is of cream of mushroom soup.
That is correct. It is a photo of a casserole that was made using homemade cream of mushroom soup. – Nicole
Has anyone ever replaced the milk in this recipe with an oat milk?
We haven’t personally tried it with oat milk. It would most likely come out a little thicker and slightly different taste, but if you end up trying it, please let us know how it turns out. – Nicole
Hi. Other than the addition of rice starch, they keep their ingredients pretty clean: https://www.pacificfoods.com/organic-cream-of-chicken-condensed-soup.
How do you feel about the Pacific organic, gluten free, condensed cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soups?
I am reading your first book, and in it, there is a recipe for condensed cream of mushroom soup. Now, this is kind of a stupid question, but because it is condensed, I am assuming that I would have to add a can of milk, water, or stock to it if I wanted to serve just as soup, and not use it as part of another recipe? The final note is to use it in place of store-bought cream of mushroom soup or freeze.
It is more soupy than a typical can of condensed soup.
I just wanted to say thank you for this recipe… I’ve made it three out of four weekends this past month. I substitute chicken broth for the sherry and it works great!
Does the amount of soup that this yields, basically work as 1 can of cream soup when subbing into recipes?
It yields a bit more.
Does anyone know if this would freeze well? I would love to make a large batch and store it for later use.
Hi there. Any cream soup can separate a bit when frozen but I have found that an immersion blender works great when reheating.
Could you use potatoes instead of mushrooms and have a good recipe for Cream of Potato Soup? THANK YOU!
Hi there. I think you should give it a go and let us know. :)
Can you use coconut flour for the wheat flour?
Hi. We’ve not tried. But, coconut flour absorbs a lot more liquid so you could not sub it 1:1.
Love your Recipes!! I too love to cook from scratch. I have a question regarding cream soups. I recently substituted cornstarch for flour in a cream soup recipe to make it gluten free for a friend. It turned out great, exactly the same as with flour. My question is which is healthier wheat flour or cornstarch. I want to make it as healthy as possible.
Marcia, was your cornstarch substitution 1:1? I’d like to make with cornstarch as well. My mom and aunt make all their gravies with cornstarch and my past experience, if I didn’t get the ratio of cornstarch to liquids correct, it either didn’t thicken enough or the taste was a bit off. But I don’t quite consider myself in the ‘grandmother’s cooking’ category yet! I’m getting really close! ;)
Can this be used for most types of cream soups? Cream of Chicken, etc.
HI Sarah. While we’ve not tried, I don’t see why it would not be a good base for other cream soups.
Is there anything that is non alcoholic that can be substituted? Thanks!
Hi Rebecca. I often use apple cider vinegar as a sub for wines in recipes.
Thanks Amy! I had never thought to use apple cider vinegar. I’m really excited to try it!
Also, the wine is just to add flavour so could add stock, chicken or veg stock would be best
Do you know if this would freeze well to be able to use in future recipes?
Hi. Sure, you can freeze this.
I made the soup from the book. it says condensed so really thick.
If I want to eat as a soup, do add water or milk or more broth?
Hi Maggie. I would add milk and water to taste.
This is so delicious!!! I didn’t have wine on hand so I used homemade chicken stock instead. So yummy! Already looking forward to making it again!!
This is great, thank you. Do you have a similar substitution recipe for cream of chicken soup? I was shocked to discover MSG as an ingredient. Thanks!
Hi Jodi. We do not but this one looks pretty real: http://realfoodandrealfitness.com/2014/01/homemade-clean-eating-cream-of-chicken-soup/. :)
I just made for first time and i consider it a little condensed i added a little more sour cream and milk and will use with meat drippings to make a gravy. It is a good amount would compare to 3 cans of the “cambells” version and i only had 16oz mushrooms. I also tried to use food processor to chop up mushrooms but that resulted in a thick lumpy mushroom paste : -/ next time i will cut small and then use an immersion blender to make smoother. (If smooth is what u want i think this will work!)
Overall very easy! I think a regular onion would perhaps add a little more onion flavor. (Oh i added 2 chopped bulbs of garlic since i like garlic flavor in my gravy!
This looks wonderful. I was wondering if there’s an alternative to the Dry Sherry? We live in an alcohol free home. :)
Hi Ginger. The typical non-alcohol replacement would be cider vinegar. ~Amy
Hello,
Was wondering if you know where I can find a real food recipe for cream of chicken soup? I have a white bean chili recipe that calls for cream of chicken soup, and I’d like to make it myself. I’ve tried a few on Pinterest but they weren’t very good. Thought you could direct me to a good one. Thanks!
Hello,
Do you think this could be used for a recipe in a crock pot? I usually don’t put milk in the crock pot for fear that it will burn. If not, I could probably revise the recipe to be made on the stove. Thank you so much!
Hi Emily. Sure, I think it could, though it is not something we have tried. There are many crock pot cream soup recipes, if you do a quick Google search, which might guide you through adapting this one. ~Amy
We used this recipie tonight with our chicken spaghetti. We used canned diced tomatoes and canned chillis with grated sharp cheddar and fresh boiled chicken. It was amazing.
We made an excellent cream of mushroom starting with onion, celery, and garlic, butter, salt, pepper. We sauteed and then added organic corn starch. We added the unsweetened almond milk and cooked until thicker. Add the mushrooms. Can also do this with any veggie.
I used your mushroom soup base from the green bean casserole to make cream of mushroom soup. It was so easy and calls for even less ingredients!
Hello!
This mushroom soup looks delicious! However, I am vegan and I was wondering if any of your subscribers have tried making the recipe using vegan substitutes for the sour cream, parm cheese, and milk. If so, did it produce the same consistency? I’m looking to use this for a green bean casserole on Thanksgiving. Any tips would be much appreciated!
-Katie-
Hi Katie. Did you try this with vegan ingredients? If so, what did you use and how did it turn out? It is not something we’ve attempted. ~Amy
I just made this recipe today and it turned out amazing!!! I was going to freeze some, but it won’t last that long!!! Thank you!!
The result of this recipe equals how many cans of Campbell’s mushroom soup reconstituted with milk?
Hi Katie. I’ve not measured exactly but my guess is this recipe makes about 6 cups. ~Amy
Any chance you can post the recipe for the green bean casserole that you used the cream of mushroom soup in? It looks delicious!
Hi Lynn. Did you see this: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/11/12/recipe-green-bean-casserole-french-fried-onions/#more-12244? ~Amy