I love the earthy flavor of cooked mushrooms. Roasted, sautéed, grilled. They all lead to goodness.
Here’s another way to harness the flavor and love of mushrooms—cream of mushroom soup. And it’s dairy-free.
I use either cashew cream or cauliflower for the creamy base. The flavor is equally good in both, but for a slightly richer texture, use cashew cream. If you can’t eat nuts, then go with cauliflower.
For mushroom choice, I use crimini mushrooms most often, and they’re a good base if you want to mix in a few other varieties. Most mushrooms you’ll buy in store are the same variety (crimini, white, Portobello). The difference between each of them is their age: the younger mushrooms are lighter and the more mature mushrooms are darker.
Cream of Mushroom {dairy-free}
Yield 4 servings
To make this nut-free, use cauliflower for the cream. Use about half of a small head of cauliflower, or about 150 g. Steam it until tender, cool it, and then pulse it in a blender or food processor until creamy.
If you like your soups a bit on the salty side, add another 1/2 teaspoon of salt, for a total of 2 teaspoons. You can also start with 1 1/2 teaspoons, and add at the end.
If you'd like to add a little cooking wine (not SCD), add it in step 2. Add about 2 to 3 tablespoons.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound (16 ounces) crimini mushrooms, sliced or chopped
- 2 shallots (90 g), peeled and chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
- 3 cups (24 ounces) vegetable broth or water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or tarragon
- 1 cup cashew cream (recipe below)
Instructions
- Place a large stockpot on medium heat and add olive oil, mushrooms, shallots, and garlic.
- Sauté the mushrooms for 10 minutes or until the moisture from the mushrooms is mostly cooked off.
- Add the vegetable broth, salt, and thyme. Simmer for 5 minutes, turn the heat off, and add the cashew cream.
- Let the soup cool for a few minutes before blending it in small batches. You can blend part of it and leave some mushroom pieces, or blend all of it until smooth.
- Serve hot. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for a few days or freeze for a few months.
Cashew Cream
I use a food processor to make the cashew cream. You can also use a high speed blender. The goal is to process or blend the cashews until there are no bits of cashews left and it's as creamy as you can get it.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (150 g) raw cashews
- 3 cups (24 ounces) hot water
Instructions
- Soak the cashews in 3 cups of hot water for 20 minutes.
- Drain the cashews, saving 1 cup of the water.
- Process or blend the cashews with 1 cup of the reserve water until creamy.
Julia Pace
November 11, 2018 at 12:59 pmHow much hot water do you soak the cashews in?
Erica
November 11, 2018 at 1:10 pm3 cups 🙂
Susan Berman
November 17, 2018 at 5:42 pmMushroom soup is absolutely fantastic! So tasty. Made it with frozen cauliflower. Will definetly make this again and again all winter long. Enjoying every recipe of yours that I’ve tried. Thank you so much. I’m an SCD person.
Erica
November 17, 2018 at 6:02 pmYay! So good to hear. Best wishes 🙂
Jen
May 16, 2019 at 4:29 amI made this soup this morning – it’s so tasty! I also made your zucchini bread and I’m so impressed with both I’ve ordered your book! I’m Coeliac and Keto (Keto because I have CFS) and I just get along so well with your recipes, I love them and I’m so looking forward to receiving your book. Thank you for helping me to eat well and not be poorly xx
Erica
May 16, 2019 at 6:04 pmThank you! All my books are low carb and perfect for keto which is why it was easy for my publisher to talk me into writing a keto book :). It’s also easy to convert my SCD baked goods to keto baked goods, and that’s what the book helps people do.