I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am about this recipe!
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been a HUGE fan of Cream Of Mushroom soup, but sadly, I’d never been able (until now) to make a version at home that really satisfied.
Some of you might remember my previous attempts at making healthy cream of mushroom soup at home. It was NOT always pretty. In fact, it was so not pretty that I won’t even bother linking back…
Just to give you an idea, I remember using the term “cadaver grey” to describe the color of one of those attempts. Sure, it might have tasted good, but looking back on it, I don’t think that I’d ever want to make it again.
To me, food not only has to taste good. It also has to LOOK good.
One of the main things I couldn’t figure out was how to get my Cream of Mushroom Soup to be really good and nice and thick and super creamy and crazy velvety without adding tons of starch and fat to it.
My only solution had pretty much been to reach for the canned stuff when a real craving struck, but knowing just how bad that stuff truly is, I’d pretty much given up on the whole idea…
That was until Leanne posted this amazing recipe for a Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup a couple of weeks ago.
First off, the picture instantly brought back comforting memories of how much I loved that soup. It was as though I’d been sitting right there, at that table, softly blowing on that soup and anxiously waiting to savor the first bite. It was such a warm and comfortable place to be; I knew right then and there that I was gonna have to have a bowl of Cream of Mushroom Soup in a very timely manner.
There was no way I could ever circumvent that craving.
In my excitement, I quickly scrolled down to glance at the ingredients. Boy was I in for a wonderful surprise: Leanne had used cauliflower as the base.
GENIUS… PURE GENIUS!
Why had I not thought of that before? I mean, I’ve made Cream of Cauliflower Soup before, but it would’ve never occurred to me to use that as a base to create OTHER KINDS of soups.
I’m telling you guys, it works to the ab-so-lu-te perfection.
I can honestly say that this was BY FAR the best Cream of Mushroom Soup I’ve had in my entire life. Needless to say this is now my official go-to recipe.
But not only that! It’s also my new absolute favorite technique for creating all sorts of creamy soups, and sauces… I get the feeling that I will be playing around with this ingredient A LOT!
And I’ll be buying cauliflower by the case!
As Leanne put it, cauliflower is a magical veggie…
Oh that, it is! And my new best friend, too!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 1 head cauliflower, coarsely chopped
- 4 cups water
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 500g mushrooms, chopped rather finely
- 1/3 cup wild rice, cooked*
- 1 cup fat free plain Greek Yogurt + 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp arrowroot flour
INSTRUCTIONS
- *To cook the wild rice, add 1/3 cup wild rice, 2 cups of water and ¼ tsp salt to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer until water is almost completely absorbed and rice is tender, about 20-25 minutes.
- Add onions, garlic, celery, salt and pepper to a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat for one or two minutes, just to soften up the veggies a little bit.
- Throw the cauliflower in and continue cooking for a minute or two.
- Add water, Dijon mustard, onion powder and half the chopped mushrooms. Bring to the boil then reduce heat, cover loosely and simmer until the cauliflower is fork tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- Ladle the mixture into your blender and process on high speed until super smooth and silky in consistency. You might have to work in several batches
- Return the soup to the saucepan and add the cooked wild rice and the rest of the mushrooms. Bring back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the mushrooms are cooked, about 3-4 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix the water, yogurt and arrowroot flour together in a small mixing bowl. Add that to the soup and stir until well incorporated; bring back to a simmer once more then turn off the heat and serve.
Notes
Greatly inspired by Leanne’s Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup
Does this look thick and creamy enough for you?
I could just look at it all day. That one is as pretty as it is yummy!
Lots of yummy grains of wild rice
I like my cream of Mushroom Soup to have tons of pieces of mushroom.
This one most certainly delivers!
Ah! This looks so flippin’ good. I’m so happy that you were able to make this recipe your own. You really ran with it, I love it!
Glad you approve, Leanne. And thank you again so much for the inspiration. I owe you big time for this!
How do you think this will freeze?
I haven’t tried Helen, but I assume it would freeze really well. There’s nothing in it to have me believe that there could be a potential issue with freezing/thawing. I wouldn’t hesitate to try.
What a great looking mushroom soup, want to grab a spoon and dig right in.
Now THIS is my kind of soup. Wow I’m drooling. I will be making this! Thanks for posting!
Love this recipe and it sounds so easy! Will def make in the near future!
O that looks absolutely perfect Sonia! I’ve been on a ‘soup-roll’ lately as it is usually easy to put together, quick and healthy too… Love the idea of using the cauliflower too. Brilliant!
Just wait ’til you give it a try, Simone. You’ll love it even more.
This was delicious, thank you for sharing! I ate THREE bowlfuls in a row, yum.
AHAH! Looks like you liked this as much as I did!
Thank you so much for letting me know. Glad to know it’s not just me! That soup really is THAT good! 
That look so good! The cauliflower and mushroom combo is a great one!
Ah, but you don’t really taste the cauliflower at all, Kevin… all you get is this feeling that you are eating this incredibly rich and creamy mushroom soup. It’s complete magic, I tell you!
Yum! Love mushrooms, love wild rice, LOVE greek yogurt! What a great substitute for the cream that usually abounds!
I read your blog everyday, but have to admit my first thought was “ick!” when I saw this recipe. Let me explain. I grew up in the 1960s when convenience foods were all the rage, and canned cream of mushroom soup turned up routinely on our dinner table. As a child, those little black rubber bits in a sea of thick goop made me gag! When I took the time to read through this recipe and saw that it had a lovely cauliflower base, I decided to give it a try. Made it today, with minor modifications. I left out the Greek yogurt, since I have a lactose intolerant husband, and also did not need to thicken my soup, as it had quite a lot of body. When it was done, I used the yogurt as a garnish for those who wished to swirl a bit in, and also used a drizzle of truffle oil. I would have used some micro greens, too, but was fresh out. The soup was delicious, and I WILL make it again!
OH YAY! That is so good to hear Bonnie. I’m SOOO happy that you decided to give this one a try despite your not being too sure about liking it. The fact that you did like it in the end is like music to my ears. And thanks for reading me on a regular basis too. More music to my ears. You totally rock Bonnie!
Oh, and ps, the arrowroot isn’t really to thicken the soup, but rather to prevent the yogurt from curdling… it really helps with that. Just sayin’.
You’re quite right, this soup is already pretty nice and thick and does not need any help in that department! 
It’s blizzarding here, so I planned ahead and bought ingredients to make this soup last night! Made it today and it’s delish. Very subtle taste but very nice. I like that it’s very light and healthy.
Ah! Perfect soup for a blizzard day. Just make sure it’s really nice and smoking hot! It’s sure to make you feel good inside. Thank you for the great feedback, Sarah, I’m really happy to hear that the soup pleased you as much as it did me.
Just made this!
i added a lot of green onion, turmeric and black pepper for strong taste and it came out so creamy and awesome!
Glad to hear! Thanks so much for letting me know! I too, love my cream of mushroom soup with A LOT of black pepper. Makes it that much more comforting!
do you add 4 cups of water to the vegetables after they simmer or just 2 cups because you already used 2 cups for the rice. You didnt say whether the 4 cups of water was divided so I am not sure which to do
You need to add the full 4 cups of water to the cauliflower. The instructions to cook the rice are just a side note… sorry if this was confusing!
To tell you the truth, I was a little hesitant while I was cooking this if it will turn out tasty or not. I am so glad I tried this though!!!! It turned out GREAT! This is so healthy, full of veggies and delicious! Winner all around! Thank you for the recipe. I just recently found your blog, so I look forward to trying out other recipes. Tuna salad with grilled zucchini is the next one on the list.
YAY! So glad to hear, Dasha. And thank you for you awesome feedback. I hope you like the salad as much as you did this soup!
Your recipe saved my life!!! Hubby is a VERY picky eater. For aaages Ive been looking for a soup recipe that is healthy and full of veggies, without stock, but that TASTES like its a “cream of…” soup. Just about the only veg hubby likes are mushrooms, so this is PERFECT! He doesnt like rice so i left it out, and we both dont eat dairy so I subbed almond breeze instead of the yoghurt; any tips on how to give it that light color without the yogurt? I serve this 3 times a week and it makes the perfect side. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
YAY! That is absolutely awesome, Chaya, thank you so much for sharing! Too funny that you would be leaving the rice out and looking for a replacement for the yogurt. Having recently decided to embrace the paleo lifestyle, I too, need to find a way to sub that yogurt. I was thinking coconut milk, but I’m not sure if the flavor would work all that great with the mushrooms. I have yet to try coconut kefir… if it tastes anything like I imagine it might, then I think that this could be a great substitute. Or maybe whipped egg whites? It wouldn’t make it AS light, but still, it would help make it a little lighter in color, as well as in texture. I suspect that it would give the soup a nice, fluffy consistency.
Another thing you could do is not add any of the mushrooms before processing the soup… I guess that would also help keep it light.
Let me know if you come up with something!
Wow! This was so good for lunch today. I wanted to say thank you for sharing such a great inspiration. As I came over to post my thanks I noticed your last message mentioned using coconut milk. That’s exactly what I used today as it was in the fridge. And let me tell you, it was great. I pureed a little of the rice and mushrooms with the cauliflower to give it a nice brown look. I would say that there was no residual coconut flavour.
Growing up my mom regularly served us cream of mushroom soup from the can, but I started getting earaches every time (allergic reaction!). I was heartbroken. We eventually figured out it was dairy, and I have since gotten over that reaction by limiting my dairy to small important things. But this, well let me tell you, it’s gonna be back in regular rotation, just like the good ol’ days!
THANK YOU!
Thank you so much for sharing this, Leah, that is just plain awesome! I will definitely be giving the coconut milk a try!
So happy that you can now enjoy mushroom soup again, without having to go through the discomfort that comes with dairy for you.
Plus, isn’t that stuff like a million times better than canned?