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Nobody will ever guess this rich and luscious Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe is dairy free. It’s also ridiculously easy to make. And it gets even better overnight, so it’s the perfect make-ahead recipe.
Savory, earthy and mellow, it’s a soup for all seasons. I even serve it chilled in the summertime! Served with sprouted toast and a side salad of mache greens, it makes for an incredibly satisfying lunch or light dinner. If I want a bit heartier meal, I just add a poached egg on top of the toast. But once the soup is made, you can put together a delicious meal in minutes.
A Healing Cream of Mushroom Soup
I have been making a variation of this soup for years, but somehow it got lost in the shuffle when we revamped our blog a year or so ago, so here it is again! Just like the original Cream of Mushroom Soup Recipe that appeared on the blog, I only use shitake mushrooms in this one too.
Shitake mushrooms not only give the mushroom soup a rich, buttery, meaty / umami flavor, but they contribute serious health and healing benefits too…
Superfood Shitake Mushrooms
Did you know shitake mushrooms contain a number of compounds that actually help protect your DNA from aging? Research even suggests the superfood mushrooms have the potential to fight cancer cells. and may even heal chromosome damage caused by anti-cancer treatments.
What’s more, the phytonutrients in shitake mushrooms help keep plaque from building up in blood vessel walls, thus offering cardiovascular benefits too.
Shitake mushrooms are also incredibly satiating and may even help reduce fat deposition, making the an excellent food for weight management.
Read more about the incredible health benefits of shitake mushrooms here!
For those of you with food restrictions, the Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe meets the following criteria:
Egg Free / Grain Free / Bean-Free (Substitute Vegetable Broth for the Chickpea Miso Broth) / Gluten Free /
Paleo Friendly (Substitute Vegetable Broth for the Chickpea Miso Broth) / Vegan / Vegetarian
Prep Time:
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chickpea miso (see note below) mixed with 4 cups warm water OR 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1/3 cup pine nuts (OR raw cashews)
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (OR unrefined macadamia oil), divided
- 1 leek, thoroughly washed and finely chopped
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- Himalayan salt, to taste
- 14 ounces fresh shitake mushrooms, stems removed and chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Put the chickpea miso and 4 cups of water in a high-speed blender (or replace the miso and water with vegetable broth). Add the nuts and process until creamy. Set aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the leek, onion, garlic, and thyme, along with a few pinches of salt, and cook, stirring now and then, until softened but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and mushrooms to the pot, stir to combine with the leek mixture and cook until the mushrooms begin to release their liquid, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the reserved creamy broth mixture to the pot and turn the heat up to medium-high. Once the soup begins to boil, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice.
- Use a hand held stick blender to process the soup until it’s creamy and well blended. (Note: If you do not have a hand held stick blender, allow the soup to cool and then puree in several batches in blender.) Serve warm or cold.
Notes
Be sure to buy a chickpea-based miso, not a soy-based one for this particular soup recipe. I like Miso Master brand organic chickpea miso. Just like soy miso, chickpea miso is sold as a paste in the refrigerated section of natural foods stores.
