It's a Ukrainian Mushroom Soup. After you take the first sip of it, you'll instantly feel cozy and warm. Classic autumn soup with a ton of flavor.
And if you love rich mushroom soups, also try my Hungarian Style Mushroom Soup.
Ukrainian Mushroom Soup
As we're moving closer into the fall weather, there are certain types of recipes that warm my heart and soul more than others.
Can you guess?
I'm talking about soups...creamy (but sometimes not), flavorful and comforting.
...the soups, that won't take long to prepare;
...the soups that will keep you full and fueled for hours.
Jump to:
This Mushroom Soup is exactly the type of recipe I'm talking about. It's thick, creamy, mushroomy and loaded with flavor.
Just give it a try and it'll quickly go in your lunch or dinner rotation.
In Ukraine, mushroom soups are typically prepared with Porcini mushrooms. They are rich and fragrant and there are literally hundreds of recipes with it.
Unfortunately, here in the US, fresh Porcinis are quite difficult to find and only specialised grocery stores may carry them.
But over the years of living in the US and trying all kinds of soups, I came to a conclusion that you can easily make a show-stopping mushroom soup with regular store-bought mushrooms, like Portobello or Shiitake.
In fact, that's what we're going to achieve today - the Best Mushroom Soup made with simple ingredients.
What goes in Mushroom Soup?
This easy mushroom soup is made with the ingredients available in most grocery stores.
It includes simple veggies like onion, carrot, potatoes and mushrooms as well as a little thyme for an additional aroma, vegetable broth and a splash of half and half for creaminess.
What kind of mushrooms should I choose?
If you can get your hands on fresh or dry Porcini, Shiitake or Oyster mushrooms, that would be amazing.
They have a rich woodsy flavor and taste amazing in all kinds of Mushroom Soups.
No Shiitake? - no problem.
Portobello or Crimini Mushrooms will work as well. They are affordable and taste just as delicious as Shiitake. Just try my Portobello Mushroom Bolognese and you'll see what I mean. So much flavor in a such simple dish.
...a few tips if you're using dry Porcini mushrooms
These are usually sold in little 1 or 2-oz sachets in practically all grocery stores.
You can use 2 ounces of dry Porcinis in addition to 8 oz of regular Portobello mushrooms that the recipe is calling for.
Now important part - make sure to soak Porcini overnight in 4 cups of water.
This water will become your new broth and is going to make your soup even more flavorful and delicious.
Variations
If you want to make this easy soup even heartier, here are some additional ingredients that pair well with mushrooms and that you can add to a soup:
- small cubes of rotisserie chickenbroccoli florets, added to a soup at the same time with sautéed onion, carrot and mushroomscroutons or grilled cheese sandwich...yum!red pepper flakes sprinkled on top of soup after ladling it into the bowlscooked sausagecrumbled Feta or Goat cheese
Frequently Asked Questions
Apart from thyme that pairs beautifully with mushrooms, you can also use the following herbs.
In this soup I recommend using only one type of herb so not to overpower the mushrooms. Good choices are fresh rosemary, fresh sage, dry basil, dry oregano, sweet or smoked paprika.
Creamy vegetable soups like this pair wonderfully with slightly sweet and flavorful wines such as: Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Moscato
If you're following low carb or Ketogenic diet, here's how to make this soup compliant: 1. replace potatoes with cauliflower
2. use heavy cream or coconut milk in a place of half and half
Replace half and half with the same amount of coconut milk. Or you can use ½ c of coconut milk + ½ c of other plant-based milk (oat, soy or almond).
Storing and Freezing
If you have leftovers, this mushroom soup can be refrigerated.
Just ladle it in a safe food container (I like these glass BPA-free containers) and store for up to 2 days.
Since this soup contains dairy, it's not advisable not to freeze it.
Similar Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Ukrainian Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 4 c vegetable broth
- 2 medium potatoes diced
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion finely minced
- 1 small carrot chopped
- 8 oz Portobello, Crimini or Shiitake mushrooms sliced (see the post above for mushroom recommendations)
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 c half and half* see notes
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large non-stick pan and over medium heat. Add onion and carrot and sauté stirring from time to time until onion is translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
- Transfer vegetables to a plate and add mushrooms. Cook stirring occasionally until liquid evaporates and mushrooms start to brown, 5-7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add vegetable stock to a large stockpot and bring it to a boil. Add potatoes, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add sautéed onion, carrot, ¾ of all mushrooms, 1 teaspoon of thyme, 1 teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until potatoes are tender, about 5 more minutes.
- Add 1 cup of half and half, bring soup to a boil, add 3 cloves of garlic pushed through a garlic press and remove soup from the heat.
- Using an immersion or stand blender, puree the soup.
- Ladle the soup into bowls, top with the remaining mushrooms and serve with a crusty baguette.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you need good and reliable immersion blender, this one from Kitchen Aid has 4.5+ rating and is sold more than 1000 times. Plus, it' super affordable and will make a great gift for you or your loved ones. See it on Amazon.
Janice says
Our Ukrainian guests loved this soup. They did say that it was unusual for a soup to be pureed. I added more liquid and used double cream to achieve an extra portion. Very easy to make, and very delicious!
Iryna says
Janice, thank you so much for your comment and a 5-star rating! I'm happy you and your Ukrainian guests enjoyed this soup:)
Constance says
It was delicious!
Tamela Bush says
Just made this. Absolutely delicious! I had made some veggie stock last weekend and was excited to use it in this recipe. Just really warming and good! Give it a try!
Iryna says
Tamela, thank you so much for your comment and a 5-star rating! I'm glad you liked this recipe!
Natalia Bartkova, DDS says
delicious!
Sheila says
The only problem I had with this soup was I should have doubled the recipe! 🙂 this is amazing!
Iryna says
Sheila, thank you so much for your comment and a 5-star rating! I'm happy you liked this recipe!
Cathy R says
This soup was a big hit with the family. Son and girlfriend are Vegan, so I substituted Coconut Milk for the Half and Half, and it was delicious. The soup was light and full of flavor. I'll definitely make it again.
Iryna says
Cathy, thank you so much for your comment and a 5-star rating! I'm happy you loved this recipe! Swapping coconut milk for half and half is a wonderful idea.
Eve says
This recipe sounds absolutely delicious making me so keen to try it. Thankyou so much.
Ps Is Heavy cream just double cream?
Iryna says
Hi Eve! Yes, heavy cream is a double cream. I hope you'll this soup:)