Wild Mushroom Soup is loaded with a duet of baby portabella mushrooms and the satisfying flavor of hearty wild mushrooms while the earthy flavor of rosemary really ties this soup together!
If you crave any excuse to wander around the woods, like I do, you have probably tried mushroom hunting. Wild mushrooms are foraged in the forest when the ground starts warming up and hide among decaying stumps, logs, and trees. Their exotic flavors, and unsuitability for traditional harvesting, make them one of the great culinary treasures in this world.
If you are lucky enough to stumble upon any fresh mushrooms, be sure to do your due diligence triple checking they are safe to eat, and then get started on this wild mushroom soup!
What is it?
This Wild Mushroom Soup is loaded with flavor and serves as a healthier alternative to the calorie-heavy Mushroom Bisque. This recipe is also perfect for making in a day in advance because it allows the flavors more time to meld together.
My wild mushroom soup recipe is a brothy soup flavored with white wine and thickened by blending in pureed mushrooms with the wild mushrooms. Each bite is hearty, earthy, and loaded with flavor. If you are lucky enough to have wild mushrooms on hand, this creamy wild mushroom soup is a great way to use them!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Wild mushrooms - You can use fresh wild mushrooms if you can find them, otherwise just buy dried wild mushrooms online or in the grocery store. You can use different types of mushrooms, but common varieties include cremini mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and porcini mushrooms.
- Dry white wine - Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, or Pinot Grigio are all good options.
- Butter - You could substitute cooking oil, but butter will add better flavor.
- Sweet onion - Yellow onion or sweet onion will both be good. You could substitute a red onion for a stronger flavor.
- Garlic - Fresh garlic cloves are strongly prefered, but you can substitute ½ teaspoon of garlic powder if needed.
- Baby bella mushrooms - You could substitute white button mushrooms or portobello mushrooms.
- Fresh rosemary - Other fresh herbs such as sage would be an excellent substitution. Fresh thyme would be my second choice.
- Chicken stock - Chicken broth or vegetable stock would be a good substitution.
- Black pepper - I specifically recommend using fresh ground black pepper.
Note: If you have fresh chicken of the woods mushrooms, I strongly recommend you also try my chicken of the woods recipe.
How to make it
If you are using dried wild mushrooms, begin making this comforting soup by rehydrating them in a small saucepan with white wine. Heat the wine until simmering, then let the mushrooms soak in the liquid while continuing with the recipe.
In a separate soup pot or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat, then add chopped onion and garlic. Saute until the onion is tender, approximately eight minutes. Then add the baby bella mushrooms, and continue cooking until the mushrooms have softened and expelled their liquid.
Next, add the chicken stock to the pot with onions and mushrooms and puree until the mushrooms are in small chunks. The wild mushrooms and white wine can now be added to the soup pot, along with a sprig of rosemary and black pepper. Let the soup simmer for one hour and then taste for salt and serve with crusty bread.
Note: This recipe calls for an Immersion Blender to chop up the baby portabellas into small pieces. You can use a traditional blender if needed, but an immersion blender will make the process easier, with less cleanup.
More Mushroom Recipes
Wild Mushroom Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ounce dried wild mushrooms chopped
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 large sweet onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 16 ounces baby bella mushrooms chopped, or combination of other varieties
- 1 small sprig fresh rosemary
- 4 cups chicken stock
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat wine in a small saucepan until boiling, add dried mushrooms, and reduce to a simmer. Let steep while continuing with recipe.
- In a separate pot, sautee onion in butter over medium heat and add garlic and let it saute until tender, about 8 minutes.
- Add baby bella mushrooms and stir until coated with butter. Cook until mushrooms are softened and moisture is released, ~10 minutes.
- Add chicken stock. Using an immersion blender, blend until baby bella mushrooms are in small chunks.
- Add wild mushrooms and any remaining steeping liquid to the pot along with rosemary, and black pepper. Let simmer for 1 hour, then taste for salt and add more as needed.
- Remove rosemary stem from soup and serve.
Notes
Nutritional Information
This recipe was originally published on FoxValleyFoodie.com December 12, 2016.
Elyse
This soup looks absolutely delicious! What can I use instead of wine?
Fox Valley Foodie
I would just use more chicken broth/stock.
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
Mushrooms are a staple in our house. Once upon a time long ago, we lived in the country and our back yard was over an acre of woods. In those woods, in the spring, we found incredible mushrooms. Oh, my heaven did we ever enjoy them. We shared them with our family -- we haven't had any since we downsized and moved into town 🙁 I'll have to try this recipe with the dehydrated wild mushrooms. The mushrooms that we found cost over $30.00. As much as we love mushrooms we're not paying that amount. I'm pinning your recipe.
Fox Valley Foodie
How lucky were you? I would love to have all those great mushrooms at my fingertips!