This dairy-free cream of mushroom soup is pure comfort food. It’s rich, creamy, and full of delicious flavor from plenty of mushrooms and nutritional yeast (which gives it a dairy-like flavor). Whether you’re strictly vegan, prefer to avoid dairy, or are just trying to incorporate more vegan meals in your diet, you should absolutely get to enjoy a rich, creamy bowl of soup.
Main ingredients
This soup tastes like it’s full of cream and butter, but the creaminess actually comes from cashews that have been soaked and then blended. The cashews provide tons of creaminess and act as the perfect dairy substitute in this vegan mushroom soup.
Mushrooms and thyme are a classic flavor combination, so fresh thyme is my herb of choice in this recipe. If you don’t have any fresh thyme you can substitute dried thyme, basil, or parsley.
Nutritional yeast gives the soup a slightly “cheesy” flavor that pairs well with creaminess of the blended cashews. It also enhances the flavor of the mushrooms. If you’re not a fan of nutritional yeast, or simply don’t have any, you can omit it and the soup will still be delicious.
Method
To make this dairy-free cream of mushroom soup, start by soaking the cashews. Place the cashews in a bowl, then pour freshly boiled water over the cashews and allow them to soak for one hour.
While the cashews are soaking you can sauté the mushrooms and onions. The secret flavor booster in this soup comes from sautéing the mushrooms and onions until they’re caramelized. That golden caramelization adds a lovely depth of flavor to the soup, so I definitely wouldn’t skip that step.
Once the mushrooms and onions have been sautéed to golden, caramelized perfection, you can reserve a few of the mushrooms to use as a garnish if you like.
Next you’ll blend everything together until a creamy puréed texture is achieved.
The last step is to heat the soup to your desired temperature, garnish with a few of those mushrooms you reserved, and enjoy.
More vegan soup recipes
- For another rich and creamy dairy-free soup, try this vegan cream of cauliflower soup.
- This paleo butternut squash soup is flavorful and easy to make.
- This vegan cream of asparagus soup is perfect in the springtime or whenever you can get your hands on some fresh asparagus.
Dairy-Free Cream of Mushroom Soup
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 4 cups of chopped mushrooms
- 2 cups chopped onions
- 2 cloves chopped garlic
- 1 cup of soaked cashews (soak for 1 hour in 1 cup of boiling water, then drain and rinse)
- 3 cups water
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (or substitute 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
Instructions
- In a large pot or frying pan, sauté the mushroom, onions, garlic and thyme until everything is golden and caramelized.
- Once they’re ready you can reserve a few mushroom for garnish if you like.
- In a food processor (or blender), add the soaked cashews and 1 cup of water and process until smooth and creamy.
- Add the sautéed mushrooms/onions to the food processor and process for a couple more minutes until a purée texture is achieved.
- Add the purée to the pot along with the remaining 2 cups of water, salt, pepper and nutritional yeast and simmer on low heat until the soup is heated through.
- Serve hot.
Notes
- Store this dairy-free cream of mushroom soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days and reheat before serving.
Nutrition
I’m Jennifer, the author at A Sweet Alternative. I create simple recipes made with nutrient-dense ingredients.