Alright, I couldn’t post about how to make homemade condensed cream of chicken soup without featuring its famous counterpart as well — condensed homemade cream of mushroom soup.
I have to be honest though. As a kid, I detested mushrooms. Like, absolutely hated them. My mom loved them and occasionally tried to sneak some cream of mushroom soup into casseroles, but I would hunt down those pesky little fungi and push my plate away in protest. Me and mushrooms did not mix.
But then one day in my early twenties, a good friend capitalized on my love of Mexican food and convinced me to try her portabello fajitas. And lo and behold, my anti-mushroom soapbox crumbled. And I’ve been eating and absolutely loving mushrooms ever since.
Thus, in front of the whole world wide webosphere, I have to confess:
Mom, you were right.
So for all of those years I turned up my nose at cream of mushroom soup, I offer this homemade version to make up for it. And I have to say, it’s pretty darn good. :)
As with the recipe earlier this week for condensed cream of chicken soup, this condensed homemade cream of mushroom soup is SUPER easy to make. And as opposed to the famous stuff in the can, it’s preservative-free and made with normal, natural ingredients that you can actually pronounce and feel better about enjoying.
But it still tastes and works in recipes just like the original stuff! (Or if you ask me, it tastes even better!) So bring on the soups, casseroles, scalloped potatoes, or whatever other recipes you like with the canned stuff.
Here’s how to make it:
We begin with the most important ingredient — fresh mushrooms!!
Really, you can use just about any kind of mushrooms in this recipe. I went with a mix of baby bella and white button mushrooms this time, and they worked perfectly.
Bring some vegetable stock to a boil in a saucepan. (You can go homemade or store-bought.) Then whisk together some flour and milk in a separate bowl, and then add it to the boiling broth and stir to combine. The soup should thicken up pretty quickly.
*Feel free to use your favorite kind of milk in this recipe, by the way. And gluten-free flour blends also work well.
Add in some finely chopped mushrooms and seasonings, and let the mixture simmer for a few minutes to cook the mushrooms and the flour. Just be sure to stir it constantly so that the bottom of the pan does not burn.
And then you’re done!
Yep, it really is that easy. You can either use the condensed soup right away in a recipe, or pop it in a jar or airtight container to store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Sorry, I don’t recommend this recipe for canning or freezing — it is meant to be used fairly quickly and not stored.
Also please note that this is a condensed soup and is not meant to be eaten plain. But adding it to a green bean casserole? Or some scalloped potatoes? Or even whisking it with equal parts milk to make a simple soup? Bring it on.
Trust me, after you try this, you will happily bid farewell to those processed canned versions at the grocery store. Cheers to homemade!
Condensed Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cup vegetable stock
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup finely-chopped fresh mushrooms
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. onion powder
- 1/8 tsp. celery seed (optional)
- 1/8 tsp. dried thyme
Instructions
- Add vegetable stock to a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together milk and flour until the flour is dissolved.
- Slowly pour the milk mixture into the boiling vegetable stock, whisking to combine. Whisk in the mushrooms and remaining ingredients. Reduce heat to medium, and bring the mixture back to a very low boil, stirring constantly so that the bottom of the pan does not burn. Let the mixture boil for about 3 minutes or until thickened. Remove pan from heat.
- Either use the condensed soup in a recipe immediately, or transfer it to airtight containers and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- *This recipe is NOT meant to be consumed as-is. It is a concentrated soup, which means that it either needs to be diluted to be eaten as a soup, or mixed into a recipe that calls for condensed soup. :)
- *I also made a double batch for the photos.
Notes
(c) 2013 Gimme Some Oven. All rights reserved.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Also be sure to check out these related recipes:
Condensed Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup
Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup
Wondering if you can use a beef broth/stock in place of vegetable stock.
Sure, it will just taste a little more like beef. :)
I just discovered your blog, Ali, and I have to say that not only do the recipes look amazing, the blog itself is beautiful! :)
I just finished making the homemade condensed cream of shroom soup (it smells so-o-o good!). I’m assuming the directions at the bottom are for ‘uncondensing’ the soup. Is that correct?
Correct! :) Glad you enjoyed it!
I don’t make a lot of foods that call for canned cream of something soup, but the meatloaf I grew up with was made with a gravy of cream of celery soup. Since going gluten free two years ago, I’ve missed meatloaf dreadfully. I made it once last year with a cornstarch based cream soup mix and it turned out TERRIBLY. The cornstarch soup mix in the oven turned into a gelatinous mass. I made this condensed soup yesterday for meatloaf, subbing the mushrooms for celery I’d cooked down in some butter and doubling the celery seed. I also made it gluten free by using a scant 1/3 cup of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free AP flour. And because my 10 year old is very opinionated about vegetables, once the soup was done, I give it a rough blend with my immersion blender so there were no obvious chunks. It worked beautifully in the oven as a gravy and was sooooooo good I nearly cried when I took my first edible bite of meatloaf (a lifelong favorite) in 2 years. I’ve already got leftovers packed in my lunchbox for lunch at work! :-)
I’m really excited to try this recipe, and it seems super easy (my favorite). Thanks again!
This cannot be canned or frozen because of the dairy. It will break when thawed from frozen and if not preserved correctly it will explode in your pantry.
This will be my go to recipe. Can’t wait to try it.
I was looking for a shrimp recipe this morning & every one called for cream of mushroom soup. I quit because I thought why make shrimp if you are going to ruin it with canned cream of mushroom soup? Then I found your recipe!! It looks easy & perfect! Thank you!!
How could I make this gluten-free? Sub corn starch for flour?
I have not tried that, but believe you could. I would begin by replacing the flour with HALF the amount of cornstarch (that has been whisked into cold milk). Then if you need it to be thicker, once the mixture reaches a simmer, make a slurry with equal parts cornstarch and broth and add it in a teaspoon at a time until it reaches your desired level of thickness.
Do you think this would freeze well? I love cooking with “cream of…” and having it homemade and on hand whenever I want would be perfect!
Love the homemade version!