Cozy Vegan Mushroom Soup with Cashew Cream
Loaded with umami-packed sauteed mushrooms, miso and garlic, this creamy + comforting vegan mushroom soup just might be the easiest one you’ve ever made. Pop everything into the blender with cashews and it’s done!
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One of the coolest things about food is its power to transport us back in time with a single bite. And cream of mushroom soup totally does that for me. I ate SO much of it as a kid. (As an 80s kid,I grew up on the canned version, obviously.)
But wanting to relive my childhood fave poses a bit of a problem for my kids, who have inexplicably decided they do not like mushrooms. I’m trying not to take it personally, ha.
I really wanted to create my own creamy mushroom soup, so I needed to figure out a way to make them fall in love with it. Or at least tolerate it. So I threw the mushrooms in the blender with the rest of the soup ingredients so they’re invisible. All flavour…no textural issues.
And holy heck did it work: each silky spoonful is infused with rich mushroom flavour and a ton of umami flavour without any broth. It’s rich and creamy without feeling too heavy and absolutely jam-packed with umami thanks to miso, garlic and onion powder and of course mushrooms.
I actually wrote this recipe for my book, Plant Magic, and have updated it only slightly to share with you here. And in case you’re curious, my inner dietitian feels the need to highlight that this very decadent tasting soup is actually super good for you – with fermented foods (miso) and powerful plants like garlic, cashews and mushrooms that are packed with immune supportive nutrition.
A couple of hot tips to help you make the most delicious vegan mushroom soup ever
If you think that going dairy free means leaving those cozy, creamy textures behind, think again.
I knew that I had to make this soup with cashews because they are a perfect dupe for cream, even for dairy lovers! I’ll be honest with you, while I love coconut flavour in a curry, I don’t love using coconut milk in place of dairy in most recipes as I think it makes everything taste coconutty.
This is a freaking delicious soup…but the real win? Once the mushrooms and aromatics are cooked, the whole shebang goes into the blender and becomes soup in 3 minutes flat!
PS…if you’re wondering, each serving of this soup has 4.5 grams of fibre and 12 grams of protein! Wanna boost it? Top with my crispy baked tofu!
More easy + flavourful vegan soups:
- Brothy Red Lentil Soup with Carrots
- Garlicky Black Bean Soup with Swiss Chard
- Filling Green Lentil Stew with Mushrooms
- Vegan Carrot, Lentil + Fresh Ginger Soup with Coconut Milk
- Nourishing Vegan Lasagna Soup with Tofu Crumbles
Cozy Vegan Mushroom Soup with Cashew Cream
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 1 ¼ cups raw cashews
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil, or your favourite oil
- 1 pound mushrooms, sliced
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons shiro (white) miso
- 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce , gluten free if needed
- 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- freshly cracked pepper
Equipment
- High Speed Blender
Instructions
- Pop the water and the cashews in the blender to soak as you cook the mushrooms.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over just higher than medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook, undisturbed, for 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and shallot and cook, about 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are golden and all the moisture has been evaporated. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Add ⅔ of the mushroom mixture to the blender, along with the miso, tamari, onion and garlic powder, thyme, salt, maple syrup and pepper. Blend on the soup setting until steaming. Taste and adjust salt if necessary.
- No soup setting? If you've got a high speed blender, blend on high until it starts steaming, 4-5 minutes. If you've got a regular blender, just blend on high until smooth, about a minute. Then, pour back into the skillet or a pot and heat on medium-low until steaming.
Notes
