I love cream of mushroom soup! It really brings me back to being a kid, as it was one of my favorite soups. It was always the canned stuff (Campbell’s) at my house growing up, but homemade mushroom soup is such a basic recipe and made from just a few simple ingredients. I hope you enjoy my take on that classic cream of mushroom soup as much as I do.

One of the best things about mushroom soup is that you can make a ton of ingredient changes or substitutions. I’ve provided a bunch of different options below. Be careful though, some of those substitutions might not be compliant with every diet. Just remember not to get too wrapped up about the specific type of mushrooms (white button mushrooms will work instead of cremini if you’ve got them already), or type of onion (red onion or yellow onion will work just fine). Also if you like one type of ingredient more than another, use that!

This creamy mushroom soup recipe is not only dairy free, but also paleo, gluten free, vegan and low oxalate.

Product brands I recommend for this recipe

ingredients for dairy free cream of mushroom soup

Recipe ingredient substitutions

Coconut oil substitutions: Instead of using butter flavored coconut oil for frying, you can use extra virgin cold pressed coconut oil, flavorless coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, or even avocado oil. You can also substitute coconut oil for vegan butter. Or you could use regular cow’s milk butter or heavy cream if you tolerate dairy.

Fresh mushrooms substitution: In this recipe I call for cremini mushrooms because of how flavorful they are, but you could also use white mushrooms, baby bella mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms or any other kind of mushroom that your heart desires! This recipe calls for 2 pounds of mushrooms, which makes this soup have a ton of mushroom flavor. If you want your soup to be less β€œmushroomy”, use 1.5 lbs of mushrooms instead of 2.

Fresh thyme substitutions: If you can’t get your hands on any fresh thyme, you can also use Β½ – 1 tsp of dried thyme. 

Broth substitutions: If you can’t get mushroom broth, you can also substitute it for any other type of broth such as bone broth, chicken stock, vegetable broth, etc.

Starch substitutions: I used potato starch in this recipe because it is low oxalate, but you could also use any other type of starch such as arrowroot flour or tapioca starch. You could potentially use cornstarch as well, however I would use less of it if you do.

Canned coconut milk (coconut cream) substitutions: You can use cashew cream instead of full fat coconut milk, however I have found canned coconut milk to be the thickest and creamiest dairy free milk. You can also use oat milk, soy milk, almond milk, cashew milk or any other non-dairy milk (just make sure it’s unsweetened and avoid the vanilla flavoring).

Recipe variations

Add flavor: This recipe does not call for black pepper (mostly because I am not eating much of it myself right now) however it would likely taste delicious. So if you are all about the pepper, add away! You can also add lemon juice, bay leaf, garlic powder, or even a little gluten free soy sauce (or coconut aminos) to give it a bit more zing.

Add white wine: I have seen a lot of other cream of mushroom soup recipes that call for white wine. I did not add it to mine, but if you’d like to, swap out a small portion of the total amount of broth this recipe calls for. For example, if you add Β½ cup of white wine, then you would require 3 Β½ cups of mushroom broth. White wine vinegar would also work if you’ve got it in your cupboard already, but use much less of it than actual wine. Skip the trip to the grocery store if you can.

Make it into a vegan green bean casserole: Turn this mushroom soup recipe into a meal by adding veg like green beans, white beans, white sweet potato, a large onion (in addition to the small one in the recipe) and whatever vegan protein you want. Then bake until everything is cooked through. You could even add some vegan parmesan or gluten free panko on top for a crispy golden brown crust. If the sauce is too liquid-y add an extra tsp of potato starch to thicken it up before baking.

Bowl of cream of mushroom soup ready to serve

Dietary modifications

Make this recipe AIP: Use arrowroot or tapioca flour instead of potato starch. You could also substitute mushroom broth for any type of homemade bone broth, unless you can find AIP compliant mushroom broth. 

Make this recipe keto: Instead of using 3 tablespoons of potato starch to thicken up the soup, use a lower carb thickener such as Thick It Up. 

Recipe FAQs 

Can I wait until I’m finished cooking the soup to blend it?

You can absolutely wait until the soup is completely finished cooking to blend it. We chose to blend it before we started adding cream and thickening agents, but you could just as easily complete the recipe and then once the soup has cooled down, you can blend it at the end. If you prefer a chunky cream of mushroom soup though, feel free to avoid blending it at all, or just blend it a little bit.

How can I make this soup even creamier?

Feel free to add additional full-fat coconut milk to make this mushroom soup creamier, however the more coconut milk you add, the more you will start to taste coconut in the soup. So if you want to avoid the coconut flavor, stick to the 1 cup that the recipe calls for if you want the best results.

Tried this paleo mushroom soup recipe?

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top down view of bowl of cream of mushroom soup

Cream of Mushroom Soup Recipe (Paleo, Gluten & Dairy Free)

Tara Klippert
This recipe is paleo, gluten & dairy free, vegan, and low oxalate. It can also be made AIP and keto with substitutions.
No ratings yet
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Soup
Cuisine American
Servings 4
Calories 399 kcal

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Using a strainer, rinse the dirt off the mushrooms.
  • On a large cutting board, dice up mushrooms, white onion and garlic cloves and set aside in small bowls.
    showing sliced vegetables in bowls
  • In a large saucepan on medium-high heat, add ΒΌ cup butter flavoured coconut oil.
    coconut oil in pot on stove
  • Add the chopped onions.
    sautΓ©ing onions in pot on stove
  • Once the onions start to brown/caramelize, add your chopped garlic and mushrooms.
    sautΓ©ing mushrooms with onions in pot on stove
  • Cook the mushrooms, onion and garlic until fully cooked and mushrooms are starting to brown (this will give the soup a nice flavor!)
  • Add 3 cups of mushroom broth, leaving 1 cup aside to mix with the starch later.
    stock added to pot on stove
  • Add 3 sprigs of fresh thyme. Feel free to just pull off the leaves and put those in.
    thyme added to soup
  • Bring back to a boil and simmer until the fresh thyme starts falling off the stems.
  • Turn off the heat, and remove the thyme stems. Let it cool a bit.
    fishing out time sprigs from pot
  • Using an immersion blender (or food processor or blender), break down the mushrooms until you have a creamy soup. Alternatively, if you like the mushrooms whole, you can avoid blending them at all, or only blend them up a bit to create a chunky soup. This really comes down to preference!
    Tip: let your soup cool down a bit before using your immersion blender to avoid potentially spraying yourself with hot soup! Or, alternatively you could wait until the very end of the recipe to blend your soup – after you have added the coconut milk and the remainder of the broth mixed with starch.
    using immersion blender to break down mushrooms in soup
  • After blending, put your pot back on the stove at medium heat and bring it back to a simmer.
  • Add your full fat coconut milk and stir until fully blended in.
    adding coconut cream to soup
  • Mix 3 tablespoons of potato starch (or arrowroot/tapioca starch) in your last 1 cup of broth with a fork until there are no lumps left. Pour mixture into your soup and stir thoroughly until fully mixed in.
    adding potato flour slurry to soup
  • At this point your soup should start to thicken even more. Make sure to taste it for seasoning and add sea salt if needed.
    stirring soup as it thickens
  • Serve with fresh thyme and fried mushrooms for garnish.
    Bowl of cream of mushroom soup ready to serve
  • Store your leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 week, or much longer in the freezer.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 399kcalCarbohydrates: 26.2gProtein: 3.4gFat: 31.5gSaturated Fat: 28.8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1067mgPotassium: 605mgFiber: 1.8gSugar: 4.5g
Keyword dairy free, grain free, paleo, soy free, sugar free, vegan
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Tara Klippert
About the author Tara Klippert

Tara Klippert is a Registered Health and Nutrition Counselor and holds a diploma in Holistic Nutrition and Health Coaching. She shares her gluten free, dairy free & allergy friendly recipes.