Cream of Mushroom soup in a can was a staple in my pantry for years. It got me through many all-nighter study sessions and marathon essay writing nights that all procrastinators have endured. As a newly wed, I discovered many “fancy” ways to cook with Cream of Mushroom soup. This was all back when ingredients weren’t really important to me at all, and IF I read a label, it was only to look at the total calories per serving, and sometimes fat grams. It almost seems like a different life to me now.
Once my child was diagnosed with multiple food allergies, I emptied my pantry of the majority of our canned and packaged goods, as a shockingly large amount of items contained milk ingredients, eggs or were labeled with “may contain …” warnings. It was sad at the time, but that was over 3 years ago, and I haven’t looked back since.
Cream soups were a thing of my past, until I saw mushrooms on sale at the grocery store today. I got a craving and decided to try making a vegan, gluten-free version of Cream of Mushroom soup. I got home and found some traditional Cream of Mushroom soup recipes online and made adjustments to make them dairy-free and gluten-free.
Instead of using cream and flour, I decided to use a can of full fat coconut milk and one potato to thicken my soup. I also didn’t bother using any spices other than salt and pepper, as I wanted the flavor to be kid-friendly. The result was an amazingly creamy and tasty soup that I will definitely be making again.
Start with a large soup pot on high-medium heat and fry chopped celery and onions until the onions are translucent and fragrant.
Add the sliced mushrooms to the pot.
Cook the mushrooms on medium high heat until they are lightly browned and have released most of their water. Set aside some mushrooms, to be added back later.
Add vegetable stock (or water and salt) and potato cubes to the pot, stir and bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered on medium-high heat for about 15-20 minutes to allow the potato to cook and some of the liquid to reduce.
Add 1/2 of the can of coconut milk and simmer for another 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Add the additional 1/2 can of coconut milk to the soup. If the soup is too thick for you, add some more water or stock to thin the soup to your desired level. Stir in the reserved cooked mushrooms.
Serve hot and enjoy with some gluten-free bread or crackers. Delicious!!!
Try it for yourself. View the complete ingredient list and recipe for Vegan Gluten-free Cream of Mushroom Soup.
