This Cream of Mushroom Onion Soup is earthy, rich, and oh, so comforting for these long winter nights. The inspiration for this delectable soup came from Natasha’s Salt & Lavender.
I made a few adjustments to her recipe, but used the same and rather unlikely herbs. At Natasha’s recommendation, I also added plenty of Parmesan cheese atop each serving, which totally takes this soup to another dimension.
Here’s a photo of most of the ingredients for this Cream of Mushroom Onion Soup…
…and here’s a photo of the rest of the ingredients needed. Obviously, this Ginger wasn’t organized enough to shoot all of the ingredients in one photo–ha! Check the printable recipe below for all the ingredients, okay? Anyway, I’m sure you’re wondering why cinnamon is included. I initially wondered also, but the more I thought about it, the more the cinnamon made sense. Cinnamon is from tree bark, it’s slightly spicy, and it’s earthy–and it turned out to be a marvelous and subtle flavor component to this soup. As did the heaping tablespoon of the Dijon mustard, which at first blush seemed like a lot. But the rich creaminess of this soup begs for every bit of the tangy foil provided by the Dijon.
You’ll want to give the onion and mushrooms plenty of minutes to cook down and soften before adding rest of the ingredients.
You’ll also want to give yourself plenty of time to savor eating this flavorful Cream of Mushroom Onion Soup. I recommend serving a glass of white wine to sip alongside it. And again, don’t forget to sprinkle each bowl with lots of Parmesan. The thyme sprigs aren’t necessary, but make for a pretty garnish.
My parents taste-tested this gluten-free Cream of Mushroom Onion soup, and both said they liked how the thyme flavor came through in all that earthy richness. Here’s the printable recipe:
- 2 pounds assorted mushrooms (I used white buttons), chopped medium
- 1 to 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped medium
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup whipping/heavy cream
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme, stems removed
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 dash Herbs de Provence (or Italian seasoning)
- ⅓ to ½ cup sherry or dry white wine (optional)
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- Garnish and toppings, to taste:
- Parmesan cheese, grated or shaved
- Fresh chives, snipped or chopped
- Fresh sprigs of thyme
- Add butter or olive oil to a large pot on medium heat. Add chopped onion once butter is melted.
- Sauté onions for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, chop the mushrooms.
- Add the mushrooms to the pot and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms have released their fluid and have shrunk down.
- Add the garlic and Dijon mustard to the pot. Stir.
- Add the remaining soup ingredients to the pot and reduce heat to medium low once it starts to boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until mushrooms reach desired tenderness.
- Transfer about half the soup to a separate bowl or pan, and use an immersion blender (or a regular blender) to purée half the soup. Transfer the puréed soup back into the soup pot. You can also purée all of the soup, if preferred.
- Top each bowl of soup with Parmesan and/or other toppings of choice.
Enjoy!
–G
Ginger, I so agree with the earthy description. Your soup looks delicious!
Thanks Peter! Your kind comment has me wanting to make it again soon myself! –G
This looks delicious! I absolutely love everything with mushrooms in it and we are all about warm and cozy soups at the moment on these cold Parisian nights!
Yes, I feel the same way about mushrooms and cozy soups! Thanks so much for stopping by! –G
YUM!!!!! I’ll be right over!! 🙂
Your photography is outstanding – don’t know how you always manage to make everything look like a work of art! Also , love that you show all of your ingredients – nice to see the brands used.
Looking forward to trying this one!
Wow, thank you! It’s not so easy making mushroom soup look appetizing in photos–ha! Thanks for stopping by! –G