The Best Cream of Mushroom Soup

This Cream of Mushroom Soup is amazing and I’m not just saying that. I’ve been a huge fan of this soup since I was very young and, like many of you, I love mushrooms and I know a fantastic recipe when I taste one. It’s got that perfect sweet creaminess and mushroom flavor that you would expect this soup to have and it can be made in just a matter of minutes. There’s several different ways you can prepare this soup and I’m going to share some information that will completely change the texture of your recipe.

Mushroom Soup Mushrooms

If you’re wondering what kind of mushrooms you should use to make your Mushroom Soup, don’t sweat it. Just use what’s available to you. I decided to keep it simple, so I chose to buy White Button Mushrooms, but you could probably get away with anything healthy and edible. But, unless you’re looking to trip, I would highly recommend staying away from anything psychedelic.

How you cut the mushrooms, however, seems to make all the difference in the world with the actual texture of the soup. In the video tutorial I chop them in a food processor because it’s convenient, faster and less to clean up. But, the over all outcome of the Mushroom Soup changes, in both look and texture, vs. traditionally chopping the buttons by hand. Chopping them by hand leaves the soup more white and creamy. Blending them gives the soup a Cookies and Cream look with speckles of dark spots, from the chopped gills of the mushrooms, in the soup. This is also what gives the Mushroom Soup a real nice and different texture than you might be use to but I really think you’ll like it.

Cream of Mushroom Soup Ingredients:

8 oz Mushrooms, chopped
1/2 Onion, chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
2 tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups Beef Broth
1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 dash Nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste

Making a perfect Recipe for French Onion Soup

French Onion Soup is by far one of my favorite soups, and I’m always disappointed if it’s not on the menu. So I decided to tear into this recipe, perfect it and make it my own! So here you have it; My Recipe for French Onion Soup

Understanding my Recipe for French Onion Soup

There are a few basics that can be substituted that won’t effect the over all taste if you have one or the other. First is the stock. I’ve made this with Swansons premade beef bouillon and I’ve made it from scratch with water and powder. If you’re insane and want to boil down some beef bones for 3 plus hours just to get a genuine beef stock, be my guest, but I’m telling you the latter tastes just as good. The second thing is the onions; just choose your favorite onion, white or yellow it doesn’t matter, which ever you prefer; use both even. I had a Recipe for French Onion Soup in Denver that claimed to have 5 different onions in it before, so get creative. Also make sure you hit the liquor store or grocery and pick out a red wine you can cook with. The rule of thumb when you are cooking with wine is to never use anything you wouldn’t drink. Can you make this Recipe for French Onion Soup with out it? Yes, but if you knew what the finished product tastes like with it vs. without, you would undoubtedly regret it. So let’s get started!

The actual Recipe for French Onion Soup

1 cube of butter salted (or unsalted, but this recipe has no additional salt added)
2 large sliced yellow or white onion (or more if you’d like)
1 stock of chopped scallions
1 1/2 qt. Beef stock or bouillon
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp minced garlic (or 2 fresh garlic cloves)
1 tsp Italian seasoning (thyme, rosemary, marjoram, sage, oregano, basil)
2 tbsp flour
2 bay leaves
1/3 cup red wine (Merlot is good)
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Sliced Swiss cheese
Garlic Texas toast (pre-made in any grocery freezer section) or french bread

Okay, this is simple! You need a pot for the soup, and a pan to saute onions. First get the broth going in the soup pan with medium heat; add the garlic, the bay leaves, Italian seasoning and the chopped scallions. Meanwhile saute the onions with a medium high heat starting with the whole cube of butter. Be sure to not let the butter burn; lift the pan off the heat if it’s getting to hot and reduce the stove to medium. You’re onions should be sliced in long lengths, NOT chopped. Add the onions to the butter and saute for 15 to 20 minutes until it starts to caramelize. Adding the sugar will speed up the caramelizing process so add 1 tsp. Once the onions have caramelized add 2 tbls of flour to the onions and stir evenly. Then add the onions to the beef broth as well as the 1/3 cup of red wine. The final touch is adding the pepper and reducing the heat to a simmer. Let the soup stand and marinate for another 10 to 15 minutes, then remove the bay leaves. Meanwhile prep the Texas Garlic Toast (or French bread) in the oven on a sheet or even in a toaster if you only need a few. Serving is now as easy as a ladle full of soup over the top of the the Texas toast and Swiss cheese. If you want to take it a step further, you can throw the bowl of soup with the toast and cheese under the broiler to add that golden brown crispness to the cheese which traditionally is usually done. I’m pretty sure that there isn’t any French Onion Campbells soup recipes, so I hope you enjoy this little gem; my Recipe for French Onion Soup!