Creamy Mushroom Asiago Soup - One of the most natural and comforting flavor combinations is mushrooms and cheese. This rich and bold soup delivers this taste bud enticing combo big time!!
Cream of mushroom soup many times does not deliver the mushroom flavour that I'm looking for, so we wrote this mushroom soup recipe to correct this issue. The incredible flavours of cremini mushrooms are pureed into the asiago scented soup base, as well as sliced and sautéed on top for that great succulent texture. The asiago cheese, chicken broth, and rosemary provide a cozy and unctuous back note to the soup.
If you're looking for some other great comforting soup recipes to try out, we suggest our creamy bacon tomato, white bean with ham, or vegetable minestrone. And keep in mind this soup works really well when making holiday green bean casserole!
Jump to:
Newest Recipe!
Dark Chocolate Pistachio Crinkle Cookies
These decadent dark chocolate crinkle cookies are made even better with the addition of roasted ground pistachios!
Ingredients
There are only seven very common main ingredients in this soup, making it a very simple and quick comfort food fix. Since the soup is going to get pureed, the knife work is minimal and easy also!
- Mushrooms - we chose to use cremini mushrooms, also sometimes sold as "baby bellas", (portobello mushrooms are actually just overgrown creminis). thick sliced.
- Garlic - just peel it and slice or crush it a little, no need to mince, as it might burn easily,(please don't use garlic powder!).
- Shallot - the mildly musky flavor of shallot combines very well with the cheesy mushroom flavors in this soup. peeled and sliced to uniform thickness.
- Asiago cheese - we like to grate ours fresh, but the shredded and grated versions that you can buy offer almost exactly the same taste very conveniently.
- Half and half - if you already have milk around the house, you can buy some heavy cream to mix with it instead of buying half and half already mixed, (check the label, just milk and cream, not coffee creamer).
- Rosemary - picked from the stem and rough chopped. just a little bit goes a long way with fresh herbs.
- White wine - try to use a drier rather than sweeter wine here, please never use "cooking wine", as it is always heavily salted.
- Butter - unsalted
- Better Than Bouillon - roasted chicken flavor, (of course you can use homemade chicken stock, but the soup will need to be thickened, and the flavor will not be as concentrated.).
- Olive oil - using some oil in the pan will keep the melted butter from burning too easily, as well as the fruitiness of good olive oil is perfect with mushrooms.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Step One - Sauté
Melt the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat, sauté the shallots and garlic in a saucepan until just softened and they no longer smell raw.
Add in the sliced mushrooms. Cooking them with a touch of salt helps the excess moisture to cook out and concentrate the hearty flavor.
Step Two - add Rosemary & Deglaze
Add the chopped rosemary into the pan. The aroma at this point is incredible.
Add the wine, "deglazing" the pan. This process brightens the flavor with acidity. It also pulls the golden brown bits from the bottom of the pan into the mix, yummy!
Step Three - add Bouillon & Liquid
Add two teaspoons of chicken bouillon base and a half a cup of water, making sure that the paste is dissolved. For best results, we always suggest Better than Bouillon brand.
Reduce to medium-low heat. Pour in the half and half to provide that creamy texture.
Step Four - Puree
Turn off the heat and using an immersion blender, carefully blend the soup until smooth.
Lightly thicken with a little cornstarch slurry, if desired. The finished smooth and creamy soup will have little flecks of mushroom-y goodness showing. Remove the thickened soup from the heat and stir in the shredded asiago cheese.
Helpful Hint
Cook the mushrooms well done. They will appear to be cooked through pretty early in the process, but the flavor will deepen when they are a bit browned. Adding a pinch of salt helps release the excess water and makes getting that savory golden brown flavor a lot easier.
Substitutions
This recipe is already gluten free.
- Vegetarian - remove the chicken bouillon, or replace it with a vegetable stock or bouillon instead.
- Vegan - make the above substitution, and use a vegan milk and cheese alternative.
Variations
This is one of those recipes that is incredibly versatile! Just follow the basic process, and you can just let your imagination and appetite guide you.
- Sauce - this soup can also be a mushroom and cheese cream sauce for pasta, chicken, or even the base for an elevated green bean casserole.
- Gourmet - try using your different types of mushrooms, maybe even a little truffle salt?
- Herbs - in place of the rosemary that we used here, fresh thyme would work, or oregano for a more Mediterranean taste.
- Alcohol - brandy, madeira, marsala, or sherry would all meld well with the cheese and mushroom combo of this soup!
Storage and Reheating
This soup will stay fresh tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. It will freeze for up to a month, also tightly packaged. The refrigerated soup can be heated on the stove over medium heat until simmering, or in the microwave on high for about 2 minutes per bowl. The frozen soup may separate at first, but once it boils and is stirred well, it will come back to the pleasant creamy texture.
Chef Tip
When thickening this or any other soup with corn starch, there are a few important things to remember. When you mix the starch with water, make sure that it is mixed well, (cold water works best) with no lumps left in the solution. The easiest way to do this is to stir it with your fingers, feeling for the lumps and working them out. Also, make sure that the liquid being thickened is bubbling, as it will not incorporate evenly if it is not boiling. Once the soup or sauce it nice and thick, reduce the heat and simmer for a little while, as this will help eliminate any "chalky" texture.
Yes, you can freeze the finished soup for about a month. When you re heat it add a little bit more cream to bring it together if it separates.
More Inspiration
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe
Creamy Mushroom Asiago Soup
Equipment
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 knife
- 1 Saucepan 3 quart
- 1 Immersion blender standard or immersion, (stick type)
- 1 saute skillet small
- 1 Measuring Spoon Set
- 1 Measuring Cup 1 cup size with ½ cup markings, or ½ cup size
- 1 Kitchen Scale
Ingredients
- 8 ounce mushrooms washed and sliced
- 2 Tbsp. oil light veg. oil, or olive oil blend
- ½ Tbsp. butter unsalted
- 2 ounce shallot peeled and sliced
- 2 Tbsp. garlic peeled and sliced
- 1 tsp. rosemary fresh, picked and finely chopped
- ½ cup white wine dry
- 2 tsp. chicken bouillon paste
- 2 Tbsp. corn starch mixed with ¼ cup of cold water, (slurry)
- 1½ cup half and half
- 2 ounce cheese asiago, grated or shredded
- ½ cup water
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the saucepan over medium high.
- Add 1 Tbsp. of oil and the butter to the pan.
- Once the butter is melted and sizzling, add the shallot and garlic,.
- Cook until shallots are starting to caramelize while stirring, about 4 minutes.
- Add all but 2 ounces of mushrooms and the salt to the pan, and stir to combine.
- Sauté until mushrooms have released excess moisture and brown, about 7 minutes.
- Add rosemary and stir to combine.
- Add white wine, stir and scrape the pan surface to deglaze the browned bits.
- Add water and chicken bouillon, stir to dissolve.
- Add half and half and black pepper.
- Bring up to a boil and remove from heat.
- Using an immersion blender carefully blend until smooth and pureed.
- Return to saucepan and bring to a boil on high heat.
- While stirring rapidly, drizzle in corn starch slurry to thicken.
- Turn heat to low.
- While the soup simmers, heat small skillet over high heat.
- Add remaining oil to skillet, once heated through, add remaining mushrooms.
- Sauté mushrooms until tender, about 3 minutes.
- Remove small skillet from heat.
- Add asiago cheese to the soup, stir until mixed in.
- Remove soup from heat and portion into bowls.
- Garnish each bowl with sautéed mushrooms.
Jason Miller says
Go to favorite!