It’s been a while since I’ve posted a new soup recipe, and that’s mainly because of a lack of inspiration. I made it through the winter with my old soup recipes, like my most popular Kenyan Maharagwe, my Simple Black Bean Soup, my Mexican Tortilla Soup, and my Creamy French Lentil Soup, among others. But recently I’ve been seeing recipes for Hungarian Mushroom Soup, so I was intrigued. Hungarian because of its large amount of Hungarian paprika, this soup also typically contains dill, thyme, and three or four kinds of dairy (!). You know exactly what I did — I veganized it!
I know I say this a lot, but this soup is incredible. I pretty much said “MMMMMMMM” after every spoonful. It’s thick and creamy like a bisque, loaded with umami from the mushrooms and tamari, and full of aromatic herbs. If you love mushrooms, you HAVE to give this Hungarian mushroom soup a try!
I generally try to avoid unusual ingredients that most people don’t have on hand, but there’s one you simply must have to make this soup special. A few months ago I purchased mushroom powder from Trader Joe’s, and I’ve been adding it to beans and lentil dishes for a more concentrated umami flavor. Of course you can make this Hungarian mushroom soup without it, but I highly recommend adding the mushroom powder. You can buy it online here!
To make this soup creamy without adding dairy, I blended soaked cashews with two ladles of soup. To thicken it, I added a mixture of cold almond milk and flour. Trust me, you’ll think you’re eating soup from a fancy restaurant! And the best part is, you’re not eating a crazy amount of saturated fat like you would be from the non-vegan Hungarian mushroom soup, which contains butter, sour cream, and whole milk.
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1½ cup yellow or white onion, chopped
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 lb *mushrooms, sliced/chopped
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 1 Tbs. Hungarian sweet paprika (or regular paprika)
- 2 tsp. dried dill weed
- 1 tsp. dried mushroom powder (I used Trader Joe's umami seasoning blend)
- 2½ cup vegetable broth (low sodium preferred)
- 2 Tbs. reduced sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 3 Tbs. lemon juice, divided
- 1¼ cup unsweetened nondairy milk, divided
- 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour (GF if needed)
- 3 Tbs. chopped parsley
- Soak cashews in hot water. Set aside.
- In a soup pot over medium heat, sauté onions and garlic in a splash of water until soft, about 5 mins.
- Add the mushrooms, stir, and cook until they've released their water and cooked down.
- While the mushrooms are cooking, combine herbs, paprika, and mushroom powder in a pinch bowl. When mushrooms have cooked, stir in the herb/spice mixture and cook about 30 seconds. Pour in the broth, tamari, and 1 Tablespoon lemon juice. Reduce heat to simmer.
- To a blender, add 1 cup nondairy milk, the drained cashews, 2 Tablespoons lemon juice, and 2 ladles of soup. Blend until completely smooth and creamy. Pour back into to the pot.
- Add ¼ cup cold nondairy milk and 2 Tablespoons flour to a small jar, tighten lid, and shake well to combine. Pour into soup and stir. This will thicken the soup.
- Taste and season if needed. (I don't add anything else to mine.)
- Remove soup from heat and stir in chopped parsley.
- Garnish with a sprinkle of paprika and fresh dill or parsley, if desired
This soup keeps in the fridge up to 5 days.
I hope you love this Hungarian mushroom soup as much as I do! My kids even like it!
Let me know what you think!
♥ ♥ ♥
Also try my 10-minute Roasted Tomato Soup!
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