Paleo Mushroom Soup (And Ways to Use It) | Paleo and Whole30
Living in Texas, I grew up on the red and white cans of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup. It went into every casserole and we were a big casserole family. If you needed a creamy element, that red and white can did the trick. When I first started transitioning to eating real food over processed almost 20 years ago, one of the first things I learned to do was to make mushroom soup from scratch. Fast forward to today and I have finally perfected the way to make Paleo Mushroom Soup and will show you some ways to use it.
What Makes This Paleo Mushroom Soup?
To get the creamy texture of canned mushroom soup, you have to have something creamy and a thickener. For my prior cleaned up version, this was light cream and flour, but since I primarily cook paleo these days, this version uses full fat, canned coconut milk and for the thickener, a mixture of almond flour and tapioca starch (my new go-to thickener sub for cornstarch.)
Ways to Use Paleo Mushroom Soup
This makes about 3 cups of mushroom soup. You can use it just like you would prepared mushroom soup from a can. If you want to make extra thick mushroom soup (like the non-prepared condensed version) Just reduce the liquid down to 3/4 cup each. It will be VERY thick. Here are some ways I have used it:
Chicken Mushroom Soup
Make the recipe as stated and stir in 1/2 lb cooked and chopped chicken breast before serving.
Chicken and Rice Casserole
Layer cauliflower rice with cooked chicken, mushrooms and the soup (recipe as stated below). Place in 350 degree oven until it all bakes together and the top gets browned. If you eat dairy, feel free to top with parmesan cheese before baking.
Chicken and Mushroom “Pasta”
Use the soup and add in cooked mushrooms and chicken. Toss with zucchini noodles (or if you eat grains use your favorite pasta) and sprinkle with green onions. If you want something resembling penne pasta, which is our favorite pasta shape, cut whole zucchini in 3 sections lengthwise then cut across each long slice diagonally to make 1/2” pieces. Saute these in olive oil then toss with the chicken and pasta.
Tips for Cooking Mushrooms
Mushrooms are like sponges and if all you’ve ever had are flabby, soggy mushrooms, I’m about to blow your mind:
- Rinse or wipe off with a damp paper towel if you see visible dirt. Never soak them in water.
- When you saute, let them sit without disturbing for a few minutes to allow them to brown on one side (doesn’t matter what shape – chopped, sliced, quartered, etc.) then flip them and let them sit again. This allows the extra water to evaporate and caramelize the sugars in the mushrooms giving them awesome flavor and better texture.
- To get perfectly cooked sliced mushrooms for mixing into recipes or serving on grilled meats, slice mushrooms 1/2” thick, douse with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt (a little before cooking then season to taste after they are done) and add any herbs you want to. Roast at 375 degrees until they have shrunk considerably in size and are beginning to turn brown and crispy on the edges.
- Mushrooms are great for meal prep. They can sit in fridge uncooked or cooked for up to 5 days.
Paleo Mushroom Soup (And Ways to Use It) | Paleo and Whole30
Ingredients
8 oz cremini mushrooms (AKA brown or Baby Bellas)
2 tbsp almond flour
2 tbsp tapioca starch
3 tbsp olive oil or ghee, divided
1 large shallot, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
1 1/4 cups chicken broth (3/4 cup for condensed version)
1 1/4 cups full fat coconut milk (3/4 cup for condensed version)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp coconut aminos
Directions
- Finely chop the mushrooms. I use a food processor to do this.
- Mix together the almond flour and tapioca starch.
- Saute the mushrooms in 2 tbsp olive oil without disturbing for 3-4 minutes. When you see that they have shrunk quite a bit, toss and flip to get as much turned over as possible. Cook for another 3-4 minutes until the volume of the mushrooms is about half.
- Add the shallots and garlic then toss again and cook for another minute.
- Sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme, stir well then sprinkle with the almond flour/tapioca starch mixture.
- Slowly add in the chicken broth to incorporate then add the coconut milk along with half the lemon juice and the coconut aminos.
- Taste the mixture and add more lemon juice, salt or pepper until it tastes balanced to you.