If you’re an umami evangelist like me, you’ll love this recipe for Instant Pot Cream of Mushroom Soup. Grab a few simple ingredients, and you’ll soon have a comforting bowl of soup that’ll make your taste buds sing. Incorporating fresh and dried mushrooms, this soup is already a mushroom lover’s paradise—but add Magic Mushroom Powder and garnish with Crispy Mushroom Chips, too, and the mushroom dial gets cranked all the way up to eleven. Plus, it’s easy to incorporate into a busy schedule; I love that I can start prepping this hearty, creamy soup in the morning, and blend it up when I get home from meetings, running errands, and schlepping the kids around town. And did I mention that it’s Whole30-friendly, too?
Before we get started, I want to stress that this Instant Pot Cream of Mushroom Soup is not a dump-everything-in-and-cook-it-in-5-minutes-flat kind of recipe. I love those recipes, too, but only when the shortcuts actually yield the most delicious results possible. So while there are a few steps in this recipe that might seem fussy (like sautéing the ’shrooms for 15 minutes before pressure-cooking in the Instant Pot, or using a high-powered blender to blitz everything into a super-creamy soup), you need to do what Philadelphia basketball fans have been doing for a few years now, and TRUST THE PROCESS. You’ll be delighted and thankful that you didn’t take the easy way out. That said, this recipe really isn’t difficult at all, and you’ll be amazed by the result!
No Instant Pot or pressure cooker? No prob. I’ve got tips on how to prep this recipe on the stovetop or in a slow cooker in the notes section of my printable recipe card at the end of this post.
Now, let’s make a satisfying bowl of dairy-free Instant Pot Cream of Mushroom Soup!
Serves 6
Ingredients:
- Crispy Mushroom Chips (an optional garnish—but they add awesome texture!)
- 2 pounds cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons ghee, avocado oil, or olive oil
- 2 large shallots, diced
- 2 medium leeks, white and light green ends only, cleaned, trimmed, and thinly sliced
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ ounce dried porcini or mixed mushrooms
- Magic Mushroom Powder or Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 4 cups chicken broth or bone broth
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs
- ¾ cup coconut cream (or the solidified cream from a chilled can of full-fat coconut milk)
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bunch fresh chives, thinly sliced (optional garnish)
- Extra virgin olive oil (optional garnish)
Equipment:
- Chef’s knife
- Cutting board
- Food processor (slicing 2 pounds of mushrooms by hand is no joke, people)
- Large bowl
- 6-quart Instant Pot or stovetop pressure cooker
- Silicone spatula
- Garlic press
- Measuring spoons
- 4-cup liquid measuring cup
- Ladle
- High speed blender (I love my Vitamix) or immersion blender
Method:
First things first: Make some mushroom chips. Yeah, I said they’re optional, but you really should garnish this soup with Crispy Mushroom Chips. They’re like crunchy umami “croutons!” So go follow this super-simple recipe and pop them in the oven.
Next, grab your sliced mushrooms. You can slice them by hand, but a food processor will save you lots of time (and possibly a few of your fingers).
Turn on the “Sauté” function on your Instant Pot. Once the metal insert is hot, add the ghee or your fat of choice. Toss in the mushrooms…
…and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid released from the mushrooms has evaporated. This will take about 12-15 minutes, and will help concentrate the mushroom flavor. In other words: don’t skip this step.
Toss in the leeks and shallots…
…and cook for about a minute.
Stir in the garlic cloves, dried mushrooms (no need to rehydrate ’em first!), and 1 teaspoon of my Magic Mushroom Powder. (No Magic Mushroom Powder on hand? Add 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt.)
Pour in 4 cups of chicken broth…
…and stir in the fresh thyme sprigs.
Turn off the “Sauté” function by hitting “Cancel.” Lock the lid on the Instant Pot, and program it to cook for 5 minutes under high pressure.
When the soup is done cooking, release the pressure manually, and fish out the two thyme twigs.
Now, you have two choices to cream-ify your soup:
- You can use an immersion blender—which will mean fewer things to wash, but you’ll end up with a slightly chunkier soup. I’d recommend this option only if you’re in a rush, feeling incredibly lazy, or have no one else you can sucker into doing the dishes for you.
- My strong preference is to use a high-speed blender to get the soup as smooth and creamy as possible. (But make sure you follow these instructions if you’re using a countertop blender to prevent a super hot liquid explosion.)
I’m going to assume you’ve gotten the hint, and you’re using a countertop blender. Ladle about half the soup into the blender container…
…making sure you don’t go above the halfway point. Secure the lid without the plastic middle piece (i.e., leaving the hole in the lid open) and place a clean kitchen towel on top.
Slowly increase the speed of the blender and blitz until smooth.
Transfer the rest of the unblended soup from the Instant Pot into a large measuring cup, and pour the blended soup back into the metal insert of the Instant Pot. Then, pour the unblended soup from the measuring cup into the blender…
…and add the coconut cream.
Following the same blending instructions above, blitz the soup and cream together.
Stir together the blended halves of the soup in the Instant Pot insert.
Squeeze in the lemon juice and taste the soup for seasoning. Adjust as necessary with extra salt, Magic Mushroom Powder, black pepper, and/or additional lemon juice.
Ladle the soup into bowls, and top with Crispy Mushroom Chips, chopped chives…
…and a drizzle of olive oil if desired!
Voilà!
You can store the soup in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze it for up to a few months. After you reheat the soup, you can blend it with an immersion blender to re-emulsify everything.
With all the aforementioned ’shroomy goodness, this truly is the ultimate Instant Pot Cream of Mushroom Soup. Don’t believe me? Make it and taste it for yourself! (Also: How dare you disbelieve me.)
Wanna watch a replay of me making this soup in my home kitchen on Facebook Live (recorded on 8/29/18)? Check out the video below:
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013) and Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017)!
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Instant Pot Cream of Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- Crispy Mushroom Chips an optional garnish—but they add awesome texture!
- 2 pounds cremini mushrooms thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons ghee avocado oil, or olive oil
- 2 medium leeks white and light green ends only, cleaned, trimmed, and thinly sliced
- 2 large shallots diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ ounce dried porcini or mixed mushrooms
- Magic Mushroom Powder or Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 4 cups chicken broth or bone broth
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs
- ¾ cup coconut cream or the solidified cream from a chilled can of full-fat coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bunch fresh chives thinly sliced (optional garnish)
- Extra virgin olive oil optional garnish
Instructions
- First things first: Make some mushroom chips. Yeah, I said they’re optional, but you really should garnish this soup with Crispy Mushroom Chips. They’re like crunchy umami “croutons!” So go follow this super-simple recipe and pop them in the oven.
- Next, grab your sliced mushrooms. You can slice them by hand, but a food processor will save you lots of time (and possibly a few of your fingers).
- Turn on the “Sauté” function on your Instant Pot. Once the metal insert is hot, add the ghee or your fat of choice. Toss in the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid released from the mushrooms has evaporated. This will take about 12-15 minutes, and will help concentrate the mushroom flavor. In other words: don’t skip this step.
- Toss in the leeks and shallots and cook for about a minute.
- Stir in the garlic cloves, dried mushrooms (no need to rehydrate ’em first!), and 1 teaspoon of my Magic Mushroom Powder. (No Magic Mushroom Powder on hand? Add 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt.)
- Pour in 4 cups of chicken broth and stir in the fresh thyme sprigs.
- Turn off the “Sauté” function by hitting “Cancel.” Lock the lid on the Instant Pot, and program it to cook for 5 minutes under high pressure.
- When the soup is done cooking, release the pressure manually, and fish out the two thyme twigs.
Now, you have two choices to cream-ify your soup:
- You can use an immersion blender—which will mean fewer things to wash, but you’ll end up with a slightly chunkier soup. I’d recommend this option only if you’re in a rush, feeling incredibly lazy, or have no one else you can sucker into doing the dishes for you.
- My strong preference is to use a high-speed blender to get the soup as smooth and creamy as possible. (But make sure you follow these instructions if you’re using a countertop blender to prevent a super hot liquid explosion.)
- I’m going to assume you’ve gotten the hint, and you’re using a countertop blender. Ladle about half the soup into the blender container making sure you don’t go above the halfway point. Secure the lid without the plastic middle piece (i.e., leaving the hole in the lid open) and place a clean kitchen towel on top.
- Slowly increase the speed of the blender and blitz until smooth.
- Transfer the rest of the unblended soup from the Instant Pot into a large measuring cup, and pour the blended soup back into the metal insert of the Instant Pot. Then, pour the unblended soup from the measuring cup into the blender and add the coconut cream.
- Following the same blending instructions above, blitz the soup and cream together.
- Stir together the blended halves of the soup in the Instant Pot insert.
- Squeeze in the lemon juice and taste the soup for seasoning. Adjust as necessary with extra salt, Magic Mushroom Powder, black pepper, and/or additional lemon juice.
- Ladle the soup into bowls, and top with Crispy Mushroom Chips, chopped chives, and a drizzle of olive oil if desired!
- You can store the soup in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze it for up to a few months. After you reheat the soup, you can blend it with an immersion blender to re-emulsify everything.
Notes
- Rehydrate the dried porcini mushrooms in a bowl of water for at least 30 minutes or until softened.
- Cook steps 2 thru 6 in a 6-quart stock pot over medium heat.
- After you add the broth and thyme, crank the heat up to high and bring the soup to a boil.
- Decrease the heat to medium-low or enough to maintain a simmer. Cook, partially covered, for 30 minutes or until flavors meld.
- Fish out the thyme sprigs and finish the soup by following steps 9 thru 17.
- Cook steps 2 thru 5 in a large stock pot or skillet over medium heat. Transfer the contents to a slow cooker insert.
- Pour in 4 cups of chicken broth and stir in the fresh thyme sprigs.
- Program the slow cooker to cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.
- Fish out the thyme sprigs and finish the soup by following steps 9 thru 17.
