Homemade Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup. Goodbye Campbell’s!
Happy almost Thanksgiving, Americans. For those of you for whom Thanksgiving just wouldn’t be right without green bean casserole, I present: DIY organic condensed cream of mushroom soup that honestly tastes better than Campbell’s. It’s so good, I was eating it straight out of the pan with a spoon last night. I hope I still have enough tomorrow to make my casserole. (Only sort of kidding. This recipe makes a lot!)
Three years ago, I confessed to my weakness for casseroles that contain Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup. Now, there’s all sorts of badness associated with that product: from the BPA and/or other mystery plastic lining the can to the non-organic, factory farmed ingredients. Still, I couldn’t imagine living without it…
…until now. My recipe is a modified version of this one I found at Deep South Dish. Warning: This is NOT health food and it is definitely not vegan.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup of organic unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon organic dried onion flakes
- 1/4 cup of finely minced organic celery
- 2 cups of finely diced fresh mushrooms of your choice. I chose shiitake because they are my favorite.
- 1 cup of white wine
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 3/4 cup of organic flour or cornstarch or the thickener of your choice. (I used cornstarch because we happened to have it in the house.)
- 3 cups of hot broth. I used organic Better Than Bouillon mushroom base. (Read my review here.)
- 1 cup organic half and half or whole cream.
Instructions
- Immerse onion flakes in water for about 15 minutes to rehydrate. (Alternatively, you could immerse them in some white wine. I just now thought of that.)
- Sautee the mushrooms in white wine in a skillet until they release their water. Stir frequently so they don’t stick and burn. Remove from skillet and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet and saute the onion flakes and celery over medium heat until tender but not browned. Stir in the sauteed mushrooms and salt; cook and stir about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the thickener a little at a time until fully incorporated, about 4 minutes, stirring constantly. You’ll have a smooth paste.
- Increase heat to medium high and slowly add the broth a little at a time, stirring constantly until fully incorporated and the texture is creamy.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Slowly stir in cream.
- Use about 1-1/4 cups to replace a can of soup. Use any place where you would use Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup. Can be frozen.
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Just thought you might like a discovery I made when I forgot about the fresh mushrooms I bought at the farmer’s market. All dried out, stored in a paper bag at the back of the fridge, I decided to grind them (coffee grinder I use for nuts and oatmeal), and now add to soups, sauces and as a casserole topper. Yum!
What a great idea. And it’s great that they didn’t get moldy. That’s usually what happens to mushrooms I forget about. What were they stored in?
This is so very yummy! The dried onions give a depth of flavor you can’t get from fresh! I love not buying the canned stuff, and it’s easy to make vegan using another fat. I think it’s important to remember there is literally nothing you can do or eat that doesn’t have significant ecological impacts, and we must continue to make the best choices we can, and put pressure to suppliers to make consumer goods as responsibly produced as possible. No ones choices are ever perfect.
I’m surprised someone who is aware of the harmfulness of plastics would not be a vegan. It’s common knowledge that one of the the largest contributors to climate change (if not THE largest) is the livestock for food industry. From the standpoint of ecological contribution, you’re more likely to make a difference not eating animals than ditching the plastic.
Hi Dylan,
While both plastics and commercial ag have their own devastating impact on the environment, I contest that plastic poses a unique challenge. Not only are we talking about a substance that basically never-ever biodegrades, we are talking about a substance that is full of nasty, endocrine disrupting and cancer causing chemicals that are toxic to everything – humans, wildlife and the overall environment.
Commercial ag – including non-livestock such as canola, palm oil, GMO corn, etc., interjects its own unique slurry of poisons that poses further health and environmental risk. I concede that the livestock food industry is one of the largest contributors to environmental degradation – ESPECIALLY in the rainforest. But, to make sweeping claims that all methods of raising animals is bad concerns me.
The 6 chickens I keep in my backyard that provide eggs also improve my soil by adding manure and turning my garden over without the use of a rototiller. They recycle organic scraps from my kitchen too. The half a pig I purchased from the local farmer was field raised and ate “waste” whey from a local organic dairy. If I can’t source my meat locally and organically, I don’t eat it. There is ways to raise animals ethically, humanely and environmentally sound. However, 99% of the animals in our country are raised in CAFO’s or in enclosed buildings – and along with the industrial production of crops – are destroying our soil and the planet. We need to be careful not to focus on just animals, but all agriculture and emphasize the monocultures and huge CAFO operations are not in the best interest of anyone!
Thank you. I completely agree. The milk and butter used in this recipe came from small organic dairy farms just North of me where the animals feed on pasture for the majority of the year.
oh please, make it completely cruelty free, make it vegan, or the job is only half done. see Free From Harm website