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You won’t believe this vegan cream of mushroom soup recipe is dairy-free! It's decadently rich, creamy, and full of flavor and texture.
It's so good, it's often mistaken for classic mushroom soup and is a key player in this reader favorite vegan green bean casserole. The reviews make this soup speak for itself!
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Why you'll love vegan cream of mushroom soup
This velvety, creamy vegan cream of mushroom soup is a hit with everyone – you don’t have to be vegan to enjoy it! It’s so rich and smooth that even non-vegans are often surprised it’s plant-based.
What makes this soup even better is that it’s budget-friendly and made with mushrooms and pantry staples. It’s naturally gluten-free, with an easy option to use all-purpose flour if you prefer.
Even beginner cooks have successfully made this on their first try. Plus, it doubles as a versatile soup or sauce for your favorite dishes! If you're looking for vegan Thanksgiving recipes, I have a bunch of reader favorites in one spot!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Find ingredient amounts in the printable recipe card below.
- Olive Oil: You can use any cooking oil, like canola, coconut, or avocado oil.
- Mushrooms: I recommend white button or baby bella mushrooms, but portobello or any variety will work.
- Shallots: Milder than onions, shallots can be swapped for onions in this recipe.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is best, but garlic powder can be used in small amounts if needed.
- Chickpea Flour: This natural soup thickener adds protein while keeping it gluten-free. You can try other gluten-free flours or use all-purpose flour as noted in the recipe.
- Dry Sherry: Adds depth of flavor; substitute with any cooking liquid if needed.
- Unsweetened Plant-Based Milk: Any non-dairy milk, such as coconut, oat, or soy milk, will work. However, I prefer to use almond milk for the flavor.
- Nutmeg: Adds a classic, nutty flavor.
- Salt and Pepper: Season to taste after cooking. This soup may taste bland until you add the right amount of salt.
- Optional: Cornstarch + Milk or Water: Use this to thicken the soup as a casserole base.
How to make vegan cream of mushroom soup
First, sauté mushrooms, shallots, and garlic over medium-high heat until very tender, stirring as needed.
Next, add the flour and stir until the vegetables absorb it. This is a roux.
Add the dry sherry to deglaze the pot. Then, add milk in very small amounts, whisking vigorously to ensure no lumps. Continue this process until all of the milk is used. Add the nutmeg. Then add salt and pepper to taste.
Bring everything just to a boil, whisking continuously. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the soup thickens to your liking.
Note: To use as condensed mushroom soup, mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold milk or water, stir into hot soup, and cook 1–2 minutes to thicken.
Serve warm. To store, allow to cool completely and refrigerate in an airtight container up to 5 days.
Test kitchen recipe tips
- Sauté the mushrooms well: Cook mushrooms until they release moisture and start to brown to deepen flavor.
- Flour color: The longer you brown the flour for the roux, the darker the soup will be. To keep the soup light in color, avoid over-browning the flour.
- Cooking liquid: Use any non-dairy milk of choice. For a lower-calorie option, substitute 1 cup of almond milk with vegetable broth.
- Avoid lumps: When adding milk to the vegetables, do it gradually and whisk quickly to prevent lumps, ensuring a smooth sauce.
- Don’t rush simmering: Let the soup simmer for at least 10-15 minutes to build the flavors and texture of this soup.
- Consistency: The soup thickens as it simmers. If it’s too thin, let it simmer to reduce. If it’s too thick, whisk in small amounts of liquid until you reach your desired consistency.
More vegan soup recipes
- White Bean and Kale Soup
- Minestrone Soup
- Homemade Tomato Soup
- Chickpea and Kale Soup
- Vegan Tortilla Soup
- Thai Coconut Soup
On a personal note: This vegan cream of mushroom soup recipe is dedicated to my mom who helped test and finalize it in my test kitchen back in 2009. Thanks, Mom, for helping me dial this one to perfection!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup
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Video
Note about scaling
When scaling, the light gray ingredient notes after the comma don’t change. Adjust as needed.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 8 ounces Mushrooms, sliced (about 4 cups)
- 1 small Shallot, minced (or ¼ cup Onion)
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- ⅓ cup Chickpea Flour, or All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tablespoon Dry Sherry or Wine, optional
- 3 cups Unsweetened Plant-Based Milk, I prefer almond milk
- 1 pinch Nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon Salt, or more to taste
- Black Pepper, to taste
Optional
- Fresh Parsley, for garnish
- Cornstarch + Milk or Water, if using for casseroles
Instructions
Note: If using this recipe as canned cream of mushroom soup for a casserole, see footnote below *
- Heat the soup pot over medium heat. Add OLIVE OIL and warm until shimmering.
- Add MUSHROOMS, SHALLOT, and GARLIC. Sauté 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the moisture has been released from the mushrooms.
- Stir in FLOUR and cook 1–2 minutes to form a roux.
- Add (optional) DRY SHERRY and a splash of MILK, scraping the pot to deglaze any browned bits.
- Gradually whisk in remaining MILK to avoid lumps. Stir in NUTMEG.
- Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 10 minutes or until thickened to your liking, stirring occasionally.
- Season with SALT and PEPPER. Taste and adjust as needed.
- Top with PARSLEY and serve warm with your favorite bread or crackers.
- To store, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
Equipment
- silicone spatula or any stirring utensil
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are estimates and may vary based on brands, ingredients, and portions.
Traci Antonovich says
Hi Sommer, the only way I know how to get more shelf life from this recipe is to freeze the soup once it cools down.
Jackie says
Hi, I can't wait to try this recipe for Christmas Eve. I have a question about the almond milk: did you use the shelf-stable one, or the ready-to-drink one in the Dairy case?
Traci Antonovich says
Hi Jackie, I used the shelf stable almond milk, but I would use the dairy case milk too. Just make sure to get plain, unsweetened almond milk. Hope you love it like I do! 🙂
Traci Antonovich says
Hi Alisha, great questions! #1) I've edited the recipe and blogpost to include mention of the vegetable broth (it's simply a lower calorie option). #2) I selected chickpea flour for it's magical thickening powers as a gluten-free flour. You can use any flour you like, but realize that not all flours are 1:1, so you may need to cross reference the substituted amount. #3) You can use white wine in place of dry sherry, or simply leave it out. Hope that helps! 🙂
Barb says
Awesome. Do you know the nutritional facts? Thanks.
Traci Antonovich says
Hi Barb, I'm sorry, but I don't offer nutrition information with my recipes at this time. I'm working towards that as a future offering. In the meantime, you're most welcome to copy and paste my recipe ingredients into a recipe nutrition calculator online. Thanks so much for asking! 🙂
Erika says
I can't really comment on the mushroom soup, but I used this base for cream of leek soup. My boyfriend loved it. But I found the chickpea flour to be too strong of a flavour. Although, it really thickened the soup nicely and I felt full after soup (which doesn't always happen). So I would just be aware that the chickpea flour has a strong flavour if the veggies you're using in your soup aren't as strong. 🙂
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks for the heads up, Erika. This recipe was built around mushrooms and I'd probably recommend a lighter flour for cream of anything soup, esp with veggies that aren't as strong as mushrooms. Glad your bf loved it though!
Zohra says
Have you tried subbing cashew milk for almond milk? We like to make our own milk and prefer cashews over almonds. Would love to hear your thoughts! Happy Thanksgiving!
Traci Antonovich says
Hi Zohra, great question! I have not tried subbing cashew milk, but can' see any reason why it wouldn't offer similar results. Let me know if you end up trying...love to hear! 🙂
Cheryl says
It was FANTASTIC with cashew milk. A little thicker as expected, so we just added more. 😉 My daughter and I liked this soup so much that we just made it again, this time with 50/50% cashew/almond milk. Equally delicious. Next time we make it, we'll quadruple the recipe so that there are leftovers to take in thermoses for school lunches. =)
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks for weighing in Cheryl! I lovvvve hearing this feedback about the cashew milk. I also love it that you want to 4x the recipe amounts. I should probably upsize it, at least double it 😉 Anyway, thanks again!
Em says
Wow! Very impressed with this. I was in a hurry so I used mushrooms, avocado oil, garlic, onion, almond flour, and unsweetened almond milk + S&P. I used this for the “I can’t believe it’s vegan green bean casserole” and was delighted by how it all came together. 5 stars!
Traci Antonovich says
Awesome Em...I'm so glad you loved it! I, too, love it with green bean casserole. Thanks so much for taking the time to review and rate your experience 🙂
Sharon says
Great recipe! I've made it several times - usually double the amounts and use regular all-purpose flour, no sherry and plenty of black pepper. It always turns out great and receives compliments even from omnivores 🙂
Traci Antonovich says
So glad to hear it Sharon! I love knowing that you're fooling omnivores with it too...way to go! 😉
Traci Antonovich says
Hi Andrea, you're not losing your mind. I fixed the notes and the recipe actually doesn't call for vegetable broth 🙂 Let me know if you have any more questions.
Amber says
Hi! I’ve recently had to go vegan and gluten free for health reasons and this soup sounds great! I’m wondering about using it in casseroles. Most of the time a casserole calls for a cream soup to be added, you are only adding the condensed soup without the added liquid that would turn it into a soup. So if I’m wanting this recipe for casseroles like that would I need to reduce the liquid originally while cooking? I know you said simmering longer makes for a thicker consistency, just curious if that would be the best route or if I should reduce the amount of liquid in the recipe to start with. I hope this makes sense! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
Traci Antonovich says
Hi Amber, so glad you found this recipe! I'm not on a restricted diet, yet it's one of my fav recipes and I have several more where this one came from 🙂 To answer your question, I use it for my Vegan Green Bean Casserole and it turns out great. Although, if you like the idea of a thicker consistency, your idea to add less liquid will certainly work. Maybe cut the veggie broth in half (or even less) and go from there. Hope that helps! Please don't hesitate to follow up with me 🙂
Carrie says
I notice in this response that you mention to "cut the veggie broth in half", but I am not finding where the veggie broth is listed in the instructions (it is in the notes, but not instructions). I also notice that you mention in an 11/9/18 response that the recipe does not call for veggie broth. I am bit confused. Would you be able to clarify? I would like to make it today if possible 🙂 thanks so much
Traci Antonovich says
Hi Carrie, I just emailed you a message regarding this 🙂
Misty says
Are rice flour and rice milk good substitutions? Legumes give me an awful lot of digestion distress. The recipe looks wonderful, though! Thank you so very much for sharing!
Traci Antonovich says
Hi Misty, great question! I've never tried it but I'd use those substitutions without any hesitation. I'm not sure what the exact ratio is to sub rice flour for chickpea flour, but the milk would be 1:1. If you end up trying this, please do let me know and I'll add it to the recipe notes. Thank you for hanging out on my recipe! 🙂
Sandy says
I love this recipe! I was sad to never be able to eat cream of mushroom soup again, and then I found this recipe! It's amazing! I'm allergic to almonds so I used Ripple Half and Half, (original flavor), which is made from pea protein, and vegetable stock. I left out the liquor entirely.
My husband loves it too! I've already made this three times!
Thank you for this great recipe!
Traci Antonovich says
Yay Sandy...I'm so happy to hear this feedback! How cool that you can use Ripple in place of almond milk...AND your husband likes it...AND you can now eat cream of mushroom soup to your heart's content. Makes my day, week, and month! Thanks for letting me know! I really appreciate it 🙂
SHENAL C says
I made this using TJ's frozen medley mushroom mix, & it came out great! Thank you for an awesome soup recipe!
Traci Antonovich says
Oh I love it that you used that! Noted for future reference 🙂 I really appreciate your feedback...thanks!
Stacy says
Hi there, I have just gone gluten free recently and really need to go dairy free for health reasons. I am excited to try this recipe since I cook with cream of mushroom soup all the time! Do you think that this recipe would double well and freeze well? I will try a single batch to start, but if it works for my recipes like I hope, life would be so much easier if I can make it in larger batches and store it for later. Any thoughts?
Traci Antonovich says
Hi Stacy, so glad to hear from you! I haven't tried to freeze this soup. If you do, I recommend that during reheat, if it's too thick, add a little almond milk, and if it's too thin, mix a little chickpea flour with a little almond milk in a separate container (to remove lumps), add it to the soup, and gradually heat. Repeat either step until you get it where you want it. Please let me know if you need further clarification. And do let me know how it turns out for you! I'm excited you found this soup...it's my cream of mushroom everything. Wishing you the best in your dietary wellness 🙂
Ella Anne Smith says
can you use something other than chickpea flour?
Traci Antonovich says
Hi Ella, I believe you could substitute a variety of bean or grain flours for the chickpea flour in this recipe. Nut flours?...not so much. That said, you would need to make adjustments when subbing because not all flours are 1:1 in terms of consistency. I'm going to cover this topic on the blog sometime soon, so be sure to sign up for my email list so you don't miss it 🙂 Let me know if you have other questions too!
Brooke says
Do you think you could use almond flour instead?
Traci Antonovich says
Hi Brooke, my first inclination would be to not use almond flour. The starch from chickpea flour is a wonderful thickener and offers a creamy consistency. I'm not convinced almond flour would do that job as effectively, but I also haven't attempted it. Let me know if you do...I love to hear your results 🙂
Young Vegan says
Great recipe! Simple, yet really good and I loved the consistency. I made some as prep for your green bean casserole recipe and I couldn't help but have a bowl of it! Thanks for sharing.
Traci Antonovich says
Yay, so glad you found it and love it! It's one of my favorite soups...thanks for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed it 🙂
heather says
Oh wow this makes me want mushroom soup so badly! I love that these are gluten free too since my husband has Celiac Disease. Definitely going to try these!
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks Heather...glad you found it and hope you guys love the recipe!
Phil P. says
I just used this recipe to make a completely organic vegan tater-tot hot dish (the state dish of Minnesota, unofficially). It turned out amazing. The only thing I would change is the amount of vegetable broth. It was perfect until I added the vegan “beef” crumbles, then it got really thick because the “beef” absorbed a lot of the broth. Next time I’ll try maybe 1/4c more broth. Thank you so much for recipe. I have one question though. Could you use a different type of flour? I did manage to find the chickpea flour at Whole Foods but could you substitute it?
Traci Antonovich says
Hi Phil! Thanks SO much for the great feedback and your dish sounds super yummy! About the flour...as long as it's starchy and has a powdery consistency, I think you're safe. You'll probably need to adjust the amount of liquid (up or down) depending on the type of flour. I don't think almond flour or coconut flour will work that well, but hey, I'm happy to be wrong about that. Let me know what you end up doing. Thanks again for stopping by! 😉
Melanie says
This was glorious! Followed exactly but added a touch of cayenne. I do not like mushrooms but I'm trying to incorporate them into our diet. This was a great first dish. Great work and thank you.
Traci Antonovich says
Melanie, thank you for taking the time to comment and I'm sooo glad you liked this one! It's one of my favs for sure! I have a few other mushroom recipes you might like if you're trying to get used to them. Just type mushrooms into the search bar on the top of any page on my blog. Let me know if you ever have any questions 🙂
Lorinia Hammond says
This is a fantastic recipe! I am a huge fan of mushroom soup and I love that this is such a healthier option for me! Thank you for sharing it.
Traci Antonovich says
Thank you Lorinia! I love hearing that you discovered this recipe...I'm so happy to share healthy options when it comes to making food...it's my thing 😉 Thanks again for letting me know!
Kim says
Have you ever gone through the canning process with this recipe, so you have several on hand, but that will last longer than 4 days? I am really excited to make this, as I LOVE mushrooms, and its hard to be vegan with whats out there, and who doesn't prefer homemade? 🙂
Also, I tried to get through all the comments, but may have missed it. Have you, or anyone, successfully tried this with any other gluten free flour?
Thank you for sharing this, and thank you for all your helpful tips!
Traci Antonovich says
Hi Kim, so glad you found this recipe and hope it becomes your new fav!! As for canning, someone else in the comments said this, "I googled canning soups and apparently you shouldn't can anything with flour, thickeners, or anything pureed. If someone wanted to can this soup they would probably have to used cooked/canned chickpeas and can them in with the other ingredients all whole, and then puree at the time of serving"
As for flours, I've only used chickpea flour for this soup, but someone in the group said she used All purpose GF flour and still gave it 5 stars 🙂 Hope that helps!
Janelle Holyoak says
My husband has EOE and cannot have wheat, dairy, soy, seafood, poultry, eggs, peanuts, or tree nuts so this sounds perfect except for the almond milk - since he can't have that can we substitute coconut milk?
Traci Antonovich says
Hi Janelle, I have not tried this recipe with coconut milk. It's probably going to be very coconutty...nothing wrong with that as long as you like it. Also, have you thought of using oat milk? I think you might get a more neutral base, therefore a more traditional flavor. Just a thought. Let me know what you end up doing 🙂
Matti Walker says
Hemp milk, while a little pricey, is very neutral in flavour and very creamy and satisfying. Perhaps try with that!
Traci Antonovich says
Very cool idea, Matt. I think oat milk would work just as well. I need to try some different things for sure 🙂
Miranda says
Hi! Can this be used in a crockpot recipe? Thanks!
Traci Antonovich says
Hi Miranda, thanks for asking! You need a med-high burner to saute the produce and make the roux. Once you reach the step of adding liquids, you could transfer everything to a crock pot. I'll be curious to hear your outcome if you try it. I don't see why it wouldn't work 🙂
Carmen says
I’ve made this twice now. Absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe and leaving us tips (they were helpful).
Traci Antonovich says
You just made my day, Carmen! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback...and of course I'm happy you love it like I do! Glad you found the tips helpful too! 🙂