My family used to eat the popular canned version of cream of mushroom soup often. As an adult, I still love the simple soup, but it’s much more appetizing when made from scratch. The soup is creamy, and the tarragon really accentuates the earthiness of the fresh mushrooms. I love that it’s effortless to make in the slow cooker, so I don’t have to trade convenience for all that extra flavor.
Cream of mushroom soup is a hearty, rustic dish, so we served it with a loaf of pumpernickel bread. It doesn’t get more satisfying than this when it comes to late winter comfort food.
If you can’t find tarragon, you can substitute thyme, and if you want to add extra depth, you can replace the vegetable broth with chicken broth. Add in some wild mushrooms (such as shiitake or portobello) and blend the soup more or less depending on how you like it. There are many ways to make this cream of mushroom soup recipe your own.
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 6 cups sliced mushrooms about 24 oz.
- 1 package vegetable broth 32 oz.
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse ground pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add onion and garlic. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until onions are clear.
- Add mushrooms and cook until tender. Add wine and cook 2 minutes.
- Transfer mixture to slow cooker crock. Add vegetable broth, tarragon, salt and pepper.
- Cover slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or LOW for 3 to 4 hours.
- In a small bowl, whisk cream and cornstarch until smooth. During last 30 minutes, stir cream mixture into soup in crock. Stir until smooth. If using LOW heat, turn to HIGH. Cover and cook until thickened.
- Remove half of soup mixture with sliced mushrooms. Transfer remaining mixture to a blender or use a hand blender to blend mixture in crock until somewhat smooth. Combine with reserved mushroom soup mixture and serve.
If you have a slow cooker with stove-top safe cookware, substitute the cookware for the skillet in the directions above. After sautéing, place cookware in base, cover and cook as directed in recipe.
For the cook who is busy all day but wants a home-cooked dinner at night, a slow cooker is the answer. And with the Set & Forget® Programmable Slow Cooker, technology takes a big leap forward from the outdated slow cookers found in yesterday’s kitchens.
TAGS: mushrooms, slow cooker, soup
CATEGORIES: Everyday Recipes, Healthy Eating, soup & stews
