Homemade Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

In my quest to rid us of eating highly processed foods there have been a few thorns in my side. One is evil cans of ol’ Cream of Soups. I grew up on them and try to not use them but well…sometimes a can falls in my shopping cart and I guilty use it. It is particularly shameful when used with organic grains – hah! And even when I use the reduced sodium versions they are still neither healthy nor good for us. So I set out to make a version that would work for casseroles (not for soup that is) and have a similar texture but be way better tasting and for us. And hopefully not be too expensive to make. Although these days a can of the “healthy” is over $1.50 when not on sale. Yikes. That made buying mushrooms seem cheap enough (especially at Trader Joe’s!) And when you look at the ingredient list for a certain national brand of soup it really drives the point home – it isn’t food. It is a slurry!
WATER, MUSHROOMS, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, WHEAT FLOUR, VEGETABLE OIL (CORN, COTTONSEED, CANOLA AND/OR SOYBEAN), SUGAR, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, CREAM (MILK), CONTAINS LESS THAN 1 % OF: LOWER SODIUM NATURAL SEA SALT, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, SALT, CALCIUM CARBONATE, DEXTROSE, DISODIUM INOSINATE, DISODIUM GUANYLATE, SPICE EXTRACT, MALTODEXTRIN, FLAVORING, DEHYDRATED GARLIC, MUSHROOM POWDER.

And this recipe can be made vegan as well – just swap out the milk for your favorites.

PS: The soup may taste a bit salty (if you eat lower sodium) but evens out in recipes. So DO use the salt! Also, you can use the soup hot or chill it for later use, but avoid freezing it due to the cornstarch.

Homemade Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 8 ounces button mushrooms, chopped
• 1 cup low-fat milk
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot
• 1 tsp low sodium vegetable bouillon powder
• ¼ tsp salt and ground black pepper

Directions:

Heat a large skillet over medium, add the oil and mushrooms, sauté until golden and getting a little crispy, stirring often.

Meanwhile whisk the milk and cornstarch together in a small saucepan. Add in the bouillon and seasonings. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Turn the heat down to low and let thicken up. Take off the heat and add in the mushrooms.

Use in place of one can condensed soup as called for in recipes.

~Sarah