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A hearty and comforting Hungarian Mushroom Soup Recipe that’s sure to fill you right up. A dollop of sour cream makes this soup over the top — loaded with all the warm and cozy vibes!
Texas weather is a little all over the place.
We were high in the 80s with our crisp spring salads, Birkenstock’s, and mom jeans. Then, all of a sudden, we’re back down in the 30s with boots, scarves, and comfort food. What in the what is even going on?
If you’re anything like me, comfort food is about the only thing that makes the 30-degree weather bearable. Well, that and fuzzy socks. But mostly just soup recipes. That’s where this Hungarian mushroom soup recipe comes in. And guaranteed it’ll warm you right up. This isn’t your average mushroom soup recipe. It’s not the kind of gloopy, gloppy stuff that comes in a Campbell’s can. It’s hearty and filling because, shockingly, mushrooms are high in protein and fiber. Seared mushrooms, aromatic herbs, and spices are the beginnings of this pot of soup. Humble ingredients blend beautifully together and elevate it to something brand new. It’s exciting for the palate! A rush of umami from the mushrooms and a hint of sour cream for creaminess.
The recipe is as simple as sautéing a few ingredients and allowing it to simmer. The flavors develop as it simmers. In a total time of 40 minutes, you’ve got the creamiest, most velvety smooth soup loaded with hearty mushrooms. And it will fill and warm you right up.
Every year, I share a handful of soup recipes. I mean, not going to lie; I’m recipe-testing soups in midsummer because I’m so excited about sharing them for fall and winter. And oddly, the ones that I love the most are the ones made with veggies, like today’s Hungarian Mushroom soup, my secret ingredient tomato soup, or the roasted veggie soup with tortellini, fire-roasted minestrone, and my autumn squash and leek soup.
This recipe requires a handful of ingredients, most of which are pretty straightforward and easy to find. The one ingredient I feel like you may have trouble finding is optional. And I found that it is available online. Trust me; it does make the soup a whole lot tastier! More on that in a bit.
Hungarian Mushroom Soup Video:
Ingredients for Hungarian mushroom soup recipe:
- Butter: to saute the mushroom mixture and create flavor in the soup.
- Mushrooms: because they’re the heart and soul of this recipe. The key is to use a variation of cremini mushrooms (aka baby Bella), white button mushrooms, shiitake, or any other variety you typically enjoy.
- Onions: both the onions and garlic are aromatics. They add flavor and body to the soup.
- Seasonings: You’ll need a sprinkling of dried or fresh dill, dried thyme, dried mushroom powder, Hungarian sweet paprika, and salt and black pepper. The heaping tablespoon paprika adds a delicious flavor to the soup with the other spices and seasonings. If you’re unfamiliar with mushroom powder, sometimes it is called umami seasoning. Essentially, it’s a powder made out of dried mushrooms and other dehydrated ingredients that really adds a depth of flavor to this soup recipe.
- Garlic: What would a recipe even be if I didn’t use garlic?
- Chicken or vegetable broth: You can use either for this recipe. I prefer to use chicken broth, but for my vegetarian friends, vegetable broth works beautifully.
- Soy sauce: brings more umami flavor to the recipe along with the mushroom powder.
- All Purpose Flour: aids in thickening the soup.
- Half and half: you can also use milk if you prefer. It adds a bit of richness to creamy soups.
- Creme fraiche (or sour cream): gives the soup a signature tangy flavor and creamy texture. I love using a little bit of sour cream to give the soup more depth.
- Fresh Parsley: Is added at the end for some freshness and as a garnish.
Making the best Hungarian mushroom soup:
- Sauté the ingredients. Start by melting the butter in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and sauté the onions and mushrooms for 5 minutes. Then season with the dried thyme, dried dill weed, and Hungarian paprika, and allow the mushrooms and onions to continue cooking for an additional 7-10 minutes. Stir the mixture often, so it doesn’t brown too much or burn. Sprinkle the grated garlic and mushroom powder 30 seconds before the mushrooms are done.
- Whisk it together. Then slowly pour in the chicken stock, soy sauce, and lemon juice and scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen all that stuck-on flavor. Allow the soup to gain a simmer, and then let it reduce for 5 minutes. This step will help concentrate the mushroom flavor. While the soup is reducing, place the milk and flour in a mason jar (with a tight-fitting lid) and give it a shake until combined. Alternatively, you can whisk the ingredients in a small bowl until they are smooth. Pour this mixture into the soup and continue to cook the soup for another 8-10 minutes or until the flour mixture thickens it.
- Finish and serve. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the soup while you add in the sour cream. Sprinkle with parsley to finish. Dish the soup out in your favorite soup mug or bowl, and finally serve warm with grilled bread rubbed with a clove of cut garlic!
FAQs about this recipe:
Whenever I share a recipe for mushroom powder, I often get this question. The mushroom powder is a little chef secret used to really amp up the mushroom flavor in a stew or gravy. It’s the secret ingredient in my homemade beef tips, and it adds a power-packed flavor punch – aka umami. The mushroom powder adds a subtle complexity to the soup, making it taste as if you simmered it all day long.
For this recipe, I highly suggest using mushroom powder (such as the one from Trader Joe’s, powdered porcini or shiitake mushrooms, or even a bit of the Better Than Bouillon mushroom base. I’ve tried the recipe both with and without the mushroom powder, and though it works perfectly fine without the powder, the flavors are a lot more pronounced when you use that little bit of mushroom powder/base to amp up the soup base!
Pop them into an airtight container and keep it in the fridge. I do suggest consuming the soup within 4 days.
I haven’t tried swapping it out myself, but I did have a reader mention that it works as a decent substitute.
Preventing the sour cream from curdling:
Sour cream is notorious for being difficult to work with. When I first started cooking, any recipe that called for sour cream would almost always curdle on me. But as I started reading up on it, I picked up a trick that works like a charm for stroganoff or Swedish meatballs. If you allow the sour cream to come to room temperature for at least 45 minutes before adding it to the recipe, it won’t curdle. It also helps if you remove the hot soup or sauce from the stove and stir it a few times to cool it down a bit before adding the sour cream.
Recipe Tip
If you do not have the time to do this, whisk the sour cream in a bowl using a fork and add a tablespoon of the soup mixture to the sour cream as you continue to whisk. Do this 3-4 times, and then add the sour cream to the soup!
I hope you’ll make a pot full of this soul-warming Hungarian mushroom soup recipe to serve up at your next party or for boxed lunches throughout the week. And can we all agree that homemade soup is 1000x better than mushroom soup in a can? All that’s missing is fresh crusty bread, and you’ve got a full-on comforting meal. Bonus points if you serve it with homemade focaccia.
Soul-Warming Hungarian Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons of salted butter
- 1 ½ cups white onions chopped
- 1 lb. mushrooms sliced (use crimini, button, etc.)
- 2 teaspoons dried dill weed
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme optional
- 1 teaspoon dried mushroom powder optional
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 2 ½ cups low sodium chicken stock or vegetable
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce low sodium
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup half and half or whole milk
- ⅓ cup creme fraiche or sour cream, room temp
- 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
- SAUTE: In a dutch oven or soup pot, saute the onions and mushrooms in the butter over medium heat for 5 minutes. Then, season with dill, thyme, and paprika and allow the mushrooms and onions to continue cooking for an additional 7-10 minutes, stirring often. Sprinkle the grated garlic and mushroom powder 30 seconds before the mushrooms are done.
- WHISK: Then, slowly pour in the chicken stock, soy sauce, and lemon juice and scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen anything that might be stuck on. Allow the soup to gain a simmer and then let cook and reduce for 5 minutes. While the soup is reducing, whisk together the milk and flour in a small bowl until smooth (you can also just shake it all in a mason jar.) Then pour the mixture into the soup and continue to cook the soup for 8-10 minutes, or until the soup thickens, stirring as required.
- FINISH: Remove the soup from heat. Stir the soup while you add in the sour cream slowly and allow for it to mix. Sprinkle with parsley to finish and serve warm with grilled bread rubbed with a clove of cut garlic!
Notes
- Mushroom powder adds a ton of umami to this soup recipe. It really amps up the mushroom flavor so I prefer to use it. However, I know it can be difficult to find so it is an optional ingredient. But I urge you to try and find it if you can, it really kicks this soup into high gear. I found one at Trader Joes that works well, powder porcini or shiitake mushroom is also easily available on Amazon and if all else fails, use Better Than Bouillon mushroom base.
- See post for added instructions on how to keep the sour cream from curdling if you’re worried about that.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
To make this veggie-friendly, I used half cup coconut cream and half cup of non-dairy milk as a substitute for the heavy cream and veg broth instead of chicken and it turned out wonderfully!
Wondering if you think this would freeze well?
Can this be freeze dried?
Very delicious. I did make some changes.
After the Onions and mushrooms cooked down, I deglazed with white wine. Simmered for a bit to reduce. Then I added the flour and allowed that to cook to get the flour taste out, then I added the stock. I didn’t have mushroom powder but I did have mushroom boullion so I used that along with chicken boullion. I didn’t use as much cream but added more Sour cream. I used a variety of Mushrooms that I could find. Shiitake, Oyster, king Oyster and creminis. Delicious.
I made this to use some of the Hungarian Sweet Paprika that I brought home from Budapest. It was really delicious and one I know I’ll make many more times.
Excellent recipe. Definitely a keeper. We enjoyed it very much!
I NEVER leave a comment but this soup was amazing! I didn’t even use mushroom powder or creme fraiche and it was still delicious. I love a good mushroom soup but I don’t think I can go back to boring ones! Thank you
We wanted a mushroom soup with some punch, and this fits the bill. Both of us love it! Only one quibble: the prep time is a good bit longer than as listed.
Absolutely delicious !! Will make this again and again. Thank you
I’m salivating; I want to make this soup. Are there any alternatives to the flour? Many of us are gluten free due to Celiac. How would almond flour work in this recipe? Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
Fantastic recipe! It has a complex flavor profile and is hearty and satisfying without being too rich. This is worth trying if you’re a skeptic, but I can tell you I make it quite frequently. It’s fairly quick and easy to put together and is even better the next day!
I meant to add that I used smoked paprika this last time and it was wonderful!
This is the nicest thing I’ve ever tasted. It is utterly delicious. I rarely follow recipes, I usually just wing it but I followed this recipe and used miso in place of mushroom powder. Incredible.
This is a great recipe. The paprika and other ingredients remind me of paprikash. I have found success in lightening it up a bit with reduced fat half and half and sour cream.
Oh. My god. This might be the best soup I’ve ever made. I used the truffle powder from Trader Joe’s, and subbed Worcestershire for soy sauce. Crazy delicious! I recommend doubling the batch.
So delicious! Simple, elegant, and completely wonderful! Thank you for this fantastic recipe!
Excellent recipe! I just made this, and it is DIVINE. Its single digit cold weather where I’m at, and this delicious soup is really hitting the spot! A really well put together, straight forward recipe that is accompanied by beautiful photography that really motivates you to make the recipe – great job!
I made this soup a couple of months ago and it was so incredible, I’m making it again today. I did, however, use double cream instead of milk/half and half to make it that bit thicker.
This really is soup for the soul. Thank you for posting your recipe.
Thank you thank you thank you! This is the 2nd time I’ve made this soup. I absolutely love it! My swaps (just cuz its what I had on hand):
Better Than Bullion mushroom base I stead of chicken broth
Liquid aminos instead of soy sauce
Almond flour instead of regular ap flour.
This is absolutely the very best soup I’ve ever made. I’m so excited to make it multiple times throughout the long cold Oklahoma winter
This was absolutely magnificent. I baked a fresh loaf of bread to accompany the wonderful soup. I’ll definitely be making this recipe again.
I love this soup and want to make it again. I wondered if I can freeze it, perhaps before adding the milk and flour and before adding the sour cream?
Ok, I never do this ever! This soup is amazing. I first saw it on TikTok and it looked good. I searched and your recipe came up. I’ve made this several times and without fail everyone loves it. So good with the Unami powder (Amazon)! I didn’t change a thing except after the first time I always double the recipe so we have leftovers! So good paired with a crusty garlic bread for dipping! Perfect