Mushroom and Walnut Soup

Thick and creamy, this nourishing mushroom and walnut soup is made without any dairy. It’s super filling, and a steaming hot bowl of this soup will warm you from the inside out on a cold winters day.

This healthy mushroom soup recipe is filling, comforting, and full of goodness. The walnuts make the soup thick and creamy without the need for flour or dairy, and it can easily be adapted to make it gluten free and vegan.

Jump to:

• Ingredients Notes and Substitutions
• How to make this creamy mushroom walnut soup
• FAQ
• My Recipe Tips
• Storage
• Serving Ideas
• Using up leftovers
• More dairy free soup recipes
• Mushroom and Walnut Soup

Ingredients Notes and Substitutions

• Mushrooms – I often use white cup mushrooms as they tend to be the cheapest, however you can also use swiss brown mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, or a combination.
• Leek – this provides a mild onion flavour, but if you don’t have any leeks, you can make this soup with a small brown onion instead.
• Walnuts – they provide the rich creamy texture that dairy would to this soup.
• Stock – I like to use chicken or vegetable stock, or boiling water mixed with a stock cube works when you have no stock to hand.
• Worcestershire sauce – this fermented English condiment with a unique flavour that adds a unami flavour to the soup. It is not suitable for vegetarians or vegans, and is not always gluten free. Substitute a small splash of soy sauce instead (being aware some stocks are salty), or leave out altogether.

How to make this creamy mushroom walnut soup

(Please note the full recipe, in detail, is written in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)

1. Cook the leek until soft.
2. Add celery then add mushrooms and turn heat up to brown the mushrooms.
3. Add the stock and Worcestershire sauce, if using.
4. Add the walnuts and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Blend until smooth.

FAQ

My Recipe Tips

• Brown the mushrooms – this adds extra flavour to the soup.
• If you don’t have enough walnuts, you can make the soup with half walnuts and half almonds (roughly chop the almonds before adding to the soup to help them soften.)
• For a tasty garnish: slice 2-3 mushrooms and fry until golden brown. Serve the soup topped with a couple of slices of mushroom.

Storage

• Fridge: keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Freezer: This soup will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months. Cool completely and then freeze in containers or portion out into ziplock bags for quicker defrosting. Defrost in the fridge overnight.

Serving Ideas

This soup is pretty filling, so I often serve it with a few oatcakes or sprinkled with homemade croutons, but if you wanted something extra on the side, it would go well with:

• Pomegranate rocket salad
• Air fryer garlic bread
• Vegetarian sausage rolls

Using up leftovers

• Leek – as well as the vegetarian sausage rolls above, these baby and toddler friendly leek and ricotta muffins also use half a leek. You can also cook the leek, freeze it, and then quickly defrost and add to another soup or sauce.
• Mushrooms – these crispy baked mushrooms are one of my favourite ways of using up mushrooms! As are these Spanish garlic mushrooms, which take minutes to make.
• Walnuts – try them in a salad or pesto

More dairy free soup recipes

This recipe was originally published June 2018 but has since been updated with new images and more information to help you make the best dairy free mushroom soup. The recipe remains the same.