Cream of mushroom soup with the Thermomix® is on the table in 20 minutes, and the key difference happens right at the start: we sweat the onion and butter first, before the mushrooms go in. That one step is missing from almost every other Thermomix® recipe for this soup, and it is exactly what gives the flavour depth rather than flatness.
With 400 g of mushrooms, 500 g of vegetable stock and 200 g of crème fraîche, this soup is considerably more substantial than the typical Cookidoo® or community versions, which usually only use water, stock paste and 45 to 50 g of cream. That makes it a proper filling main for four people, not just a small starter. It goes nicely with fresh bread, or alongside a second pot of our tomato cream soup for a small soup spread.
Cream of Mushroom Soup with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 12 ✓
- 1 onion
- 20 g butter
- 400 g mushrooms
- 500 g vegetable stock
- 200 g milk
- 50 g flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 200 g crème fraîche
- 1 tbsp mixed herbs frozen
- 1/2 bunch parsley
Instructions 0 / 6
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1
Onion.
Peel the onion, place it in the mixing bowl and chop for 5 seconds / speed 5. Scrape down with the spatula.
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2
Butter.
Add the butter and cook for 3 minutes / Varoma / speed 1.
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3
Mushrooms.
Meanwhile, wash and clean the mushrooms and cut them into pieces.
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4
Cook.
Add the mushrooms, stock, milk, flour, salt, pepper and lemon juice to the mixing bowl and cook for 10 minutes / 90°C / reverse direction / speed 2. Then blend, gradually increasing to speed 6.
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5
Warm through.
Add the crème fraîche and herbs and heat for 4 minutes / 90°C / reverse direction / speed 1.
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6
Serve.
Wash the parsley and pick off the leaves. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve garnished with parsley.
Tip: Fry a few mushroom slices in a pan and use them to garnish the soup. If you prefer a finer texture, blend the soup in step 4 up to speed 8.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why the butter and onion base makes all the difference
Most Thermomix® mushroom soups simply add all ingredients cold to the mixing bowl and cook from there. We do it differently, and for a specific reason.
- Sweat the onion and butter first. The onion is chopped for 5 seconds at speed 5, then 20 g of butter goes in and the two cook together for 3 minutes at Varoma on speed 1. In those three minutes the onion loses its sharpness and releases a gentle sweetness that cold blending never achieves. That is exactly the step the Cookidoo® and recipe-site versions skip.
- Vegetable stock instead of stock paste and water. 500 g of ready-made vegetable stock brings its own salt, vegetables and savouriness. With stock paste in water you end up adding more salt and the soup often tastes one-dimensional. If you do not have stock, use 500 g of water plus 1 heaped teaspoon of vegetable stock paste as a substitute.
- Reverse direction during cooking protects the mushroom pieces. The soup cooks for 10 minutes at 90°C on reverse direction at speed 2. Reverse direction stirs without breaking up the mushrooms, so you control exactly how smooth the finished soup is when you blend it afterwards.
For a more intense flavour, fry 50 g of the mushrooms separately in a pan first. Pan-fried mushrooms develop roasted notes that the Thermomix® alone cannot create, because the mixing bowl does not sear at high heat. That is the honest limitation of the machine at this point, and it takes just two minutes in a pan to get around it.
Common pitfalls with mushroom soup and how we avoid them
Lumps of flour in the soup
Tipping 50 g of flour into hot liquid quickly leads to lumps. Our solution: The flour goes into the mixing bowl together with the cold vegetable stock and milk, before any heat is applied. It dissolves evenly as everything warms up, and blending up to speed 6 afterwards takes care of any remaining traces. Never add the flour to liquid that is already boiling.
Watery mushroom flavour
Mushrooms are about 92 percent water. Use too much liquid and you get a thin soup with no real mushroom character. Our solution: With 400 g of mushrooms we stick to 500 g of stock and 200 g of milk, no more. The 200 g of crème fraîche adds extra body. If the soup does turn out too thin, cook it without the lid measuring cup for 2 to 3 minutes at 100°C on speed 1 to reduce it slightly.
Crème fraîche splitting
Acidic dairy products can curdle if exposed to too much heat. Our solution: The 200 g of crème fraîche goes in only at the end and is warmed for just 4 minutes at 90°C on reverse direction at speed 1, not boiled. At 90°C rather than 100°C the soup stays silky and does not separate.
Three variations we make regularly
- With processed cheese for extra creaminess: The official Cookidoo® version optionally adds 40 g of processed cheese. We add it together with the crème fraîche in the final warming step. It rounds the soup out further and gives a gentle cheesy note.
- With bacon or fried chicken: Crispy bacon or fried chicken breast strips on top turn this into a substantial meal. Cook both in a pan while the soup runs in the Thermomix®. Classic parallel cooking: one machine simmers, the pan sears.
- With nutmeg, thyme and a splash of white wine: A freshly grated pinch of nutmeg and a little thyme lift the mushroom flavour. A splash of white wine adds acidity and depth. Simply add the wine along with the 500 g of stock in the cooking step. The alcohol cooks off in the 10 minutes.
Other soups that work beautifully in the mixing bowl
If the cream of mushroom soup goes down well, our other cream soups made with the Thermomix® are worth a look. Our broccoli cream soup follows the same principle, with the vegetables blended directly in the mixing bowl. Our potato soup becomes creamy from floury potatoes alone, without any cream. And our cauliflower soup is the gentler option for days when you want something simple.
Make ahead, reheat and freeze
The soup keeps well in a sealed container for up to 3 days in the fridge. To reheat, simply return it to the mixing bowl and heat for 5 minutes at 90°C on speed 1. That way the crème fraîche will not separate.
When it comes to freezing, we should be honest: cream soups with crème fraîche can split slightly on thawing and lose some of their texture. If you want to freeze the soup, it is better to cook it without the crème fraîche, freeze it in portions for up to 3 months, and stir in the crème fraîche only after thawing, while reheating. That keeps the consistency intact.
Frequently asked questions about cream of mushroom soup
Goes well with: Baguette, Ciabatta and bread rolls.
