This creamy mushroom and leek soup is the perfect winter warmer. It's easy to make and great for lunch or as a starter for your next dinner party. With buttery leeks and earthy mushrooms, this soup is rich, creamy and delicious.
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I have been making this soup on repeat lately, it's the perfect warming soup for when the temperatures drop. My whole family loves it and I just can't make enough of it right now.
Leeks are a great winter vegetable and add so much flavour to this soup. They're the perfect pairing to mushrooms with their earthy flavours. Try my Leek and Mushroom Pasta for another great way to use leeks!
🛒 What You'll Need
- Mushrooms - I use a mix of large flat mushrooms and brown Chestnut button mushrooms, also known as cremini mushrooms. These mushrooms have more flavour than regular white mushrooms and if you can get them very fresh then even better.
- Leeks - You will need two medium leeks, look out for leeks that are firm and straight, they should not be limp or wilted in any way. Look out for leek with dark green leaves without any yellowing or brown spots. You can always use the green parts for making stock.
- Stock - I make the stock using two vegetable stock cubes, you can use low-sodium stock cubes if you prefer.
- Other vegetables - You will need one medium onion and one medium potato.
- Other ingredients - You will also need single cream, also known as half and half, garlic, fresh thyme, butter and salt and pepper.
🔪 How To Make Mushroom and Leek Soup
Please see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list and full instructions.
1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat, add the onion along with a small pinch of salt and cover with a lid. Sweat the onions until soft. Then add the leeks and garlic, stir well and cook until softened.
2. Next, add the mushrooms, stir well and cook for a few minutes.
3. Then add the potato and thyme, and stir well.
4. Finally, add the stock bring the pan to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 10 - 15 minutes or until the potato is cooked. Once cooked check the seasoning and blend with an immersion blender until the soup has a smooth texture. Remove the pan from the heat, pour in the cream stir well and return to the heat to bring the temperature of the soup back up again. Serve immediately. Garnish with a few fresh thyme leaves and freshly ground black pepper.
🔄 Substitution/Variations
- Add some wild mushrooms to the mushroom mix. If you do I would reduce the amount of chestnut mushrooms.
- If you want to make this vegan then use olive oil instead of butter and swap the cream for a plant-based cream.
- For an extra-rich soup add double cream (heavy cream) instead of single cream.
- White pepper works really well with mushrooms so you could also swap the black pepper for white.
- We love this as it is but you could add some grated cheese when you serve it, I would add some grated Itallion hard cheese, such as Grano Padano.
- A little finely grated truffle would also work really well on this soup when serving it.
👩🍳 Top Tips
- If you can get your mushrooms as fresh as possible then the soup will have even more flavour.
- I brush my mushrooms clean rather than washing them, this just stops the mushrooms from absorbing water.
- I recommend using a large heavy bottom saucepan for this soup.
💭 FAQs
Yes, you can, freeze this soup once it is blended but before you add the cream. Cream runs the risk of splitting once frozen to avoid this add the cream once the soup has been thawed out and has been reheated.
Due to the cream, this soup should be consumed within 3 days.
Yes, swap the butter for olive oil and the cream for a plant-based cream. Also, make sure your stock is vegan too.
🍲 More Tasty Soup Recipes
- Potato and Leek Soup Recipe - This creamy Vegan Potato and Leek Soup is warming, filling and delicious. Buttery leeks with delicate herbs and creamy potatoes make this soup perfectly creamy and it tastes amazing.
- Potato and Parsnip Soup - This creamy soup is rich, filling and delicious. Made with just a few simple ingredients this soup is perfect for when the weather gets cooler.
- Spiced Carrot and Lentil Soup - Packed with carrots and red lentils this soup is like a lovely hug in a bowl! Cosy, warming, filling and easy to make, it's the perfect soup for chilly days.
- Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup - Made with just a few ingredients you can have this delicious, warmly spiced, Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup on the table in no time! It's so easy to make, tasty, filling and vegan!
Leek and Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 25 g butter (2 tbsps)
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 medium leeks dark green part removed, then sliced
- 250 g flat mushrooms (2 large mushrooms) wiped clean then roughly chopped
- 300 g (3 cups of whole mushrooms) Chestnut mushrooms wiped clean and roughly chopped, chestnut mushrooms are also known as crimini mushrooms or simply brown mushrooms
- 1 clove of garlic finely minced or put through a garlic press
- 900 ml (4 cups) vegetable stock made with 2 stock cubes
- 1 medium potato peeled and cut into small cubes
- ½ tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 150 ml (⅔ cup) single cream (light cream in the US)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the chopped onion and a small pinch of salt, then cover and sweat over low to medium heat until the onion is softened, stirring occasionally. This will take about 10 - 15 minutes.
- Once the onion has softened add the sliced leeks and the garlic, Cook for about 5 - 10 minutes until the leeks are soft and buttery.
- Next, add all the mushrooms, stir well then cook for about 3 -4 minutes before adding the thyme and chopped potato.Stir well then add the stock. Season with salt adn black pepperBring the soup to a boil then reduce and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes, until the potato is cooked.
- Once the potato is cooked blend the soup with a hand-held blender until smooth. Check the seasoning now and add more salt or pepper if needed.Remove the pan from the heat then pour in the cream. Stir well so that the cream is fully incorporated into the soup. Return the pan to the heat and bring the soup up to a simmer. Serve immediately with some good crusty bread.
Notes
- Storage/Freezing - This soup can be kept for 3 days in the fridge. If you wish to freeze this then do not add the cream, add the cream once the soup has been defrosted.
- Mushrooms - I used a mix of brown mushrooms and flat mushrooms you can swap in other mushrooms if you wish.
- Sodium - If you would like to reduce the amount of sodium in this recipe I would use a very low-sodium stock or stock cubes.
- Nutritional Information - All nutritional information shared is an estimate based on third-party calculations. If calorie count and/or nutritional values are important to you, we recommend putting the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary depending on which brands were used. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
- Weights and measurements - For US readers, I use Cuisipro measuring cups and spoons, and a Pyrex measuring jug for liquids. These are the industry standard. Cup/spoon volumes can differ from brand to brand, for accuracy, I recommend weighing all ingredients if possible for the best results.
Nisal Nisanthra DeSilva
mmm this was so delicious and creamy