Vegan Mushroom Soup with Tarragon

This vegan mushroom soup is healthy, filling, and packed full of flavour. Featuring tarragon and wholegrain mustard, it makes for a delicious lunch or light dinner that's low-fat, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

I'm not sure when or why I started playing around with tarragon as an ingredient in mushroom soup, but I'm glad I did. There's something about the combination of flavours that has me absolutely hooked.

If you're a tarragon fan – or want to experiment more with it – you should also take a look at this creamy tempeh pasta, mushroom and tarragon couscous, and broccoli and potato soup.

Is mushroom soup healthy?

Mushroom and tarragon soup is a very healthy option for a light lunch or appetiser. Edible mushrooms are virtually fat-free, low in calories, and contain varying degrees of protein and fibre.

In one serving of this recipe you’ll find:

• Calories: 159 kcal
• Vitamin D: 19 µg (127% of RDA)
• Potassium: 1004 mg (29% of RDA)

Mushrooms also contain B vitamins as well as a powerful antioxidant called selenium, which helps to support the immune system and prevent damage to cells and tissues.

Which mushrooms are best for making soup?

I've used chestnut (or cremini) mushrooms in this recipe, but you could use closed cup, button, or portobello (these are all just variants of the same agaricus bisporus family). In fact, I've used a mix in this recipe for vegan cream of mushroom soup.

One of the main differences I've noticed is the colour of the final soup. Portobello mushrooms will likely result in a darker soup, whereas chestnut mushrooms will probably give you a lighter brown soup.

Either way, you'll get the best results from mushrooms that are nice and fresh. If you have an abundance of fancier wild mushrooms to hand, by all means pair them with the tarragon in this recipe and let me know what you think! Alternatively, throw them into this creamy vegan mushroom pasta.

What you'll need

This hearty mushroom soup uses simple ingredients from the plant and fungi kingdoms. You'll need:

• Fresh mushrooms as the star of the show
• Leeks and garlic to create the base
• Dried tarragon for its distinctive taste
• Depth of flavour in the form of bay leaves, nutritional yeast, and wholegrain mustard

How to make vegan mushroom soup with tarragon

Heat the oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add the sliced leeks and cook for 4-5 minutes or until starting to soften, stirring regularly (1).

Once the leeks have started to soften, add the chopped garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Next, add the mushrooms and cook for 7-8 minutes or until they begin to soften (2). There will be some liquid from the mushrooms, so it can help to turn up the heat here to really get them going.

Once soft, add in the tarragon, bay leaves, wholegrain mustard, and vegan stock (3). If using nutritional yeast, also add this.

Season well with salt and pepper, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, add the plant-based milk and adjust the seasoning. Simmer for another couple of minutes.

Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves, and blitz using a hand blender. You could also transfer to a larger, more powerful blender (working in batches if necessary).

Tips for thickening mushroom soup

• Less liquid: If you want to make sure you have a thick soup, don’t use all the stock at the start. If the soup is too thick after blending, you can simply add a little more liquid at that point.
• Potato: Cut one or two medium potatoes into 1 cm chunks and add to the pan along with the stock. The total cooking time for this recipe will increase by around 10 minutes, at which point you should be able to easily pierce the potatoes with a knife.
• Cornflour (cornstarch): To thicken with cornflour, combine equal parts of this with cold water in a separate jug or bowl before adding. Start with 2 tablespoons and increase from there if necessary.

Serving suggestions

I like this soup with chopped fresh parsley and crusty bread. You could also drizzle over extra-virgin olive oil, or stir through some homemade cashew cream, plant-based crème fraiche, or super seed mix.

If you really want to mix it up, try stirring through a delicious dollop of homemade pesto and sprinkling with pine nuts or roasted squash seeds.

Variations and tips

• Fresh tarragon: If using fresh tarragon, the general rule is to use approx. three times as much as dried. So in this case, approx. three tablespoons of chopped fresh tarragon.
• Nutritional yeast: This is optional, but I love the cheesy umami flavour it adds to soups. It’s also a good source of vitamin B12.
• Plant-based milk: My personal preferences would be oat, cashew, or soya milk. You could also try tinned coconut milk, but just be aware that this will significantly increase the fat and saturated fat in the recipe.

Hey you – let me know what you think

If you made this recipe and enjoyed it – or did anything differently – I'd love to hear from you down below in the comments 👇

You can also find me and let me know on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook @thepeskyvegan 🌿

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You can also check out my full list of vegan soup recipes.