Allergy Free Cream of Mushroom Soup

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Allergy-Friendly Cream of Mushroom Soup (no dairy, eggs, gluten, or soy)

 

A few months ago, a reader asked me to come up with an allergen-free version of her favorite baked casserole, which was dependant on Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup. I told her to sit tight, I’d get to it, and made a mental note to come up with a substitute for condensed soup. So when “alleycat” challenged me to come up with Cream of Mushroom Soup on my Food Allergy Recipe Challenge over at Martha Stewart’s Whole Living Daily, I jumped at the opportunity to work on two requests at once.

I guess I bargained that on some subconscious level, I’d been working on the recipe for several months already. Thankfully, I was right, and the soup is truly delicious. The challenge here was to replicate the creaminess of cream (and oftentimes, egg yolks) that cream of mushroom soup is dependent upon. Also, I needed to find an alternative to all-purpose wheat flour, which is the traditional thickening agent. Luckily, tapioca starch/flour is a great gluten-free thickener, and quick-cooking tapioca can create the richness, and texture of the cream and eggs. I left this recipe kid-friendly in flavor, but if you like, feel free to top off each bowl with a Tablespoon of dry sherry, and a sprig of fresh thyme.

Allergy-Friendly Cream of Mushroom Soup

MAKES FOUR 1/2 cup SERVINGS

Even mushroom haters will like this creamy soup. It tastes like childhood, and stands the test of time. Feel free to double the proportions for heartier servings. Serve with a salad and some gluten-free bread, and you’ve got a winner of a lunch.

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 Tablespoons finely minced shallots
  • 1/2 lb. mushrooms, chopped (I use half button mushrooms, half crimini mushrooms)
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 Tablespoons tapioca starch/flour
  • 2 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth or vegetable broth (Kitchen Basics broths are allergen-free)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
  • 1/2 cup rice milk

1. Heat olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add shallots and mushrooms, and cook, stirring often, 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cook 5 minutes more, until mushrooms are a rich golden brown, and aromatic.

2. Add dried thyme and tapioca starch/flour, and stir well to coat mushrooms. Reduce heat to low, and cook, scraping bottom of pot often, 5 minutes. Break up any clumps that may form. Add 2 cups of the chicken broth, salt, and a few turns of freshly ground pepper. Stir well, and increase heat to medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low again, and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Bring remaining 1/2 cup of the chicken broth to a boil (I boil it in the microwave in a glass pyrex measuring cup, but you can also use a small sauce pan).

4. Add quick-cooking tapioca and boiling chicken broth to the pot. Cook at a low simmer, until the tapioca is completely clear, stirring often. Add the rice milk, and puree in a blender, or using a hand blender. Heat soup through, and serve.

Allergy-Friendly Cream of Mushroom Soup © 2010 by Cybele Pascal

(Please note that all my recipes are completely free of all top allergens (wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, fish, shellfish, and gluten), so as many people as possible can enjoy them.  Additionally, all the ingredients are available at Whole Foods, and online at Amazon.com. If you have trouble finding something, let me know and I’ll help you find it.)

 

SAFETY NOTE: Because each person’s food sensitivity and reaction is unique, ranging from mild intolerance to life-threatening and severe food allergies, it is up to the consumer to monitor ingredients and manufacturing conditions. If manufacturing conditions, potential cross contact between foods, and ingredient derivatives pose a risk for you, please re-read all food labels and call the manufacturer to confirm potential allergen concerns BEFORE consumption. Ingredients and manufacturing practices can change overnight and without warning.

13 Responses

  1. Michelle says:

    This sounds great, but vegan means it contains no animal byproducts. This is made with chicken broth. Any alternatives?

  2. admin says:

    Hi Michelle: So sorry, that was an oversight. I’m multi-tasking! You can easily use kitchen basics vegetable broth http://www.kitchenbasics.net/display.cfm?p=71&pp=16&ppp=3 thanks for pointing it out to me.

  3. Claire says:

    Hmm… I have everything except quick-cooking tapioca. Can I leave that out or substitute something else? I’d like to make this for dinner tonight!

  4. Hi Claire:

    You can try just subbing more tapioca starch. It’s very similar. It may not have exactly the same consistency, but should still work. Add a little at a time.

    enjoy!

    Cybele

  5. Claire says:

    Hi again!

    Made the soup as you suggested, with a little extra tapioca flour instead of the quick-cooking tapioca, and it turned out beautifully. I also added a clove of garlic at the beginning, and blended a little parsley in at the end, and an extra cup or so of chicken broth. I didn’t blend it as smooth as yours because my husband insisted there be some chunks of mushroom in it. We had it for dinner with some bread and my picky 3-year old ate it up in no time!

    Thanks for an excellent dairy-free recipe – it’s so hard to make good DF mushroom soup!

  6. roclafamilia says:

    Helpful blog, bookmarked the website with hopes to read more!

  7. Sheri says:

    I used 2 TB instant tapioca and it turned out perfectly. I just omitted the additional 2 tb at the end of the recipe.

  8. […] or wheat, or nuts, etc.  I finally got around to trying the recipe Cybele Pascal posted online (full recipe here).  I couldn’t find “quick cooking tapioca” so I used regular tapioca pearls and […]

  9. Homa says:

    Just made a quadruple batch and it turned out great as always!

  10. Diane says:

    Has anyone tried to freeze this? I would like to have some on hand for casseroles.

    Today is the first time I’ve seen this site and I am dying to have a cookbook now. 🙂 I did bookmark this page until I get one. I liked that you tried to be kid friendly. I have a favorite allergen free blogger that is not especially kid friendly, and it will be nice to have another place to look for recipes that my kids may not turn their noses up at. Picky eaters are so challenging!

    Thanks for a helpful site!

  11. […] adapted from original recipe: Cybele Pascal, Allergen-Free Cuisine, 10.8.2010 […]

  12. […] Allergy Free Cream of Mushroom Soup (no dairy, eggs, gluten, or soy) from Cybele Pascal […]

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