Hungarian Mushroom Soup is serious comfort eats! Rich, earthy flavors combine with fresh herbs in a velvety cream base to create this deeply satisfying, umami-intense cold-weather soup! Ready to serve in about 40 minutes!
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What's the Story Behind this Recipe?
A decade or two ago, there used to be a lovely little tea room in our town that served an absolutely stellar Hungarian Mushroom Soup. On Mushroom Soup days, the whole place filled with its rich, earthy aroma; and try as I might, I could never bring myself order anything else. Their mushroom soup was just that good.
Inspired, I set out to create my own version of this cozy, umami-rich soup. To start, I took my cues from Mollie Katzen's recipe by the same name in her original Moosewood Cookbook. Over the years, I've adjusted and adapted the recipe so many times it now barely resembles the original; however, I still like to give credit where it's due - so thank you, Mollie!
Why You Will Love this Recipe
Hungarian Mushroom Soup utilizes a wonderful combination of ingredients that are common to Hungarian cuisine; including dill, sour cream, and Hungarian paprika. The result is a velvety, robust soup that is elegant enough for company, and easy enough for a weeknight meal.
In fact, one of our favorite things about this mushroom soup recipe is how fast it all comes together and how dependable the results are. The recipe itself is as simple as sautéing the mushrooms and onions, adding a few more ingredients, and then giving everything a little time to simmer. You can easily have a satisfying meal on the table in 40 minutes, with very little effort.
What Goes into this Recipe
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Onion: We usually use a plain old yellow onion for this soup, but a sweet onion will also work.
- Butter: We use salted butter. If you use unsalted butter, you will likely need to add additional salt when you season it to taste before serving.
- Mushrooms: Use fresh, firm, high-quality mushrooms. We prefer to use crimini mushrooms; or a combination of crimini, portobello, and white (button) mushrooms.
- Paprika: A good, high-quality paprika is at the heart of this whole mushroom soup recipe. For this soup, we suggest using a sweet, mild Hungarian Paprika. Properly stored, ground paprika will generally retain its full flavor for 3 to 4 years. (See FAQs for more info about paprika)
- Dill: For this mushroom soup recipe, you want to use the dill leaves, or fronds. You can use dried dill for this recipe, but the dill flavor isn't as fresh or pronounced.
- The useable parts of a dill stem can be separated into two distinct parts: the fronds and the heads.
- Fronds refers to the delicate, fern-like leaves of the dill plant.
- Heads refers to the umbrella-shaped, flowering seed heads. (Dill seeds are a product of the flowering dill head.)
- The useable parts of a dill stem can be separated into two distinct parts: the fronds and the heads.
- Wine: Use a light white wine, like Pinot Grigio, Riesling, or Sauvingnon Blanc. If you prefer to avoid wine altogether, substitute light white grape juice.
- Broth: Use a high-quality chicken or vegetable broth. (Our homemade chicken broth at half-strength works perfectly with this recipe.)
- Dairy: Cozy comfort food is rarely low-fat. We suggest using real half-and-half and regular sour cream for this soup!
How to Make this Recipe
Sauté the Onions & Mushrooms
In a large heavy saucepan or enameled cast iron Dutch oven, sauté onions in butter over MEDIUM, stirring frequently, until they are translucent and begin taking on a slight golden color; about 8-10 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and sauté 3-4 minutes more.
Cook Down the Mushroom Base
Reduce heat to LOW, and add the paprika, half of the fresh dill, wine, and soy sauce. Stir to mix, cover, and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat, and add remaining butter to mushroom mixture. Stir to melt the butter.
Sprinkle flour over mushroom mixture and stir to thicken.
Simmer & Finish
Add half-&-half and stock all at once, stirring until smooth, and then season to taste. I usually add a little more paprika at this time.
Turn the heat back to LOW-LOW, cover and simmer 10 minutes, then remove from heat. (Do not boil!!!)
If you prefer a creamier, more velvety soup, use an immersion blender at this time to smooth things out a bit. If you choose to blend the soup, don't go crazy: leave some larger, meaty pieces of mushroom or texture and bite. (This step is totally optional. If you like a chunky mushroom soup, leave it as is.)
Just before serving, stir in the lemon juice and sour cream.
To serve, garnish with additional sour cream and chopped fresh dill.
Expert Tips & FAQs
For a more complex mushroom profile, we recommend using a combination of mushrooms. Crimini, portobello, and white button mushrooms make an excellent combo.
It isn't necessary, however, to have a bunch of different types of mushrooms; use what you can find. We often make this soup with exclusively crimini mushrooms with great results.
The best and easiest way to clean mushrooms is brush each one carefully with a mushroom brush or a damp paper towel. If the mushrooms are very dirty, go ahead and quickly rinse them, and then dry them off immediately.
It is best to clean mushrooms right before you plan to use them. Mushrooms get slimy if you wash them with water and allow them to set.
Mushrooms can soak in a lot of water, which will dilute the flavor as you try to cook them down, so you never want to submerge them in water or hold them under running water to clean them. If they are waterlogged, they won't sear they way you want them to.
For a sweet, mild Hungarian paprika is the classic (and best) choice. Our favorite paprika to use when making this mushroom soup is a Hungarian Különleges paprika; a deep, bright red paprika with a very sweet flavor. (If you prefer your mushroom soup a little spicier, try this amazing Hungarian Sweet & Spicy Paprika!)
When making Hungarian Mushroom soup, it is best to avoid using Spanish paprikas if possible. These are made from a slightly different type of pepper than Hungarian varieties, and in this case, its smoky flavor profile is not the paprika you're looking for.
Paprika, at its core, is simply sweet pepper pods that have been ground into the iconic bright red powder we all know and love. It is believed to have originated in Hungary as early as the 15th century, and is today a defining flavor of Hungarian cuisine.
Paprika comes in colors varying from a flaming orange-red to dark crimson, with the flavors ranging sweet to hot, and mild to bitter.
Serving Suggestions
We usually serve mushroom soup with a warm slice of crusty bread for an easy, satisfying lunch or dinner. It is such a hearty bowl of soup that you really don't need anything else. However, if you want to round out the meal, opt for something crusty with a bite, like a grilled sandwich or a robust salad.
More Hearty Soup Recipes
Soup is one of our specialties! Be sure to check out these other deliciously satisfying cold-weather soup recipes!
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Hungarian Mushroom Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large onion chopped
- ¼ cup butter divided
- 1 pound mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika we usually use a little more
- ¼ cup chopped fresh dill divided [or 2 teaspoons dried dill]
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 cup white wine
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup half-&-half
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup vegetable broth or chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ¼ cup sour cream
- Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
Garnish
- sour cream or crème fraîche
- shopped fresh dill
Instructions
- In a large heavy saucepan or enameled cast iron Dutch oven, sauté onions in butter over MEDIUM, stirring frequently, until they are translucent and begin taking on a slight golden color; about 8-10 minutes.Add the mushrooms and sauté 3-4 minutes more.
- Reduce heat to LOW, and add the paprika, half of the fresh dill, wine, and soy sauce. Stir to mix, cover, and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat, and add remaining butter to mushroom mixture. Stir to melt the butter. Sprinkle flour over mushroom mixture and stir to thicken.
- Add half-&-half and stock all at once, stirring until smooth, and then season to taste. I usually add a little more paprika at this time.Turn the heat back to LOW-LOW, cover and simmer 10 minutes, then remove from heat.
- (Optional) If you prefer a creamier soup, you can use an immersion blender at this time to smooth things out a bit. If you choose to blend the soup, don't go crazy: leave some larger, meaty pieces of mushroom or texture and bite.
- Just before serving, stir in lemon juice and sour cream.Garnish with additional sour cream and chopped fresh dill.
Notes
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
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Recipe Updated September 23, 2021 (Originally published September 18, 2014.)
A Parr says
Cooked this soup last night and everyone went back for refills. The color was not quite as yellow but the flavor was amazing. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe.
Renée ♥ says
So glad you liked it!
Annie @ ciaochowbambina says
I really love mushroom soup and the color on this is gorgeous!
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
This looks so very tasty, can't wait for the weather to get a bit cooler so I can cook up a bowl. Yum. PINNED
Susan@LunaCafe says
Beautiful! The paprika really lifts the color (and I'm sure the flavor too). Can't wait to try this version.
Shinee says
You got me at mushroom and soup! Love them both. Can't wait to try this recipe, sounds comforting!
Christie says
I love the sounds of this soup. It sounds so luxurious and delicious. Can't wait to try it.
Andrea says
Dear Renée!
The recipe is good! But sorry, but the soy sauce isn't hungarian spice. (I'am a hungarian, hungry woman). 😀 Have a nice day!
Renée ♥ says
I totally agree, but it seems to work for this recipe, so there you go. It was in the original that I references from the Moosewood Cookbook. Neither this one nor that claim to be authentically Hungarian, any more than your average corner Chinese place claims to be authentically Chinese.
Cece Leskova says
This soup looks divine! I'm a huge fan of mushrooms, so I'm eager to try this out!!
Lily Lau says
Why I had to see this now? I totally feel like that soup right now and my country's in summertime still!
Tracy says
We have a pot of soup going all the time, literally. I have found broth and soup to be very healing. It's wonderful to see you writing about it. This recipe looks delicious!
Melinda says
I'm not really a mushroom person, but this is such a lovely looking soup that it may make me change my ways!
kelsey says
this is actually one of my favorite soups and recipes! love the original recipe from the moosewood!
ladies in navy
Aubrie LeGault says
Way to make Hungarian Soup look good in a photo...that's hard to do. 😉
Renée ♥ says
From a talented photog like yourself, that is such a compliment. Thanks, Aubrie. 🙂
Lindsay says
I love mushroom soup- this sounds great!
Caitlin says
I will DEFINITELY be trying this recipe this season! Mushroom soup is one of my favorites 🙂