When the temperature drops outside, we immediately turn to soup to warm us up. This Hungarian mushroom soup is for you if you (a) don’t want to wait all day for soup to simmer on the stove — the cook time is about 30 minutes total! — and (b) love both creamy, bright acidic flavors with unmistakable umami from earthy mushrooms.
It’s great because while, yes, this soup recipe is creamy, it’s not going to weigh you down. The majority of the liquid comes from chicken stock. There is milk and we’ll add sour cream at the end for that creamy texture, but it’s not as heavy as say clam chowder or a bisque (which we also love dearly!).
What makes this Hungarian versus regular mushroom soup? The use of sweet Hungarian paprika! In addition to amping up the flavor, it gives the mushroom soup that glorious, bold red color.
Who’s ready to make Hungarian mushroom soup?!
Ingredients For Hungarian Mushroom Soup
The soup begins with butter, onion, and lots of fresh mushrooms. They get seasoned with paprika and fresh dill. Make sure to use high quality mushrooms. What to look for: firm, dry, and not discolored.
Next, we’re adding soy sauce, chicken stock, dry white wine, and milk. Thicken the mushroom soup by adding a few tablespoons of all-purpose flour, then season generously with kosher salt and black pepper.
Just before serving, add fresh lemon juice and cool, creamy sour cream. Takes it over the top! While I’m usually a part-skim sour cream kinda gal, I really think the full fat sour cream is best here. Super luscious!
Optional garnishes: parsley, dill, additional sour cream, or crostini.
How To Make Hungarian Mushroom Soup
- Begin by melting butter in a large soup pot or dutch oven. Add thinly sliced onion, then sweat until translucent, ab out 5-7 minutes. Increase the heat, add mushrooms, then sauté until they turn golden brown, another 3-4 minutes.
- Add paprika and dill, then stir until fragrant.
- Add the liquid: chicken stock, milk, white wine, and soy sauce. Stir in the flour to thicken, then cook over a simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper, then add lemon juice and sour cream. Stir to combine and melt the sour cream, then serve immediately.
Tips For The Best Mushroom Soup
- Take the time to sweat the onions gently before cranking the heat up to sauté the mushrooms! The onions don’t need a ton of color, but we like the mushrooms to have a textural contrast and deep flavor.
- Don’t boil the soup after adding sour cream! The sour cream can curdle and become unpleasant if cooked over high heat for too long.
- Make sure to use fresh lemon juice. There’s no replacement for that fresh, vibrant acidity!
- Want to make a gluten-free version of Hungarian mushroom soup? Sub traditional all-purpose flour with your favorite alternative flour for thickening!
- Prefer a fully vegetarian soup? Switch from chicken stock to vegetable stock – easy!
Freezer-Friendly!
Soup is pretty much the most freezer-friendly food out there.
How to freeze soup (so there’s no freezer burn!) – Allow to cool completely, then transfer to a large gallon-size Ziploc bag. Seal, then freeze flat. Once frozen, you can store the frozen bag of soup on its side.
Alternatively, if you store the soup in a round, reusable, freezer-safe container. To reheat, simply run the sealed container under warm water for a few minutes to loosen the soup from the side. Invert open container over a soup pot till the frozen soup pops out, then reheat slowly over medium heat.
In either case, remove as much air as possible before sealing to prevent freezer burn. And P.S. don’t forget to label every item that goes into your freezer! Add the date, too. Trust us, it helps when you go freezer diving later.
Hungarian mushroom soup will keep in a freezer for up to 3 months when stored properly. You may want to add in a little additional sour cream when you reheat the soup to bring it back to life!
Variations and Substitutions on Hungarian Mushroom Soup
- Use any type of mushrooms you have on hand! Just slice them roughly the same size so they cook evenly.
- If you don’t have parsley or dill, try adding fresh thyme. Alternatively, dried herbs will work in a pinch!
- While sour cream is traditional in Hungarian mushroom soup, creme fraiche can be substituted if needed. It’ll add that same creaminess and burst of tangy acidity.
- We also love the idea of roasting the mushrooms and transforming this into a roasted mushroom soup! So good!
Crazy about mushrooms? Omg, us too! Definitely check out our mushrooms on toast and maitake mushrooms with ‘nduja. Both highlight the natural earthiness of mushrooms, which we are just crazy about. Full on umami!
If you make this Hungarian Mushroom Soup recipe, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below!
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For more cozy fall and winter dishes, check out the following:
- Braised beef short ribs
- Lamb ragu with mint and ricotta
- Butternut squash risotto
- Herb-scented mashed potatoes
- Creamy polenta with roasted mushrooms
Hungarian Mushroom Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 large onion thinly sliced
- 1 lb mushrooms such as shiitakes, creminis, or button mushrooms, cleaned, stems discarded, mushrooms thinly sliced, see note below
- 2 Tbsp fresh dill plus more for serving
- 1 Tbsp sweet paprika
- 2 cups chicken stock low-sodium
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup dry white wine such as Pinot Blanc
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce low-sodium
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ½ lemon juices, about 1 Tbsp
- ½ cup sour cream
- parsley for serving
- flaky sea salt for serving
- micro greens for sering, optional
Instructions
- Cook the veggies. Begin by melting butter in a large soup pot or dutch oven. Add thinly sliced onion, then sweat until translucent, ab out 5-7 minutes. Increase the heat, add mushrooms, then sauté until they turn golden brown, another 3-4 minutes.
- Add herbs and spices. Add paprika and dill, then stir until fragrant.
- Add the liquid. Pour in chicken stock, milk, white wine, and soy sauce. Stir in the flour to thicken, then cook over a simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Season and serve. Season with salt and pepper, then add lemon juice and sour cream. Stir to combine and melt the sour cream, then serve immediately.
Notes
- Use any mushrooms you like, but remove the stems and thinly slice so they cook evenly.
- Take the time to sweat the onions gently before cranking the heat up to sauté the mushrooms! The onions don’t need a ton of color, but we like the mushrooms to have a textural contrast and deep flavor.
- If you don’t have fresh dill, use thyme as a substitute.
- Don’t boil the soup after adding sour cream! The sour cream can curdle and become unpleasant if cooked over high heat for too long.
- Make sure to use fresh lemon juice. There’s no replacement for that fresh, vibrant acidity!
- To freeze: Allow to cool completely, then transfer to a large gallon-size Ziploc bag. Seal, then freeze flat. Once frozen, you can store the frozen bag of soup on its side.
Very tasty. Only had half the amount of white wine required, so I added Port…it did no harm !!
My only suggestion is that you put the herb options in the heart of the recipe.
I didn’t have fresh dill, so I used dry. Did have fresh thyme, but didn’t read note until I had savored your great recipe. Thank you
Yum, I bet Port was a great addition! Generally, I try to keep the recipe card simplified with additional details in the blog post, but I’ll add a note about thyme in the card as well. Thanks for the feedback and so glad you enjoyed! xo, Ari
Love it! My husband and I spent a few years living in Eastern Europe so we’re a bit picky when it comes to mushroom soups, but this was a total win. Really easy and so good!
Thanks, Morgan! I think the dill and sour cream give this soup such a distinguishable taste — it’s so good!! xo, Ari
Well this is damn delicious. This is where mushroom and dill lovers’ dreams come true! I made this for baby prep and froze it. It made two quart fulls which ended up being about four servings with the way I’m eating these days. I left out the sour cream before freezing. Just added a spoonful to the serving when I ate it. It defrosted and reheated wonderfully!
The dill and sour cream are such pronounced flavors, I love it!! Think the creamy, tangy flavor is delicious with paprika. Glad you were able to freeze a batch before baby! Thanks, Erin! xo, Ari