Chestnut and Mushroom Soup

This creamy chestnut and mushroom soup is super delicious and really easy to make. You will need oven-roasted chestnuts, mushrooms of your choice and a few other simple ingredients for this recipe. The soup is also naturally vegan and gluten-free.

I love to make this soup in the autumn, because I often go to forests and forage for wild mushrooms and chestnuts. Besides its delicious flavour, I also really appreciate that this autumn forage soup is full of high-quality, healthy ingredients.

Ingredients for the chestnut and mushroom soup

To make this delicious soup, you will need:

• oven roasted chestnuts;
• mushrooms of your choice – I used penny bun, parasol and black trumpet mushrooms from our latest forage in the woods. If I didn’t have any foraged mushrooms, I would have probably used a combination of shiitake and oyster mushrooms;
• carrot
• parsley root
• vegetable broth – I usually make it by boiling vegetable scraps. If you can’t make any broth, you can use water instead;
• tamari, shoyu or other naturally fermented soy sauce;
• light (shiro) miso paste – goes really well with the earthy tones of mushrooms and chestnuts;
• plant milk – you can make your own almond and hemp seed milk by following this simple recipe.

Cooking the soup

I decided to make this soup recipe as simple as possible, so there is not that much wisdom to the whole cooking process. You will simply need to cook mushrooms, finely chopped vegetables and half of the chestnuts in a veggie broth with some soy sauce. 

The rest of the chestnuts is blended with some broth, plant milk and miso paste, and added to the soup when it is cooked. Then you’ll stir everything well, let it sit for a couple of minutes in a covered pot for the flavours to blend in, and your soup is ready to be served.

Oil-free version of the chestnut and mushroom soup

The original versions of most of my soup recipes are in fact oil-free. I am simply not a fan of too much oil in the cooking, so I won’t use it unless it is necessary for the result that needs to be achieved (such as certain flavour or texture).

This mushroom and chestnut soup is so flavourful and hearty even without any oil added (yes, that means without sautéing the veggies), so I make it by simply boiling the veggies and mushrooms in water. 

If you would still prefer to make it with oil, just sauté your vegetables and mushrooms as you normally would. Both versions are described in the recipe below, so you can pick whichever you prefer.

Serving ideas

This chestnut and mushroom soup is really rich and fulfilling, so I often like to eat it as an only meal. These are some suggestions for serving it:

• Add some fresh herbs, sprouts, chopped young greens or microgreens on top; this will add a fresh element that will balance out the earthy flavour of this soup. 
• In case you prefer the cosy feeling of eating a soup as it is, you can always just serve it with a fresh salad on the side.
• To add some more protein to the soup and make a more fulfilling main dish out of it, you can add some baked or stir-fried tofu cubes marinated in soy sauce.
• Serve it with a slice of home-baked spelt and oat soda bread, this delicious pumpkin soda bread (a perfect autumn combination with this soup) or this easy homemade sourdough bread.

Storing the soup

From my experience, this creamy chestnut and mushroom soup can be stored in a fridge in an air-tight container for a couple of days and reheated as needed. Put the soup in the fridge as soon as it cools down to room temperature to make sure it stays as fresh as possible.

Alternatively, you can freeze the soup and keep it for up to three months. The best way is to freeze separate portions to be able to defrost them as needed. Once defrosted, the soup can be reheated on the stovetop over a low heat.

Yield: 2 portions

Chestnut and Mushroom Soup Recipe

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A simple recipe for a delicious and creamy soup made from chestnuts and mushrooms. It is naturally gluten-free, vegan and made from healthy, natural ingredients.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup oven-baked chestnuts (peeled)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped mushrooms
• 1 small carrot
• 1 small parsley root
• 2 cups vegetable broth or water
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp miso paste
• ½ cup plant milk

Instructions

1. Bake the chestnuts in an oven on 185 °C for about 25 minutes, or until they get soft.
2. Let them cool down a bit wrapped in a kitchen cloth, and peel them when they have cooled down enough.
3. Roughly chop half of the chestnuts and leave them for the cooking. 
4. Blend the rest of them with 1/2 cup warm broth or water, oat milk and miso paste. 
5. Put the mushrooms, chopped chestnuts, finely chopped carrots and parsley into a pot, add one and a half cup vegetable broth and bring to a boil. 
6. If you’d like to bring out more flavour in the mushrooms, you can first shortly dry them out on a dry non-stick pan over the lowest heat, and then add the water and vegetables. Alternatively, simply sauté the mushrooms and vegetables on a little bit of oil before adding the broth. I personally prefer to make soups oil-free, but you can do however you prefer.
7. Add the soy sauce and let the soup simmer in a covered pot for 5-10 minutes over a low heat. Taste the vegetables and mushrooms to check if they are cooked as you like.  
8. Turn off the heat, add the blended chestnut mixture and cover the pot. 
9. Leave for a few more minutes and it is ready to serve.

Notes

I used penny bun (porcini), parasol and black trumpet mushrooms because that was what we foraged in the woods in the previous days.

Some of my favourite mushrooms from the fresh market that I would use in case I don’t have any wild ones are shiitake and oyster mushrooms.

For a proper meal, serve this creamy soup with some home-baked bread and a salad on the side.