It's 43 degrees (F) and raining here in South-central Alaska. It's chilly, damp, and my baby girl has a cold with a fever. After an emotional week last week, Abbi girl and I were in need of some serious nourishing comfort food, so I decided to make soup using some of the beautiful baby Portobellos we picked up at the store a few days ago.
Thank you to all of you who reached out to me last week. It can be very difficult to put into words what I struggle with, but when the words come I just have to let them out. I always feel vulnerable when I post something about my illness, but then you all virtually lift me up and send me love and well wishes from across the miles. I can't help but feel blessed. God has blessed me with this incredible platform to share with all of you one of my greatest passions - my kitchen creations, and ultimately some of my deepest struggles. Thanks for being part of the journey I'm on.
Now how about a bowl of Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Soup?!
This soup is very flavorful. The rich broth alone will feed and nourish your soul; the veggies and chicken are just a bonus! Whether you are sick, emotionally drained, or just need a bit of comfort food, this is the soup for you!
Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Soup (dairy free & Paleo)
Yields 4-6 servings
3 tablespoons ghee, coconut oil, or olive oil
½ of a large onion, diced
4 carrots, peeled and diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried parsley
8 ounces baby Portobello mushrooms, sliced and then chopped
5 cups chicken broth
14 ounces canned coconut milk (full fat)
1 ounce dried shitake mushrooms, broken into pieces
2 ½ cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 cup frozen peas
sea salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
- In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm the ghee (or other desired fat) and then add the onions, carrots, and garlic. Season with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Cook until the vegetables are just starting to turn soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the thyme, parsley, and Portobello mushrooms to the pot and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Stir in the chicken broth, coconut milk, and shitake mushrooms and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the chicken and frozen peas and cook for another 5 minutes. Taste and add more sea salt and fresh ground black pepper if desired. Serve immediately.
Megan’s Recipe Notes:
I prefer darker chicken meat in this recipe; however, please feel free to use what you prefer or have on hand.
This soup is creamy, but it is a thinner consistency soup, it is not thick. If you prefer a thicker soup, you can thicken it using gluten free flour or starch, such as sweet rice flour (not Paleo legal), arrowroot starch, or tapioca starch.
All my love,
Megan
Dasha Estalilla says
Sounds really yummy! But I have a question. I have been pretty strict Paleo since October, read ISWF and did Whole30 in January. As far as I understand legumes are not legally Paleo. How do you reconcile including peas in this recipe and calling it Paleo. I am just curious, may be I didn't read something correctly. Thanks!
Megan says
Hi Dasha!
I've never heard that peas aren't allowed on the Paleo diet, so I had to do some research. I posted the question to my FB members and also did some poking around the internet. Here are 2 articles that might be of interest to you:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/are-peas-and-green-beans-healthy/#axzz2RM5c0BZ1
http://www.paleoplan.com/2012/08-14/are-green-beans-and-snow-peas-paleo/
I think it's more of a personal preference kind of thing. Personally, peas don't bother me. They make my tummy happy, so I'm going to continue to eat them. 🙂
Hugs,
Megan
Melissa Pope says
Excellent recipe! Excited to give it a go:) We also keep peas in our Paleo diet:)
Megan says
Thanks, Melissa! I hope you enjoy it!
Hugs,
Megan
Dasha says
Makes sense! I read the article form Mark before. I just thought it applies to snow peas, not the young green peas. But now to think of it, it is mature, starchy legumes that we don't need. Thank you for clarifying that for me. I will definitely try this recipe!
Megan says
I hope you enjoy it, Dasha!
🙂 Megan
Janet says
We are hitting the 70s here in NY. WOO-HOO!! We have had low temps so today is a treat!
This soup looks very yummy! Oh so comforting too 🙂 I have an autoimmune disease too and I am on medicine for it. I would like to end my medicine but I become really sick and need to weigh out my options, medicine or sickness(not pretty) I am trying to eat more healthy and decrease my medicine every so often but the last time I tried the pains in my intestine came back.
How do you handle yours? Do you take medicine? I realize everyone is different and so is their diseases just looking for a little guidance.
Have a beautiful day!
Megan says
Hi Janet!
70 degree weather sounds absolutely divine right now!! Enjoy it for me, please! 🙂
Thank you! I hear you on the medications... sometimes you have to take them in order to function. I'm currently not actively taking any medications, with the exception of an herbal tincture my Naturopathic DR has me on. I have some Meloxicam (which is like a really high dose ibuprofen, but only take it when I really need it, and even then, I can't say it helps much). I've tried a few other meds (sulfasalazine, methotrexate, humira, tramadol), but none of them agreed with my system. The only relief I've found is in the supplements given to me by my Naturopath. Thank God for her!
Have you thought about seeing a Naturopath? If you were wanting to wean yourself off of your medication, I'm wondering if they would be able to help you?
Lots of hugs from across the miles!!
Megan
Janet says
I will look into that. Thanks so much for your thoughts on this. I wish you warm weather soon 🙂
Shirley @ gfe & All Gluten-Free Desserts says
This soup looks wonderful, Megan. I'm so glad that it comforted you and your daughter. Another thought on thickening this soup--if one wants to do that without adding flour or starches--is just to use a stick blender for about a minute or so in one spot in the pot close to the end of its cooking time. You then give it a stir and cook the soup a little bit longer.
Shirley
Megan says
🙂 Thanks Shirley - and great suggestion on thickening using a stick blender!!
Hugs,
Megan
Amber says
Hi Meg,
This recipe looks just scrumptious! Perhaps two of my favorite flavors together: mushrooms and chicken. I just ate dinner, but this looks so good right now. I could eat a whole bowl of that and be a fat, happy cat and go right to bed. 🙂
xo,
--amber
Megan says
Hi Amber,
I really love chicken and mushrooms too - especially portobellos!
Hugs,
M
Suzanne Perazzini says
Chicken soup will be great for your daughter right now and it is such great comfort food. I agree - being Paleo is a personal choice and you can do it any way you want.
Megan says
Definite comfort food. 🙂 When I was little, my mom used to make me cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup. It used to me my favorite!
Hugs,
Megan
Kate @ Eat, Recycle, Repeat says
This looks fabulous! I love hearty soups with just a little bit of creamy comfort for really cold & rainy days. Keep em comin please!
Megan says
🙂 Thanks, Miss Kate!!
Bob @ emedoutlet says
I am a huge fan of chicken and mushrooms. Even on Pizza, I love additional pieces of chicken and mushrooms. You soup is warm, easy and nutritious. I will give it a try on coming Saturday. Thanks.
Megan says
Thanks, Bob! I can't wait to hear how you like it!
Megan
jax @ jaxlabyrinth.com says
So madly in love with portobello mushrooms right now! I'm putting them in nearly every meal!
Megan says
I love them too, Jax! I like how "meaty" they are, and they have great flavor too!
Lisa @ Allergy Free Vintage Cookery says
This soup looks delicious, and so healthy as well. Kudos to you for creating something so gorgeous while not feeling well! Would love for you to share this at my link party, Allergy Free Lunchbox Love (http://allergyfreecookery.blogspot.com/2013/05/allergy-friendly-lunchbox-love-5313.html). I would love to find this soup in my lunchbox 🙂
Megan says
Thank you, Lisa! And thank you for the invitation!
shannon says
Finally a dairy free mushroom soup that looks delicious!
Can this be made in the crock pot?
Megan says
Hi Shannon,
This recipe cooks up so quickly that I don't think I would recommend using a crock pot to make it. 😉
Megan
Anne says
Hi, I made this soup over the weekend and it's great! Would you happen to know how much calories does it have per serving? Thank you!
Megan says
Hi Anne,
I'm glad you enjoyed it! No, I don't have a calorie count on it, but you can find that information out here: http://caloriecount.about.com/
Ulyana says
This turned out absolutely delicious! Boyfriend went for seconds and thirds. I will definitely make this again!
Rachel says
This was delicious! I omitted the parsley, added diced parsnip, and added cajun seasoning just before ladling into bowls and even my normally mushroom-averse husband was mooning over how good it was.
Bethany Buongiorne says
Just made this for dinner, tastes amazing! Kid friendly too, two one year olds and two three year olds gobbled it up 🙂 Will definitely be making it again! Was so quick and easy too.
Letisha says
This soup was delicious, I used heavy cream since I'm just watching my carb & sugar intake. Thanks for the recipe, the flavors were amazing! By the way I used a pressure cooker to make it. I just diced up my chicken and threw it in raw and it only took 15 min to cook.
Monique says
This was the first time to your site which I got to from a Pinterest post. I'm so glad that I found it. I tried this recipe and your berry cobler recipe tonight. This soup was DELICIOUS!! My boyfriend and I kept saying how good it was through dinner. Finished off with your cobbler since I saw a link at the bottom of this soup page. I don't think I cooked the cobbler long enough but it still tasted great. It didn't puff up at all. Thanks so much. I'll be visiting and trying more of your recipes Megan. 🙂
Helen Janzen says
just made this soup for the first time and it is amazing and so easy to make!
Megan says
So glad you enjoyed it, Helen! 😉
Jolaine Dagnone says
This soup was soooo DELISH!!! I made a few changes to use up what was in my fridge-- I riced a head of cauliflower and added with the carrots and onion, then I fried my cremini mushrooms (ate up my last portobello for breakfast) in bacon lard before adding to the carrot mixture. I used butter for the oil and home made bone broth. I was hesitant to add the coconut milk because it tasted delicious already but the coconut milk really gave it some depth and made it so creamy! I also subbed the peas for corn because my son can't eat peas. We loved it including my two boys (10 months and nearly 4 years:)
I also just want to give a shout out to your Protein Packed Monster Breakfast Cookies! They are our favourite cookies around here these days. We avoid eggs and nuts so finding this recipe was wonderful!
Thanks so much!
Anna Neidig says
Delish! My 6 yo loved this soup. Thank you for sharing all the knowledge you have acquired about allergen-free cooking...it adds much appreciated depth to my own cooking. I am determined to make allergen-free food delicious and fun for my family!
Robin says
We tried this today! It was delicious! It was a crowd pleaser for a house full of picky pallets.
Thank you!
Megan says
Awesome! Thanks for leaving me a comment, Robin! Glad your family enjoyed it!
Stephanie says
I made this for dinner tonight, so yummy! I subbed green beans for the peas as I didn't have any and it turned out great. Thanks for another amazing recipe. I am going to serve it with your vegan buckwheat bread. 🙂
Mēgan says
Wonderful! Thanks so much, Stephanie! I'm glad you enjoyed it.