The Retro Soup I Make Every Single Fall

Mushroom soups are some of my favorite soups. They’re hearty without being heavy, earthy, and savory without requiring meat, and super simple to make from scratch. 

This particular mushroom soup is one that I know I’ll keep going back to because it’s easy to make but full of flavor and flexible enough for on-the-fly substitutions. The flavor is a mix of creamy mushroom soup and goulash, all thanks to one special ingredient: Hungarian sweet paprika.

What Is Hungarian Sweet Paprika?

This mushroom soup gets its flavor profile from the popular spice we all have in our cupboards: paprika. It’s made by grinding dried red peppers to a fine powder, the flavor and color of which can vary widely from mild to very pungent, sweet to smoky, deep to pale red.

The most popular paprika doesn’t have a special name—it’s just called paprika—and could be produced anywhere from Hungary to California, Mexico to Spain, or even a mix of all of these. It’s probably the one many of us already have a jar of at home, and it’s not obviously sweet, spicy, or smoky in flavor.

For this recipe, you’ll want to seek out and use Hungarian sweet paprika, sometimes also labeled noble sweet paprika. The color of this paprika is bright red and it tastes a little fruity, sweet, and mild. Those flavors act as the perfect foil to the earthy, creamy flavors in this mushroom soup.

Swaps and Substitutions

This recipe can be tweaked many different ways depending on what you have on hand:

• If you don’t have access to fresh thyme and dill, use dried. Sub in 1 teaspoon of the dried stuff for every tablespoon called for in the recipe.
• If dill isn’t your thing, swap in fresh parsley instead.
• Use a mix of different mushrooms like oyster, cremini, chanterelle, or portobello.
• Use chicken stock instead of vegetable stock for an even richer soup.
• Sub Greek yogurt in for the sour cream for a lighter finish.
• If you can’t find Hungarian sweet paprika, you can use regular paprika in a pinch.
• Make this recipe gluten-free by swapping the all-purpose flour out with half the amount of cornstarch.
• Like garlic? Add some!

More Ways to Eat Mushrooms

• Stir-Fried Maitake Mushrooms with Garlic and Chile Oil
• Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna
• Easy Sautéed Mushrooms
• Creamy Miso Mushroom Pasta
  

Sauté the onions and mushrooms:

Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and salt and sauté until nearly translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until all of the liquid from the mushrooms has started to cook off and the mushrooms themselves have shrunk by about a third, around 10 minutes.

Make the soup base:

Add the dill, thyme, and sweet paprika and stir to combine. Let cook for a minute before adding the vegetable stock. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for at least 10 minutes.

Add the flour and milk to a small bowl and whisk to combine, then add to the pot. Let cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 more minutes.

Finish and serve:

Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream. Season to taste with more salt and freshly ground black pepper before serving with a little more sour cream, sweet paprika, and fresh dill over each bowl.

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