I started making Béchamel sauce in my late teens. It was a technique I learnt from one of my sisters who served it to me one evening over ravioli with a red sauce on top. At the time, I had no idea that this creamy, luxurious white sauce was called Béchamel (nor that it was one of the famed French mother sauces). What I did quickly realize back in my university kitchen was that through a simple act of alchemy I was able to transform a pile of goop (melted butter and flour) into a delicious silken sauce through the addition of milk.
When you add milk to a mixture of butter and flour (known as a roux) and bring it to a boil, it transforms into a gloriously smooth and thickened white sauce that looks nothing like its point of origin – you can actually see the butter and flour swelling and the liquid thickening as this happens. The sauce takes on a uniform glossy sheen of the kind that will make you want to skate across its surface and contemplate all that is good in life.
What I find remarkable about using a roux in this recipe is that it doesn’t just thicken the soup (the potato does a fine job of that on its own) it actually transforms the entire texture into a velvety smoothness unmatched by the vegetable alone. I tested this recipe both with and without the roux base and while both had strong taste values, the texture of the roux version was divine. Spoonfuls of silk to the tongue.
In short, if you were thinking of skipping the butter/flour step, you must not.
And speaking of magical transformations, have you tried roasting garlic in the skin lately?
When you roast garlic, it looses the pungent characteristics that so many find off-putting in its raw form, playing down the astringent factor and allowing a mellower & sweeter taste to emerge. The mild caramel notes are completely and utterly crave-worthy (not to mention the roasting process will fill your home with a gorgeous aroma).
And it’s just as easy as Béchamel. The oven does all the work as the garlic cloves are broken down into golden, butter-soft versions of themselves.
Finally, seared mushrooms round off this delightful soup with satisfying morsels of umami deliciousness.
You can sear mushrooms in cast iron for a deep rich color or in a non-stick sauté pan for a bright golden hue. Or, you can do both!
I hope you enjoy this creamy delicious soup infused with roasted garlic and seared mushroom. Be sure to review the Notes section in the recipe card below for best results and options.
- 1 (or 2) heads of garlic
- 1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 pounds (about 4 medium-large) russet potatoes, peeled, roughly chopped and boiled just until fork tender and set aside
- 4-6 cups vegetable (or chicken) broth (32 oz-48 oz/ 900-1350 grams)
- 4 cups (or more) sliced crimini mushroom (10.5 oz/300 grams), brushed but not rinsed/soaked in water
- ¼ cup salted butter
- ¼ cup flour (see Notes for GF option)
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup half and half (10% cream)
- good pinch ground thyme (about ½ tsp) + more fresh sprigs for garnish
- Sea salt & coarse black pepper to taste
- Garnish Suggestions:
- coarse black pepper or paprika
- fresh thyme
- minced green onion/chives
- seared mushroom
- Parmesan or crumbled feta cheese
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF
- With a sharp knife, slice off the top layer of the garlic head/s to expose most of the cloves and peel of as many outer layers of the garlic as possible. You should still be left with a primary layer of skin around the cloves.
- Drizzle the exposed cloves with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and coarse pepper. Wrap the garlic head/s in a piece of aluminum foil and place the foiled bundle/s on a baking sheet.
- Roast in the oven for 40 minutes or so until the garlic is gorgeously fragrant and, once carefully unwrapped, has taken on a golden color and butter soft texture.
- To extract the delicious caramelized garlic from the skin, simply work from the bottom and gently squeeze the garlic through the skin (much like toothpaste) the garlic will ooze out. You must sample (but try not to eat it all!) set the warm roasted garlic aside.
- In a large pot or dutch oven, melt butter over low-medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes or so until translucent. Sprinkle the buttered onions with flour* mixing well to integrate and make sure that the flour doesn't brown/burn while it's mixing. Add the broth (starting with 4 cups), milk, cream, thyme and a few cracks of salt & pepper, whisking to combine. Allow the soup to come to a boil, while continuing to whisk for 10 seconds or so, and then reduce to lowest heat and allow the broth to simmer for another couple minutes as the roux works its magic and the soup begins to thicken somewhat. Turn off heat.
- Add the cooked potatoes and roasted garlic cloves intermingling with the béchamel sauce.
- Working in batches, carefully transfer ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until completely smooth. For a more dilute consistency, add a little more broth to desired consistency. Taste the soup and adjust seasonings as desired.
- Meanwhile, in a separate pan, sauté mushrooms in a little bit of butter or olive oil until a nice sear develops, adding a few cracks of salt/pepper as desired. Be sure to allow the pan to heat up first and allow the natural water contained in the mushrooms to be released and eventually burnt off through the cooking process. Set the seared mushrooms aside to cool slightly before adding the majority of them to the blended soup (while retaining a few to garnish the top of the soup).
- Serve the soup warm and topped as desired with fresh thyme sprigs, green onion/chives, black pepper, seared mushroom and/or cheese.
- Storage: This soup will store well in the fridge for up to 5 days. *nb: Dairy soups tend to separate when frozen - this just means that the fat breaks away from the other elements in the mixture and needs to be whisked back into the mixture as it heats to avoid graininess. You can also add a touch more tapioca/cornstarch slurry to help reconstitute the texture if you decide to freeze.
- If you are reheating the soup from the fridge you may need to add additional broth to desired consistency as most soups tend to thicken over time.
The Flour*: All purpose flour creates a smooth and delectable Béchamel however I did try tapioca starch/flour (a gluten-free substitute) in one version of this soup - it worked perfectly well in terms of thickening the soup although there was a slight difference in terms of smoothness - a very mild graininess that is not detectable in AP flour. I still found it very palatable but if you go with tapioca flour my suggestion would be to whisk it vigorously to create the smoothest texture possible.
Garnish Options - I enjoy this soup topped with some black pepper or paprika, seared mushrooms and fresh thyme for garnish but my boys also love it with cheese. You can play around with this element to suit your tastes.
The Cream - Half and half is what I generally use as my 'heavy cream' - I find it adaptive and perfectly luxuriously but you can sub heavier cream in this portion of the recipe as preferred.
The Mushrooms - Mushrooms are about 90% water by nature so you want to be careful not to rinse or soak mushrooms to avoid ending up with a soggy mess. Instead, use a brush or cloth with a little bit of water to clean. As for type of mushroom, I went with a common mushroom here but you could sub any variety of choice. Oyster mushrooms, for example, have a delicious resilient, somewhat chewy, texture that is irresistible in soup. Depending on where you live and what you have access to, seasonal varieties might also come into play.
Soup Consistency: This is a creamy béchamel (somewhat thick) soup like potage -- you can thin it by adding more broth, little by little, to desired consistency. If the soup ends up not as thick as you would like, simply add a little tapioca or cornstarch slurry at the very end (in a small bowl, whisk 1 flat tbsp of tapioca flour (or cornstarch) with 1 tbsp of water and then add the slurry to the soup, to thicken somewhat.
I can’t wait to try this delicious soup We love garlic and mushrooms I am sure it will be amazing.
I’d happily try this if the print to pdf worked. I get an error message every time. I work from my tablet, and prefer to see the recipe all at once. It looks good, but frustrating that I cannot get just the recipe to save, and not have the internet interferring while I am trying to make it.
Hi Darci, sorry to hear — everything appears to be working on this end, are you clicking on the small “print” box right under the soup picture in the recipe card? This should bring you into a separate printable page with recipe only, cheers.
How long is this good frozen?
This looks delicious! I need to make this for the fall.
I have been looking for a delicious mushroom soup recipe for so long! This is so amazing! I served it with some beer batter bread and it was a dream come true, lol. It was well worth the prep work…I say this as someone who despises cooking haha. Thanks again for this recipe!
ahh, absolutely loved your comment, made my day! I’m so delighted you enjoyed this mushroom soup and that the prep was worthwhile (it gets faster the more you make it;) — how have i gone through life never tasting beer batter bread? i’ve got to get on that :)) it does sound dreamy. Thanks so much for taking the time to drop in with your feedback and rating the recipe, really helpful. Cheers.
Looking forward to trying this. Did I miss the nutritional information?
welcome! i hope you enjoy this soup. there are many apps available if you wish to pop ingredients in to get breakdowns, all the best.
Congratulations, you’ve made yourself a garlic pureee.
Save your time and don’t make this soup.
Time consuming and not good.
good morning, sorry to hear that this soup turned out thicker than you would like; as the recipe indicates, you can add broth to desired consistency. Roasted garlic is not typically pungent in the way of raw but certainly appreciate that these things are individual. Thank you for your feedback, all the best.
I’ve made this soup three times already this fall, it is delicious! My husband and I look forward to it on Sundays with crusty bread for dipping. Full of flavor and great texture from the mushrooms. It’s easy to thin or thicken with helpful instructions. We will be enjoying it again for lunch today, thank you so much for this recipe!
i’m so glad you’ve been enjoying this soup Diane and appreciate you dropping in to let me know; your crusty bread sounds like the perfect complement:) cheers and thank you for the feedback.
Put less garlic in it. This should prove a simple solution.
Your comments says more about you than the soup 🥴 It is a conscious choice to be mean.
Some people have no class Kelly!
thanks kelly. no pressure. it’s just that I admire your photography. And your writing too! I love the way you segued from your trip into the banana bread recipe. well done!
kelly, these photos are marvelous! i would love if you could do a post on tips for styling food photos, the camera you use, what time of the day you take your pics and where, etc, etc. or maybe you could address these things in the FAQ section. such skills!!
thank you Suzanne – I’ll have to give that some thought… I genuinely don’t view myself as any kind of authority on the subject of food photography — everything I know, I’ve learnt mostly through observation (and plenty of trial and error). I’m happy to share my work process though – if there is a way I can be helpful, I will endeavor to do so.
I wish my beloved could go for roasted garlic… but it’s a no-no for him, so I will just sit here and admire your beautiful soup…..
;-)
I love roasting garlic! It completely changes the flavor!
agreed! thanks for stopping by :)
This looks absolutely beautiful Kelly! Luxurious and wholesome at the same time. Yum!
thank you so much for the sunshine Emma! I’m so pleased to hear this recipe appeals to you – thank you for letting me know. I hope your week is off to a great start.
Beautiful soup, Kelly. I often prepare mushroom soup, but never the creamy version… I must try this more elegant version. I am crazy for roasted garlic (posted once but my photo wasn’t even half as great as yours…. I don’t know how you did it; mine always looked so ugly!). Oh, and I have the same brand of pan! Love them! Thank you for this light, but filling cold days’ treat. This is what I look for, dreading the idea of putting on weight throughout the winter.(“Spoonfuls of silk”… it makes me all dreamy… I think finally we’ll have a mushroom soup this weekend too).
Thank you Sissi… it’s amazing what a small amount of butter and flour can do to transform the ordinary into silk :) I haven’t made a béchamel in ages but I must say in the dark and cold of winter, there is no better time. (ps, your roasted garlic looks delicious! you are way too hard on yourself).
I love everything about this soup, Kelly. Give me any combination of mushrooms and garlic anytime and I’m happy, but the roasted garlic must take this soup to the next level. And you’re right – if you’re roasting one head of garlic you might as well do two – and I definitely like your idea of adding roasted garlic to hummus. Even though winter seems to have ended here in LA (it’s going to be in the upper 80s all week) I’d still love a big bowl of this soup.
right you are… something about that roasted garlic elevates the flavor to a place of heavenly bliss :) we seem to be cruising right into summer here Geraldine… I suppose it is technically spring and there is lots of evidence of it with the beautiful buds everywhere but the temperatures are well into the 20s C – pretty wonderful! I’m loving it :)
What a lovely soup, Kelly, and how nice that your sister taught you such an important cooking skill! I think one of the reasons we all love French food so much is because of this simple base. Who could have thought that just a few ingredients could transform a recipe? I also love the addition of roasted garlic. I learned from a friend’s mom that roasted garlic is delicious as a spread on toasted bread; it took on this soft texture that was wonderfully sweet. The garlic, creamy roux and umami mushrooms make this such a wonderful blend of flavors. Once things cool down here again (or will they? Was that the extent of ‘winter’ for us?!) I will be making this!
Okay, so, after some much needed rain in December/January, suddenly we’ve bypassed spring and gone directly into summer here in February! Like you, I’m wondering if it’s here to stay or just a little tease… time will tell but either way, I’m loving it :)
Yes! so many ways to enjoy roasted garlic… it blends beautifully in soups/stews/purées but is also very spreadable in paste form on sliced veggies, bread/crackers of all kinds – you name it! I’m only partly kidding when I say that since making this recipe I’ve not been able to stop roasting… I’m going to use up all the garlic in our vicinity :)
You definitely captured the velvety smoothness of this soup in your photos. Looks delicious!
thank you so much Debra! I hope you are keeping well. Have a beautiful week.
I am convinced, Kelly, on the bechamel. Mastering it can be challenging, and I’m not sure I have yet. But making this will give me a pathway for practice. Your description is key! Silk on the tounge. A great teacher once told me ‘mouth feel’ is one of the most decisive things about food… and everyone has their own particulars about what they like and don’t. I’ve never head anyone say.. it’s too silky!! Score for a silky mouth feel! This soup sounds sublime, my dear. And the coziest of cozy. I’m going to whip out that butter, garlic and milk and get cookin… now I just need to nail down some potatoes… heading to the farm now (will grab some garlic too and roast it up in it’s paper)! Fingers crossed! Thank you for this Kelly. Perfect!
Oh, thank you so much as always for your thoughtful feedback Traci… I do hope you treat yourself to this recipe if you get a chance ~ we can all use a little silk on the tongue and in the tum now and again :) – especially in February, right? Do let me know if you give it a go!
This soup looks like a dreeeeeeam! I remember making bechamel day after day in cooking school. It really is a little bit magic. Roasted garlic is possibly one of my favourite things in the entire world….I am craving a bowl full of this soup right now and it’s only breakfast!
can I just say that I’ve been roasting garlic daily for weeks now :O) (good thing the pungency diminishes in the oven – hah!) but seriously, I feel like I’ve discovered a little gold here… so easy and what a flavor boost! And bonus, it’s legal :))
I love roasted garlic. It’s one of our favorite things to do. I’m going to have to make that ASAP! And would you believe I’ve never made a roux or a bechamel sauce? Crazy right?! I must resolve that and this looks like a great place to start. I have a feeling all of these ingredients will be readily available to us in Poland too. :)
the sauce couldn’t be simpler Kristy and I think you will love the magic it delivers :) Keeping you and family close of mind & heart during your exciting adventures!
Your description of this as silk on the tongue is very tempting! Creamy soups are my favourite, and this just looks amazing – a very special twist on potato soup, which has been a long-time love of mine. Gorgeous!
silk on the tongue does have a certain ring to it, doesn’t it? ;-) This is my first soup of this nature Christine…when I tasted the first batch I told my husband that it may be the most luxurious soup I have ever made — he was rather happy to hear that! :o) what I love too is that you don’t have to go overboard with the cream inducing ingredients to get the results. It’s kind of magic that way. Thank you for dropping by Christine ~ wishing you a beautiful day.
This is such a beautiful soup with so much dimension and flavor. I have never made roasted garlic and as I look at those glistening cloves, I know it must happen soon! It sounds so delicious. I would have never thought to use a bechamel base in soup – a clever and simple way to create ‘velvety smoothness’ as you say so well without going over board on flour or fat – a little goes a long way. Really love this recipe, thank you.
Hi Sasha, welcome to Inspired Edibles and thank you kindly for your generous words. You know since making a large batch of roasted garlic, I keep dreaming of new ways to use this delicate earthy paste… it is so delicious – full flavoured without being pungent or overbearing.
And as for the roux, it is the first time I have ever used one in soup and all I can say is that it changed everything. I thought I was achieving ‘creaminess’ by puréeing vegetables but what I was really getting was thickness – the butter/flour combination in tandem with milk delivers a velvet cream beyond anything I’ve ever achieved in soup before. Perfect winter comfort and warmth and you’re absolutely right, a little goes a long way and it’s worth it! Cheers :)
It is high summer here we have some field mushrooms and slippery jack available nearby.Your dish looks so good we dont care if it is winter dish.Making it!
Hi Dzoli, how amazing to have access to your very own native slippery jack! I bet they will taste delicious in this soup – fresh and fragrant. I’m delighted to hear this recipe appeals even in the heat of summer – thank you for taking a moment to drop in and let me know. I hope you love it :) have a beautiful day.
hello, this recipe looks fantastic, and I”d like to save/make it but am not able to copy/paste, how do I do this? thanks! nancy
Hi Nancy, yes of course, I’d be happy to help out. There is a small “print” button in the recipe card box right under the thumbnail image – when you click on this button, the recipe will appear in a separate document. You can then choose if you want to save it, copy and paste it elsewhere or print it. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do and I would love to hear how you make out with it if you give it a try. Thanks Nancy, have a great evening.
What a beautiful soup for our cooler, winter months Kelly. I adore mushrooms any way and topping this relatively simple potato soup with them just takes this dish over the top. Adding a roux to the soup is beautiful too and I know what you mean about it adding velvety smoothness. I made my first roux around 12 from my trusty Five Roses Cookbook but they called it a white sauce! I recently saw a recipe that used sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes but I think I love how the white contrasts against the earthy mushrooms in both colour and flavour. The roux will add a little sweetness too, which I love. As for the roasted garlic…one of these days, I’m going to buy a bunch of garlic and roast them, just to have on hand. Such a gorgeous flavour and super creamy texture. I had a boss years and years ago (on my FB now) who made a roasted garlic soup, that’s all it was (with cream, of course) and I keep meaning to give it a go. Better now that later, I think it’s a wintery soup. We’re expecting temperatures in the mid 20’s (celcius) this week! Can you believe it? Better than snow and -25°C
thanks Eva – there’s a few things going on in this otherwise simple soup that make it a little different. I had fun experimenting with the transformations and yes, roasted garlic is absolutely worth it. It could not be simpler (and quicker) and there are so many ways you can use the delicious caramelized paste… I think you will love it! Your friend’s soup sounds divine by the way. Although mid 20s °C for Toronto this week does sound a little optimistic ;-) I’m sure the milder weather blip is very welcome, especially in February. Enjoy.