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.
Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
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
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