Rich and deeply savoury, mushroom stock makes a strong soup base for many recipes – think onion soup, risotto, veg pho, gravy, or any soup you’d like to give a stronger umami kick to. I always use a mix of mushrooms but leave out expensive dried unless I’ve collected and dried them myself.
By searing the mushrooms before adding water and other ingredients, you get the savoury flavour without needing to seek out hard-to-find or shockingly expensive ingredients. This is a rather flexible recipe, with the option to change the mushroom types and herbs used to suit your preference.
Use this as an alternative to vegetable broth, sub it in to make a richer cauliflower potato soup, or use as the base for vegan French onion soup.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Mushrooms: while button mushrooms are always easiest to find, it is key to use a mix of at least three types for this recipe. I highly recommend button or cremini, shiitake, and something like oyster to round it out. Shiitake has the strongest mushroom taste of the bunch.
- Herbs: thyme is my personal favourite here but rosemary is an excellent substitution, and other woody herbs like tarragon will also do well. I recommend leaving the bay in for additional depth of flavour.
- Onion: this is personal preference, as I think onion tastes better than garlic here, but you could use four cloves of garlic in place of the onion.
- Vegetables: carrot is listed in the card and is a good addition. You can add other veg like leek and even tomatoes to vary the taste.
- Add-ins: if you want to drink the broth as is and not use it as a base for other recipes, consider adding some sliced ginger, garlic (crushed whole, not minced), hot pepper if you like it, and maybe a bit of miso after straining. Serve with green onion.
Step by Step
Step 1: add the oil and mushrooms to a hot pan.
Step 2: cook to sear the mushrooms, allowing most of the water to evaporate.
Step 3: stir in the onion and carrots.
Step 4: add water, seasonings, and herbs, then bring to a boil.
Step 5: cook for about an hour, covered.
Step 6: strain the broth and taste, then season as needed and use or store.
Recipe Notes
This is a broth, not a soup, so the level of seasoning is a bit less. I prefer to add salt after adding the broth base to my soups as the amount needed will vary (if I’m adding miso, or using pasta, and so on) so this reflects that.
If preferred, you can add dried mushrooms to the broth for a stronger taste. About 20 grams, or a small handful, will be enough. This can be any type of dried mushroom you like but will most often be shiitake.
To use wild mushrooms, any edible boletus variety is both delicious in this stock and relatively easy to find growing wild across Europe and North America. I typically use a mix of boletes and parasol to make stock if I have enough to do so, and will add chanterelles if it’s a very good year for them.
I add the remaining cooked down veg to my compost heap as it’s not palatable after being cooked for so long, but if you like it, you could certainly eat it with some kind of cooked grain or even add it back to the broth.
How to Store
Storage: keep cooled broth in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Freezing: like most things, I store this broth in canning jars in the freezer for nicely portioned amounts. It can be frozen in an airtight container for up to three months.
Newsletter
Expert Tips
- Don’t wash the mushrooms: ideally, mushrooms should simply be brushed or gently wiped with a dry cloth. If there is some concern about the growing material, they can be washed, but should be dried fully again before cooking.
- Season to taste: as mentioned above, this is a lightly seasoned recipe and if you plan on serving it as is, salt should be added to your taste.
- Use a big pot: the mushrooms need some space or they will boil rather than searing. I don’t have a large enough pot so I sear them in two batches, then add them all back to the pot before adding the other ingredients.
More Vegetarian Staples
How to Make Pumpkin Puree
Vegan Cream Cheese
Spicy Marinara
Coconut Whipped Cream
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Mushroom Stock
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 300 grams cremini mushrooms roughly chopped
- 100 grams shiitake mushrooms roughly chopped
- 100 grams oyster mushrooms or similar, roughly chopped
- 1 large carrot roughly chopped
- 1 small onion halved and roughly sliced
- 2 litres water
- 1 small handful thyme or other herbs
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 black peppercorns
- 2 teaspoons sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large wide-base pot over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once the pan is hot, add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring as infrequently as possible, until lightly golden and any water has evaporated. Do this in batches if necessary.2 tablespoons olive oil, 300 grams cremini mushrooms, 100 grams shiitake mushrooms, 100 grams oyster mushrooms
- Stir in the carrot and onion, then add the water, herbs, peppercorns, and salt.1 large carrot, 1 small onion, 2 litres water, 1 small handful thyme, 1 bay leaf, 4 black peppercorns, 2 teaspoons sea salt
- Cover and increase the heat to bring the stock to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat and let simmer, covered, for one hour.
- After simmering, the vegetables should be well cooked and the broth should be cloudy and golden. Strain the broth into another container, like another pot, through a fine mesh sieve and use or discard the vegetables.
- Taste and season to your taste. Transfer the broth into container(s) and use or store as needed.
Notes
* For American cup measurements, please click the pink link text above the ingredient list that says ‘American’.
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
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