Cream of Mushroom Soup with Buttered Crackers
I have an odd confession to make: I’ve never eaten buttered crackers before. Peanut buttered, yes – my mom used to sandwich saltines with peanut butter, and some of my clearest childhood memories are of squeezing them together so that it oozed out the holes on top, and that the all-natural just-peanuts butter my parents bought never squirted out as smoothly as the Skippy of my dreams.
So why did I start, after hearing sad tales of friends downing entire sleeves of crackers with cold butter on the couch in front of the PVR? Do I need another buttery carb in my life? No… but I do like to know what I’m missing out on. So I utilized some of my stash of unsalted butter – which I like for eating, not necessarily for baking – and a sleeve of salted crackers, and got to nibbling.
And so I tweeted about my snacky new find, and someone tweeted back: don’t stack them in the bottom of a bowl and pour mushroom soup over top! Don’t do it!
And so I did. As good an excuse as any to make a pot of mushroom soup, don’t you think?
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Ham is divine in mushroom soup – if you have a chunk left over, chop it and stir it in along with the mushrooms. Or if you have a ham bone, simmer it in the soup.
a drizzle of olive oil
1/4 cup butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2-3 cups sliced mushrooms – any kind
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
a splash of sherry or white wine (optional)
3-4 cups (or a 1L container) chicken stock
salt and pepper
1/2-1 cup cream (heavy or half & half)Heat a drizzle of oil and about half the butter in a pot set over medium-high heat.
Add the onion and cook it for a few minutes, until it’s soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, then the mushrooms, the rest of the butter, and pull the leaves off thyme off their stems and add them. If you like, add some chopped ham, too.
Cook until the mushrooms get soft, then the moisture cooks off and they start to turn golden. Shake the flour overtop and stir to coat the mushrooms with flour. If you like, add a splash of sherry or white wine, and let it cook off.
Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes, until smooth and thickened, then season with salt and pepper and stir in the cream. Serve over buttered crackers. Serves 4.
February 20 2013 10:15 pm | freezable and one dish and soup
Misty on 20 Feb 2013 at 10:42 pm #
I do NOT thank you for this post!
rose on 20 Feb 2013 at 10:56 pm #
Hey Julie
Made your browned butter icing from yesterday and it looks just like your pic! Drizzled it over a banana wheat germ muffin recipe done in a bundt pan! Great! Thank you..
Jess on 21 Feb 2013 at 12:06 am #
I have never heard of such a thing, but now I am utterly, inescapably drawn to making a pot of cream of mushroom soup just so I can pour it over buttered crackers. What trouble you’ve caused me.
erin on 21 Feb 2013 at 6:04 am #
Mmmm…to this day I can’t eat mushroom soup without a stash of buttered crackers on my plate – I put them in one at a time and crack them with my spoon.
Of course, my mushroom soup is usually Campbell’s, this looks so much better.
Mushrooms Canada on 21 Feb 2013 at 7:38 am #
Your bowl of mushroom soup looks so lovely!! I’m trying to shield my eyes from the deliciousness of those butter crackers though…gee thanks!
-Shannon
Lanny on 21 Feb 2013 at 8:13 am #
Perfect….just what I need…and I was going to start my diet today!
Damn it sounds soooo good!
Julie on 21 Feb 2013 at 8:20 am #
Misty – You’re welcome!
Rose – so great to hear!
Sounds like you are all as enamoured with mushroom soup as I am… and yet I rarely make it. What’s up with that??
Cathy on 21 Feb 2013 at 12:43 pm #
Ha ha…that was me who warned you not to do it…but did you listen?!!! Pure indulgence, yum!!
jeri on 21 Feb 2013 at 4:53 pm #
I try to only eat buttered Saltines when I’m near the end of the sleeve or I WILL eat the whole thing. And that soup looks amazing, but in my house it would probably only serve 2 (we really like our soup and our mushrooms).
maureen on 21 Feb 2013 at 10:34 pm #
dear god, this looks incredible. cream of mushroom (from a can, of course) and buttered saltines were two of my favorite things to eat when i was a kid. this soup looks much more substantive and flavorful than the old campbell’s, although i suspect the saltines with butter would still be just as good.
June on 22 Feb 2013 at 7:44 am #
I’m inspired. Soup makin’s and saltines going on the week’s grocery list as we speak. I don’t think I’ve ever had buttered crackers either although now I’m wondering why on earth not.
Lana on 22 Feb 2013 at 7:53 am #
One of my favourite meals from childhood. HAVE to have buttered premium plus crackers with mushroom soup!!!
Fiona on 22 Feb 2013 at 8:26 am #
Well, this would be awesome except one of us (the one who really loves mushroom soup) is on a low-fat diet right now thanks to Health Issues.
I grew up eating buttered cream crackers with slices of sharp cheddar. Fat Central, but to this day it’s my go-to comfort food.
Anonymous on 22 Feb 2013 at 8:19 pm #
OMG this soup looks good. Gonna try make it this weekend!
Brigitte on 23 Feb 2013 at 9:38 am #
Your next cookbook should be all about soups !
Thank you for another great recipe!
Daniel on 23 Feb 2013 at 12:16 pm #
just had it for lunch – 2 servings… left me breathless
Anonymous on 24 Feb 2013 at 7:50 am #
I’m guessing that you put the garlic in with the onions and remove it before serving. You also add flour twice…so a bit a first and then the rest before the chicken stock?
Thanks.
Julie on 24 Feb 2013 at 8:23 am #
Whoops, sorry – looks like the recipe needs a little editing! I wrote it out quickly. Yes, cook the garlic with the onions, adding it at the end, but no need to remove it before serving!
Jan @ Family Bites on 24 Feb 2013 at 3:50 pm #
I’ve made this twice since you posted the recipe and Rob and I have devoured bowls of it for lunch and dinner. I don’t know about the buttered crackers part, but the soup is awesome as is.
Laurie from Burnaby on 24 Feb 2013 at 5:49 pm #
Oh, yum! Thanks so much – I love mushroom soup and buttered crackers. This is a great go to soup for this miserable weather
Yum Yum
Lana on 25 Feb 2013 at 9:32 am #
Made this yesterday and brought it to work for my lunch- along with half a sleeve of soda crackers and butter!
Sara on 25 Feb 2013 at 6:20 pm #
Totally unrelated to mushroom soup…why don’t you bake with unsalted butter? I never bake with salted butter, should I change it up?
Thanks!
Julie on 25 Feb 2013 at 10:54 pm #
Sara – good question! I do believe that calls for a post as an answer.
Shauna Duncan on 27 Feb 2013 at 5:28 pm #
On the topic of crackers and butter you NEED to try Jacob’s Cream crackers with buttter. This is the cat’s meow! My Grandma cursed me with this one.
Sara on 27 Feb 2013 at 10:30 pm #
Thanks Julie! I look forward to reading it!
Lee-Ann on 06 Mar 2013 at 5:13 pm #
okay so made this on the weekend…fantastic!
Kathy on 20 Apr 2013 at 11:01 pm #
WOW, I’ve made mushroom soup for years, and this is pretty much the way I make it. I’ve eaten butter on my crackers since I was a kid. I have never thought of combining the two. Guess I know what’s for dinner tomorrow.
Low-Roller on 13 May 2013 at 8:26 pm #
julie,
this recipe sounds and looks delicious! i used to also eat the premium crackers with butter/margarine on top. i think i did this because my mom always bought the unsalted ones. LR