My kitchen tip for today is creating flavor cubes that allow me to very quickly whip up recipes that use cream of mushroom soup. Not only is is WAY less expensive than using canned soups, but it’s a big space saver as well. Twelve “soup starter cubes” take up very little space in the freezer!
I’ve seen lots of homemade versions of cream-of soup recipes, but this one is unique, as it’s a do-ahead of all the spices and flavorings, and you just add the butter+flour+milk into the recipe as you make it. This not only gives you very fresh flavors, but also retains the thickening properties of the white sauce, which would be lost if frozen or canned.
I use these cubes for adding a burst of flavor to any recipes that call for a can of cream of mushroom soup, as well as for adding a savory depth of flavor to sauces, stews, and casseroles. The real focus here is on flavor, and even non-mushroom liking people in my house enjoy dishes with this in it, and never suspect my secret ingredient.
If you’re looking for a healthy, inexpensive, but VERY tasty alternative to canned soups, then this is it!
Here is the recipe, along with a printable that tells how to sub it for cream of mushroom soup. Enjoy!
- 2T butter
- 1 pound fresh mushrooms, chopped fine
- 2 t. lemon juice (fresh or from the bottle)
- 1 t. Worcestershire sauce
- 2 T. minced shallots or onion
- 1 T. chopped fresh thyme or 1 t. dry thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 t. salt
- ½ t. pepper
- Melt butter in a large frying pan.
- Stir in mushrooms, lemon juice, Worcestershire, shallots, and spices.
- Sauté over medium heat until liquid is evaporated and mushrooms are fragrant. Divide into 12 parts or spoon into an ice cube tray and freeze.
- Store frozen cubes in an airtight container or freezer bag; label with recipe for using.
Basic Roux Directions- 2 T. butter
¼ c. flour
1 c. milk (or ½ c. broth and ½ c. milk)
Melt 2 T. butter and stir in ¼ c. flour. Add a frozen cube of mushrooms, and 1 c. of milk. Stir and heat through until thickened. This process can be done in the pan with the rest of the recipe.
Trim Healthy Mama Directions
1 cup unsweetened almond milk or fat free chicken broth
½ t glucomannan powder
1 cream of mushroom cube
Add 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk or fat free chicken broth to recipe or sauce pan. Sprinkle the gluccomannan in a VERY thin layer over the top of the liquid while whisking constantly (you want to avoid clumps...so keep the sprinkle very light). Add your cream of mushroom cube, and heat until bubbly.
This post is a part of Kitchen Tip Tuesday…which is usually hosted at Tammy’s Recipes.com, but this week is over at ArmstrongFamilyFare.com. If you enjoy a good kitchen tip, then head on over to Kitchen Tip Tuesday!
I’d love it if you’d leave me a comment and rating if you try this recipe. Thanks!
Thanks Gwen….another great idea. I appreciate all your recipes. Can’t wait to try this cream of mushroom soup.
Enjoy! I use this now for recipes that call for sliced mushrooms too because I have some non-mushroom loving people in this house. 🙂 They like it if I use the finely diced mushroom cubes. 🙂
Excited to try these since I made a batch last week. Is there a version of something like this for cream of chicken soup? 🙂
I’m playing with a recipe for cream of chicken! Still in process with it. 🙂
Do you send thm recipes to people? My husband and I are just starting this diet, and looking for recipes. I’ve been browsing on internet and printing out recipes. You seem to have quite a few out there.
Hi Staycie! I don’t have a cookbook or ebook available at this time. I publish printable recipes here on my site. But there is a brand new cookbook that’s out via the Trim Healthy Mama store here. (affiliate link)
Hi!! I want to make these for a THM beef stroganoff recipe I came across but wondered if you could answer a sort of off topic question for me. You seem very knowledgeable about THM, and I’ve been following it about a year. I took a 5 month break the first 5 mos of this pregnancy simply because 1. I was too nauseous to keep down anything but awful, carb heavy fare like boxed mashed potatoes & Ramen noodles, and 2. I feel it’s important to gain SOME weight in pregnancy so I gained 21 lb in the first 5 months. I am at 8 & 1/2 mos and am only at 25 so far, following THM once again for the past few months with only a few cheats. Anyway, I wonder if you can clarify for me if Dreamfields pasta can go either E or S, depending on what you pair it with? For example, could I do minced clams in tomato sauce for an E, since it’s low in fat, and do chicken parm or cheesy lasagna and make it S since it’s high in fat and lower in carbs? Thanks for any light you can shed on this, I plan to make your mushroom cubes soon for some beef stroganoff, just want to know if I can do both S and E, depending on my sauce and meat!
Hi Nikki!
Yes…Dreamfields is formulated to digest more like a protein, so it’s on plan as either an S or an E. There has been some discussion on it in the groups, since some people don’t do well with Dreamfields, but in a poll of women who tested their blood sugar after eating Dreamfields, it seems to be that it just doesn’t work well for some but works great for others. 🙂
My husband and I do not care for mushrooms. Could 1 pound of chicken be substituted for the pound of mushrooms and made the same way for cream of chicken soup instead?
Probably! I’ve not tried it, and I may switch up the seasoning if using chicken. 🙂
Gwen….
Love Love Love these cubes. I put them in almost anything…even non mushroom related 🙂
Would these be considered a FP??? It seems like yes but I wanted to double check.
Thank you
Sarah
I would consider them FP, because they don’t really contribute any significant fats or carbs in a whole recipe. 🙂
I have made at least 3 batches of the mushroom cubes…….Love them!! I use them in all kinds of recipes, not even ones that call for “mushroom” soup…..just adds so much more depth to the recipe…This is a game changer!!!!
Thanks SO much
What kind of flour do you add? Is it a Blend?
When I developed this recipe, I used regular all purpose flour. But if you want to go keto, use a keto approved thickener subbed in a much smaller amount. 🙂