Cream of Mushroom Soup

We’d had one 5 years ago, when making the move from Minneapolis to Ontario - but that was just a logistics thing.

It allowed us to have somewhere to live - with our cats - as the house sold... then move us all to Ontario, and have somewhere to live while we found a house. Very utilitarian, and we sold it to someone a couple years later, after not using it again.

This year, we decided that we miss traveling - and that an RV would be the only way we could do that, between our cats and the general situation out there.

So, I’ve been busily working on different recipes for camping - all are gluten free, most are low carb (I’m currently keeping keto), and all are delicious recipes with a meal prep component.

Today, I’d like to talk about my dry soup mixes!

Not only has it been a convenient way to snack in general, it’s been a great thing when it comes to keeping up my protein intake!

See, while these dry mix recipes all make tasty drinks in general, the best part - IMHO - is that they’re loaded with protein.

These aren’t the same as the dried soup mix I used to order all the time at the rink in my high school years!

Nope, these start out with a base of protein powder - whether as a soup mix, or a coffee drink mix recipe. (See towards the end of this post for a list of all of them!).

Homemade Mushroom Soup Mix

This homemade dry cream of mushroom soup recipe was the first packaged soup mix recipe I came up with.

The homemade seasoning packet is high protein AND gluten-free, with no corn syrup, flour, or even corn starch. It’s a much better alternative to pretty much anything in the stores - and the nutritional information reflects that fact!

I like to make these up, assembly line style. I’ll measure out the ingredients for 10 bags or so at a time, then seal and label them for later use.

Then, when I need a snack or just an extra serving of protein, all I need is a little water, and BOOM - hot, creamy, delicious cream of mushroom soup!

In NO way does it feel like I’m getting a dose of protein powder in, and I love that.

Anyway, let’s get to that recipe!

Ingredients

While it may look like a bit of an extensive ingredient list, most of these are simple ingredients that will be easy to find in your local grocery store.

Some notes for you:

Protein Powder

This isn’t your everyday cream of mushroom soup, it’s a high protein soup... and as such, protein powder is basically your main ingredient.

I use an Unflavoured Whey Protein Isolate.

You can use whatever unflavoured protein powder you like for this creamy mushroom soup mix, just be sure it’s unflavoured AND unsweetened!

Ideally, you want something that mixes up smoothly... but really, where you’re using boiling water to rehydrate the mix, most protein powders will mix up smooth here.

Dried Mushrooms

You’ll want at least one form of Dried Mushrooms in this recipe.

First, you’ll want Powdered Mushrooms - this is what contributes the mushroom flavour to the soup base.

Optionally, you can use finely chopped dried mushrooms, if you want those little chunks of mushrooms in the soup.

Personally, I don’t buy either - I dry mushrooms in my food dehydrator.

I’ll dry slices to powder in the food processor, and I’ll pre-chop tiny pieces to add to the soup after.

SO much cheaper to make your own, IMHO!

Boullion or Bone Broth Powder

Personally, I use Powdered Chicken Bone Broth powder in this recipe, as it contributes some good nutrition to the mix.

It’s also more pure - just chicken broth, no fillers, added salt, etc.

That said, feel free to use what you like.

Because the broth is just a supporting ingredient, you can use Beef Bouillon Powder, Vegetable Bouillon Powder, or chicken bouillon powder.

Powder is much better to use than a bouillon cube, though. You want this to mix up smoothly and easily!

Heavy Cream Powder

Heavy Cream Powder is a fantastic ingredient to work with, when making any kind of soup mix - or the dry meal mixes I make for camping.

It contributes creaminess to the texture, and a bit of fat to the recipe.

You can substitute powdered milk if you have to, just know it won’t be quite as creamy and luxurious tasting!

Dry Seasonings

I like to keep things pretty simple in this, accenting - not overwhelming - the mushroom flavour.

The seasonings I use are:

Dried Thyme
Garlic Powder
Ground Black Pepper
Onion Powder
Salt

Xanthan Gum

Xanthan Gum is typically used in gluten free baking to kind of hold baked goods together, but it’s also a powerful thickener!

In my soup mixes and instant meal packets, it takes the place of the corn starch or wheat flour that tends to be used in commercial products.

This goes a long way to making it a thick soup. You can skip it if you have to, but your soup will have a more watery texture.

Shaker Bottle

Not really an ingredient, but a nice thing to have when making these up as protein shake replacements!

I love my 20 oz BlenderBottle.

It’s a great size for these recipes, handles the heat pretty well (I do pour it out into a mug after shaking, though), and mixes it up smoothly with the aid of an included whisk ball thing.

That said, you can totally mix these soups up in a large mug, using a fork.

How to Make High Protein Instant Cream of Mushroom Soup Mix

The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is the visual walk through:

Powdered Cream of Mushroom Soup Mixes

Measure all of the dry ingredients into a small bowl, mix well to fully combine.

Transfer to snack sized plastic baggies, 1 batch per baggie.

Either way: press as much air as possible out of each baggie, seal the zipper.

To Make a Cup of Soup:

Measure 12 oz boiling water into a large mug, shaker bottle, or glass jar. Add 1 soup mix, stir well or shake to combine.

Note: For a thicker soup, you can heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds or so after mixing the hot water and mix together.

More High Protein Drink Mixes!

Looking for more high protein, low carb drink mixes that can be made ahead? I've developed a whole series of instant drink mix recipes:

Chai Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)
Cream of Chicken Soup (Low Carb, High Protein)
Easy Bone Broth
Gingerbread Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)
Matcha Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)
Mocha Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)
Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate (Low Carb, High Protein)
Peppermint Mocha (Low Carb, High Protein)
Protein Cappuccino (Low Carb, High Protein)
Protein Hot Chocolate (Low Carb, High Protein)
Pumpkin Chai Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)
Pumpkin Spice Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)