To use dried mushrooms in soup, soak them in warm (not boiling) water for 20 to 30 minutes, lift them out, then strain the soaking liquid through a coffee filter or fine sieve. Chop the mushrooms and sauté them with your aromatics, and add the strained liquid to the pot as part of your stock. That liquid carries much of the flavor, so keep it.
Dried mushrooms are one of the easiest ways to give a fall soup real depth. A small handful of porcini or shiitake adds the savory, slow-cooked flavor that usually takes hours of simmering. Here's how to choose them, prepare them and put them to work, with everything you need in our Soup Season collection.
Drying removes most of a mushroom's water and concentrates its savory flavor. The result is an ingredient that keeps for months in the pantry and delivers more umami per ounce than fresh mushrooms. In soup, dried mushrooms work two ways at once: the rehydrated pieces add meaty texture, and the soaking liquid becomes a ready-made mushroom broth.
| Mushroom | Flavor | Texture after soaking | Best soups |
|---|---|---|---|
| Porcini | Deep, nutty, earthy | Tender, meaty | Mushroom barley, wild mushroom, lentil, bean and farro |
| Shiitake | Smoky, savory | Chewy, firm | Miso, ramen, hot and sour, vegetable noodle |
| Morel | Woodsy, nutty | Delicate, spongy | Cream soups, spring-into-fall bisques |
| Chanterelle | Fruity, peppery | Slightly chewy | Light broths, chicken and wild rice |
| Black trumpet | Smoky, rich | Thin, silky | Puréed mushroom soups, garnish |
| Lobster | Nutty, faintly sweet | Dense, firm | Chowders, seafood soups |
If you only stock one dried mushroom, make it porcini. Their deep, nutty flavor gives backbone to mushroom barley soup, bean soups and anything built on beef or vegetable stock. Our Extra A dried porcini are sold by the pound for kitchens that go through them quickly.
First quality dried shiitake bring a smoky savoriness that suits Asian-style broths as well as Western vegetable soups. Their stems are tough, so trim them after soaking and add them to the stockpot instead of throwing them out.
For something more distinctive, try dried wild morels in a cream soup, chanterelles in a lighter broth, or black trumpets puréed into a dark, smoky mushroom soup. Browse the full range in our dried mushrooms collection.
You can soak dried mushrooms in warm stock or a splash of wine instead of plain water. The mushrooms absorb that flavor as they soften, and the soaking liquid goes straight into the soup.
The classic. Brown rehydrated porcini with onion, carrot and celery, add pearl barley, beef or vegetable stock and the strained soaking liquid, and simmer until the barley is tender. The porcini make even a vegetarian version taste rich. Find barley and other soup grains in our grains selection.
A small handful of dried porcini or shiitake gives meatless bean and lentil soups the depth they usually get from ham or bacon. Not sure which lentil to use? See our guide to the best lentils for soup.
No time to soak? A spoonful of porcini powder stirred into a simmering pot adds instant savory depth. It also works as a finishing seasoning for cream soups and chowders.
Keep dried mushrooms in an airtight container in a cool, dark, dry place. If you soak more than you need, strained soaking liquid keeps in a covered container in the refrigerator for a few days, or it can be frozen in small portions for your next pot.
Not strictly. You can drop dried mushrooms straight into a simmering soup and they'll soften as it cooks. Soaking first lets you remove grit and strain the liquid, which gives you a cleaner soup.
Yes. The soaking liquid is full of mushroom flavor and works like a concentrated broth. Strain it through a coffee filter or fine sieve first to remove any sand or grit.
Most dried mushrooms soften in 20 to 30 minutes in warm water. Thick slices or whole caps may take up to an hour. They're ready when they're pliable all the way through.
Because drying removes most of a mushroom's water, a small amount of dried goes a long way. For a pot of soup serving four to six, an ounce or so of dried porcini is usually plenty to flavor the whole batch.
Porcini are the most versatile choice for Western-style soups, and shiitake are the go-to for Asian-style broths. Morels, chanterelles and black trumpets are good choices when you want a more distinctive wild mushroom flavor.
Stock your pantry for the season. Dried mushrooms, beans, lentils, grains and stocks are all in one place in our Soup Season collection.
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