Kale and Mushroom Soup (One Pot) Ready in 40 Minutes
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Kale Mushroom Soup is a hearty soup that’s simple to make. It comes together in about 35 to 45 minutes, making it perfect for a quick weeknight dinner. It’s loaded with savory mushrooms and finished with tender kale that stays bright and fresh. The best part is that it’s flexible. Add beans, a creamy swirl, keep it dairy-free, or toss in extra veggies. Regardless of how you prepare it, it remains filling without feeling heavy.
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Mushroom Kale Soup Recipe Highlights
Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 25 Minutes | Total Time: 35 Minutes
Serves: 4 – Easy to scale up or down
Notes: Plant-based, gluten-free
- Budget-friendly and veggie-packed: Mushrooms, kale, and beans make a hearty, flexible soup.
- Great for leftovers: The flavors settle in overnight and taste even better the next day.
Cooking for Two Notes
This recipe serves 4. Use the scale recipe button in the recipe card to automatically halve the ingredients, or make the full recipe and enjoy the leftovers or freeze them for later use. Cook time is the same for smaller portions.
Here’s What You Will Need
Ingredient List
- Olive oil or your favorite cooking oil
- Garlic cloves, minced garlic or garlic powder
- Diced onion
- Lacinato kale, baby kale or curly kale – spinach or escarole works too
- Cremini mushrooms, shiitake mshrooms, baby bella mushrooms or a mix
- Vegetable broth, or chicken broth – low sodium is best and adjust the salt at the end of cooking a little bit at a time.
- Salt and pepper to taste, plus a pinch of herbs like dried thyme (optional)
- White beans such as cennellini beans, navy or great northern will all work
- Garnish ideas – shredded parmesan cheese, a squeee of lemon juice. For extra richness, stir in a splash of heavy cream or coconut milk.
Missing an ingredient? Find a substitute with the ingredient swap assistant!
How to Make Kale and Mushroom Soup
- Heat the oil: Warm olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Sauté the veggies: Sauté the onions, garlic, and mushrooms in a heavy pot until soft and fragrant. Cook until the mushrooms shrink and start to turn golden brown. This will add a lot of flavor to the soup.
- Add the Broth: Stir in the broth and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes.
- Add kale and beans: Add in the beans and chopped kale. Cook just until beans are heated through, and kale is wilted and tender.
- Season: Add salt and pepper to taste.
✨Optional thicker texture: scoop out about 1 cup of soup (mostly beans and broth) and blend, then stir it back in. It thickens the pot without adding cream.
If you love mushroom-forward soups, this mushroom barley soup is another great example of how patient mushroom cooking pays off.
Tips
- Don’t rush the mushrooms – Wait for them to release liquid, then let them turn golden brown before adding broth, this will add a deep flavor to the soup.
- Keep onions and garlic on medium-low: Burned garlic can make the whole pot of soup taste sharp.
- Season in layers: A little salt and pepper after the mushrooms, then adjust at the end.
- Use low-sodium broth: Adjust the salt at the end of cooking so you can control the flavor and sodium.
- Add acid: Lemon juice or a tiny splash of vinegar right before serving wakes up the falvor of the soup. For a spicy kick, add a dash of red pepper flakes.
- Keep the kale tender: Remove thick stems, slice leaves thin so that they don’t turn stringy.
Serving Suggestions that Turn it into a Full Meal
Serve this soup hot, with:
- A salad on the side for crunch and freshness.
- Bread sprinkled with parmesan cheese, warm if you can.
- A grilled cheese if you want comfort food energy.
- Roasted veggies (broccoli or carrots work well).
- A small dollop of pesto, or a drizzle of olive oil for a richer finish.
Garnish ideas: chopped fresh parsley, cracked black pepper, or a little extra garlic.
Recipe Variations
- Vegetarian: swap chicken broth for vegetable stock. Everything else stays the same.
- Creamy: blend a cup of the soup and stir it back in, or add a small splash of cream to enhance your creamy kale and mushroom soup. For dairy-free, use coconut milk (start with a few tablespoons).
- Spicy: add red pepper flakes when the broth goes in, then taste and adjust.
- Extra hearty: stir in cooked chicken, browned sausage, or another can of beans.
How to Store It
Cool the soup, then store it in an airtight container.
- Refrigerate: 3 to 4 days.
- Freeze: up to 3 months.
- Thaw: overnight in the fridge.
- Reheat: gently on the stove over low heat, or microwave in short bursts.
Kale softens more over time. If you want that fresh green bite, add a small handful of chopped kale while reheating.
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Click on serving size to scale this recipe
Kale Mushroom Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or your favorite cooking oil
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 8 ounces kale greens, chopped
- 4 cups vegetable low sodium – chicken broth works too
- 1 cup white beans cannellini or navy beans
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Warm the olive oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat for about a minute until it's glossy, not smoking.
- Add the onion, garlic and mushrooms; stir often while keeping the heat to medium-low so that the onion turns soft and sweet and the mushrooms cook down and darken in color (about 10 minutes).
- Pour in the broth and bring it to a gentle simmer. Let it cook for about 15 minutes, uncovered or slightly covered.
- Stir in the chopped kale greens and beans. The kale will turn brighter green as it wilts. Cook just until it’s tender, usually 3 to 5 minutes and stir in the beans.
- Taste the broth first, then seasonwith salt and pepper if needed. Start small, stir, taste again. For an extra burst of flavor, add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Don’t rush the mushrooms – Wait for them to release liquid, then let them turn golden brown before adding broth, this will add a deep flavor to the soup.
- Keep onions and garlic on medium-low: Burned garlic can make the whole pot of soup taste sharp.
- Season in layers: A little salt and pepper after the mushrooms, then adjust at the end.
- Use low-sodium broth: Adjust the salt at the end of cooking so you can control the flavor and sodium.
- Add acid: Lemon juice or a tiny splash of vinegar right before serving wakes up the falvor of the soup. For a spicy kick, add a dash of red pepper flakes.
- Keep the kale tender: Remove thick stems, slice leaves thin so that they don’t turn stringy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and can vary based on cooking methods and ingredients used
