Whenever I feel the slightest bit of illness coming on, this is my go-to recipe for tomato-based vegan shiitake mushroom soup. Considered a medicinal mushroom, shiitakes boost immunity, are a powerful antioxidant, and offer a fair amount of vitamin B and D.   There is nothing like a spicy bowl of shiitake mushroom soup to clear your sinuses!

This shiitake mushroom tomato soup has serious umami. Like all good soups, this one takes a bit of time to develop the flavors, but it is worth it.  If you don’t have access to fresh shiitake mushrooms, dried ones work just great. Make sure to rinse them to remove any debris, and then, soak them in water to fully hydrate. Rinse off one more time before using in the soup.

While it tastes great on the day of, it’s even better the next day.  This is also my dad’s favorite soup.  If it’s dad approved, that definitely means it’s good! It makes ~4 servings.

Check out more UVK vegan mushroom recipes.

Shiitake Mushroom Soup

2 tsp olive oil

1 cup small dice onion

4-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp dried basil

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dried thyme

½-1 tsp crushed red pepper (adjust to your level of desired kick)

2 bay leaves

½ cup small dice celery stalks

¾ cup small dice carrots

2½ cups whole fresh shiitake mushrooms, trim stems (want to use dried shiitakes? – see note above)

⅓ cup full-bodied red wine (like Cabernet Sauvignon)

⅓ cup reduced sodium soy sauce

14.5 ounce can no salt diced tomatoes

15 ounce can tomato sauce

1 cup water

Salt, to taste

1. First, sauté the aromatics for the shiitake soup. In a deep, heavy pot or a dutch oven, add olive oil, onion and a dash of salt over medium heat. Sauté for ~5 minutes or until the onion is soft.  

2. Add the basil, oregano, thyme, crushed red pepper flakes, bay leaves, and garlic. Stir around for another 2 minutes over medium heat.  

3. Add carrots and celery.  Stir around for 3 more minutes.

4.  Add the shiitake mushrooms and red wine, and stir around. Turn up the heat to medium-high heat, and stir around for ~5 minutes. This will help burn off the alcohol, and allow the mushrooms to sweat.

5. Add the soy sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and water. Cover with a lid, and bring to a boil. Then, lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer with the lid on over low heat for 30 minutes.

6. Taste the vegan shiitake soup, and adjust the seasonings, if needed (salt? soy sauce?). Serve.