This hearty, creamy mushroom soup with Italian sausage has the added sophistication of white wine and plenty of herbs and is guaranteed to fill you up!
We’ve been having a lot of uncharacteristically cold days in Charleston this winter. And to me, cold days call for cozy meals. A good stew or a hearty soup warms me right up, preferably served with a big chunk of homemade crusty Dutch oven bread for sopping up the broth or gravy.
I already made this beef stew with red wine earlier in the week (and it was STILL cold outside!), so I wanted to make something else with a different flavor palette that was just as cozy and filling.
My husband and I recently visited one of our favorite brick-oven pizza joints and had a super-delicious mushroom, sage, and sausage pizza, so I decided to make a soup with all the same flavors.
If you’re a huge fan of mushrooms like I am, you’ll love this creamy mushroom soup on your next cold day. It’s extra-hearty due to the addition of Italian sausage, but the mushrooms are meaty enough on their own to leave out the sausage if you’d like.
Whenever I make recipes with mushrooms, I end up wishing there were more of them because they shrink down so much when you cook them. So I planned ahead this time and used 24 oz. of mushrooms! It was perfect.
And because I used three 8-oz. packages, I mixed it up a bit and used two packs of baby bellas and one package of shitake mushrooms. The more variety the better, in my opinion.
I’d love to make this creamy mushroom soup again with one of those packages of dehydrated mixed wild mushrooms, or even some local ones from the farmer’s market when that’s back in season. Go nuts and pick your favorites!
Cleaning and browning your mushrooms
To make things easier, I went with pre-sliced mushrooms. Usually I find the packages are pretty clean already, but if you do find a little dirt in yours, you can give them a quick rinse (not a prolonged soak) before cooking them. It’s okay, I promise. Alton Brown says so.
You want them to brown, not steam, so make sure you pat them dry with paper towels or a cotton kitchen towel after rinsing them.
After that, the real key to making sure your mushrooms brown in the pan is not to overcrowd them. That’s why I cook the mushrooms for this creamy mushroom soup in three 8-oz. batches rather than all at once.
Packed with extra flavor
I’ve added thyme, sage, and a whole cup of white wine to this creamy mushroom soup to take this recipe from the familiar to the sophisticated and decadent. The herbs add a lovely earthiness to the soup – I used dried but use fresh if you have it.
For the wine, I used some Pinot Grigio we had sitting in the fridge, but use any white wine you’d like.
I usually use (gasp!) the cheap white cooking wine you find next to the vinegars in the grocery store, but any wine you’d actually pour yourself a glass of will taste much better. You hear “only cook with wine you’d drink” all the time, but every time I actually cook with wine I’d drink, it surprises me how much of a difference it makes.
What to serve with your creamy mushroom soup with Italian sausage
Combined with a simple green salad and some of this crusty no-knead Dutch oven bread, this would be the perfect cozy meal for a cold night!
Have you made this recipe? Leave me a rating below and let me know what you thought!

Creamy Mushroom Soup with Italian Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 lb mild italian sausage
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1/2 tsp dried sage
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 24 oz. mushrooms I used 16 oz. baby bellas and 8 oz. shitake
- 4 tbsp flour
- 1 cup white wine
- 32 oz. chicken broth
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot, heat to medium and add sausage. Break apart the sausage into small pieces with a wooden spatula. Once it begins to brown, add the onion.
- Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until onions are translucent and sausage is browned. Add sage, thyme, and garlic and cook for an additional minute. Set aside sausage mixture.
- In the now-empty Dutch oven, melt 1 tbsp butter and add 1 tbsp olive oil. Brown mushrooms in three 8 oz batches, so as not to crowd the pan. Cook each batch for about 6 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so so they have time to get some brown coloring. Set each batch aside as they brown. Add 1 tbsp butter before adding each of the second and third batches.
- Re-add mushrooms and sausage mixture and remaining 1 tbsp butter.
- Sprinkle flour over ingredients, and stir until everything is evenly coated. Cook for about a minute, stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn.
- Add white wine and simmer until most of the liquid is evaporated.
- Add chicken broth and whipping cream. Cook until warm and thickened.
34 Comments
michele
January 28, 2018 at 10:32 amWe make homemade mushroom soup all of the time…. however Ive never thought to add sausage to it! This is a brilliant idea! :). Pinned it!
Caroline Lindsey
January 28, 2018 at 6:53 pmThanks! It would be great without the sausage as well, but it definitely makes it more filling as a meal with the meat added. And I think the flavors are great together!
Albert Bevia
January 29, 2018 at 12:40 pmThis soup looks so hearty and tasty, I love the additon of white wine, it always brings out so many great flavors to a dish, great recipe 🙂
Caroline Lindsey
January 30, 2018 at 10:53 pmI agree, the wine really makes this soup! Let me know if you try it!
Emily
January 29, 2018 at 2:19 pmI LOVE the sound of this soup, so comforting and delicious. Saving this to try asap!
Caroline Lindsey
January 30, 2018 at 10:53 pmHope you like it! It really is a soul-warming soup!
Christina Nelson
January 29, 2018 at 6:09 pmI love the sound of this. Mmmmmmm
Caroline Lindsey
January 30, 2018 at 10:54 pmMmmmm indeed! And I know you like wine in your food!
Jim
September 21, 2018 at 9:29 amSuper delicious! I tweaked the sausage a bit…used spicy Italian sausage that had been grilled first. Ground them in my food processor, then followed the recipe.
Caroline Lindsey
September 22, 2018 at 10:51 amSounds delicious! Glad you enjoyed it!
Larissa
October 25, 2018 at 7:56 pmVery good!! Since it doesn’t make a whole pot, I doubled the spice, flour, and liquids. I knew it wouldn’t thicken as much or as quick, so I boiled some potatoes in the broth beforehand to add. Definitely even less healthy, but goes great!
Caroline Lindsey
November 3, 2018 at 1:35 pmDoubling this soup sounds like an excellent idea to me! I’ve got to make it again soon!
february
January 17, 2019 at 10:32 amSuper easy to make and turned out great. All I had on hand was a dry pinot noir rosé but it really did the trick. That squeeze of lemon juice really wakes the whole thing up, so in my notes I’ve crossed out the word ‘optional’. Also, thank you for giving me the courage to spend more time cooking down the mushrooms to brown them well. Fully worth it, and again, I’ve learned something new.
Caroline Lindsey
March 7, 2019 at 6:38 pmI love a good browned mushroom! I’m glad you found it worth the extra time too!
Know Dough
January 20, 2019 at 8:05 pmThis was superb (and for me, it made an entire pot). My only tweaks were: 2) 3/4 c. white wine & 1/4 c. Sherry; 2) grilled the sausage and then cut into bite-size pieces. My husband is devouring it as we speak, and murmuring nom-noms. He’s on his second bowl — no, make that his third. I’m hearing more murmurs.
Your suggestion to use fresh thyme & sage (when possible) was definitely spot on. They made a huge difference in taste and appearance (note to fellow-newbies: preserve fresh sage in a glass of water on your windowsill; it will thrive for weeks on end; mine is still growing from a batch I bought before Thanksgiving).
5 stars ++ ! Thank you for posting the recipe for this delicious gourmet soup.
Caroline Lindsey
March 7, 2019 at 6:37 pmThanks for the tip on preserving fresh sage! So glad you loved the soup – it’s so indulgent!
Lisa Craft
January 31, 2019 at 9:10 pmI made this tonight and it’s so easy and it was phenomenal!! So delicious. Can’t wait to make it for friends bcuz they will think I’m an amazing cook ( and I’m not) thank you for this recipe.
Caroline Lindsey
February 16, 2019 at 2:52 pmSo glad you liked it! And who says you’re not an amazing cook? If you cook and the result is phenomenal, I’d say you are an amazing cook!
Elisa
February 3, 2019 at 4:25 pmMade this with chorizo – delicious!!
Caroline Lindsey
February 16, 2019 at 2:50 pmYum! Sounds delicious!
Pam
November 7, 2020 at 5:24 pmI don’t have any wine can I use more chicken broth
Caroline Lindsey
January 10, 2021 at 10:36 amSure can! Although in this recipe it’s mostly added for flavor, rather than quantity of liquid, so you could also just leave it out.
Johanna L Logue
August 17, 2019 at 9:07 pmSuper tasty. Followed the recipe exactly, only I needed something more to thicken it up a bit more. Added some corn starch to it at the end. Thanks for the recipe. Hubby devoured 3 bowls. I am looking forward to leftovers tomorrow. Yummy.
Caroline Lindsey
August 29, 2019 at 9:57 amSo glad you liked it!
Deborah Markiewicz
August 25, 2019 at 12:32 pmThis soup is amazing! I doubled the recipe, added a package of Lipton onion soup mix and let it simmer 15 minutes. Turn it off, put a lid on and let it rest for 15-20 minutes to marry the flavors. It is OMG AMAZING!
Caroline Lindsey
August 29, 2019 at 9:36 amThat sounds like a great addition to the soup! So glad you loved it!
Lucina
October 15, 2019 at 9:30 pmSo, I decided to omit the sausage first go-around, and add more mushrooms. I used shitake, crimini and white (about 20 oz if mushrooms in total)! And also, use coconut cream instead of whipping cream. Turned out delicious! Will definitely try with the sausage next!
Caroline Lindsey
October 18, 2019 at 9:26 amThe more mushrooms the better! Glad you liked this soup – it’s excellent with or without the sausage!
Lindsey Cutts
April 16, 2020 at 12:43 pmCan I use whole milk instead of whipping cream?
Caroline Lindsey
June 27, 2020 at 3:53 pmHalf-and-half would be a better substitute but you could use whole milk too. It won’t be quite as rich. You may have to add some cornstarch if you want the same thickness (dissolve some into a little cold liquid like milk or water before adding the cornstarch slurry to the soup).
Mary Frear
September 28, 2020 at 2:38 pmDelicious. I used spicey sausage that was on hand. Excellent recipe. Good for you to come up with this! Added it to my favorites.
Caroline Lindsey
January 12, 2021 at 11:07 amThanks so much for your comment and I’m so glad you enjoyed this!
Mary Zick
January 3, 2021 at 7:45 amWe love mushrooms and I’m dying to try this soup! However, my doctor has me on a low saturated fat diet. I will sub turkey sausage but what do you suggest for the cream? Coconut cream is also high in saturated fat. I do use alot of almond milk and oat milk but wondered if you have a specific suggestion to simulate the cream. Thanks!
Caroline Lindsey
January 4, 2021 at 11:04 amYou should be able to sub one of your almond or nut milks (whichever you think will better complement the flavor) and it will still have a somewhat creamy consistency due to the flour you add in step 5. Maybe add an extra tbsp of flour in that step to add more thickening power to compensate for no cream! Hope this helps!