Mushroom soup is definitely a Chester County thing. And I have tried tons of different recipes and read about different recipes and nothing quite was what I wanted.

Above is the soup I came up with. It has shredded chicken in it and I only use baby Bella mushrooms. And I use a chicken broth base. Specifically I make bone broth.

No real recipe exists BUT what I do is I make bone broth in my small instant pot (3 qt or 2.8 liters.)

I have boneless skinless chicken breast in my freezer in individual serving sizes. I used 5 portions this time that I just poach simply and then the broth comes from poaching them eventually also goes into the big pot when I get to that point. When the chicken has cooled I shred it to be added back into the soup later.

But before I do any adding back, I sauté three large onions (red and white), two shallots, two packages of baby Bella mushrooms (2 10 oz packages), Herbes de Provence and salt in butter. Just a few tablespoons of butter (maybe 5?). When the onions are translucent and the mushrooms are tender I’ll use a couple shakes of the Wondra gravy making flour (very fine flour for those not familiar) and stir around until it cooks in the pot.

Then I add in the shredded chicken. Then I add the bone broth (strained). I will also note that I cut up the carrots I used in the making of the bone broth into little pieces and add that as well.Then I cook down on low for a few hours and add a few tablespoons of ricotta and 2 tablespoons of cream cheese. I stir that in let it cook some more and serve. Before I serve it I add a little fresh ground cracked pepper and stir that in as well.

The soup is not clear but it’s not heavy creamy.

Note that people act like bone broth is so complicated. And it’s not. When you roast a chicken save the carcass and freeze it. When you buy a chicken to roast save the gizzards, liver, and neck and wing tips and freeze them. To that you add water, celery, carrots, onion, white wine, and spices and salt of your choice and set the pot on soup/broth. It’s that simple.

I like this soup. And I like it because it’s not quite clear and it’s not super dense creamy. Super dense creamy soups look wonderful but they are hard on the digestion. And I think with this soup you also get the great flavor of the baby Bella mushrooms.

Anyway that’s kind of how I make it and I hope it works for you.