This keto mushroom bisque gets its thick, velvety body from pureed mushrooms and cream, not a flour roux, with blue cheese melted in for depth, at about 6 grams of net carb a bowl. It is a few ingredients and a lot of flavor, the soup my family asks for all winter.
Ok I just couldn't wait anymore for the weather to get any colder here. I was craving soup and I happened to have a big container of mini portabellas from Costco that needed to be cooked. I decided to share with all of you my recipe for Mushroom Bisque. It contains minimal ingredients, but is full of so much flavor that your family will be wanting you to make this all winter long. Like most soup recipes, most bisques include adding a roux made of flour and butter. I have found that a little cream and cheese makes a great Low Carb substitution for a roux and it is so much more flavorful. I also love the flavor of shallots in this recipe. Shallots are a great Low Carb option to add instead of onions. They have fewer carbs and they are flavor packed. Try them next time instead of adding garlic and onions. I hope you enjoy this hearty soup this winter.
No flour roux, just mushrooms and cream
A bisque is a French term, classically a shellfish soup thickened with rice or a roux. This is really a mushroom veloute, and the roux is exactly what it does not need. Cook the mushrooms all the way down so they give up their flavor, simmer them in beef broth, then add cream and blend the whole pot smooth. The pureed mushrooms and the cream give it a thick, spoon-coating body on their own, no flour and no gum, so it stays around 6 grams of net carb instead of the load a roux would bring.
Blue cheese and beef broth for depth
Two choices take this past an ordinary cream-of-mushroom. Beef broth makes a deeper, meatier base than the usual chicken or vegetable stock, and a handful of blue cheese melted in at the end gives it a sharp, funky edge that mushrooms and cream alone never get to. Garnish each bowl with a little more blue cheese. It is a starter that holds its own next to a roast, and there are more options in my low carb side dishes guide.
Sources:
USDA FoodData Central, nutrient reference for mushrooms, beef broth, cream, and blue cheese
Sugarfreechic test kitchen, flourless mushroom bisque notes
