This Beef Mushroom Soup is great the day that you make it but it will be even better the next day.
I used a more expensive cut of beef and it made all of the difference in the flavor. I used beef chuck boneless country style ribs that I got at my Safeway store. I think it was $5.69 a pound which is a crazy price for something you are making soup out of but the recipe makes about 10 cups which should serve 6-8.
I spent some time trimming all of the gristle and pieces of fat off of the meat before cutting it into chunks but it was the nicest marbled beef that I have seen at Safeway in months.
Besides fresh mushrooms, this soup has dried wild mushrooms, leeks and a few carrots.
I bought the big container of dried mixed wild mushrooms at Costco. I have to tell you that I hesitated buying them there for several months because the mushrooms are sourced from China. No offense to China, but their track record has not been very good the last few years!
I finally went ahead and bought them because every time I looked at the containers on my visits to Costco, the mushrooms always looked fresh and clean. I trust Costco to only sell products that they have tested themselves for purity and sanitation (I hope!).
I have a little tip for you about leftover tomato paste and what to do with it- freeze it in tablespoon sized dollops on a piece of wax paper. When it is frozen, remove it from the wax paper and place the chunks together in a freezer ziplock or tupperware container. The pieces won’t stick together and you will have portioned amounts of tomato paste for next time.
I shared this recipe with Gluten Free Wednesdays at The Gluten Free Homemaker, Real Food Wednesday at Kelly The Kitchen Kop, Simple Lives Thursday at A Little Bit Of Spain In Iowa, Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet, Fight Back Friday at The Food Renegade, Finer Things Friday at The Finer Things In Life, Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home
Trim any gristle and fat off of meat and cut into chunks:
2 and 1/2 pounds beef chuck boneless country style ribs
Brown meat in large stock pot with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt and some fresh ground pepper. I browned mine in 2 batches.
While meat is browning add:
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dry basil
1/4 teaspoon dry marjoram
dash cayenne
dash chile powder (I used Gebharts)
After meat has browned and the juices have cooked down add:
1/2 cup red wine to deglaze the pan (I used the zin that I was drinking)
Cook down again and add:
5 cups beef stock
2 cups dried wild mushrooms that have been rehydrated in a bowl of hot water and then chopped (chopped they will measure about 1 and 1/3 cups)
Add the soaking liquid too except for the last little bit of stuff in the bottom. You can strain it if you would rather.
1 pound fresh white mushrooms, sliced
2 cups leeks, washed thoroughly and chopped (about 3 medium leeks)
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Cook soup down until meat and vegies are tender.
This soup will be even better the next day.
Makes about 10 cups which should be 6-8 servings.
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The soup looks great. I bought those mushrooms at Costco and will use them for this soup.
As to leftover tomato paste (or pesto or similar stuff), I freeze it in ice cube trays. The cubes squeeze out easily to be kept in a ziploc bag.
Thank you for your comments Rike!