Author: Lauren Antle, Texas A&M University Dietetic Intern

Reviewed by: Jessianna Saville, MS, RDN, CSR, LD, CLT

Is it just me, or does a nice bowl of soup never go out a season? Whether you’re homesick or suffering from allergies and/or illness, there is always a time and place for a bowl of soup. Cream soup in particular, are not only delicious on their own but are often used as addition to other recipes.  As individuals suffering from kidney disease, I’m sure this is one of the first things you cut out of your diet to help cut back on sodium, but I’m here to tell you that that is not necessary.

I’m not saying to go to your local Panera and buy a big bowl of soup in a bread bowl. No, no. I’m talking about a nice homemade cream-of-whatever you love soup. Jacqueline Abels, MA, RD, CSR, LD a renal dietitian at Saint Francis Hospital dialysis in Oklahoma created this recipe.   for her patients to replace condensed cream soups in their favorite comfort food dishes.  This is a great recipe that I’m beyond excited to share. And the best part about this recipe: it is SO easy.

Homemade Renal-Friendly Cream of Mushroom Soup

For the cream soup you’ve been missing on your renal diet!

• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 25 mins
• Yield: 2, 1/2 cup servings 1x

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup finely minced onion or shallot
• 1/4 cup finely minced mushrooms
• 2 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup reduced / low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• Dash of sea salt
• Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a 10 inch skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft.
2. Add mushrooms, stir and cook for about 5 minutes or so. Sprinkle flour over vegetables and let cook for a minute or two.
3. Whisk in broth and “milk” and stir until smooth. Bring to a simmer and cook until thick, about 5 minutes.

Notes

Rice milk has lowest potassium and phos of alternative milks. However, almond milk, oat milk, cashew milk could also be used in this recipe.

Original recipe calls for 1/2 c mushrooms. If you’re not on potassium restriction, then 1/2 c of mushrooms is ideal.

KidneyGrub Verdict:

I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of mushrooms but I am when it comes to this soup. Like most cream soups, this one is thick and hearty without all the bad nutrients that normally accompany it. Eat a salad on the side and you have yourself a filling meal.

We made a few slight modifications to the original recipe to make this as renal friendly as possible.
When we first made it, we followed the recipe as it said.  We were surprised to see its phos and potassium content comparable to a can of condensed soup. Turns out,  canned cream soup has very little cream in it so it actually is fairly reasonable when it comes to potassium and phosphorus.     Compared to a can of  Condensed Cream of Mushroom soup, our homemade one is slightly higher in potassium and phosphorus, but significantly lower in sodium (three cheers for cutting some salt out). For 1/2 cup Campbell’s™ there are 104 calories, 1.6 g protein, 24 mg phosphorus, 86 mg potassium, and 899 mg sodium. Canned soup , as noted above, is actually relatively low in potassium and phosphorus since it is primarily flavored with oil, salt, and artificial ingredients, such as MSG and soy protein concentrate.  Comparatively, our original recipe ended up having 219 calories, 3.4 g protein, 50 g phosphorus, 162 mg potassium, and 156 mg sodium.

The original recipe had about 1/2 cup of diced fresh mushrooms. After analyzing the ingredients, we realized this was the primary source of potassium.  In our recipe, we used just a 1/4 cup of mushrooms.   If you’re not on a potassium restriction then definitely keep the whole amount of mushrooms (we always love more veggies, even the fungus variety!). Our modification dropped the potassium to  134 mg of potassium, not a huge difference  (~30mg) but with a serving size of 1/2 cup for the soup, we thought this would be helpful for some.

Although our homemade cream soup is slightly higher in potassium and phos then the canned version, these two nutrients still fall into the renal-friendly ranges with the modifications we made. The real win in this recipe is the sodium content and decrease amount of artificial ingredients. Our homemade soup cut out 80% of the sodium. That is huge in the world of soups.

Also check out our kidney-friendly cream sauce for another kidney-friendly way to bring cream back into your diet.