Move over canned mushroom soup there’s a new recipe in town! A hearty bowl of mushroom soup with bacon is all you need on those cooler spring days. The earthy Ali‘i mushrooms from Hamakua Mushrooms or homegrown oyster mushrooms with the added smokey flavor from our bacon bits give this traditional mushroom soup a farm-to-table restaurant quality. When you start with great local ingredients, the flavors are just so much better!

When making this recipe I used pork stock made from Sugar Hill Farmstead pastured pork bones, available on the Big Island through the Bone Stock Up. The taste of the pork bone broth was out-of-this-world good, and only took 15-minutes in the Instant Pot. For once, I had no bone broth on hand so I threw the pork bones into the Instant Pot with 4 cups of water. Most mushroom soup recipes call for chicken or vegetable stock but pork bone broth is just as neutral as chicken stock but gave a little more depth in flavor to the finished soup. Plus, getting all those yummy pastured pork nutrients is an added bonus to an already delicious soup.

Let’s talk bacon in mushroom soup. How did I ever live without it? Sugar Hill Farmstead bacon bits were absolutely ideal for this mushroom soup recipe, you’d think I planned it this way. To start the soup out, you’ll cook the bacon and then your mushrooms and onions in the kiawe wood smoked bacon drippings. Once the soup is made, you fold the crispy bacon bits into the soup where they hide as flavor bombs.

You might want to double this recipe of mushroom soup with bacon because it’s just that good! When you give this recipe a try tag your creations with @sugarhillfarmstead on Instagram and Facebook, I’d love to see how you’re enjoying your mushroom soup!

Ingredients

1/2 pound Sugar Hill Farmstead bacon bits or 5 slices of bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch lengths

2 tablespoons grass-fed ghee

1 onion, diced

Sea salt

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 1/2 pounds mushrooms, sliced (recommended: Ali‘i, oyster, or cremini,)

2 medium potatoes, diced (white potatoes, local red-skinned or Yukon gold work)

2 tablespoons organic all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

4 cups chicken or pork stock

1/2 cup heavy cream or fresh local milk

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Method

Add the bacon to a wide, large pot and bring it to a medium heat. Cook the bacon, stirring frequently until it gets crispy and has released a lot of fat. Set the bacon aside but keep the fat in the pot. To the bacon fat, add the diced onions and a tablespoon of ghee, if needed. Season the onions with salt and cook until they are soft and very aromatic about 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes. Add the mushrooms to the pan, season with salt and cook until they are soft and have released their juices, about 6 to 7 minutes. You may need to add another tablespoon of ghee. Scoop out a third of the mushroom and reserve with the bacon. To the pot, add the diced potatoes and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of flour. Add the apple cider vinegar and cook for 5-10 minutes careful not to brown the potatoes, but enough to cook the flour. Add the stock and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Stirring occasionally, simmer the soup for 30 minutes. Add the cream and simmer for 10 minutes more. Using a blender or immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Return the soup to the pot and fold in the reserved bacon and mushrooms. Taste the soup and add a little sea salt, if needed. Garnish the soup with the chopped fresh parsley right before serving. Enjoy!