Hungarian Mushroom Soup

It’s a Hungarian classic.

By
Devan Grimsrud
Devan Grimsrud
Devan Grimsrud

Devan Grimsrud is a Berlin-based writer, editor, and recipe developer originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. After working in television production with James Beard Award-winning chef Andrew Zimmern, she relocated to Berlin and became the managing editor at Kitchen Stories, an international digital cooking platform with millions of active users. 

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Updated January 28, 2025
Devan Grimsrud
A bowl with Hungarian mushroom soup, topped with sour cream, fresh dill, and smoked paprika

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Mushroom soups are some of my favorite soups. They’re hearty without being heavy, earthy, and savory without requiring meat, and super simple to make from scratch. 

This particular mushroom soup is one that I know I’ll keep going back to because it’s easy to make but full of flavor and flexible enough for on-the-fly substitutions. The flavor is a mix of creamy mushroom soup and goulash, all thanks to one special ingredient: Hungarian sweet paprika.

What Is Hungarian Sweet Paprika?

This mushroom soup gets its flavor profile from the popular spice we all have in our cupboards: paprika. It’s made by grinding dried red peppers to a fine powder, the flavor and color of which can vary widely from mild to very pungent, sweet to smoky, deep to pale red.

The most popular paprika doesn’t have a special name—it’s just called paprika—and could be produced anywhere from Hungary to California, Mexico to Spain, or even a mix of all of these. It’s probably the one many of us already have a jar of at home, and it’s not obviously sweet, spicy, or smoky in flavor.

For this recipe, you’ll want to seek out and use Hungarian sweet paprika, sometimes also labeled noble sweet paprika. The color of this paprika is bright red and it tastes a little fruity, sweet, and mild. Those flavors act as the perfect foil to the earthy, creamy flavors in this mushroom soup.

Two bowls with Hungarian mushroom soup, topped with sour cream, fresh dill, and smoked paprika

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Swaps and Substitutions in Hungarian Mushroom Soup

This recipe can be tweaked many different ways depending on what you have on hand:

  • If you don’t have access to fresh thyme and dill, use dried. Sub in 1 teaspoon of the dried stuff for every tablespoon called for in the recipe.
  • If dill isn’t your thing, swap in fresh parsley instead.
  • Use a mix of different mushrooms like oyster, cremini, chanterelle, or portobello.
  • Use chicken stock instead of vegetable stock for an even richer soup.
  • Sub Greek yogurt in for the sour cream for a lighter finish.
  • If you can’t find Hungarian sweet paprika, you can use regular paprika in a pinch.
  • Make this recipe gluten-free by swapping the all-purpose flour out with half the amount of cornstarch.
  • Like garlic? Add some!

More Ways to Eat Mushrooms

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 35 mins
Total Time 50 mins
Servings 4 servings
Yield 6 cups
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 2 cups chopped yellow onion (about 2 large onions)

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

  • 1 1/2 pounds button mushrooms, sliced

  • 2 tablespoons fresh dill, plus more for serving

  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

  • 2 teaspoons paprika, plus more for serving

  • 3 cups vegetable stock

  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  • 1 cup whole milk

  • 1/2 cup sour cream, plus more for serving

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

  1. Sauté the onions and mushrooms:

    Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and salt and sauté until nearly translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until all of the liquid from the mushrooms has started to cook off and the mushrooms themselves have shrunk by about a third, around 10 minutes.

  2. Make the soup base:

    Add the dill, thyme, and sweet paprika and stir to combine. Let cook for a minute before adding the vegetable stock. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for at least 10 minutes.

    Add the flour and milk to a small bowl and whisk to combine, then add to the pot. Let cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 more minutes.

    Simple Tip!

    Do not let the soup boil again, otherwise, the milk could curdle; this won’t affect taste or texture, but is less visually appealing.

    Simple Tip!

    To make this soup vegan, substitute the milk with a dairy-free alternative.

  3. Finish and serve:

    Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream. Season to taste with more salt and freshly ground black pepper before serving with a little more sour cream, sweet paprika, and fresh dill over each bowl.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
323 Calories
20g Fat
31g Carbs
9g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 323
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 20g 26%
Saturated Fat 11g 57%
Cholesterol 54mg 18%
Sodium 859mg 37%
Total Carbohydrate 31g 11%
Dietary Fiber 6g 22%
Total Sugars 14g
Protein 9g
Vitamin C 15mg 74%
Calcium 151mg 12%
Iron 4mg 22%
Potassium 990mg 21%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.