Chestnut and shiitake mushroom soup

Chestnut and shiitake mushroom soup is a delicious seasonal dish you’ll love! It’s loaded with nutrition and features flavor combinations that are to die for: sweet, nutty chestnuts and earthy, umami shiitake mushrooms.

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Ingredients notes:

Our chestnut and shiitake mushroom soup recipe makes about 6 servings. Here are some important ingredient notes:

1. Chestnuts

You’ll need 3 cups or about 1 pound of chestnuts. We suggest weighing the nuts for most accuracy since size varies by type of chestnut.

Also, you can use whole fresh or frozen chestnuts when making this recipe. Some store-bought chestnuts have already been removed from their shells and papery inner covering (testa). If this is what you’re using, you’re ready to start making this recipe!  

If you’re using un-shelled chestnuts, you’ll need to remove the shells and testas before getting started. Here’s how:  

• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
• Carefully cut each chestnut in half using a kitchen knife.
• Bake them nut-side-up for 35 minutes.
• Once cooled, the nuts should be easy to remove from their shells and testas.  

*Note: This soup contains no wheat, making it ideal for anyone with gluten sensitivities. However, if you have tree nut allergies, you might be out of luck. 

2. Shiitakes… and a vitamin D-boosting hack

We use 2 cups of fresh shiitakes, measured after dicing. (That’s 7 whole shiitakes.) So if you’re using dried shiitakes, use 7 to make this recipe.  

One health hack we recommend before you use your shiitakes is to put them gill-side up in the sun for a day (or at least a few hours) prior to using them. This can boost the Vitamin D2 levels in shiitake mushrooms from around 100 IU to 46,000 IU per 100 grams of mushrooms.

In case you’re wondering how much 100 grams of fresh shiitake mushrooms is, that’s about 4 shiitakes. 

So this simple hack will help turn your chestnut-shiitake soup into an immune-boosting and mood-improving powerhouse! Yes, you can do this hack with either fresh or dried shiitakes, but fresh is best.  

Related: See our guide How to grow shiitake mushrooms at home.

What kitchen tools and supplies do you need?

You don’t need any fancy kitchen equipment to make this recipe, just a couple of pots and a food processor. 

Recipe tips and process photos:

Here are a few important notes and details to help you get this recipe just right:

1. Two pots, one recipe. 

You’ll be starting with two pots on the stove:

• one large pot for your mushroom sauté, and
• one medium-sized pot for your chestnuts. 

You’ll sauté your mushrooms and onions until lightly browned in one pot at the same time as you soften your chestnuts (and infuse them with additional flavor) in the other pot. Then you’ll combine them after about 20 minutes.

2. For your shiitake sauté, you’ll need: 

• 1 large white or yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 cup fresh shiitakes, measured after dicing (7 whole mushrooms) 
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or unsalted butter + more as-needed as the mushrooms start absorbing the fat
• *1/3 cup white or rose wine (*added at end to de-glaze pot) 

Instructions: Turn pot to medium heat and stir every few minutes to prevent burning. You may also need to add a bit more fat and stir more frequently as they finish cooking over ~20 minutes. 

Once the mushrooms and onions are lightly browned, add your wine, deglaze the pot with a spatula and remove the pot from heat. 

3. For your chestnut pot, you’ll need: 

• 3 cups chestnuts (1 pound)
• 2 cups organic chicken or veggie stock (or 2 cups water + 2 tsp chicken bouillon or bouillon of your choice)

Instructions: You want enough liquid to just cover the tops of your chestnuts. You’ll start with your lid ON so you don’t lose much water.

Bring pot to boil over high heat, then immediately turn down to low and continue cooking with lid on for about 20 minutes.  

4. Combine into single large pot + add other ingredients.

Once you’ve deglazed your mushroom pot with wine, you’ll pour in your chestnuts from the other pot. Then you’ll add: 

• 2 cups whole organic grass-fed milk
• 1 cup organic grass-fed cream
• 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp salt

Continue cooking over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes with lid OFF. Stir occasionally to make sure ingredients aren’t sticking or scalding on the bottom of pot.

5. Puree in food processor

Remove pot from heat and let the ingredients cool enough to not be dangerously hot before placing them in your food processor. While still warm, puree all ingredients in food processor until they’re smooth and creamy. 

Note: Your soup will thicken considerably once the chestnuts are pureed. Want to tweak the final consistency?

• Thinner – Add more water, milk or cream if you want a thinner soup.
• Thicker – Cook for a bit longer to reduce water content if you want a thicker soup.

6. Garnish and serve (or store)

Ladle portions into soup bowls then garnish with fresh seasonal ingredients before serving. For instance, we used onion chives, rosemary flowers, and pineapple sage flowers from our garden. 

If not eating immediately, store soup in airtight glass jar/container in your fridge for up to 5 days. Warm before eating. 

Drop us a note and a rating in the comments to let us know how your chestnut and shiitake mushroom soup turned out!

KIGI,

More chestnut articles and recipes you’ll love!

• How to grow (organically), harvest, and use chestnuts
• How to make chestnut flour
• Cast iron pan-roasted chestnuts on a stovetop
• One-pot roasted chicken with chestnuts and crabapples (or Granny Smith apples)
• Chestnut flour cake with persimmons and buttermilk
• Chestnut spread infused with spruce needles
• Chestnut flour crepes with beautyberry whipped cream
• Chestnut breakfast porridge with pan-roasted Asian persimmons
• American persimmon pie with chestnut flour pie crust
• Chestnut crabapple mash