AIP cream of mushroom soup built on a coconut milk base, thickened with an arrowroot slurry, no dairy and no flour

Cooking the mushrooms down until they stop steaming and actually start to brown takes real standing-there time, longer than most soup steps ask of you. Skipping that step is tempting and it is also the one thing that keeps this from tasting like a puddle instead of a bowl of soup. No dairy, no flour, no roux anywhere near it: the body of this soup comes entirely from coconut milk and a small arrowroot slurry.

Selenium is the nutrient worth knowing about here, concentrated in the mushrooms, and your thyroid depends on it to convert and use its own hormones correctly. Potassium from the sweet potato underneath does its own separate job, holding fluid balance and energy steady through the day.

The broth underneath comes from an animal used down to its bones, nothing wasted in that, worth a small nod of thanks while the pot simmers. Let your kitchen actually fill with the smell of it while it cooks, and when the bowl is finally in front of you, actually sit with it for a minute rather than eat it on your feet, half-watching your phone.

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1/4 cup sliced shallot
• 1 drop honey (helps the shallot caramelize)
• 1/2 cup finely diced white sweet potato
• 8 oz mixed mushrooms (baby bella, shiitake, oyster, or similar)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• black pepper omitted for AIP elimination (see Notes)
• 4 cups beef bone broth
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, rounded
• 1 Tbsp arrowroot starch
• 1 Tbsp water

Method

Warm the coconut oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the sliced shallot and the single drop of honey, and cook until the shallot softens and starts to turn golden, a few minutes. Stir in the diced sweet potato and let it cook for a few minutes more.

Add the mushrooms and the sea salt. Cook, stirring now and then, until the mushrooms release their liquid and that liquid cooks back down, so the mushrooms brown rather than steam.

Pour in the bone broth and the coconut milk. Stir in the apple cider vinegar and the thyme. Bring it up to a gentle simmer and hold it there until the sweet potato is fully tender.

Stir the arrowroot and water together in a small bowl until smooth. Pour the slurry into the simmering soup while stirring, and let it cook another minute or two until the broth thickens to a creamy body. Taste, adjust the salt, and serve warm.

Instant Pot variation

Use the Saute setting to cook the shallot, sweet potato, and mushrooms as above. Add the broth, coconut milk, vinegar, and thyme. Seal and cook on high pressure for about 5 minutes, then quick-release. Switch back to Saute, stir in the arrowroot slurry, and simmer briefly until thickened. Pressure time is untested and is an estimate.

Notes

Black pepper is omitted here because it is a seed spice and is not allowed in the elimination phase. The source lists it with the same instruction to omit. Reintroduce it later if it tests fine for you.

Servings and total time are estimates, not stated in the source. Confirm your bone broth and coconut milk are clean-label, with no added gums, sugars, or seed-based additives. Choose a coconut milk free of additives where you can.

*Adapted from wendisaipkitchen.com*