The Ultimate Vegan Hangover Soup | Oyster Mushroom Soup with Pickles or Vegan Tripe Soup

This vegan hangover soup is a Pleurotus (oyster mushroom) soup with pickles, built as a plant-based version of the classic sour tripe soup. Oyster mushrooms give it the chewy texture, while pickle brine, garlic and a mustard-based “mayo” deliver the tangy, restorative kick you want the morning after. It is light, low-fat and ready in about half an hour.

This vegan hangover soup is one of my favorite soup recipes ever. I used to love tripe soup back when I was a meat-eater, and I will be 100% honest with you: this vegan version is 1000 times better than the original meat tripe soup recipe. The taste, the texture, the color, everything lands in the same place, except this one is light enough that you actually feel better after eating it instead of heavier.

I love cooking with mushrooms, and oyster mushrooms are the whole trick here. Torn into strips, they take on that soft-but-springy bite that tripe soup is famous for, then they soak up the sour pickle broth like little sponges. That is what makes this taste like the real thing without a single animal product in the pot.

This Recipe Works If You Need

• A sour, restorative bowl the morning after one too many drinks, when you want something warm and tangy instead of greasy.
• A vegan stand-in for sour tripe soup (ciorba de burta) that hits the same flavor and texture notes.
• A light, low-fat soup that still feels comforting and substantial.
• A fast weeknight pot of soup, since it comes together in roughly 30 minutes.
• A creative way to use up a jar of pickles and a jar of pickled red bell peppers sitting in the fridge.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It nails the tripe-soup texture. Oyster mushrooms give that signature chewy, springy bite, so meat-eaters rarely notice anything is missing.
• It is properly sour. Using the brine from both pickle jars as the soup base gives you a deep, tangy broth without needing to add extra vinegar at the end.
• It is light and low-fat. No animal fat, no heavy stock, just mushrooms, vegetables and a small amount of olive oil.
• You get two finishing options. Build the creamy “mayo” from mustard and starch, or use vegan mayo, depending on what you have on hand.
• It is quick. From slicing to serving it is about half an hour, most of which is hands-off boiling.
• It is naturally vegan and budget-friendly. Pantry pickles, a few carrots, garlic and one bag of mushrooms feed a pot of soup.

Ingredient Notes

Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus) are the star, and they are what stand in for tripe. Look for clusters that are firm and dry to the touch with clean, undamaged edges; slimy or browning caps are past their best. Do not rinse them under running water because they soak it up and turn mushy. Wipe them with a damp cloth instead and tear or slice them into strips so they keep that meaty, chewy texture in the broth.

Pickled cucumbers do double duty here. You use about half the jar’s liquid as the souring base for the broth, plus 5 sliced pickles for body and bite. Reach for naturally fermented or vinegar-brined cucumbers with no added sweeteners, since a sweet pickle will throw off the savory, sour balance you are after.

Pickled red bell peppers bring color and a milder, slightly sweet tang. As with the cucumbers, half the brine goes into the pot and 5 slices go in whole. They are what give the soup that warm reddish color people associate with the original tripe soup.

Garlic is used generously, a full head split between two stages. Some cloves are sliced and boiled into the broth, and the rest are mashed raw into the “mayo” at the end. That raw hit of garlic right before serving is classic for sour tripe soup and gives it real punch.

Mustard, corn starch and olive oil make up the first, lighter finishing option. Whipped together with a hand mixer they emulsify into a creamy “mayo” that thickens and enriches the soup. The corn starch is what gives the broth its silky body, so do not skip it if you want that velvety finish.

Vegan mayo is the shortcut for the second finishing option. It makes the soup a touch richer and creamier and saves you a step, so use it on days when you do not feel like building the mustard emulsion from scratch.

Carrots, curry powder and coriander round everything out. The carrots add gentle sweetness and color, while the half teaspoon of curry and a pinch of ground coriander warm up the broth without making it taste like curry. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste, keeping in mind the pickle brine is already salty.

Tips

• Temper the “mayo” before it goes in the pot. This is the step that makes or breaks the soup. Never pour the mustard or vegan mayo straight into boiling water or it will split. Add about 1 cup of hot broth at a time into the “mayo” bowl, pouring slowly and stirring constantly, until you have worked in roughly 800 ml. Only then pour it back into the pot.
• Taste the brine before you commit. Pickle jars vary a lot in saltiness and sourness. Combine the brine from both jars with the 1 L of water, taste it, and adjust with more water if it is too sharp before you start boiling.
• Do not over-boil the mushrooms. Fifteen minutes is enough to make them tender while keeping that springy bite. Boil them too long and they go limp and lose the tripe-like texture that makes this soup convincing.
• Add the raw garlic last. Mashing the reserved cloves into the “mayo” rather than the broth keeps the garlic sharp and aromatic. You will smell it the moment it hits the hot soup, which is exactly what you want.
• Pull it off the heat after the “mayo” goes in. Once the emulsion is stirred back into the pot, remove it from the heat and serve. Holding it at a boil afterward risks splitting the creamy finish.

Substitutions and Variations

• Mustard “mayo” or vegan mayo. The recipe gives you both. The mustard, starch and olive oil version is lighter and tangier; the vegan mayo version is faster and a little creamier. Pick based on what you have and how rich you want it.
• Swap the thickener. If you are out of corn starch, a little potato starch or even a spoon of flour whisked into the cold “mayo” base will thicken the broth in a similar way. Just make sure it is fully dissolved before tempering.
• Adjust the sour level. Want it sharper? Use more of the pickle brine and less water. Prefer it milder? Hold back on the brine and lean on plain water, then add a splash of brine at the end to fine-tune.
• Make it heartier. A handful of cooked rice or a few diced potatoes added with the carrots turns this into a more filling meal while keeping the sour-soup character intact.

Storage and Make Ahead

This soup keeps well in the fridge for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container, and many people think the sour flavor deepens by the next day. Reheat it gently over low heat rather than at a hard boil, since aggressive reheating can cause the creamy “mayo” finish to separate. If you want to make it ahead, you can prepare the broth with the mushrooms, carrots and pickles, then stir in the freshly made “mayo” only when you reheat and serve, which keeps the texture at its best.

I love cooking with mushrooms, so if you do too, you should try my Cream of Mushroom Soup with Thyme next. For more ideas with this exact ingredient, browse all my oyster mushroom recipes, and if you are after another comforting bowl, my vegan red lentil soup is a cozy place to start.

The Ultimate Vegan Hangover Soup | Oyster Mushroom Soup with Pickles

This is the ultimate vegan hangover soup! This oyster mushroom (Pleurotus) soup with pickles is a plant-based take on the classic tripe soup – tangy, comforting, and ready in about 40 minutes.

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Rate

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Choose Serving Size 6

Ingredients 

• 1 jar pickled cucumbers use 1/2 of the liquid + 5 pickles
• 1 jar pickled red bell peppers use 1/2 of the liquid + 5 red bell pepper slices
• 500 g oyster mushrooms
• 3 carrots
• 1 head garlic
• sea salt ground pepper and ground coriander, to taste

Soup dressing – option 1:

• 2 tsp corn starch
• 2 tbsp mustard
• ½ tsp curry powder
• 3 Tbsp olive oil

Soup dressing – option 2:

• 3 tbsp vegan mayo

Instructions

• Pour the vinegar from both pickle jars into a pot. Add 1 L of water.
• Slice the carrots and the oyster mushrooms.
• Let them boil for 15 minutes.
• Add 5 sliced pickles and 5 sliced pickled red bell peppers.
• Add 5-6 sliced garlic cloves.
• Let them boil for another 10 minutes.
• If you choose the first sauce option: in a separate large bowl, add the mustard, corn starch, olive oil and curry powder. Mix using a hand mixer.
• Mash and add the rest of the garlic cloves into the mustard “mayo”.
• If you choose the second version, add the vegan mayo, but keep in mind the instruction below.
• Important! Don’t add the “mayo” into the boiling water. Add about 1 cup of hot water from the pot at a time into the “mayo” bowl. Pour slowly and mix continuously. Keep adding hot water and mixing until you’ve added about 800 ml of water from the boiling pot into the “mayo” bowl. Now you can pour this back into the soup pot.
• Remove from heat and serve.

Notes

Pick one of the two finishing options: the mustard-and-starch “mayo” or a ready-made vegan mayo – both thicken the soup. Temper the “mayo” with hot soup liquid before returning it to the pot so it doesn’t curdle. Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 3 days; reheat gently without boiling.

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