When we started out on this new journey of eating healthy, I knew a lot of things would have to change…….like canned soups.
They are chock full of MSG. I’ve known MSG wasn’t really good for you for a while. Barry’s grandmother would always get sick if she ate it.
BUT, even knowing that I held on to my little cans of condensed soup. I thought you’d have to pry them out of my cold dead hands……they are the base of so many of my recipes that I was having a very hard time parting with them.
And then, here comes Tammy with a great recipe for a homemade version. Tammy puts out some fabulous recipes and I’m thankful to her for that. After making her soup, I know I won’t look back.
It’s DELICIOUS! And easy. Have I ever told you that I like easy stuff? Bye, bye MSG. Hello creaminess.
You’re going to be amazed at how simple this is.
You might smack yourself in the forehead and have a “duh” moment…..or maybe that’s just me. I’m glad I didn’t smack myself while I was still holding that can – that would have hurt like the dickens.
Anyway, you need chicken broth, poultry seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, parsley, paprika, milk, and flour. That’s it.
And I used whole wheat flour in mine. If it’s white, it’s generally to be avoided…..sorta like my legs. Please don’t look directly at them in order to avoid blindness.
In a saucepan, combine the broth, ½ cup milk, and all the seasonings. I used homemade chicken broth for a really great full-bodied flavor. Use a whisk to do your stirring because you’re going to need it in a minute, so why dirty up two utensils?
Bring this mixture to a boil and let it cook for a minute or two. Let the flavors mingle.
Mix the rest of your milk and flour together in a small bowl.
While the broth mixture is still boiling, add the flour/milk mixture slowly.
Whisk continuously until the mixture becomes thick. If you walk away, it might burn…..or at least that always happens to me. A continuous whisk will keep your mixture from lumping up or sticking to the bottom of your pot.
And that’s it. Can you believe it? The flavor of this will blow your mind – the canned stuff doesn’t even come close. Thanks Tammy!This batch makes the equivalent of two cans of condensed soup. I used half in a recipe and froze the other half. Tammy says this freezes wonderfully.
**I use this version from Heavenly Homemakers for Cream of Mushroom or Celery.
Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup by Tammy’s Recipes
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (or less; taste to test)
- 1/4 teaspoon parsley
- dash of paprika
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 3/4 cup flour
- In a medium-sized saucepan, boil chicken broth, 1/2 cup of the milk, and the seasonings for a minute or two (longer if using fresh onions or garlic).
- In a bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 cup of milk and flour. Add to boiling mixture and continue whisking briskly until mixture boils and thickens.
*This yields about two cans of condensed Cream of Chicken soup.
After carefully reading this recipe and taking note that white foods are generally unhealthy, I made this soup, using brown milk instead of white to make it extra healthy. Turns out chocolate chicken soup isn’t so great!
Hahahaha, ok I didn’t really! 😉 This recipe is great though! I love Tammy’s Recipes!
But have you heard of Chocolate Gravy? It’s totally legit. 🙂
This sounds so awesome… my pastors wife fixed a homemade cream of chicken yrs ago with barley in it… how would you add barley to this?
I would just throw it in! 🙂 I’m not entirely sure on the cook time for barley, so I would just add it after the soup was made and cook until it was tender.
I’ve purchased 25lbs of wholes chickens recently so I plan on making a ton of stock soon and can’t wait to try this recipe!! I do have a question, since canned condensed soup is so thick and goopy, wouldn’t this homemade version make casseroles runny????
It hasn’t for me – and if you freeze it, the consistency gets thicker…even in the fridge. You might need to add less liquid to a traditional recipe that uses condensed soup….but I haven’t had a runny casserole yet. 🙂
Thank you for this recipe!! I used it in a chicken casserole and all 4 of my kiddos gobbled it up. It was such a good feeling knowing their wasn’t any junk in there! I’m new to cooking from scratch with whole foods, so thank you for an easy recipe that even I couldn’t mess up!
Good job, mama! 🙂
I looked at the recipe for cream of celery or mushrooms. There was no mention of celery….would I just substitue the celery for mushrooms? Saute the celery instead of mushrooms???
Yep – just whatever you want cream “of.” 🙂
oh my gosh that was easy!
would it fit THM if I used almond milk and glucomannon to thicken it instead of the flour?
Yes….it would be much like the Basic Gravy found in the book.
No, I haven’t….but I have some dairy free friends who use unflavored almond milk. 🙂
Just found your blog today and am pinning a ton of things. Thanks so much! I have two in my family who are lactose intolerant; Have you ever tried this with Lactaid? Or have any tips for trying it with Lactaid? TIA
Have you used this recipe in crockpot recipes?
Thanks.
Sure have! Works just fine. 🙂
Thank you! Our family loves knephla soup – but it calls for canned cream of chicken soup and I was trying to find a way to fix this. Can’t wait to make it again now that I have your recipe!
I’ve never heard of that soup…..recipe?
Hey, Stacy. Someone may have already asked, but do you think this would work with any type of flour? Trying to cut out gluten for the hubby and new to it all!! Thanks a bunch!
I would think something like rice flour would work – but I would be hesitant to try coconut or almond. 🙂
Lindsey – we also don’t have gluten here, and I just made some with brown rice flour – very tasty! 🙂
This sounds great! One question: The recipe says it is the equivalent of 2 cans of condensed soup. Is that 2 cans before water is added (i.e., still condensed) or after?
That’s a good question – I would say after…because it’s thinner than the canned stuff.
I heard that freezing in any kind of plastic isn’t good because due to the expansion and contraction caused by temperature changes, traces of the plastic leach into the food. Has anyone else heard this? I can’t think of a good alternative, however. : /
I have heard not to HEAT in plastic, which I don’t. And I try not to put things in plastic containers unless it’s cooled down – unless I’m using BPA free plastic. 🙂 You can also freeze in glass.
I use Ball/Mason jars. I’m a chef by trade & can tell you that works wonderfully. Little hint though…..don’t fill it up to the very top. Fill it to the top of the curve in the neck & place a small piece plastic wrap over the top & tuck it into the neck. This way you won’t get freezer burn or ice build up on the top. Pop in the fridge over night to defrost & when you open the jar just pull off & recycle the plastic wrap.
Wow! I never knew this was possible, it is an aha moment! Living in Mozambique, they rarely have cream soups available to buy and i have missed some of my favorite meals that use them. wahoo! Thanks for sharing!
Wahoo!!
I love to freeze in ziplock bags. This sounds perfect for the quart size bag. I fill the bag, zip it almost closed, let remaining air out (careful this can be tricky with liquids) and then finish zipping closed. I have a cookie sheet I keep in freezer, lay bag flat on cookie sheet, freeze. After frozen you can stand up or stack, works wonderful. I do this all the time with leftover soup, stews, chili’s, etc. amazing how little space it takes up.
I love that way of freezing too! It works great – I use all sorts of containers.
Im so glad. I felt so guilty buying the odd can of soup knowing what I was feeding my family . I have a chicken curry recipe that just needs the cream of chicken soup in it and it’s one my husband requests often so I will be using my homemade chicken stock this way from now on. Thank you – you make perfect sense !!!
🙂 I hope you enjoy it! You should also check out the Cream of Soup Mix.
So, just to be clear, you would use this as is in a casserole?
Ever tried canning it?
Yes, I use it as-is. Never canned it – just freeze it. 🙂 I like the simplicity of freezing,
Spoken like a woman with plenty of freezer space! I’m going to try it out. Thanks!
LOL That made me snort. 🙂 Yes, I have a deep freeze.
Love the idea of making a bunch and then freezing it! How exactly do you go about freezing it? What kinds of containers, etc? I don’t usually freeze liquids so I don’t know what an efficient way would be. Thanks!
I usually put it in little plastic bowls that I confiscate from anyone I can. LOL For example: sour cream bowls, butter bowls, cottage cheese bowls.
I have a recipe called SOS (Soup or Sauce). Very frugal and good-
Yields 9 cans of cream soup
Try it!
SOS
2 c. Powdered milk
3/4 c. cornstarch
1/4 c. instant chicken bouillon
2 Tbs. dried onion flakes
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
Combine and store in resealable container or plastic bag. Shake to mix.
To use Combine 1/3 c. dry mix with 1 1/4 c. cold water, cook and stir until thickened.
Can use as Alfredo sauce, soups, cheese sauce, or anything you can think of.
Kim, thanks for sharing your recipe here. 🙂
I have been looking for a homemade cream of chicken soup for a while, I haven’t seen any that struck my fancy. Now I have! All I need to do is learn how to can….next on my list!!
Canning isn’t terribly hard. Make sure to get the Ball Blue Book of Preserving. 🙂
I love this ! But I was wondering if you also have recipes to make other cream soups !
No, but I do have recipes that I use from other blogs:
Cream of Mushroom: http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/homemade-cream-of-mushroom-soup
Cream of Celery: http://tammysrecipes.com/homemade_condensed_cream_of_celery_soup
I made this and was so pleased! I used half and froze the rest but it didn’t last long in the freezer, used the rest in a recipe last night.
I”m so glad you like it! I love keeping a stash in my freezer. 🙂 It doubles nicely.
OMG I can’t believe how good this is! I had already made the homemade chicken broth and was looking for something to do with it. I was going to make regular soup but then happened upon this recipe. I doubled the batch because we eat a lot. It was delish. I added rice, carrots, and celery. The only issue was that I had already put a rather generous amount of pepper in my stock so with the added pepper it was saying “HEY I’m pepper!!” But it was still good enough to eat. Next time I’ll just leave out the pepper and add to taste. So glad you put this recipe up! I’m going to make a few more of yours..but I’m waiting on my Kefir grains.
I’m so glad it turned out well for you! 🙂
I just knew if I waited long enough, you would come through with a recipe for this ;o)
This sounds similar to a recipe that I make. I use it to make chicken and dumplings too. I also thicken it just a little more to make home made chicken pot pie. YUMMY! I’m hungry now! 🙂
Thank you so much, I have so many allergies and I can’t have msg. Most recipes call for boullion cubes which usually have msg in them. Everything in this is “me” friendly! So exciting. Thanks for sharing
OMG – – this sounds so good. I think I’ll add some rice to it too to give it that extra kick. Thanks for posting! : )
Wow!!! I am amazed!!! I have been looking for a great alternative to “cream soups” for a while and experimenting. They are also getting so expensive to buy not to mention the health factor. I’ve also been working with and experimenting with “bean” flour with some great success….grind white beans in your Nutrimill to make a flour that is great to use to thicken sauces, soups and make gravy. Thanks for posting this…I will try it soon.
Bean flour to thicken, etc, sounds great… but are the beans cooked or dry?
They would be ground from a dry state.
Thanks for the recipe! I have some fresh chicken broth that I got from a chicken yesterday (cooked chicken; the chicken didn’t actually hand me the broth) and would love to try this! I stopped using canned cream soups mostly because of the sodium levels, not to mention other things. Can’t wait to try this.
Thank the LORD for this post 🙂 I found a similar one on a blog awhile back and now, for the life of me, cannot remember where. I wanted to do a recipe the other night that called for cream of mushroom and I just couldn’t bring myself to open that last can I had in the pantry – I was gagging just thinking about it!!
This is being printed and save RIGHT.NOW 🙂
I love homemade soup except slit pea…yuck! Ill have to try this. _
Love this recipe! I keep some in the freezer at all times for quick fix meals.