Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup
Ever need a can of cream of chicken soup and realized you were out? No need to go back to the store! You can make your own homemade version easily in only 12 minutes.
A CONDENSED CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP SUBSTITUTE
This recipe for condensed cream of chicken soup is so easy! Now, y’all know I don’t have any problems at all with canned cream of chicken soups. I mean a third of the recipes on this site use a can of cream of chicken. But I also understand some folks just like to make things homemade when they can or need something to make in a pinch. Sometimes, when I have the time (which isn’t as often as I would like), I like to try my hand as well. It’s rich, creamy, and you can use it in any recipe that calls for cream of chicken soup, or you can just make some yummy soup out of it with a few extra simple steps.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Cream of chicken soup is a classic, creamy soup made with chicken broth and a combination of herbs and spices. The base of the soup typically consists of flour, butter, and milk or cream. The broth is made from simmered chicken bones and vegetable. Variations can include adding cooked chicken pieces, potatoes, celery, carrots, or other vegetables to create a heartier meal. Cream of chicken soup is often used as an ingredient in many recipes such as casseroles, pot pies, and pasta dishes.
I used 2% milk since that is what we had in the fridge. If you want to make it creamy and super rich, you can use whole milk or half and half in place of the milk. I do not recommend a skim milk though since it just doesn’t have enough fat in it. I have not tried to make this with milk alternatives so can’t say how that would turn out.
Yes, actually, you can. But I recommend adjusting it a bit first. This recipe is for a condensed cream of chicken soup, meaning it needs more liquid to really be a delicious, edible soup.
If you want to turn this into an actual soup, you need to add more chicken broth and/or water and milk until it reaches your desired thickness. Note: Chicken broth will give you a stronger flavor while water will dilute that flavor a bit more. It’s your personal preference. And if you want a mushroom version, try my Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe!
Great question! For one can of soup, you’ll need to use about 1 ¼ cups of this homemade version. This recipe in its entirety makes enough to replace 2 cans of condensed soup. If you need more, you’ll need to adjust the quantities.
After your soup has cooled completely, transfer it to an airtight container, like a mason jar, and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Keep it longer by adding it to a freezer safe container and freezing for up to 3 months. Allow it to defrost in the refrigerator before using.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- salted butter – you need real butter in this recipe, not margarine. Margarine is basically just oil and won’t help this to set up properly. If you are trying to keep this low sodium, use unsalted butter
- all-purpose flour – White Lily flour will always be my favorite flour but use what you have on hand
- black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, celery seed – with these spices, we aren’t using a lot but you can adjust as necessary. I like the cream of chicken with herbs version of the cream of chicken soup and this mimics that a bit but you can leave out what you don’t like
- salt – if you are keeping this low sodium, you can leave out the additional salt
- chicken broth – you can use low sodium chicken broth
- milk – 2% or higher in fat
HOW TO MAKE CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP
In a small to a medium-sized sauce pot over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the flour, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and celery seed. Whisk to combine until smooth.
Cook the flour mixture for 1 minute, whisking occasionally. Slowly stream in the chicken broth while constantly whisking to avoid lumps.
Slowly stream in the milk while again whisking constantly.
Bring the mixture to a low simmer while whisking often. Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes until thickened.
Take off the heat until ready to use.
WANT SOME RECIPES TO USE YOUR CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP
MORE HOMEMADE INGREDIENTS:
- Homemade Dry Onion Soup Mix
- Homemade Ranch Seasoning
- Homemade Everything But The Bagel Seasoning
- Homemade Apple Pie Spice
- Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Beau Monde Seasoning
- Taco Seasoning
- Homemade Ranch Dressing (+Video)
- Homemade Bisquick
- Homemade Velveeta
Cream of Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- ¼ cup salted butter
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon celery seed
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
Instructions
- In a small to a medium-sized sauce pot over medium-low heat, melt the butter.
- Add the flour, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and celery seed. Whisk to combine until smooth.
- Cook the flour mixture for 1 minute, whisking occasionally.
- Slowly stream in the chicken broth while constantly whisking to avoid lumps.
- Slowly stream in the milk while again whisking constantly.
- Bring the mixture to a low simmer while whisking often. Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes until thickened. Take off the heat until ready to use.
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- I used 2% because that’s what we had on hand. To make it even richer, you can use, whole milk or half and half but I don’t recommend skim milk.
- If it seems too thick to you, you can thin it out with a bit of milk.
- If using in recipes that call for condensed cream of chicken soup, make sure to use just the amount the recipe calls for. Normally it is a 10.5-ounce can, so with this recipe, you would use 1 ¼ cups of this recipe. This will make the amount needed for 2 cans.
- If you want to use this as a base to make it into a soup, you can add more chicken broth and milk until you get your desired thickness. Then, you can add this to sauteed vegetables or shredded chicken, etc, whatever you want to have in your soup.
- Once at room temperature, you can store it in an airtight container (I prefer mason jars) in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Thank you. I really love the pictures while cooking, as I have bad eyesight.
I’m so glad you find it helpful Gregory!
Can’t wait to try this recipe. I can’t eat soy, you won’t believe how many products in the grocery have soy. Whatever you pick up, check ingredients, yep soy. So make everything from scratch.
Thank You!
Interesting! Thankfully I can thoroughly enjoy soy but great to know for those who can’t!
Could I make this gluten free?
I am not familiar with a gluten free diet so I wouldn’t know how. Perhaps someone else on here can help with that! 🙂
Nanette, I believe you absolutely can make this gluten free, and I intend to this weekend so I can use it in Brandie’s Crock Pot Cheeseburger Macaroni. 🙂 I use a product from King Arthur called Measure for Measure. It is used just like regular all purpose flour, and I use it daily. (It can be used for anything but yeast products, but I hear they have a new gluten free flour for yeast products.)
Thank you for assisting Miss Donna!
You can use the One To One gluten free flours. A brand I use is Cup4Cup as a substitute
for flour in any recipe. Amazon is where I buy it.