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Welcome to this month’s edition of Homemade Homemaking! Today, we’re making cream of chicken soup!
When I was a newlywed 6 1/2 years ago, I barely knew how to cook. One of the first staples in my pantry became canned cream of chicken (or mushroom) soup.
I used these creamed soups for EVERYTHING. We were living in the Deep, Deep South–where fried foods and creamy casseroles reign. I never learned to fry without burning, but we probably ate a creamed soup casserole at least every other night.
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| Ingredients |
When I started eating real food, I realized how bad these canned soups were for us. Not only did the cans contain BPA, but the soup was preserved with MSG and also contained soy.
As much as we loved our creamed casseroles, I just couldn’t keep buying canned creamed soups in good conscious.
But we started missing our old comfort foods. So about a year or so ago, I set to making my own version of creamed soup.
I use this recipe to replace canned soups in any recipes that call for them. I hope you enjoy it!
Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup butter
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 Tbsp. minced celery tops OR 1/4 tsp. celery seed
- 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
- 2/3 cup milk
MethodIn a saucepan over medium heat, cook garlic and celery (if using) in butter until soft. Stir in flour, salt and pepper (and celery seed if using). Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thickened.
Variations:Cream of Mushroom–toss in a handful of minced mushroomsCream of Broccoli–toss in a handful of minced broccoliCream of Celery–toss in a handful of minced celery
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Do you freeze this soup?
Yes, it freezes well! I just thaw it out before using it in a recipe! We’ve never eaten it by itself. I just use it in casseroles, etc.
Thanks SO much! We live in Peru, and we can’t get hardly any canned goods here. This will be perfect!
You are so welcome! Hope it works for you!! I love Peru…went on a mission trip there about 10 years ago!!
Do you know if this recipe works if you replace the regular flour with gluten free? Thanks
I imagine so, but I have not tried it yet. I would think rice flour and a arrowroot powder or cornstarch for thickening would do it.
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Thank you for this! If you get a chance, I have 2 questions. First, have you tried this in crockpot recipes that call for canned cream of chicken, and does it hold up just as well? Also, would you advise against using Better Than Bouillon (http://tinyurl.com/9twv286) in place of homemade stock? That’s what I’ve been using lately. There are just the 2 of us with a tiny freezer and a tiny crockpot so I can’t do big batches of broth like the one on your blog, although it looks delicious.
I was wondering the exact same thing…I use it for crockpot recipes as well, but looking to eliminate MSG and bpa without sacrificing the families favourite recipes.