Homemade Condensed Cream Soup
/Homemade Condensed Cream Soups were at the top of my list when I began my journey to create more from scratch items to save money and avoid unpleasant ingredients hidden inside cans and packages. Many of my recipes call for a can of condensed cream soup and after researching several recipes, I decided I didn’t want to have to store a container of dry ingredients. I wanted a dump, cook, and go method and that is what I created in the kitchen.
Homemade Condensed Cream Soup
I’m not going to point out the good and bad between homemade and store bought, but I am going to tell you – homemade has such a better taste than you can imagine, you’ll thank me when you try it. :) It is easy to make and rather quick.
Today, I’m sharing with you how I make a cream soup along with the recipes for Cream of Chicken, Cream of Mushroom, and Cheddar Cheese soups that I use in my dishes.
The base to a cream soup is the following:
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 4 Tablespoons flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
Cream of Chicken Soup
• soup base
• ¼ cup chicken pieces
• ½ cup chicken broth
• ½ cup milk
In a frying pan over medium heat, melt butter. Once the butter is melted add flour and salt, whisk until flour is cooked, not too dark or it will have a burnt taste. Add the chicken broth slowly and mix until smooth, then add the milk and chicken pieces. Continue whisking until smooth and bubbly. This is equivalent to one can of condensed soup, so you’ll need to add upwards to a cup of milk for your recipes.
When I’m making this for a casserole, I add a whole cup of milk and a half tablespoon extra of flour so I know I’ll have enough soup to keep the other ingredients from being too dry. Depending on the weather, I sometimes have to add a little more milk.
Cream of Mushroom Soup
• ¼ cup butter
• ½ cup sliced mushrooms
• soup base
• 1 cup milk
For mushroom soup, I cook the mushrooms first and then add the flour, salt, and milk just as I did for the chicken soup. Depending on your mushrooms, you may have to add a little extra butter.
Cream of Cheddar Cheese Soup
• soup base
• ¼ tsp dry mustard
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
In a pan melt the butter, add the flour, salt, and dry mustard and whisk together. Slowly add the milk, continue whisking until smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat and add the cheese, stir until melted.
I have made a large pot of Cream of Chicken and Cream of Chicken and Rice soups using this method. I used about a half a cup of butter and flour and worked my way into what I wanted and liked.
As you can see making a condensed cream of something soup is really easy and doesn’t require a lot of time. And there is NO storing of cans of soup or containers of a base mixture. Hooray!
