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DIY Condensed Cream of (Fill in the Blank) Soup
Simple Soup Switch is Cheaper, Healthier and Delicious
You probably have lots of quick, easy recipes that call for condensed cream soups, like cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, or cream of celery. At any rate, they’re pantry staples and I bet you have some in your cupboards right now.
However, have you looked at the ingredients? Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Seriously. Go now and look at a can of soup.
See? Specifically, it’s surprising that soup with “cream” in the name has less than 2% actual milk or cream. Top ingredients in all the brands I found are water, vegetable oil and modified food starch. Additionally, it’s high in sodium and has practically zero nutrition.
We can do so much better than that.
You won’t believe how easy it is to make DIY Cream of (fill in the blank) Soup
Here’s why it’s worth the extra bit of effort; it’s totally cheap and delicious. Furthermore, you control the sodium, fat and you can easily customize it to your personal taste. Did I mention it’s easy? You may never go back to canned stuff again.
Due to the fact this recipe is gluten free and contains only real food ingredients, you’ll love having it on repeat. It’s makes about a quart or the equivalent of three cans of condensed soup and can be used in any recipe calling for condensed cream soup.
There’s a base recipe, so you can add chicken to make cream of chicken, mushrooms to make cream of mushroom, celery to make. . . you get it!
And you can go beyond the basics found in the grocery store. Get creative with your favorite veggies, like asparagus, onion, peppers, or broccoli. Use leftovers from your dinner to make protein added cream soup – cream of shrimp, pork, beef, or bacon!
Add as much or as little additional ingredients as you like. More herbs! Lots of spices!
Keep it in the fridge for up to seven days. You can make just the basic versatile base and add the additional ingredients as you use it, like sautéed mushrooms or onion, if you wish.
It can even make easy gravy or cheese sauce, too!
DIY Condensed Cream of (Fill in the Blank) Soup
What You’ll Need:
- 1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk – skim, 2% or whole
- 2 (14 oz.) cans chicken, beef or vegetable broth
- ¼ cup corn starch
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt – or to taste
Optional add ins – 1 cup mushrooms – minced and sautéed, or 1 cup celery – minced and sautéed, or 1 cup cooked chicken – minced.
Here’s How:
- Place all seven base ingredients into a blender and blend until completely combined.
- Next, pour into a large sauce pan (Use a 3 quart pan as this can boil up) on medium-low heat and whisking constantly, slowly heat to boiling. The soup will thicken as it boils and even more as it cools. At this time you can add any optional ingredients.
- Finally, remove from heat. Use immediately or cool and store in the fridge.
Please note, this recipe makes condensed soup, but you can add milk or water to get the consistency you want for a fast and frugal bowl of delicious creamy soup. Simply, add a salad or sandwich and dinner is done!
Diva Tip – Slice the vegetables to the size you enjoy, I like mine chunky. But if you have picky eaters who pick out every trace of mushroom or celery, just puree the veggies completely in the blender while you’re putting the soup together. It’ll taste terrific and they’ll never know. It’ll be our secret.
This recipe is endlessly versatile
For example, you can add any variety of shredded cheese to the warmed soup to make cheese sauce for macaroni and cheese or any recipe needing a cheese sauce. Additionally, you can mix this soup with pan drippings from a roast, or a turkey to make easy, practically instant cream gravy.
An important note for crock pot recipes
Due to the fact this recipe contains actual milk, and not modified food starch combined with vegetable oil, it may break down if left in the crock pot for long periods of time. So, when using this condensed soup in your favorite recipes, you’ll want to wait and add the soup in the last hour of cooking.
DIY CONDENSED CREAM OF (FILL IN THE BLANK) SOUP
Ingredients
- 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk skim, 2% or whole
- 2 (14 ounce) cans chicken, beef or vegetable broth
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
Optional add ins –
- 1 cup mushrooms - minced and sautéed, or 1 cup celery - minced and sautéed, or 1 cup cooked chicken – minced.
Instructions
- Place all base ingredients into a blender and blend until completely combined.
- Pour into a large sauce pan (use a 3 quart pan as this can boil up) on medium-low heat and heat slowly to boiling, whisking constantly. It will thicken as it boils and more as it cools.
- Add any optional ingredients.
- Remove from heat. Use immediately or cool and store in the fridge.
Notes
Other soup recipes you’ll LOVE –
Slab Grilled Cheese and Homemade Tomato Soup
Keep some on hand to upgrade your weeknight cooking. It’s surprising how handy it is to have “instant creaminess” in the fridge. When you have a jar of this DIY soup ready and waiting (rather than having to open can) you can use a spoonful here and a half cup there to add flavor, texture and smoothness to any dish you’re making.
You may also like: Easy DIY Crockpot Greek Yogurt Delicious and healthy almond butter to make at home
Cuisinart 7193-20P Chef’s Classic Stainless 3-Quart Cook and Pour Saucepan with Cover