This homemade Cream of Chicken Soup recipe is an easy substitute for condensed soup and adds comforting home cooked flavor to your favorite casseroles and soups. It’s also freezer-friendly and easy to make!
Be sure to try my homemade condensed cream of mushroom soup next!
Cream of Chicken Soup
I literally stood in my kitchen with an open can of condensed Cream of Chicken Soup, and a pot of this homemade version, and took a spoon to each one to perform a very serious taste-test to compare the two.
All of a sudden, I was hyper-aware as to how processed it tasted from a can compared to the soothing and comforting homemade version.
Since this recipe is freezer-friendly and can be easily stored in can-sized portions, I think we should all try to take our cooking to the next level by making our favorite casseroles and soups with this Cream of Chicken Soup recipe whenever we “can”. (😂 That was terrible, I’m sorry.)
Ingredients
See recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full written instructions
- Butter
- All-Purpose Flour
- Chicken Broth– Homemade, if possible
- Chicken Bouillon– Optional, this ups the chicken flavor to match up to the can.
- Milk– Preferably whole, but any kind works
- Celery Salt
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Salt/Pepper
*To decrease sodium content, feel free to use unsalted butter and reduced sodium chicken broth and bouillon.
How to Make it
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Let it fully melt and begin to foam. This allows the water in the butter to cook off which will create a smoother consistency.
Gradually sprinkle in the flour and whisk continuously for 3-5 minutes to cook off the raw flour taste. It will become the consistency of wet sand.
Remove from heat. Add 1/3 of the chicken broth, whisk well. Whisk in 1/3 more, until combined. Finally, whisk in the rest. Temper the milk by microwaving it for 45 seconds, slowly add it to the saucepan and whisk to combine.
Add the seasonings. Add to medium-high heat to thicken it back up.
Whisk continuously as it increases in temperature and reaches near-boiling point. It will become very thick. Remove from heat immediately once it’s thickened. It will thicken even more as it sits.
PRO TIP: Run the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to make it super smooth, just like a can of condensed soup.
This strainer is also a perfect tool for making homemade chicken stock, or to run oil through if you want to reuse it after making a batch of fried chicken or french fries. It’s a great investment in the kitchen.
Using as a Substitute for Condensed Soup
- This recipe serves as a direct substitute for canned Cream of Chicken soup.
- 1 batch= two (10.5 oz.) cans of soup, each can is about 1 + 1/4 cups.
- I recommend freezing these in can-sized portions, these Rubbermaid containers perfectly fit 1 “can” of soup so you can easily pull them from the freezer for cooking.
Using as a Base for Homemade Soup
My Homemade Chicken Stew recipe is a perfect way to put this recipe to use, as it uses a can of Cream of Chicken Soup as a base. It’s also Stove Top, Crock Pot, and Instant Pot friendly. (Check out the reviews, it’s one of the most popular recipes on the blog!)
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 4 months.
Recipes That Use Cream of Chicken Soup
See my complete collection here.
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- Chicken Tetrazzini
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- Creamy Chicken Stew
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- Crock Pot Chicken and Stuffing
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- Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
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- Chicken Noodle Casserole
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- Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole
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Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cream of Chicken Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons Butter
- ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons Flour
- 2 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 chicken bouillon cube or 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon, optional- see notes
- 1 cup milk, preferably whole but any kind works
- 1/3 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/3 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/3 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/3 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Note: It’s important to whisk continuously throughout this process to ensure the smoothest possible consistency.
- Temper the milk by microwaving it for 45 seconds. This prevents curdling but also prevents lumps from forming when it’s added. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Let it fully melt and wait until it starts to foam, about 3 minutes.
- Gradually add the flour, whisk continuously for 3-5 minutes, until it’s the consistency of wet sand. Remove from the heat.
- Add 1/3 of the chicken broth and whisk well. Add 1/3 more, whisk well.
- Add the remaining chicken broth, chicken bouillon, warm milk, and seasonings, whisk continuously.
- Turn up to medium-high heat, continue to whisk until it begins to get very thick. Immediately remove from heat.
- Soup will continue to thicken upon standing.
- If possible, run the mixture through a fine mesh strainer for a super-smooth consistency.
- Use as a direct substitute for condensed cream of chicken soup, this recipe makes enough for two (10.5 oz.) cans.
Video
Notes
Reducing Sodium: You can use unsalted butter and reduced sodium chicken broth and bouillon to lower the salt content. You can also refrain from adding salt as a seasoning.
Storage:
- Refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 4 months. Mixture may separate slightly once reheated but whisking will correct that.
- These 1 ¼ cup size Tupperware containers fit one “can” of soup perfectly. This measures out to 1 ¼ cups soup.
Be sure to try my homemade condensed cream of mushroom soup next!
Wow so easy and delicious! So glad I found your recipe. I’ll never buy canned soup again, thanks!
I’m so happy to hear you’re saying good bye to canned soup!❤️ I cut the cord awhile ago and it makes such a difference in flavor. Also nice to ditch the preservatives. Thanks so much for taking the time to review!
I just made this with fresh broth and it’s delicious I’ll definitely be making this very often
Hey Elisa! I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed it and plan on adding it to your rotation! 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this review, you’re the best! -Stephanie
Hi, do you need to add a ” can of milk” to it for recipes like you do the canned? thanks:)
It’s very thick so yes, you would want to add milk or something similar to thin it out. My Homemade Chicken Stew recipe is a perfect way to put this recipe to use, as it uses a can of Cream of Chicken Soup as a base. It’s also Stove Top, Crock Pot, and Instant Pot friendly.
I made this with king Arthur’s measure for measure gluten free flour, and almond milk and it turned out amazingly well! Great, easy recipe!!!
I’m so happy to hear that Amanda, thanks for sharing and taking the time to comment!
Wow awesome recipe! I’m Gluten free and lactose free for medical reasons so instead of flour I used mashed potato flakes and lactose free milk; not almond milk. I also cut the recipe in half and added 2 cups of rice. My goal was to make a chicken rice dish in sauce. Oh. My. Goodness! Yum.everything else was the same measurements. This is my go to cream of recipe from now on. STAPLE! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING!
I’m so happy you were able to make this Gluten Free AJ!😃 Thank you so much for the recommendations on that! Also, thank you for the great review!
Oh my goodness….THANK YOU! This was delicious. I was in the middle of making hamburger stroganoff (from the 1981 edition of the Betty Crocker Cookbook) which we make with ground turkey and call Economy Stroganoff. Meat, onions and garlic were browning in the skillet when I realized that there were no more cans of Cream of Chicken soup in the cabinet. which is not like me at all.
Since my daughter wouldn’t run to the store my options were to lose 45 minutes when dinner was already late by running myself, or surf the internet. I chose the later and am so happy to have found The Cozy Cook!!! Stephanie, your recipe for Cream of Chicken soup was out of this world!! I was lucky to have homemade chicken broth in 3/4 c Ziplock bags in the freezer. I didn’t have any whole milk, but used 1/2 skim and 1/2 whipping cream. It was soooo simple (less than 15 minutes) — and turned out looking just like your pictures. In fact, the extra was cooling on the range top next to our dinner and my kids though it was part of the meal. ( LOL)
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! No more salty canned Cream of Chicken soup for us going forward. This recipe is a keeper! TKS 06/07/21
I’m so happy to hear this Tanya!!!❤️ I can’t even count the number of times I’d be in the middle of making a recipe and find myself missing one important ingredient. I’m so glad you found me! I pretty much never use canned cream of chicken soup anymore. Once you experience the delicious homemade version it’s hard to go back! Thanks so much for the great comments and review!😃
We can use this soup recipe as is, right? W/out adding other ingredients as for stew or other casseroles? Just for a good bowl of cream of chicken soup?
Hi Maryetta, this recipe is designed to replicate what you would get from a can of condensed soup, it’s quite thick so to enjoy it as a soup on it’s own you would want to add other ingredients. My Homemade Chicken Stew recipe is a perfect way to put this recipe to use, as it uses a can of Cream of Chicken Soup as a base. It’s also Stove Top, Crock Pot, and Instant Pot friendly.
This was so good and easy to make. I added rotisserie chicken and some charred red pepper. Then put it over rice. Yum! I like my cream of chicken soup thick so this was perfect!
Sounds like a great meal Niki! I’m so happy to hear this was a success. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!❤️
Perfect!! I added lemon, chicken and oregano. Family loved it!!
I’m so happy to hear that Lisa! Thanks so much for the review!❤️
This was really good! I needed something comforting and filling to eat after dental surgery. Ther flavor was spot on it. I will definitely make again, however I’ll cut down on the flour by a few tablespoons because it was too thick.
I’m so happy you enjoyed this Lisa! I hope you feel better soon! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!😃