Cream of Chicken Soup Recipe
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!
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 Tupperware 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?
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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.
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.
- This soup cannot be canned as it contains dairy.
So delicious. Now to make the chicken and rice casserole. 😉
Thanks Diane, so glad you liked it!!! Hope you like the chicken and rice casserole as well!😋
How do you whisk the flour for 3 min when it gums up in the whisk? And 1/3 teaspoons….why the odd measurement?
Hi Barb, I used a fork to whisk it so it was easier to handle, (you can check out the process shots if that helps), and I found 1/3 to be just the right amount of flavor without being too overpowering. I really test my recipes and give them a lot of thought to get just the right balance. I don’t round measurements if it might compromise taste.
Thanks for sharing this. We hate the processed taste of can cream soup but so many recipes use it to bind ingredients. Is there a way to use this as a base and change it to make cream of celery and cream of mushroom soups as well? With these two added to my freeze I will never buy canned again. I love your blog and have saved many good recipes I am working my way to trying.
Hey Becky!! You are so welcome for this recipe, it’s been a long time coming, I wish I did this years ago. I never realized how much you can taste the processed taste from a can until I did a side-by-side comparison of the homemade stuff to the can! Holy moly, huge difference. So right now I still need to do some testing to learn how to properly adapt this to be a cream of celery, mushroom, etc. It’s on my to-do list!!! 🙂 Hopefully I can get that done sooner than later. Thank you so much for your support!! I truly appreciate it! -Stephanie 🙂
I just made this to go with your Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole and it was a HIT with my kids, I’ll be using this recipe all the time now, thank you so much. -Kathleen
I am so happy to hear that Kathleen! If there is any way that casserole can get any better, it’s by making the cream of chicken soup from scratch! Nicely done! 🙂 -Stephanie
I can’t believe how good this was, and it really DID take 15 minutes to make, tops. I am definitely making a double batch of this again and freezing it- thanks for this recipe!
Hey Tonya! I am so happy that you liked the recipe! This will really take your recipes up a notch now, the homemade stuff tastes so good! 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to leave a review! -Stephanie