The Cozy Cookbook is here! 
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, and I’m sorry.)
How to Make it
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
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 storing these in freezable soup containers.
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 Divan
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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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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 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.
- Return to heat and bring to a near boil. 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.
- I recommend storing these in freezable soup containers.
- This soup cannot be canned as it contains dairy.
Be sure to try my homemade condensed cream of mushroom soup next!
How can I best make this gluten free?
I would use 1 to 1 gluten free flour and would make sure the bouillon is gluten free as well.
I just want to thank you for sharing this recipe. I brought my mom home from the hospital being sick. She’s 75 years old, and this has left her very weak, and completely exhausted. Nothing has settled well on her stomach, and I was trying to think of SOMETHING that she might be able to eat. I asked her if she’d like cream of chicken soup, and it sounded good to her – so my internet search brought me here. SUCH an easy recipe, whipped up in minutes, and thank the Lord, it set well on her stomach, and she LOVED it! Thank you so much! Saving this recipe for sure – and I’ll be checking out the rest of your site as well! Thank you again! Your recipe was the hero of the day!
I’m so happy this helped your mom Lisa, thanks so much for the great comments!💖 I can’t wait for you to check out other recipes!
This is the absolute best cream of chicken recipe I’ve ever come across. I appreciate the tips you offer and heating up my milk to temper it into the hot mix really helped it not to curdle. If you follow the recipe line for line it will not disappoint! None of “The cozy cooks” recipes disappoint as they are always delicious and always come out like the picture describes . Thank you!
Hiii Franceska! I am soooo happy that you love the cream of chicken soup recipe and my other recipes as well, that totally makes my day!! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this review, I really appreciate it!! -Stephanie
can you use almond milk or oat milk?
Hi April, people have successfully made this with Almond milk! 🙂
I was preparing to make Chicken Stew and I always use 1 can of cream of chicken soup. When I surveyed the pantry I was disappointed to learn that I had no cream of chicken soup. So I decided to make my own and used this recipe. WOW! So much better than canned condensed cream of chicken soup! The chicken stew came out much better than usual and I had rave reviews on this simple go-to dish. I didn’t have any bullion, so I chopped up some cooked chicken breast and added it to the mixture. Really nice flavor and texture. The soup was thick and yummy.
It’s funny, I made this for the first time out of necessity too! Ever since I pretty much never used canned soups. I’m so happy you’re enjoying it, thanks so much for the great comments Ted!💖
Ha me as well! I needed two cans of cream of chicken but only had one so I made this recipe and ended up putting the can back! This is so much better !
This was delicious and great in a pinch when I needed some cream of chicken!!
I am soooo happy to hear that it saved the day when you needed it Alison, thank you so much for the review!! 🙂 -Stephanie
This was an excellent recipe. I made the base as you described in your recipe, but in the meantime I sauteed some chicken, and put pieces in the base once it was cooked. I also added half a container of Trader Joe’s celebration mix of very finely minced sweet potatoes, onions butternut squash and some other veggies. They’re not even a centimeter across. They add a wonderful flavor to it so now I have dinner for tomorrow night too and maybe lunch the day after. The flavor was wonderful, I’ve saved it in my Recipe Keeper. I can thank Google for finding you and this recipe.
Wow I’ve gotta check out that celebration mix, that sounds perfect! I’m so glad you found this recipe Maeve, thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!💗
I am looking for a recipe for homemade cream of chicken soup and NOT condensed. This recipe is for a condensed soup to use in other recipes. Looked but cannot find how much water/milk/? to use as regular soup.
Thank you
You’ll use approximately the same amount of liquid as you use soup, (1:1 ratio), or until your desired consistency is obtained. I would use milk.
Is it possible to can this in a pressure cooker or water bath canning method? I’m unskilled with canning (I have only water bath canned jam and salsa) so I’m not sure if one would need to add something to it and if it would taste the same as it does freshly made. The reason I ask is because if I could have this on hand instead of the one with some bad ingredients in it I would rather have this instead. I love the idea of making my own and my freezer is limited due to my husband’s obsession with hunting deer lol. Thanks for any advice.
Hi Myra! I am not experienced with canning either, I wonder if this could be canned with the dairy that is included. I’m not sure, I think you’ll want to seek canning resources to explore further. I’m sorry that I couldn’t be of more help!
As I said before I can eat this soup everyday and because I am, I quadrupled the recipe it came out just fine, but took a long time to start to thicken so be prepared to whisk away if you decide to try quadrupling it yourself.
That’s great advice Tina! I think an extra wide cooking vessel would be a big help if making a quadruple batch too, the extra surface area allows for the liquid to evaporate more quickly, so it will thicken up faster!! 🙂