I would like a recipe to use in place of canned cream soups such as mushroom, celery, and chicken that tastes like Campbell's or store brand.
They all have chemicals and preservatives that I can't have, but I pass up so many great looking recipes because I don't quite know what to substitute easily. I have tried some of the organic/natural brands from the health food store, but they taste and smell horrible to me.
I am going to assume you have as many allergies to additives as I do. Perhaps also milks & white flours? When I make, per se cream of chicken soup, I trim or peel off the fat, leave on the bones, add a little water to the saucepan & a little salt (if you prefer).
Sometimes I use a little chicken bouillon beads instead of salt to give a little boost to the flavor. Simmer until so tender it falls off the bone. Remove bones & dice chicken fine. Reduce broth to make more flavorful. Return meat to the saucepan. Then I'll add a touch of homemade onion powder & homemade celery powder or just use the real thing chopped fine & added to the saucepan in the beginning.
You can whirl the entire soup in the processor if you prefer--I usually only whirl half of it as I like mine kinda chunky. Thicken with a little cornstarch dissolved in a little water, or you can use half cornstarch & half flour if the flour doesn't give you any problems.
I printed out a great one from this site. It was dated around 2007, but I can't find it now. However, this is it.
2 1/2 cups milk 1/2 cup flour 2 Tbsp. butter or margarine dash salt dash pepper
Put it in a blender "briefly" until smooth and pour into saucepan. Stir constantly over medium-high heat until it begins to thicken. Take off heat at first bubble of a boil.
Makes 4-6 servings
Variations
Cream of Cauliflower: To basic mixture add 1 box (10 oz.) frozen cauliflower cooked per box directions until tender and well drained, 1/2 tsp. onion powder, 3 mashed chicken bouillon cubes, pinch dry parsley and a dash of garlic salt. Stir over lowest possible heat until piping hot. Serve at once.
Cream of Celery Soup: Do just as cauliflower soup, but substitute 1 cup cooked, drained, diced celery instead. Add a pinch of celery seed and a pinch dry, canned parsley flakes.
Cream of Broccoli Soup: Add 1 box (10 oz.) frozen, chopped broccoli cooked per box directions and drained. Continue as previous recipes.
Cream of Potato Soup: Add 3 cans (1lb. ea) sliced, drained potatoes, 1/2 bottle (10 oz.) Hormel real bacon pieces and a dash of liquid smoke. Continue as previous recipes.
Cream of Mushroom Soup: To warm basic recipe, add 1 can (8oz.) drained, sliced mushrooms, dash onion salt and black pepper to taste. Heat through
Now I would use fresh veggies or potatoes. Like I said I copied this from this site and I retyped (Sandra's) recipes. For the Celery soup. I added the finely sliced celery right in the soup pot and cooked it all together and I didn't have the celery seed. Oh, so good!
There are so many cooking sites available that you should be able to just look up what you want - they all taste better than anything out of a can. If there are things you shouldn't have, just leave them out, or look up Substitutes in Recipes on Google, and they'll tell you what you can use instead. I never use canned soup, they're so full of preservatives and other muck. Play on Google a bit for recipe sites, and you'll get some really good ideas. Leah from Down Under.
I make a quickie version of cream soups if I need a can for making a recipe. I use about 1/4 c. water with a bouillon cube, 1 cup milk, garlic salt or powder (dash), salt & pepper to taste, and about 2 tbs of cornstarch(dissolve in a slight amount of hot water. Bring to a low boil until it's thick, stirring constantly. Works well in most recipes.
Simply make a white sauce then add chicken or beef bullion for flavoring. In case you don't know, a white sauce is made from milk, butter & flour(look online for exact directions. Basically you melt the butter then add the flour to it, then add the milk a bit at a time.). I believe you could also use any gravy recipe too.
My Mom use to make those discussing Campbell soup recipes when I was growing up. Yuck! (sorry Mom!) She'd put the cream soup over chicken legs & rice. Oh! How I hated it!
I agree with Olive Oyl. Why would you want a soup to taste like a canned soup? YUK! Take any potato soup recipe or chowder recipe and add a puree of whatever you want broccoli, mushroom, roasted onion, carrot, corn. The list goes on. Also add some larger pieces or whole if it peas, corn, etc. I haven't used a canned soup in years. I mean years. I've made my own since I've been married over 40 years. It's easy if you have a crock pot. Don't even have to worry about it. Take a look on google to find a good basic soup first. I also make my own meat broths from any bones/fat trimmings etc. I save them and freeze them until I have enough. When done I chill until the fat solidifies on the top and remove it. Freeze the broth. Vegetable broth is made from the peelings and skins etc I get in the fall from drying, canning and freezing vegetables. Just make sure they are clean and have no rot or mold. Everybody loves my homemade soups and bread. It's a winter favorite.
This recipe doesn't taste exactly like Campbells, but it's a good start:
2 Cups powered milk, or milk substitute 1-1/4 Cups cornstarch 1/4 Cup chicken boullion powder 2 Tablespoons dried onion flakes 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon thyme 1 teaspoon basil Mix all ingredients - store in air-tight container. To make sauce, add 1/3 Cup of mix to 1-1/4 Cups of water.
Add 1 teaspoon of Ranch Dressing powder to sauce for recipes such as Tuna Helper.
Add a tiny piece of beef boullion and a small can of drained mushrooms to sauce for Cream of Mushroom Soup.
A homemade version will not taste like Campbell's since it doesn't contain all the salt and other additives you want to avoid. Make your own cream of whatever substitute by using a basic white sauce with celery or mushrooms added.
You could take milk and thicken it up using just a touch of flour till it gets to the consistency you want. Then flavor it according to the recipe you are making.
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Request: Substitute for Canned Cream Soup
Archived on 07/27/2009
I need a recipe for a substitute for canned cream soup.
Nancy from Lancaster, PA
Feedback:
RE: Substitute for Canned Cream Soup
Cream soup,- I try not to use canned cream soups anymore. So I cook up approximately l cup of veggies in 1 cup of broth, chicken, beef, etc. Then I make a "cream" out of corn starch and/or flour adding a tbsp or so to a cup of liquid. Whichever "tickles" your fancy. I choose corn starch as it cooks up clear. I also do this to thicken the soups that I make from scratch. This is similar to gravy. No salt needed if broth is used. (10/21/2005)
2 tablespoons dried onion flakes or 1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1 teaspoon dried basil or marjoram, crushed
1/2 teaspoon black or white pepper
Combine all ingredients and blend until mixed. Store in an airtight
container in a cool dry place for up to 1 year. This recipe makes 3
cups and is enough for 9 cans of soup.
To substitute for one can of condensed cream soup:
In a 1-quart saucepan or microwave safe bowl, combine 1/3 cup of soup
mix and 1 1/4 cup water.
Bring to a boil or microwave on high for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, stirring
occasionally. This can also be used as a quick fat free gravy, thin to the
consistency you prefer.
Variations of Homemade Cream of Soup
BY: Leslie Sausage
The variations are endless, use your imagination and experiment with
different ingredients. For example, instead of thyme and basil, substitute 1 teaspoon dry
mustard and 1 teaspoon dill weed. You might like to add up to 1/4-teaspoon garlic powder to the dry
soup mix.
For another option: add a couple of tablespoons of any dried vegetable flakes to the dry soup mix.
OR:
Asparagus Soup--add 1 cup cooked chopped asparagus
Broccoli Soup--add 1 cup of cooked, chopped broccoli
Carrot Soup--add 1 cup of cooked, chopped carrots
Celery Soup--add 1/2 cup sauted, minced celery
Chicken Soup--add 1/2 to 1 cup cooked, finely diced chicken
Chicken Herb Soup--add 1/2 to 1-cup finely diced chicken plus
additional herbs to your taste, parsley, oregano or marjoram
Creamier Cream Soup--add 1 tablespoon of butter to any of the
variations:
Low Sodium--substitute equivalent amount of low sodium instant
bouillon
Mushroom Soup--add 1/2 cup sauted, finely chopped mushrooms
Mushroom and Roasted Garlic Soup--add 1/2-cup finely chopped
mushrooms plus 1 or 2 roasted garlic cloves
Onion Soup--add 1/2 cup of sauted, chopped onions
Roasted Garlic Soup--add 2 or 3 roasted garlic cloves
Tomato Potato Soup--add 1/2 cup diced cooked potato plus 1/2 cup
finely diced and seeded tomato
Tomato Soup--add 1/2 to 1 cup finely chopped and seeded tomato
Potato Soup--add 1 or two tablespoons instant mashed potatoes, 1/2
cup mashed potatoes or cooked diced potatoes
Vegetable Soup--add 3/4 cup cooked mixed vegetables
Copyright - 1999 by Leslie Sausage
http://www.heart4home.net/ (10/22/2005)
By Christi
RE: Substitute for Canned Cream Soup
I don't really care for the substitute recipes using dried milk. Here's mine that I made up. Just to warn you, it's not a make-ahead, throw-dinner-together recipe, but it is pretty fast.
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Whisk eggs until thoroughly beaten. Add remaining ingredients, mixing well to avoid flour lumps.
Stir constantly while cooking with whisk to avoid curdling. Heat to boiling; then reduce heat to med-low and cook until thick like canned soup. Use in your favorite recipes. (01/21/2009)
