Use this real food version of the red store bought condensed cream of chicken soup can for all your creamy dreamy casserole needs!
First week of October?! What!
Before you know it we’ll be carving turkeys, slicing pies, simmering hot cocoa, and baking cookies! And before you think this real foodie is going to take away all of your winter and holiday fun food, let me let you in on a little secret…
This Midwest girl loves her comfort food.
Plain and simple. Food is meant to be enjoyed and savored! And I am not about to go all food police on you in the next few months while we enjoy the holidays…promise.
That doesn’t mean I am going to compromise on ingredients though.
You can still have many of your favorite winter foods without the mile long labels of junky ingredients. Sometimes it is as simple as taking your favorite casserole from your childhood, and ditching the red can of Cream of MSG Soup…I mean Cream of Chicken Soup 🙂
I have a couple of staple casseroles I make throughout the fall and winter months, and I am not ashamed to say we have them 2- 3 times per month. They are filled with nourishing ingredients, and make for a super quick, filling dinner.
Just like the red can from the store without the junk!
With a handful of simple, real ingredients, this cream of chicken soup is full of flavor, and I am convinced my version would pass a blind taste test with the red can. It is amazingly the same in flavor.
Making this a time saver
And I hope you know by now that as much as I really do love to cook, I don’t love to spend all day in the kitchen. I have 3 little ones 5 years old and under, and among school drop offs and pick ups, piles of laundry, potty training, and cleaning, I don’t have time for fancy kitchen operations every day.
When I make something, I am in batch mode so I don’t have to make it again for a while. This recipe makes 7 pints of soup – that’s 7 cans! I don’t make this recipe more than a couple times a winter! They pull out of the freezer and dump into whatever you are making just as convenient as the red can.
Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 3-4 TB friendly fat to cook in butter, coconut oil, lard
- 3 medium onions coarsely chopped
- 7 cloves garlic coarsely chopped
- 2 quarts chicken bone broth Preferably homemade – see Tips section for how to make your own in the slow cooker!
- 2 TB organic all purpose season or poultry season
- 2 tsp parsley
- ¼ tsp paprika
- 6 cups whole milk or coconut milk
- 1 ½ cups white rice flour
- Sea salt/pepper to taste You will want to make this quite salty to mimic the canned soup you are used too. I use a good few TB – my bone broth is not seasoned keep in mind. Remember this is a condensed soup so it will be thinned out in a casserole or soup with other ingredients so the saltiness will stretch.
Instructions
- Saute your onion in the friendly fat for 5-7 minutes to soften and sweeten. Use a pinch of salt to bring out the juices and sweeten.
- Add the garlic and cook for a minute.
- Add the stock and seasoning and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for a few minutes.
- Use a handheld blender to blend up the onions in the stock – can use a blender if you don’t have a handheld.
- Bring the soup back up to a simmer while you whisk together the milk and flour in a mixing bowl until combined.
- Add the milk/flour mixture to the simmering soup and keep your whisk going in the pot until the soup is nice and thick. This can take a good 10 minutes. It will thicken up more as it cools.
- Store in the fridge a few days or in the freezer for months. 1 pint of the condensed soup equals 1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup in your recipes.
Tips:
- This batch makes 7 pints of soup – that’s 7 cans of condensed soup you would buy at the store. If your recipe calls for one can of cream of chicken soup, you can use 1 pint of homemade.
- Remember the consistency is condensed – just like the condensed soup you are used to. It is thick – if you wish for it to be thinned out you can add more broth and/or milk.
- If you are wanting more of a cream of mushroom soup you can use roasted mushroom broth, add mushrooms to the sauté in the beginning and back off on the all purpose season.
- It is so worth making your own chicken bone broth for recipes like this! The added nutrients and gelatin are fantastic – and it doesn’t get any easier than doing it in the slow cooker! You can make bone broth in your slow cooker or Instant Pot too!
- For the purposes of measurement in “can” mode I do like using pint containers for storage. As pretty as glass jars are (and I do use them when I have them around), I like these BPA free pint freezer containers
because they are inexpensive, stack up easy, and they work 🙂 - I have tried grain free…believe me – I have tried. My coconut flour and my almond flour attempts were major fails. The closest you will get would be tapioca flour but it will not be the same texture you are used to. It will work if you really have to be grain free, but again the texture is going to be more “goopy/slimy” versus thick and creamy.
- Here is what an immersion blender looks like – You can blend it up right in the pot and save on cleaning and time! It is possibly one of my most used kitchen tools – I love it!
- I love, love (love!) this brand of all purpose seasoning and use it in so many things – you will not be disappointed! This is my favorite poultry seasoning too – both work just as well.
because they are inexpensive, stack up easy, and they work 🙂
looks like – You can blend it up right in the pot and save on cleaning and time! It is possibly one of my most used kitchen tools – I love it!
and use it in so many things – you will not be disappointed! This is my favorite 
too – both work just as well.
This is great! I am always looking for gf and still tasty alternatives to “Cream of Crap” soup 😉
Haha! Yes Jess 🙂 I hope this works out for your recipes!
MMMmmm, this looks great; thanks for sharing!!! Yes, we all love our comfort food and I am no exception. Great recipe and photos, definitely one to save for fall and winter meals! 🙂 Cheers!
Thank you Megan! Yes I completely agree!
Can you can this recipe?
Hi Vicki! My novice understanding of canning is that anything with milk and/or meat needs to be pressure canned. I would think it would be ok, but it would probably be wise to check with someone with more canning experience than me! I would love to know what you come up with!
Has anyone found an answer to pressure canning homemade cream of mushroom soup?
Try using potatoe flour or arrowroot for your thickening.
That potato flour is a great idea Connie 🙂 I have tried tapioca flour and it leaves it gummy – do you think arrowroot would do the same thing because they are so similar?
I wonder if you can use white beans in lieu of flour to thicken the soup. They don’t have a ton of taste on their own.
As for the mushroom variety, how many should I use? I love cream of mushroom soup.
Hi Anna – white beans would be a great thickener. I always recommend them sprouted or in the very least soaked to aid digestion if you decide to go that route. I would use simple button mushrooms but whatever you enjoy the flavor of would work.
I want to try this because I want less salt in my diet! Any brand of condensed soup is usually to salty for me.
MSG has a big salty taste and flavor which is why they use it. I think you will like this 🙂
Mmmmm. I always used to love the cream of ______ soups, until I became educated about what was in them. I haven’t had or used them since. This sounds so easy to make my own at home. I’ll have to give it a try.
Great Amanda! Let me know how it works out in your recipes!
What an awesome recipe! I actually have rice flour that I need to use so this looks like it would be a great way to use it. Thanks for re-creating a healthy version! Pinning.
Great Loriel 🙂 Keep me posted how you like working with it in your recipes!
Another yummy recipe! 🙂
Thank you 🙂
Pinned and shared:)
Thank you Linda! I appreciate it!
Yay! I’m so glad you posted this! I’ve actually been on the lookout for one for a bit… I guess the fall season was making me want to make some. 🙂
Great Anni – let me know how you like working with it!
Could you just use all purpose flour if you wanted? and If so would you use the same amount as the rice flour?
Hi Amber! Yes, if you tolerate gluten fine you can use all purpose. It would be the same measurement 🙂
This looks great and I love making casseroles in the winter! Can I use tapioca starch or arrowroot powder in place of the rice flour? I have all the ingredients and was going to make a bit batch of bone broth this weekend anyway, but I don’t have rice flour and not sure if my health food store would have it (I’ve never seen it, does Bob’s Red Mill make it?) But I have tapioca and arrowroot. Would the measurements be the same? Thanks!
I just saw the comments re: tapioca from another poster’s question. I’m not gluten free so I may just have to seek out rice flour now. 🙂
Hi Mary 🙂 Yes you will like the texture of the rice flour over those other ones I promise! It will be worth the find! Even our simple regular grocery store has rice flour so I’m hoping you can find some.
This is a wonderful idea! A little bit of work and a great and healthy shortcut for those nights when we are in a rush! Thanks! PINNING IT!
This looks awesome! I make so many casseroles with the cream of chicken soup this time of year. I realize that this cannot be shelf-stable, but can you freeze it??
Hi Tonya! I freeze them for sure! It works great 🙂 Just be sure to freeze them with the lids off for about 24 hours so your jars don’t crack.
This is Awesome!! I am not a great cook, and have trouble being creative in the kitchen… this is such a simple recipe, and so much healthier than store-bought, canned !
Absolutely delicious and Pinned for later use! This homemade version is so easy and nutritious you would never have to settle for store bought again.
I particularly love that it will easy store in the freezer for months – there is nothing more satisfying than knowing you have the recipe basics for your favourite meals on hand at all times 🙂
So glad it worked out for you Ally! THanks for coming back to let me know!
Could you substitute the milk with rice milk by chance? My husband is on a low phosphorus diet. Thanks!
Hi Melissa! I have not worked with rice milk before, but I think you could try it if that is what you are used to drinking in your house. It will take on the flavor of the milk you use though so I would not use a sweetened one. Hope that helps!
Thanks for posting all these wonderful foods. I haven’t found a condensed creamed soup that hits my button so I am excited to try this one. I too make bone broth in my crock pot and it comes out wonderful every time. I was hoping to find someone that makes canning simple and delicious…I hope you delve into that part more if your interested. I would like to try my hand at canning. My mom used to do it all the time. She did peaches, jellies, jams, tomato paste, sauces….I am just a little chicken about it.
Hi Oli! I think you will like this condensed soup – it tastes just like the store bought we are all used to! I have a lot of canning friends and have a lot to learn – I am more of a freezer storage or drying storage person. But I would love to get into canning as I have more time after this baby season I am in!
Unfortunately the USDA states: “Do not add noodles or other pasta, rice, flour, cream, milk or other thickening agents to home canned soups”
Thank you for this recipe, I’ll be making a batch!
Do you think glucomannan might work instead of the rice flour?
Hi Jen! I’m not sure what glucomannan is so never working with it I’m not sure! I’m sorry!
Hi! I love that this is allergy friendly!!! I would have to use coconut oil and coconut milk because of a dairy allergy. Will it come out with a strong coconut flavor?
Hi Stephanie! It will be slightly but when you are using it, the flavor of whatever you are making (casserole, stir fry, etc) shines through more – it will just be nice and creamy!
Could you use white whole-wheat flour instead?
Hi Mysti – yes I think that would work although it might change the flavor a bit 🙂
I’ll be trying this!!
Fantastic! I have to say I used to love making casseroles with the canned soups but thought I had to give it up when I became a real foodie. Now I know I don’t have to!
I keep pinning this! I love it!
Love this version! So much healthier than those canned ones that I grew up with. Lovely recipe Renee. Pinned.
I have been waiting my whole life for this! I never even thought you COULD make your own cream of chicken soup. Super awesome! Thank you for sharing 😀
i love that this is not only “not as bad” as the store bought canned stuff, but that’s it’s actually nourishing and healthy with the homemade bone broth and good fats added in.
Has anyone given this a shot with potato starch yet? Seems like it might be a viable option. Or I just bought ATK’s Paleo Perfected and they often use cashew “cream” as the replacement in the recipes. Wonder if that could be a viable option or if that would just be a budget buster (I buy cashews from the bulk bins but even then it can get pricy).
I’m replying to my own comment but just thinking about it. I think 3/4 – 1 cup of potato starch mixed with an equal amount of water might work and potato starch freezes nicely. The negative is that you’d need to add it at the end and you couldn’t use it in recipes that ended up being boiled (it would break). Cashew cream is definitely an option (probably boil 1.5 cups in boiling water for 30 min or soak overnight, then process with equal amount of fresh water) but no good if you’re nut free. Either way – might be an option to get around the grain.
It has been many years since I have had something with cream of anything in it. But your chicken and rice casserole just sounded irresistible one night…. I made this and it was delicious. I am about to make another batch for the upcoming chilly comfort food season. Thanks!
Yesss! That is what I love to hear! Perfect! It’s going to be a great winter 😉
I never rate things, but this one deserves a 5 star. Worth the effort, this will be a keeper for us. I reduced to 2 tablespoons of butter and 3 cups of homemade cream of mushroom (your recipe). I did this to make it a bit cheaper. Also added a little extra cooked rice upon serving. Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback Christine!
This is just informational but I have never seen tablespoon represented by TB. I have cooked for over 40 years and traditionally capital T in a recipe means tablespoon, and small t represents teaspoon. (you can also use tbsp. for tablespoon and tsp. did teaspoon). This recipe looks delicious… Very yummy and I am looking forward to making it. Thank you
You’re welcome Karyn!
I wonder if this can be canned rather than kept in fridge or freezer?
Hi Amy! This can be canned as long as it is pressure canned versus hot water bath canned – the the bone broth and milk require pressure canning!