Oh yes. You read that title right. We’re going retro today and talking about one of the staples of my childhood — condensed soups.
Of course, the main reason that most families had (and still have) condensed soups sitting in their pantry is to use them for the other staple of my childhood — casseroles. (So. Many. Casseroles.)
But our family actually bought condensed cream of chicken soup to turn it into its original namesake — a nice hot bowl of cream of chicken soup! And oh boy, did I love that soup. My sister and I would be stoked when we arrived home from school and saw that familiar can sitting out on the stove for dinner that night. And then once I learned how easy it was to whisk together the can of mysterious molded glop with a can of milk and — poof! — magically make soup? Oh yeah. You’d better believe that this soup was on regular rotation in my dorm room when I first learned how to cook.
But sadly, you know where this is going…
Tons of preservatives. Ingredients you can’t pronounce. Processed everything. I know, modernity is a bummer.
Because of such, I sadly haven’t bought a can of condensed soup in years. But when my neighbor Christine brought over a box of canned goods from her pantry the day before she moved, the ol’ craving returned as soon as I saw those familiar red and white cans. And then I desperately wanted soup. And then I wanted casserole. And then I began wondering if I could just make the darn stuff homemade. And as it turns out…you can!
Seriously friends, we should have been doing this from the start. Homemade condensed soups are ridiculously easy. Let me show you.
As I imagined, all that you really need to make condensed homemade cream of chicken soup are four main ingredients: chicken stock, milk (you can use any kind), thickener (flour), and a few seasonings. Oh, and if you want to be like the original, you can also add in some diced cooked chicken. That used to be my favorite part of the soup, back in the day.
In order to thicken the soup, some recipes have you make a roux with flour and butter/oil. Then others have you just cook the flour right in there with the liquids. I made a few test batches of each, and the second method is arguably the easiest (and is pictured below), but you can go with whatever sounds best to you.
The great news is that you can customize these main ingredients however you’d like:
- Chicken Stock: If you make homemade stock, then you really win the gold star for this one. I was in a hurry so I went with Trader Joe’s organic stock, which I love.
- Milk: I went with 2% milk, but you can literally sub in just about any kind of milk in this recipe.
- Flour: Feel free to also experiment with flours. I just went with all-purpose flour this time, but have read success stories with whole-wheat and gluten-free varitities
- Seasonings: I kept mine fairly simple, since the stock is already pretty well-seasoned. I do like mine a little more on the salty side, since this recipe is meant to be condensed, but feel free to omit the salt and/or use a reduced-sodium chicken stock if desired.
So to make the soup, go ahead and whisk together your milk and flour until the flour is dissolved and the mixture is smooth.
Then bring your stock to a boil in a medium saucepan.
Slowly add in the milk mixture, whisking to combine. Then whisk in your seasonings, and let the mixture come to a very low boil for about 3 minutes or until it has thickened.
Stir in the chicken, if you’d like.
And then your condensed soup is ready to go! It will definitely thicken up even more as it cools and returns to room temperature.
Then either go ahead and use it for a recipe, or store it in a sealed container in the refrigerator. It should keep for up to 1 week.
I used mine to make my favorite — some actual cream of chicken soup — although in my wise old age, I decided to take an extra 10 minutes to add in some extra carrots, onion, celery and chicken. And oh boy, it was like I was 10-years-old again. This totally hit the spot!!! Recipe coming on the blog tomorrow. And also stay tuned for a condensed cream of mushroom soup recipe and even a casserole or two coming soon.
Once I start with the condensed soups, apparently I can’t stop. Enjoy!
(Condensed) Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. onion powder
- 1/8 tsp. celery seed (optional)
- 1/8 tsp. dried thyme
- 1/4 cup finely diced cooked chicken
Instructions
- Add chicken stock to a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together milk and flour until the flour is dissolved.
- Slowly pour the milk mixture into the boiling chicken stock, whisking to combine. Whisk in remaining seasonings. Reduce heat to medium, and bring the mixture back to a very low boil, stirring constantly so that the bottom of the pan does not burn. Let the mixture boil for about 3 minutes or until thickened. Then stir in the chicken (if using), and remove pan from the heat.
- Either use the condensed soup in a recipe immediately, or transfer it to airtight containers and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- *This recipe is NOT meant to be consumed as-is. It is a concentrated soup, which means that it either needs to be diluted to be eaten as a soup, or mixed into a recipe that calls for condensed soup. :)
- *I also made a double batch for the photos.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!Edited: There are already lots of comments about canning and/or freezing this condensed soup. I do not recommend canning it because of the milk/dairy. I have heard from readers who have tried freezing the condensed soup that it works, though.
I have been using this recipe for years. I always come back to this recipe to make homemade chicken pot pie or anything that need cream of chicken. I absolutely HATE processed can of cream of chicken. It always tasted weird and ruined flavors of chicken pot pie. This recipe is absolutely perfect! I love it! Who knew there’s such an amazing recipe of this! Like someone else says-“It’s so nice to have soup with no chemicals or preserveatives that you can make from scratch.” Thank you for creating this recipe!
Awesome, I’m so glad you love it! I agree — the homemade version is so much better than canned. :)
How long in a pressure caner would I pressure this in order to can it for winter uses? I would use 15 lb pressure, and probably cook for 25 mins. Please let me know if this would preserve this. My grandkids
love soups and casseroles in the winter.
Hi Brenda! Unfortunately we’re not really familiar with pressure canning, so we aren’t sure. However, we looked up pressure canning condensed soups and saw this: Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure, 20 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts. We hope this helps!
I would love to “can” this. How do I take it to the next step and can as Christmas gifts?
Hi Mary! We’re not terribly experienced with canning and haven’t tried canning this for long-term use — we’re sure you can do it if you follow the standard canning process and have everything you need (it sounds like you would need to pressure can this though). We hope this helps!
Hi,
I understand that this is concentrated, I’m wondering how much liquid I should add in order to eat it as a soup. The canned version usually calls for a can of milk or water (10 oz). Is this the same amt for this recipe.?
Yep, it’s the same! :)
I made this as a non-dairy version and it was a HUGE hit in our house! We have a dairy allergic kiddo, and cream based anything is always tricky with non-dairy subs. Thank you for nailing this recipe. The seasonings are perfect and mask the sweetness that soymilk lends. After nearly 9 years of casserole-free living my inner Southern momma is ecstatic!
We’re so glad you were able to make this non-dairy for your family, Heather, and we’re so glad it was a hit! :)
I was wondering if I could use corn starch instead of flour to make this gluten free? Is the flour used just to thicken the soup? Thank you very much! Ann
Hi Ann! Yes, we think that should work just fine. We hope you enjoy!
Wow, that was super easy and delish! Thanks for the great recipe. I’d need to be in a serious pickle to buy condensed soup from the store again. Took all of maybe five minutes to make, and that includes getting out the measuring spoons, etc.. Yay for Ali!
You’re so welcome, Melissa — we’re happy you enjoyed this! :)
Just whipped up some of this using full-fat coconut milk and sorghum flour (we have gluten and dairy allergies in the house). Came out wonderful! My process was slightly different – browned my chicken breast in the frying pan, then sauteed my veg (i used carrot and celery and onion and garlic, because veg) in the fond, then deglazed with the chicken broth and added my milk/flour mixture. Then for my casserole (which was the final destination) added frozen peas, the chicken/veg, and rice pasta. This is amazing!!! So glad someone had the perspicacity to make a recipe! Thanks so much!
Very cool, thanks for sharing Meredith! We’re glad you enjoyed this and that you were able to make it gluten and non-dairy! :)
Yummy this looks so delicious. Thanks for sharing this for us.
Simon
We’re so glad you liked it Simon!
After I make my soup before putting chicken in, I let it cool some and then pour into a blender and a few wh rills and all lumps are gone and it’s smooth as can be. If I don’t have chicken stock on hand, I make it using chicken bouillion cubes and water. Just some tips that I’ve learned over the years.
Thanks for sharing with us, that’s a great tip for sure! :)