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 came up with my own recipe for condensed cream of chicken soup several years ago, because I wanted something reasonably healthy. But I have to chop carrots and celery for mine, so I’m definitely trying yours. I freeze mine all the time, because the recipe makes 3 times what I need for the dish I usually use it for. Freezing works well.
I found this recipe and thought I’d give it a try because it looked so simple and I love trying homemade things. I followed the directions closely using freshly-made chicken broth, 1% milk, all-purpose flour, and the recommended seasonings. It ended up more like a chicken gravy than the condensed cream if chicken soup I was hoping for. Also, the color was different than the pictures suggested: more like a pasty whitish-gray than the rich creamy yellow I expect from cream of chicken. The only thing I can think of is that my chicken broth wasn’t thick/concentrated enough to lend that beautiful golden color. But for the record, even though it turn out like I expected, it was still good. I added shredded chicken breast, more milk, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, some frozen peas, and additional seasoning to make the creamy sauce for haystacks (Hawaiian or Chinese, whichever you call it). It was yummy, and I’ll most likely make it again, but I’ll expect a gravy and not a soup. Four out of five stars for this recipe. :)
The color will probably vary depending on your stock. If you want it to be a bit more yellow in color, add a pinch of turmeric to the flour to boost the color naturally. I’m going to try this in a gfree version so wish me luck!
When you make your chicken stock leave yellow onion peels in whole and strain it out that will give you the nice golden color.
You just made me a very happy woman, i didnt realize how easy the homemade soups were to make, no more canned for me. i use a lot of it too!
I really loved it when you said we could add the extra veggies, since we totally love carrots and celery in our soups, and i also add dehydrated onions (pure fresh onion hater, but it does add flavor to recipes).
Doing it homemade would also reduce the cost of it as well, since i love to cook anyways!
i am trying to Homestead, and do as much as i can without buying pre-packaged. I have made my own laundry detergent for 2 years now. :)
Thank you for posting!
I make a very similar condensed soup recipe and pressure can it…mine includes milk and flour as well. It’s an old pressure canner recipe and I’ve never had any problems!
Also-anything canned with milk, meat or flour should be heated after opening and before consuming as a precaution anyway.
Hi
Is this recipe for pressure canning
I am very new at canning and we do t gave a lot of places to make enquiries….. Australians don’t can
Louise
Hi Louise,
Sorry, I do not recommend this recipe for canning. Best wishes.
~Ali
Hi Louise, i dont can anything due to no canning supplies, but i do freeze batches of soups and gravies. for water based items i just add a small bit to thin it out, same for milk base items. i freeze these in all types of containers, i leave a little room for it to expand, and I will be freezing this as well when i make it.
oh i must add, it is only my hubby and I, and we dont like to waste food. so any meal that is larger than normal, we package it so that it can be made for other meals and taken for lunches. :)
I’ve made this recipe twice today, once with mushrooms and beef broth to be used as cream of mushroom soup in tater tot casserole, and the other batch with chicken broth to be used as gravy. I used the roux method, using rice flour and flax milk. I didn’t dilute the mushroom mixture-just used it as it was, and it turned out nice and creamy. The chicken I will use tomorrow as gravy, but may add a can of cream of chicken to it for more eye appeal. Looking forward to trying it out in other recipes.
Do you think soymilk would work with this recipe?
Hi Lauren,
Yes, it works great!
~Ali
Hi! I made the Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup today (in preparation for tomorrow when I will be using it as an ingredient in Crock Pot Ranch Pork Chops). It came together so so easily, and I don’t know why I haven’t made it before! Part of me desperately wanted to add some milk and slurp it from the spoon on the stove (which may cause me to make it tomorrow for lunch since my son has been requesting soup all week). I also made your ranch seasoning (minus the buttermilk powder) to add to the crock pot ranch pork chops tomorrow. Thanks for posting such an easy way to make both!
I love this recipe! This is my second time to make it as a replacement for canned soup. Thanks so much for sharing. This is so easy – I won’t ever have to buy canned soups again!
What a great idea! I will definitely be trying this out in the near future