Homemade Cream-Of Soup Mix

Let’s be honest…there are times when I’m just lazy. I might run out of Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup and be too busy to make more…or too lazy. I try to always keep some in the freezer, but sometimes I run out. I know it’s quick and easy to whip up a batch, but I’ll be honest again. If I see a recipe that calls for it and I know I have to make some because I’m out – I pretty much nix that recipe. Can I get a witness?!

While I just love cooking, and don’t mind making the homemade cream of soup, sometimes I just can’t get around to it…and for those times, there is this lovely stand-in made with dried ingredients. Having this in the cabinet makes me feel like I can conquer any cream-of recipe! It also makes me feel like I need a casserole – casseroles are where it’s at.

Organic milk and cornstarch

Okay, so this recipe uses powdered milk and cornstarch. I know there are really strict hard-core foodies out there who would scream and cry and foam at the mouth because I’m using dried milk…but as we all know, I’m not a strict hard-core foodie.

Yes, I understand that dried milk might not be a “whole food.” But let’s just get something out of the way here – to me, using this mix that I made is 100 times better than using a can of cream-of soup from the store. I know what’s in this…because I made it. The ingredients on the dried milk say: organic skim milk. While I am a firm believer in whole milk, I don’t mind using skim dried milk.

*Note – Dairy Free? Use Rice Milk Powder.*

I do realize that using high quality ingredients is better – so, I went with a non-instant version of dried milk and I opted for the organic. Also, because GMO corn gives me the freak out, I also opted for organic cornstarch. Could you use arrowroot? Probably…but I wanted to use cornstarch. Why? Who knows…just go with it. I easily found these ingredients at Vitacost.

Stir it up, buttercup

This really is super easy. Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk. Store in an airtight container in the pantry. The only thing you could mess up here is to create a huge cloud of dry milk while mixing too hard. But really…who would do that? *Cough*

Now, here is the tricky part – you have to make it into a soup. For cream-of chicken soup, you’ll mix your powder with chicken broth. For cream-of mushroom soup, you’ll use water and some diced, cooked mushrooms…and for cream-of celery soup, you’ll mix it with water and add some celery seed or diced, cooked celery.  I’ll provide instructions below in the recipe.

Cream-Of Soup Base

Casserole dishes all across America are happy again! They’re going to be pulled out of their dusty cabinet homes and be used for Chicken Spaghetti. It’s a miracle.

This recipe is brought to you by the Stacy Is Freaked Out By GMO Corn Coalition. We accept casserole donations.

Cream-Of Soup Mix

Adapted from Taste of Home

2 cups dry milk powder (non-instant is preferred) Dairy Free? Use rice milk powder.

¾ cup organic cornstarch (to avoid GMOs)

1 teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon dried basil

½ teaspoon dried parsley

¼ teaspoon black pepper

 

Mix all ingredients together with a whisk. Store in an airtight container.

To make into soup, combine 1/3 cup dry mix with 1 ¼ cups water in a small saucepan. Whisk until smooth. On medium heat, bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes, until thick. Cool. This amount = 1 can condensed cream-of soup.

For Cream-of Chicken Soup: use 1 ¼ cups chicken broth instead of water.

For Cream-of Mushroom Soup:  use water; add ¼ cup diced, cooked mushrooms to soup after it thickens

For Cream-of Celery Soup: use water, add ¼ cup diced, cooked celery to the soup after it thickens or add a dash of celery seed to the mixture while it’s cooking.

Disclosure: Some posts include links to sponsors or affiliates, which give me a small percentage of the sale. You are not obligated to use these links when you make a purchase, but when you do so it helps to support this site, so thank you!

About Stacy

Stacy is the author of Crock On: A Semi-Whole Foods Slow Cooker Cookbook and a stay-at-home mom to her two children, Annie (3) and Andy (newborn). After an “awakening” in March 2011, her family switched to a more natural, whole foods diet. She likes to blog about how to live on less than you make and how to eat good food while doing it. Her passion is teaching others how to save money and she tag teams with her husband in this endeavor. At Stacy Makes Cents you’ll find information on how to save money in the kitchen, how to have fun with your kids, and how to be thrifty in all areas of life. Her passion is teaching others how to live debt free. Make sure to follow her on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with her daily antics.

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  • Sherry

    I love this idea! generally when a recipe calls for cream of….soup I make a white sauce and add whatever flavour is needed. I made this mix a couple of weeks ago and just used it to make my version of Costco’s Chicken Bake. I made the cream of soup, added a package of reduced fat cream cheese, about 1/2 a rotisserie chicken, and about 2 cups of frozen veggies. I rolled out homemade bread dough and put some of this mixture in it and voila…healthier Chicken Bake for my family of four :)

    • Stacy

      I was trying to read your comment and all I could read was “cream cheese.” Yes…blessed cream cheese. How I love thee. *Slobber*

  • Alex

    Hey Stacy,

    Have you ever tried this recipe to make cream of cheddar soup? I’m guessing that either 1 cup of cheddar or a mixture of cream cheese and cheddar should do it. I’m dying for homemade Mac and cheese over here and my mothers recipe of course calls for cream of cheddar >_<

    • Stacy

      No, I haven’t tried it but I imagine it would work. It’s a good base for most cream-of soups. Or you could check out my Mac and Cheese recipe – no cream soups needed! :-)

  • http://www.earlybirdmom.com/blog/ Sarah

    Ooh – what a useful thing to have! Thanks for the recipe. I’ve pinned it for future reference.

    • Stacy

      Thanks! :-)

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