Homemade Cream of Celery Soup is so much better than the canned variety. Make a bulk batch this week to have your casserole and eat more healthfully, too.
If you’ve got any casserole recipes in your repertoire, the chances are good that more than a few of them call for canned cream of something soup. And for good reason.
Our grandmothers, or whoever invented said casseroles, knew that using a canned soup in casseroles instead of making a homemade white sauce would save time.
Unfortunately, those canned soups taste like metal. And they’re loaded with salt, sugar, fat, and preservatives typical in commercially processed foods to make them taste better.
Thankfully, you can make your own cream of celery soup better from scratch and for less money!
Make Homemade Cream of Celery Soup for Cooking
This recipe for Homemade Cream of Celery Soup is perfect for cooking. It comes together quickly on the stove and is perfect for freezing.
Make a bulk batch and freeze the soup in 2-cup portions. Substitute it in your favorite recipes that call for cream of celery soup.
What is cream of celery made of?
- butter
- flour
- milk
- chicken broth
- parmesan cheese
- chopped celery (or dried celery flakes)
- salt
- pepper
How do you make cream of celery soup?
- In a saucepot over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook until the mixture bubbles.
- Whisk in the milk and the chicken broth, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens to a sauce consistency.
- Stir in the Parmesan cheese, celery, salt, and pepper.
- Use in your recipe or chill completely before storing in an airtight container in the freezer until ready to use.
Can you freeze homemade cream of celery soup?
You can definitely freeze homemade cream of celery soup. In fact, I highly recommend it. Canned cream of celery soup is so popular because opening a can saves time over making a fresh sauce.
You can have the best of both worlds — a homemade sauce and convenience — when you make a bulk batch of the creamed soup and freeze it in 2-cup portions. This size is the equivalent of a can.
How to freeze homemade creamed soups:
- Prepare the soup as directed in the recipe.
- Divide it into 2-cup portions, using Soupercubes or your favorite pint container.
- Chill the containers until very cold.
- Store the containers in the freezer until ready to use. If you’re using Soupercubes, once the soup is frozen, you can pop the cubes out of the molds and transfer them to a freezer bag for space-saving storage.
To use the frozen soup: thaw in the refrigerator or microwave and whisk well to recombine. Proceed with your recipe.
Can you freeze soup in glass jars?
I do freeze soups and sauces in glass canning jars as well as plastic containers. Take special care as breakage can occur.
If you’re going to use glass jars, leave the lids off, allow for extra headspace (about 1-inch), and make sure they don’t touch anything else in the freezer. Give them plenty of elbow room. Once the soup is frozen solid, lightly twist the caps on.
Remember that your mileage may vary. Breakage may still occur.
Is it cheaper to make my own creamed soup?
We always assume that making it at home will cost less money than buying it elsewhere. This is often, but not always the case. Let’s see how much the homemade soup really costs, shall we?
This homemade cream of celery soup is made from some basic ingredients, ingredients that when bought at regular, non-sale prices break down as follows:
- butter – $0.46 ($3.69/lb)
- flour – $0.04 ($2.69/5-lb bag)
- chicken stock – $0.81 ($2.19/32 oz)
- milk – $0.09 ($3.09/gallon)
- celery – $0.19 ($1.99/stalk)
- Parmesan cheese – $0.16 ($1.88/6 oz)
- salt – $0.01 ($2.99/26 oz)
- pepper – $0.01 ($3.79/4 oz)
A homemade version, made with purchased chicken stock will run about $1.77, compared to $1.59 for a commercial canned soup. However, chicken stock is something you can make for practically free, at which point, you can get the cost down to 96 cents!
I’m sure that you can find canned cream of celery soup on sale for cheap. However, I promise you this is better and totally worth the upgrade in cost.
How can you make this more economical?
Lower the cost of making a homemade soup even more by doing the following:
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. Whether it’s buying butter, parmesan cheese, or commercial chicken broth on sale, I buy more than I need in the immediate future. Sales cycles last about 6 weeks, so I try to buy enough to last me that long. Same goes for items like butter and flour. I stock up on these when I find good prices.
- Make your own chicken stock. A huge vat of homemade chicken stock costs just pennies and tastes amazing.
Tools I use to make this recipe easy:
Having the right kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs. Here are the tools that I like to use in this recipe.
- plastic cutting boards – I have blue boards for veggies and white boards for meat.
- Ergo Chef chef’s knife – I’ve had my set for several years and they work well.
- Pyrex mixing measure bowl – I have had mine for almost 20 years!
- wire whisk – I like this style with a sealed barrel. Then you can send it through the dishwasher.
- large stock pot – the Kitchenaid stainless steel pot that came with a refrigerator purchase has outlived the refrigerator!
- Soupercubes – these are great for freezing liquids into solids and then transferring to a space-saving bag for longterm storage.
- freezer-friendly plastic containers – I also like these Reditainers for storing soups and sauces in the freezer.
If you prepare this recipe, be sure to take a picture and hashtag it #GOODCHEAPEATS. I can't wait to see what you cook up!
Homemade Cream Of Celery Soup
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cup chicken stock or vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 rib celery chopped (about 1/4 cup)
- 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese (shredded)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- In a saucepot over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook until the mixture bubbles.
- Whisk in the chicken stock and the milk until smooth. Add the celery and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens to a sauce consistency, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Stir in the Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Use in your recipe or chill completely before storing in an airtight container in the freezer until ready to use.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally March 2, 2011. It has been updated for content and clarity.
