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.
In the old days when I did freezer cooking, I’d pop open a few cans of creamed soups, mix this, add that, and slide a bunch of casseroles into the freezer. Since then, I’ve done a little reading and research. I realized that I didn’t really want my family to be consuming all the salt, sugar, and fat found in commercially processed foods.
More importantly, I realized that I could make many of those commercial items better from scratch and for less money!
Make Homemade Cream of Celery Soup for Cooking
Canned cream soups would be one such commercial product. While there are one or two recipes when it can fly under his radar, my husband’s taste buds send out an alarm signal if the flavor of tinny, canned soup is too obvious.
The poor man was fed canned cream soups as a main dish when he was a child and he was scarred for life. The tinny flavor shines through just a wee much.
Taste preferences aside, canned cream soups are often full of additives or are too expensive to make them cost effective for freezer cooking.
Instead, you can make a homemade alternative! Back in the day, our foremothers made their own white sauces to put in casseroles. You can, too! I’ve got a recipe here for Cream of Celery, but you can also make your own Cream of Chicken Soup.
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 definitely can. Allow the soup to cool before storing in an airtight container. And when reheating, it can curdle so be sure to stir frequently. I also recommend cooking a bulk batch and freezing some for later.
Cook a bulk batch and then divide the soup into 2-cup portions and stash them in the freezer. Homemade convenience at its finest!
I do freeze soups and sauces in glass canning jars as well as plastic containers.
If you’re going to use glass jars, leave the lids off, allow for extra headspace (about 1-inch), and chill completely. Then freeze until firm, without the lids. Once the soup is frozen solid, lightly twist the caps on.
Your mileage may vary. Breakage can occur. Use other containers for freezing if you prefer.
How I make this cheap:
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.
Here are some of the strategies I use to make this recipe economical:
- 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.
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!
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.
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable)
- 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped celery or 1 Tablespoon dried celery flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 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, celer, salt, and pepper.
- Use in your recipe or chill completely before storing in an airtight container in the freezer until ready to use.
Allow the soup to cool before storing in an airtight container.
Curious about freezer cooking? Consider purchasing my cookbook, Not Your Mother’s Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your local bookstore.
It’s chock full with over 200 freezer-friendly recipes, planning pages, shopping lists, cooking plans, and basic and advanced how-to’s to making freezer cooking work for any home, family, and lifestyle.
Originally published March 2, 2011. Updated September 10, 2016.
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Looks yummy! Happy mid-week!
What a great idea! One question though…
Most recipes I use call for the can of soup, which is a condensed soup. So does this recipe make a soup that’s as thick as the un-diluted can of soup? Thanks!
Great question and I was trying to figure that out myself as I experimented with it this weekend. I made a potato casserole that disappeared in a flash. I would say that it is 2 cups gravy consistency. It’s not as thick as the can. But, most of the recipes I’ve ever seen for the can could be tweaked for consistency.
@Jessica Fisher,
Thanks, FishMama!
UGH!!! It posted before I was ready… sorry!! The link I posted is to refried beans NOT navajo tacos!
is there a way to delete it and repost??
@Reagan @ Recipesmademyway, it’s fixed.
@Jessica Fisher, Thanks!!
I love the way your cream soup looks. I have a homemade dry mix that makes a cream soup when you add water to it. It is easy to make–will have to dig that out & post it. Using homemade takes a LOT of the sodium out of your recipes so you may need to adjust for taste.
@Kim, yes, my first few trials were not salty enough. But, adding that little bit of parmesan seems to help.
I make my own cream of mushroom soup and freeze it.
What is the Better than….. stuff in your picture? I’ve never seen that before?
@Nora@ The Dollar Hollering Homemaker, It looks like it’s the chicken broth. On the ingredients list, I’m able to make out the word “chicken”.
@Nora@ The Dollar Hollering Homemaker, that is called Better than Bouillion. It is sold in the jar, organic and conventional. It is a paste that can be reconstituted into broth. Unfortunately, it does have sugar and a few other things. But, if you don’t have homemade on hand, it is very convenient to keep in the fridge.
Do you use the entire 2 cups in a recipe that calls for a 10 oz. can? Or do you only use 10 oz. and save the rest? I’m guessing you could freeze extras, going by Nora’s comment about freezing her cream of mushroom soup.
@Kelly, I have been using the entire batch and then reducing the amount of liquid that is called for in the rest of the recipe.
I don’t have any celery flakes, but I do have some fresh celery that desperately needs to be used up. Can fresh celery be used? If so, about how much do you think I should use? It looks wonderful!
@{Jules}, I don’t know why not. I had celery flakes in the cupboard. I would chop it fine and saute it in some butter before adding it.
I always make a double batch of enchiladas and put one in the freezer. Thanks for a bunch of great ideas!
I’m linking up my spaghetti pie recipe; it freezes well and is a great dish for either a weeknight dinner or for company. Double it and bake in a 9 x 13 baking dish for a crowd. Thanks for hosting!
What a great idea! Those canned soups can be evil!
Oh this is brilliant! I am going to get a bunch of this made up to have on hand. Sure beats the canned stuff!
Now could the celery be subed with broccoli for ‘cream of broccoli soup’?
yes.
Funny, when I was at the grocery outlet the other day, I almost bought canned condensed soup, and then decided to try to do it myself.
Now that I’ve made mac and cheese from scratch, and I’ve seen your recipe, I feel like I can tackle this!
We use the Better than Broth, too, though I’ve never seen it in organic form.
I’ve been making more homemade cream of soups but still have a couple recipes where they separate, the milk curdles and gets quite icky in. They are slow cooker recipes so I’m guessing it’s the longer cooking times.
I’ve been making my own ‘cream of’ soup for about a year and we’ll never go back to the can. I like to freeze diced cooked chicken mixed into the soup–just heat gently and toss with egg noodles for a quick main dish.
Just love any type of freezer cooking!
thanks so much for hosting link up I found great recipes today and shared one myself thanks
Looking forward to seeing the other freezer meal recipes, especially as my daughters and I are planning another freezer meal day together soon …
I goofed with link #75-feel free to delete. I’m looking forward to trying the homemade cream soup.
I love the idea of homemade cream soups. I’ve been considering something like this because of the additives in canned soup. I bet this would freeze well in glass jars too.
Your photo looks delicious. We’ve been eating much healthier this year and I have a few favorite comfort recipes we haven’t had in some time because of the Cream of… soup it calls for. I’m going to have to take the plunge and try this! Thanks for the recipe.
Thought you would like to know that you can get “free” celery flakes, just by leaving the celery leaves in a shallow container on the counter for a couple of days whenever you use celery. Turn them from time to time. They will dry and can then be put in a covered container to store. Just crumble into soups or stews for added flavor.
Hi, My name is Marelie. Im a new blogger, I have just linked with you. Im no.78. Thanks
Do you ever make a larger batch and just freeze in portions that you would need for recipes?
Yes, I’ve made up to 8 cups of this for a variety of recipes.
I know this post is an older one… but I would like to know more about freezing this for make ahead things. Do you freeze this in freezer bags like a sauce? Does it separate it (milk being one of the components)? How long is it good for?
Yes, freeze it in 2-cup portions. I’ve never had it separate. Good for a month in a regular freezer, longer in a deep freeze.
Do you think thois could be modified for a crockpot? Add mlik at end? Thanks (:)
I don’t think so. It’s so easy and quick, there’s really no reason to.
This recipe is FANTASTIC! I did exactly what you said (even doubled the recipe) and it came out perfect! The amount was perfect to substitute one can of cream of celery. Thank you!!!
What I meant to say is the original recipe is equivalent to 1 can. Lol! I needed two cans, so I doubled it. Great recipe!!!
Just made this…super easy and amazingly good. So good in fact that not all of it made it into the freezer container! I’m going to make more and stash it in the freezer for an emergency meal. It would be great in the winter with cheese and crackers.
So glad you liked it! It is really yummy just for soup. 😉
I’ve been wanting to try cooking healthier and came across your recipe. What type of chicken broth do you use? I typically get chicken broth in a can, but that is not so great. What do you suggest for broth? Thanks!
When I buy chicken stock, I usually get the boxed variety from Costco. Otherwise, I make my own. It’s really easy to do. The process is the same for turkey stock as with chicken.
Hi, so can I make this soup and put it in a jar like I would can green beans for instance, or does it have to be frozen.
It will need to be frozen.
What a great alternative to canned! All I needed to do was add a bit more thickener for this to work in my recipe. Thanks so much!