This Homemade Cream of Celery Soup recipe is so much better than the canned variety. The fresh taste of this creamy celery soup makes it the perfect addition to these Easy Chicken Casserole Recipes and is a must for Easy Chicken Divan with Curry.
Consider this recipe a cream of soup base recipe, allowing you to make all kinds of cream of soup recipes by swapping out the celery for other ingredients. This is one of my favorite recipes that use a lot of milk so it doesn’t go to waste. You’ll be so surprised at how easy to mix up and freeze this recipe is.
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Delicious on its own and super economical, this easy Cream of Celery Soup is a great basic recipe to master. It also comes in handy when you’re stirring up a favorite casserole or simply want a short cut to filling the soup pot for a larger batch of chowder or creamy soup.
Sure, you can buy the canned variety but when you make your own cream of celery soup from scratch, it tastes better and costs less money!
Why Make This
It’s a perfect substitute for the canned soup in casseroles. This recipe is perfect for cooking and using in recipes that call for canned cream soup, like this Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole Recipe.
It’s easy. It comes together quickly on the stove and is perfect for freezing, making it one of those great Pantry Staples You Can Make Yourself.
It’s simple to make a lot at once. Make a bulk batch and freeze the soup in 2-cup portions. It will be easy to substitute it in your favorite recipes that call for cream of celery soup.
It’s delicious on its own. Yes, you can eat Cream of Celery Soup as its own dish. If you’re not wild about celery, scroll down for some amazing variations that allow you to make any “cream of” soup! You can also use it as a soup starter, like in this Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup.
It’s a great use for sad celery. If your celery is on its way out, make soup! Avoid food waste and enjoy celery in a new way.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this homemade Cream of Celery Soup recipe:
butter – You need some fat to make your roux. I like to use butter, but you can substitute your favorite cooking oil or plant based butter if you prefer. You can also use margarine or lard, but the flavors will be very different.
flour – Flour is what helps thicken the cream soup. I use unbleached, all-purpose flour, but you can also use a gluten-free blend as well. I’ve tested this recipe with Cup 4 Cup Multi-purpose GF Blend, and it worked fine.
milk – You can use any fat content milk you like or even heavy cream if you’re living the high life. Plant based milk can also be used, such as almond or coconut milk, keeping in mind that the flavor will be altered slightly.
broth – Use the broth you typically use for cooking, either vegetable or chicken. Making homemade Vegetable Broth or Chicken Stock will likely keep down the costs.
fresh parmesan cheese – This adds a little salty creaminess. You can also use romano or asiago if that’s what you have.
chopped celery (or dried celery flakes) – This is what makes this soup “cream of celery”. See below for other variations.
salt and pepper – Homemade cream of celery soup will taste a lot less salty than the canned versions. Add more to taste according to your preferences.
Optional: if you like, you can add a bay leaf to the pot while it’s simmering. It will add a bit of bitterness that offsets the richness of the cream.
Variations
Vegan: use a plant butter or cooking oil, a plant-based milk, and vegetable broth.
Gluten-free: substitute a gluten-free flour blend for the flour. Be sure to whisk constantly to eliminate lumps.
Cream of soups: There are a number of cream of soups on the market, commercially. Usually they’re full of preservatives and excess salt and fat. You can make a number of homemade cream soups based on this basic recipe.
- cream of mushroom soup: substitute chopped and sautéed mushrooms for the celery.
- cream of chicken soup: substitute finely chopped cooked chicken for the celery and use chicken broth instead of vegetable.
- cream of asparagus soup: substitute finely chopped cooked asparagus for the celery.
- cream of bacon soup: substitute finely chopped cooked bacon for the celery.
- cream of broccoli soup: substitute finely chopped cooked broccoli florets for the celery.
- cream of potato soup soup: substitute finely chopped cooked potato for the celery.
- cream of onion soup: substitute sautéed, chopped onion for the celery
This sauce is a great substitute for canned soup in Tuna Noodle Casserole.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s how to make this easy recipe:
- In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook until the mixture bubbles.
- Whisk in the milk and the vegetable broth, stirring constantly to incorporate the roux with the liquid
- Stir in the celery and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Stir in the Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Serve as is, or use in your recipe. If you’d like a smoother soup, you can use an immersion blender to blend the bits of celery.
To use as a soup starter: Saute any onion and other aromatics you’d like to include in your soup. Then add the Cream of Celery as well as a broth or stock. You can add chopped meat or fish, cooked noodles or rice, and whatever chopped vegetables you’d like to include.
Pro tip: If you’re short on stove space for some reason, you can prep the soup in the instant pot, using the saute function. Just be sure to adjust the heat so that the roux doesn’t burn.
Freezing Instructions
Here’s how to freeze 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.
TLDR? Watch this web story.
FAQs
Basically cream of celery soup is a white sauce that features cooked, chopped celery and vegetable broth.
Yes, this can be a soup to enjoy on its own, especially if it’s homemade. You can also use it as a sauce in casseroles or as a soup starter.
Yes! While this recipe calls for flour, you can substitute a gluten-free flour blend for the flour. Just be sure to whisk constantly to eliminate lumps.
Yes, use a plant butter or cooking oil, a plant-based milk, and vegetable broth.
More Pantry Staples You Can Make Yourself
Canned cream of celery soup is a pantry staple for many. Now you know how to make it yourself. See what else you can make without buying the box or can!
Tell us what you think!
We love to hear your experiences with Good Cheap Eats. Click the STARS on the recipe card or leave a STARRED comment to let us know what you think of the recipe.
Homemade Cream Of Celery Soup
Equipment
- sauce pan
- wire whisk
- single-serve airtight containers
- soupercubes
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cup vegetable broth or chicken stock
- ½ cup milk
- 1 rib celery chopped (about ¼ cup)
- 2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese (shredded)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a saucepot over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook until the mixture bubbles.¼ cup butter, ¼ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 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.1 ½ cup vegetable broth, ½ cup milk, 1 rib celery
- Stir in the Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning.2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese (shredded), ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Use in your recipe or chill completely before storing in an airtight container in the freezer until ready to use.
Notes
- cream of mushroom soup: substitute chopped and sautéed mushrooms for the celery.
- cream of chicken soup: substitute finely chopped cooked chicken for the celery and use chicken broth instead of vegetable.
- cream of asparagus soup: substitute finely chopped cooked asparagus for the celery.
- cream of bacon soup: substitute finely chopped cooked bacon for the celery.
- cream of broccoli soup: substitute finely chopped cooked broccoli florets for the celery.
- cream of potato soup soup: substitute finely chopped cooked potato for the celery.
- cream of onion soup: substitute sautéed, chopped onion for the celery
Nutrition
This post was originally March 2, 2011. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Lisa
You just single-handedly won the internet!!!! Putting the quantity of the ingredients with the step in the directions where it used!!! Just take my money. How do I pay you for this!
Jessica Fisher
Glad it is a help. Tell all your friends. 😉
Bea
To love cream of soups
My question is since I don’t have any celery ribs, can I use celery seeds instead? And if so how many tbsp or tsp should I add ? Will the flavor be as close or just go out and and buy some? I sure what to make it this wk sometime. Thank you for this simple recipe I plan to give update.
Jessica Fisher
I don’t know that I’d use celery seeds as the texture would be a little off. I’d probably do finely chopped onion instead and have cream of onion.
Rose
I look forward to trying your recipe. Is this equal to one (10.75 oz) can of soup?
Jessica Fisher
It makes about 2 cups, depending on how much you cook it down. I use one batch as a replacement for a can of soup.
Leslie
My husband is into canning. Can this soup be canned?
Jessica Fisher
No, it’s not appropriate for canning.
Mercedes
I haven’t cooked it yet but I would like to say I’ve never made a recipe where I didn’t have to scroll back up every two seconds to check how much of the ingredient i need again. Thank you for putting that under the directions !
Jessica Fisher
So glad it’s helpful! I’m still working on changing them all, so thanks for your patience.
Shelly D
How much does this recipe make as is? In one of the pictures it shows several soup cubes full…but the recipe never said how much it makes just that a serving is considered 2 cups.
Jessica Fisher
That “servings” field actually means that the recipe makes 2 cups.
Adrienne
I prefer Jessica’s cream of chicken recipe but this is good too.
Sue Gerstenecker
I tried this recipe because I’m cutting back on salt and canned soups are supposed to be the worst! I make my own broth based soups, but haven’t tried cream ones. I made this as cream of mushroom and it was so good I’m never buying canned again. I just need to make a quadruple batch to have some on hand for casseroles.
Jessica Fisher
Yay! So glad you saw success! Thanks for leaving a review, Sue.
House Elf
Do you *really* just put raw celery in there? If so, do you cook it longer? If yes, how long?
Jessica Fisher
Thanks so much for your question! Recently we converted all the recipes to recipe cards, and it looks like this one needed some clarification. Yes, the celery is fresh and yes, it cooks just fine. I’ve edited the recipe for clarity. Please let me know if you have more questions.
Mary
Made the wonderful cream of celery tonight to go in the curried chicken casserole. Wow!! Delicious!! Question on the celery…do you sauté yours before adding it to the soup? I did not since it was going in the casserole but wondered if I should when we’re just having the soup. Thanks for such a great recipe!!
Jessica Fisher
Nope, you can just add it uncooked. Weird, I know, but it works. So glad you enjoyed it.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
I’ve made other cream of recipes but I think that the touch of parm from your recipe may be just what others are lacking. It looks really good in the picture and I’m looking forward to trying this when I next need a cream soup. Thank you.
Also, had trouble joining your IG preps yesterday (Tues) and today (Wed). Caught yesterday’s replay but would like to listen live. Is anything different? Missing it!
Jessica Fisher
I’ll look forward to hearing what you think once you make it.
IG live allows you to type in questions that I can answer right then. I’m not doing them this week, though.
Gwen Jones
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!
Darlene Berger
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.
Jessica Fisher
It will need to be frozen.
Nicole
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!
Jessica Fisher
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.
Cheryl
Hi I too use Costco chick stock. I made today. I sautéed celery in butter used 1/3 cup flour vegetable stock small garlic clove and half n half. Delicious. I love the parm addition. I will use this as my base for my creamed soups mushroom chicken potato corn. Thank you. I also chopped some green onions and sautéed too. Thank you.
Debi
Can these soups be canned?
Jessica Fisher
You would need to research pressure canning. I’m not knowledgeable on that skill, but there are loads of resources to help you. I recommend freezing for ease.
Shona
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.
Jessica Fisher
So glad you liked it! It is really yummy just for soup. 😉
Mary H.
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!!!
Mary H.
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!!!
Michelle
Do you think thois could be modified for a crockpot? Add mlik at end? Thanks (:)
Jessica Fisher
I don’t think so. It’s so easy and quick, there’s really no reason to.
Rachel
Do you ever make a larger batch and just freeze in portions that you would need for recipes?
Jessica Fisher
Yes, I’ve made up to 8 cups of this for a variety of recipes.
Stephanie @ Stephanie's Az Kitchen
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?
Jessica Fisher
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.
Marelie
Hi, My name is Marelie. Im a new blogger, I have just linked with you. Im no.78. Thanks
Loy
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.
angie
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.