BEST Homemade Cream of Celery Soup

Fantastic as a stand-alone soup or used in any recipe calling for canned condensed cream of celery soup.  Clean, pure, delicious!

Most of us appreciate and enjoy the luxury of convenience from time to time, but we all know there is NO comparison between store-bought canned “cream of” soups and homemade.  No comparison in flavor.  No comparison in the purity and healthiness of the ingredients.  And I would never even consider eating the canned stuff as an actual soup.  Mixing it together with a bunch of other ingredients as part of a recipe is one thing (and still only something I have done on very rare occasions while turning a blind eye to the ingredients list), but mixing it with milk, heating it up and eating it plain?  *gag*  I still can’t fathom how my husband thinks that canned cream of chicken soup tastes good.  Again, a very rare indulgence, but still.  Ugh!  I asked Todd if it’s okay if I reveal this fact about him to the world.  His response, [laughing] “Sure, go right ahead, I’m not ashamed of that!”  *sigh*

This cream of celery soup is sublime.  I whipped it up to use as the base for a Creamy Cabbage & Kielbasa Soup I was developing for dinner that evening (oh so good and recipe to come!) but it was so good that I was really tempted to eat it plain and just make something else for dinner.  

For best results, be sure to use good quality celery that’s very fresh and full of flavor.  When it comes to celery, organic really is best.  Non-organic commercial celery usually just tastes like a crunchy stalk of water with a “hint” of celery.  So get the good stuff from your local farmer’s market.  And there have been many times when I’ve been surprised to find the organic celery selling for the same price as, or not much more than, non-organic.  

This recipe also provides an excellent base for many other “cream of” vegetables soups.  Substitute mushrooms, asparagus, broccoli, etc, for the celery.

So without further ado, let’s get started!

Very finely dice the onion and celery and mince the garlic.

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven and cook the onion, celery and garlic over medium-high heat until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes.

Stir in the flour and cook for another minute.

Add the broth and milk.  For even richer results substitute cream for some of the milk.

Stir immediately to prevent the flour from clumping.  Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a simmer.  Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining ingredients, and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add salt to taste.

The end result is a perfectly delicious cream of celery soup you can enjoy on its own or use in place of bought condensed soup for any recipe calling for it.

Print Recipe

4.99 from 54 votes

BEST Homemade Cream of Celery Soup

Leave the canned stuff on the shelf because NOTHING compares to homemade!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: All, American

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 231kcal

Author: Kimberly Killebrew

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 small yellow onion ,finely chopped (about 1 cup)
• 2 cups very finely chopped good quality flavorful celery (about 5 large ribs, organic recommended for optimal flavor).
• 1 large clove garlic ,minced
• 1/3 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1 1/2 cups good quality chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk (or use 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup cream for even tastier results)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or heavy stock pot over medium-high heat and cook the onions, celery and garlic until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the flour and cook for another minute. Add the chicken broth and milk/cream and stir until the mixture is smooth. Increase the heat and bring it to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining ingredients, and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Add salt to taste.
• If using as a base for other recipes, this soup will keep in the fridge for at least 3-4 days.

Notes

One batch of this soup is roughly the equivalent (in quantity) of 2 cans prepared canned condensed cream of celery soup ("prepared" meaning 2 cans of added milk). Enjoy as a stand-alone soup or use in any recipe calling for prepared canned condensed cream of celery soup.

Calories: 231kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 790mg | Potassium: 379mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 730IU | Vitamin C: 3.8mg | Calcium: 137mg | Iron: 0.8mg