Leave the canned stuff on the shelf because NOTHING compares to homemade! This homemade cream of celery soup recipe is made from scratch, is easy to make, and the flavor will absolutely “wow” you!
Fantastic as a stand-alone soup or used in any recipe calling for canned condensed cream of celery soup. Â 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. Â No comparison in flavor. Â No comparison in the purity and healthiness of the ingredients. Â And I would never even consider eating the canned stuff as an actual soup. Â 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? Â *gag* Â I still can’t fathom how my husband thinks that canned cream of chicken soup tastes good. Â Again, a very rare indulgence, but still. Â Ugh! Â I asked Todd if it’s okay if I reveal this fact about him to the world. Â His response, [laughing] “Sure, go right ahead, I’m not ashamed of that!” Â *sigh*
This cream of celery soup is sublime. Â 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. Â
For best results, be sure to use good quality celery that’s very fresh and full of flavor. Â When it comes to celery, organic really is best. Â Non-organic commercial celery usually just tastes like a crunchy stalk of water with a “hint” of celery. Â So get the good stuff from your local farmer’s market. Â 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. Â
This recipe also provides an excellent base for many other “cream of” vegetables soups. Â Substitute mushrooms, asparagus, broccoli, etc, for the celery.
So without further ado, let’s get started!
Cream of Celery Soup Recipe
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.
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Stir in the flour and cook for another minute.
Add the broth and milk. Â For even richer results substitute cream for some of the milk.
Stir immediately to prevent the flour from clumping. Â Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Â 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.
Enjoy!
Be sure to also try our Cream of Mushroom Soup!
BEST Cream of Celery Soup
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
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
Nutrition
lauren p says
Absolutely delicious soup, thank you
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Lauren!
Moonstar says
I hate celery, but I have a recipe that calls for cream of celery soup, and my local store has none at all in stock. I have celery, because my mom, who lives with me, makes a veggie stew for herself sometimes. I am going to give the soup a whirl, and if it works, it will be part of my chicken tortilla soup (Max and Erma style). Never thought I would need to look up this recipe, but I need it. Thanks for putting it out there.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome, Moonstar, I look forward to hearing what you think when you’ve had the chance to try it!
Gina Frank says
I’m trying g it in the crock pot…looks great…how can you go wrong…with a side dish of this soup
M Hammer says
I made this the other night for my wife and I. I followed the recipe exactly except I substituted 1/2 cup potato flour for the wheat flour. I have nothing against wheat, per sé; I have no gluten worries, for example. I just prefer to use potato flour for thickening sauces and soups.
WOW! The results were simply incredible — a word I seldom use for my cooking. My wife and I polished off all the soup — all supposed four servings! We even sopped up the rest with slices of bread and were looking for more.
This recipe is definitely a keeper. :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so happy you both enjoyed it, M Hammer, thank you!
Nancy Graves says
I must confess I don’t usually take the time to rate recipes or leave comments, but this soup is DELICIOUS! The only change I made is I cut the sugar to 1/4 tsp instead of 1/2. We grew celery this year but started it too late (Central Florida gets too hot in the “spring”). So we harvested it and my husband wanted cream of celery soup which I’ve never had. I’m so glad I have enough to make another batch. Now I want to find a recipe I can use it in. Thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Nancy, I’m so glad you enjoyed it and appreciate your taking the time to leave feedback!
Lynda says
Fantastic! And so easy. I used almond milk in place of whole milk and cream
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Lynda, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Joanne Cimeot says
Thanks for mentioning that you used Almond Milk, I wondered if that would work!
Ann Goodman says
It seems like I always have celery in the refrigerator. I usually need a rib or two for something and the rest of the bunch just sits there taking up space–so finally I decided to try cream of celery soup. I didn’t have the gourmet celery–just the run of the mill grocery store variety. I followed the recipe except that I added two teaspoons of chicken soup base. The soup was absolutely fantastic (even with ordinary celery). My husband raved about it. I sent the recipe to both my children and encouraged them to try it. I’m just getting ready to make my second batch today. Thank you for the recipe! It is one I plan to make for years to come.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Ann, I’m so glad you both enjoyed it, thank you! :)
cassie walker says
I used this recipe as a starting point, and it turned out great. I used a full pound of celery. I added 1-2 tablespoons each of fresh dill and parsley at the end, then pureed with an immersion blender. Loved it!
Halien says
I added some stuff to enhance to my liking and it turned out amazing. I added at least 3 cloves of garlic, 3 potatoes, 4 cups of chicken stock instead of 1 1/2, and added some spices (thyme, basil, chili flakes).
Rebecca Bower says
Thank you! I was looking for a celery soup that reminded me of what my grandma used to make. This is delicious and actually has a lot more depth of flavor… though I didn’t add sugar. I don’t think it needs it.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Rebecca, I’m so happy you enjoyed it, thank you!
Mindy says
Wonderful soup! Does it freeze well?
Alicia York says
Just finishing up this soup now; it smells amazing in my house! I’m sure it will taste as wonderful as its aroma.
I’m going to partially immersion-blend this soup, as I should have minced the celery but didn’t. The next two days’ WFH lunches are going to be EPIC. Thanks for a great recipe! I linked to my FB post for more love coming your way ;)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Alicia, I’m so glad you enjoyed it and that you’re all set for lunch for the next couple of days, yay! And thanks so much for sending your friends my way :)
Jill says
Made this tonight bc we had left over celery. I did add some garlic powder and onion powder. It was really yummy on its one but I used some in a casserole. So good!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Jill, thank you!
Marie says
I’ ve never made celery soup before so thought I’d give this a try. It is delicious!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Marie, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Tabitha Bernhardt says
I really liked it. I put white pepper in it…cuz I love white pepper. Did not have chicken broth so I added a bit of veggie broth Decreased the broth because of taste and wanted it nice and thick. Turned out great. Kept getting celery my Misfit boxes and kids school lunches. Now I know what to do with it.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Tabitha, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!