BEST Cream of Celery Soup
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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!
Homemade Cream of Celery Soup
This homemade Cream of Celery Soup is fantastic as a stand-alone soup or used in any recipe calling for canned condensed cream of celery soup. Made from scratch and utterly 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.
Cream of Celery Soup Recipe
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.
Enjoy!
Be sure to also try my Cream of Mushroom Soup!
What’s the Best Dutch Oven to Use?
For this recipe, while you can use any heavy stock pot I like to use a Dutch oven because it seals in the flavors and heats evenly, ensuring consistent cooking results. I love this 6-quart, budget-friendly option from Lodge, which you can get on Amazon for around $80. Or, if you’re looking for a worthy splurge, I also have this one from Le Creuset, which sells for around $300.
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BEST Cream of Celery Soup
Equipment
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.This soup will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet April 3, 2014
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
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 ;)
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 :)
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!
Fantastic, Jill, thank you!
I’ ve never made celery soup before so thought I’d give this a try. It is delicious!!
Thank you, Marie, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
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.
Fantastic, Tabitha, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
This is outstanding. Double it for a regular soup pot size (not the larger size dutch oven). Spices: salt, pepper, garlic salt, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley. Use liberally. Absolutely delicious, comforting, and full of immune boosting ingredients. I skipped the sugar and used two full cartons of broth and milk. 100% organic.
Does this freeze well?
Also, this recipe is INSANELY delicious…trying to control myself to not eat the entire pot. Need it for my chicken casserole tomorrow!
Fantastic, Shannon, I’m so glad you like it – thank you! :)
Do you have canning directions for this recipe . I’m hoping to can some but can’t seem to find any directions for that .
Hi Shannon, it generally isn’t recommended to freeze soups that contain milk or cream because they tend to get grainy in texture once they’re defrosted and reheated. I did have a reader report that it froze well for her – you could try it with a small amount first.
Sorry to say that I found this very bland. I couldn’t get organic celery…maybe that makes all the difference. I then tried adding some chicken base, and some parsley, and used the half milk/half cream… but it didn’t really help it.
I found that a dash of nutmeg helped!
This happened to me the first time. The secret is the combination of salt, pepper, garlic salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. Use liberally.
AWESOME. I had all the ingredients for this luckily. And it turned out fantastic thank you.
That’s wonderful, Beverly, thanks so much!
This current situation is making me be more creative with what I have and luckily, I had most of this ingredients. Only subs: I used chicken stock instead of broth and pea milk (Ripple) instead of milk. Delicious!!!!
That’s awesome, Maria, I’m so glad you were able to make it work and am happy you enjoyed it – thank you!