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. 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!
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.
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 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
Paula says
Kimberly! Oh. My. Gosh! This recipe is AMAZING! We belong to a food co-op and for some reason had gotten so much celery from there that we had zero chance of eating it all before it became mushy. Searching for what to do with it all, I came across this gem of a recipe. I ended up quintupling (!) the recipe & then froze it in quart containers. At this week’s co-op we got a cabbage and I knew what had to be done. Last night was Cabbage & Kielbasa soup and we might have actually died and gone to heaven! I pureed the frozen cream of celery and then followed the C&K recipe and it turned out delightful with no cream-separating issues. Topped with homemade croutons, two (huge) bowls later and I was the happiest I’ve ever been. I’ve promised myself I’ll take an extra walk around the block today so I can do the whole thing again tonight! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Yay, that’s awesome, Paula!! I’m super thrilled to hear that and really appreciate the feedback, thanks so much!
Katie says
Very tasty! For everyone worried about freezing I’m sure it’s fine. I freeze cream based soups all the time and it’s never been a problem for me.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome, Katie, I’m glad to hear it and thanks for the feedback about freezing!
Barb says
Absolutely fabulous – will be making again on Monday to start my daughters 1st anniversary dinner.(Yes they are coming to us to celebrate – go figure)
First attempt I nearly didn’t have enough as I couldn’t stop eating it:)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Haha, that’s awesome, Barb! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it and what a great choice for the special upcoming dinner – thank you!
Theresa says
Very good soup! I omitted the salt and sugar and it was fantastic! Thanks for the recipe! I just love Cream of Celery soup! 👍🏻😊
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
So do I, Theresa, and I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this, thank you!
Kate says
Made this tonight and it was soooo good, I can’t recommend this recipe more highly! Thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, Kate, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Kate says
THE best cream of celery soup EVER! I’ve made this three times already and it’s SO good!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Woohoo, Kate, that’s awesome! Thanks so much for the feedback!
douglas reibold says
I put this together tonite in about 30 minutes,it was excellent.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Douglas, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
Anonymous says
Love love love. A few alterations to “simmering” with milk and times, but otherwise, fabulous! 5 stars easy
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
So glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
Yvonne Bailey says
This is an amazing soup have made it lots of times for my family and friends and I always get told wow can they have the ingredients so that they can make it. It is a five star soup
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so happy to hear that, Yvonne, thanks so much!
Leah says
I was wondering if anyone has tried using a can of coconut milk instead of milk or cream and if so how it turned out.
Nina says
I just made this and I’m eating it now. My inferior-quality celery and broth, this turned out creamy and scrumptious. My habit with soup is to cut a few pieces of cheddar into my hot bowl, which no doubt adds a lot of fat but I don’t care — it’s too satisfying to eat those blobs of melted cheese along with the soup. Anyway, thanks for posting this!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Nina, that’s awesome, so glad you enjoyed this! I couldn’t agree more about the blobs of cheese – bring ’em on! :)
Laurie Burke says
What a great recipe. I ended up making it the cream of everything soup. I added carrots, potatoes, scallions, a cup of kidney beans I had in the fridge,some sliced black olives and a 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne! I enjoyed it thoroughly :) Laurie
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I like that, Laurie – “Cream of Everything Soup” :) It sounds wonderfully hearty and flavorful, thanks for sharing!
Sarah S. says
Thank you so much! I love “cream of…” soups. I just made this recipe but also added carrots. It was so delicious. My kids loved it.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s awesome, Sarah, I’m so happy to hear your kids enjoyed it as well, thank you!
Harley_gem says
I was looking for a simple cream of celery soup and I’m so glad I found your site. It is wonderful! Thank you for sharing and I love the way you post recipes with the pictures! Keep up the great work! ?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you! I’m happy you found my site as well and look forward to seeing you around! :)
Brenda says
I just made this and its really good! I only cook for myself so I made half recipe and loved it. Thank you for the recipe!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome, I’m so glad you liked it, Brenda! We really love this soup too and the basic process is very versatile – use mushrooms instead for a cream of mushroom soup or use broccoli for a cream of broccoli soup, etc. Thanks for the feedback!