BEST Cream of Celery Soup
This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.
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. Ā 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 youāre looking for a worthy splurge, I also have this one from Le Creuset, which sells for around $300.
Save This Recipe
Enter your email address and we’ll send it straight to your inbox!
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, Iām 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!
I have not yet made this, but it sounds terrific.
Question: To use as undiluted soup in a recipe, I see you only add about half the liquid dairy and broth. Is that correct? Do you think this would freeze well in portions, perhaps omitting the milk? This would be for using undiluted in other recipes. I suppose a taste would tell if it could even be made into soup after thawing.
I am on a very restricted (Specific Carbohydrate) diet, so would be using a plant based milk and flour, possibly cashew flour and milk. I’d really love to try all these Cream of Soups.
Thank you so much for all your hard work.
Hi Laurie, typically when you buy condensed canned soup you add an additional can of milk. This recipe makes the equivalent of two cans of “prepared” condensed soup (so two cans + two cans milk). I’ve had multiple readers report that they freeze this with success.
Delicious recipe–with a couple of adjustments. First, I cooked the flour at least 10 minutes, to avoid that raw flour taste. Second, no sugar needed! Not sure why that is in there–maybe if you’re used to canned soup with lots of added sugar and salt? Otherwise, a great recipe.
Thank you, Alice, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent recipe! Just made it and it is delicious!
Thank you so much, Penny, I appreciate it!
Amazing recipe! Thank you! I had so much celery to use and carrots I added . I only had one percent milk so I added a tiny piece of cream cheese to richen it up! But yes for celery soup this was amazing!
I would give this recipe more than 5 stars if I could! I made it tonight and it has become a new family favourite. We are excited to make it again to have as-is and also to use it as a base in other soups! Thank you for the amazing recipe.
I’m so glad, Marie, thank you very much! <3
I’m super excited to try this recipe! I am going to use celery from my garden and it is. very leafy – do you think I could chip the leaves up finely as well for the soup?
Hi Sarah, you can absolutely add some of the leaves though I wouldn’t use all them as they tend to have a very concentrated flavor.
I made this today, to use up my leftover celery.
I think the onion I used was too strong. My soup just tastes like onion. Any tips on how to fix this??
Thanks you!!
Hi Nicole, there isn’t much you can do at this point without diluting the overall flavor of the soup. I’m not sure what kind of onion you used that has made it overpowering, unless you’re just not a fan of onion flavor from the start, but I would just say for next time use less onion.
I only made this soup because I needed cream of celery for a casserole recipe. I thought cream of celery soup sounded like the LEAST appealing of all soups. To my surprise, the soup was amazing! I had half and half on hand so I used it. It was so good I served the soup before the casserole. Yum! Thanks for the recipe!
Fantastic! I know what you mean, “Cream of Celery Soup” doesn’t have quite the gourmet ring to it, does it, lol :) I’m so glad you decided to make it and am thrilled that you enjoyed it, thank you Victoria!