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!
Thanks for the recipe–as a bachelor I go for easy–usually crock pot recipes–and I think something like cream of celery soup is wonderful: so I can put a tin of canned chicken or even canned clams–put it on when I leave, come back and thicken it–there’s very little you can’t do to add on–but it is good all by itself. Oh: a secret some one told me: NOTHING is not made better by adding a half pint of heavy cream. (did I mention I am a bachelor and live alone?)
I couldn’t agree more, Roger, heavy cream and bacon both make the world go round! :)
After looking at many many recipes this one caught my interest the most. I will be making it tomorrow and I’m so excited… I will follow the instructions/ingredients to a T..
Wonderful, Kimberly, please let us know what you think!
Just made your celery soup recipe and it’s perfect to be my base for tuna noodle casserole… no more cans of cream of celery soup for me!! Thanks again!!
Awesome, Annette, thanks so much!
EXCELLENT SOUP, thanks so much for sharing this!
Thanks so much, Cori!
It’s amazing. I pureed mine at the and just used milk no cream and 4 stalks of celery. It’s perfect!! Thank You!!
Fantastic, Jasmine, thank you!
Absolutely deeeeelicious, thank you!
Thanks so much, Tammy!
Absolutely incredible, everyone LOVED it! Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
when I couldn’t buy just 2 celery sticks for my sons risotto and had to buy a whole bunch I Decided to google cream of celery soup and came across your recipe! Absolutely delicious! Although I did find it very, very thick and needed more milk but perhaps that’s just my preference? I’ll try again with less flour and see how it goes!
Was wondering if you could let me know how I would go about making this into a cream of chicken soup? Would I make it up as normal and then add a few skinless chicken thighs and simmer until cooked through, then shred the chicken? Or would I poach it first and add in?
Thanks you x
Hi Jules, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you! Yes, the first way you described is basically how I would make a cream of chicken soup as well (cooking the bone-in chicken with the other ingredients will create a nice rich broth) and I’d probably cut back a little on the celery.
Great recipe! How about making cream of clam chowder from it?? Any ideas friends??
Adding the milk broke my Dutch oven! Cold milk on hot oven caused it to crack! Be advised when using this recipe.
Hi John, I’m sorry to hear about your Dutch oven. That problem isn’t specific to this recipe (which doesn’t call for cold milk by the way), that’s a common problem specific to cast iron cookware in general and applies to any recipe.
Absolutely delicious! Fantastic recipe! Although I did add a couple of our favorite flavorings… but just small shakes. That was Madras curry powder and Cavenders Greek seasoning. Love this recipe!
Wonderful, Bunny, thank you!
This soup was so easy to make and so delicious to eat. I used milk and ended up adding some more as it cooked because it just got too thick. But the result was great, it’s just very flexible that way – adjust to your liking. It’s one I’ll make again and again.
Fantastic, Doris, thank you!
The recipes that I use “cream of soups” in don’t call for any additional liquid. To make this the same consistency as a canned soup…would I reduce the amount of liquid to make it thick like the canned versions?
That’s a great question, Ann. That’s what I would do – start with half or less of the chicken broth and milk and add more if needed.
Made this yummy celery soup last night with very old celery I had lingering in our fridge for over a month! It was easy and very very tasty. I did blend all ingredients at the end to make it very smooth.
Wonderful, Vicky, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
One person said that they used evaporated milk and you came back and said, yes it would be ok to use condensed milk. Are evaporated and condensed milk the same? Soup really sounds great will be sure and try it. Thanks
Hi Connie, that was a typo – condensed milk is “sweetened condensed milk” with lots of sugar and would NOT be a good substitute :) Evaporated milk is the correct one.