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!
I added 1/2 tsp thyme, 1 tsp parsley, 1/2 tsp fish sauce.
Great recipies I will try them all!
Hi Marlene, thank you! I hope you enjoy everything you try – happy cooking! :)
How did the canning process turn out? Did you omit milk and butter?
Hi Sue, I haven’t tried canning this but perhaps some of our other readers have so we’ll see if anyone chimes in…
Hi Kimberly! I love my cream soups also and I think i’m gonna try the celery recipe but sub. mushrooms for the celery cause my mom loves cream of mushroom soup but I use alot of cream of chicken soup in my chicken casserole that I make all the time in the fall and winter months. How would I adjust your celery soup to make it cream of chicken? Would I just sub. the chicken (finely diced) for the celery and of course use chicken broth? Thanks so much in advance for a quick response. Love your site.
Hi Renee, thank you! :) Theoretically the process would be similar if making cream of chicken soup but I haven’t tried it yet myself and I’m sure I would make several alterations to the ingredients and ratios if I were making it. If you give it a go let us know how it turned out!
Made this recipe today with celery from the garden…..absolutely amazing!
I’m so glad to hear that, Jennifer, thank you! :) And I’m jealous of your homegrown celery – our garden is bursting with a great variety of vegetables but we haven’t been successful with celery!
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!
Yay, that’s awesome, Paula!! I’m super thrilled to hear that and really appreciate the feedback, thanks so much!
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.
Awesome, Katie, I’m glad to hear it and thanks for the feedback about freezing!
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:)
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!