Substitute for Cream of Chicken Soup
Need a quick substitute for cream of chicken soup? This easy homemade version is flavorful, thick, and perfect for casseroles.
You may also love my cream of celery and cream of mushroom soup recipes.
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Why You’ll Love It
I know. I know. This is not the kind of recipe that makes you run to the kitchen. It’s not flashy or new. In fact, it’s been on the site since 2015.
This cream of chicken soup substitute is one of those things that shows up in casseroles and baked dishes all the time. And sometimes you need it when there’s not a can in the pantry.
I started making my own version years ago since canned soup never appealed to me. I wanted more control over the flavor and sodium. With this homemade version, I know exactly what goes in.
It turns out thick, creamy, and works one-to-one in recipes that call for condensed cream of chicken. If you’ve ever wondered what to use as a substitute for cream of chicken soup, this recipe is the answer.
We use it in our green bean casserole, hashbrown casserole, and chicken mushroom broccoli casserole.
You can double or triple it if you need more. It only takes a few minutes on the stove, and it’s easy to adjust the spices.
How to Make It
In a small bowl, whisk the milk and flour until smooth. In a saucepan, bring the chicken broth and spices to a low simmer.
Slowly pour in the milk mixture while whisking. Keep whisking for 2 to 3 minutes until it thickens. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly. It will thicken more as it cools.
Quick Tip
Want to make it gluten-free? Swap the all-purpose flour for a 1:1 gluten-free blend that contains xanthan gum or another thickener. King Arthur, Cup 4 Cup, or Bob’s Red Mill all make great options. Just make sure the other ingredients you use are certified gluten-free.
How to Use It
This cream of chicken replacement works just like the canned version. One batch equals one can of condensed soup. Use it in casseroles, pasta bakes, or even as a starter for soups and sauces. It’s the perfect substitute for cream of chicken soup when you don’t have the canned kind on hand.
How to Store Leftovers
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Reheat over low heat on the stove or in the microwave, whisking to smooth it out.
More Soup Recipes
- Substitute for Cream of Onion Soup
- Chicken Soup without Noodles
- Substitute for Cream of Bacon Soup
- Great Northern Bean Soup
Like This Recipe?
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Ingredients
- ½ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- Smoked paprika, just a dash
- Salt, to taste
- Ground black pepepr, to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together milk and flour. Be sure to break up any lumps.½ cup whole milk¼ cup all-purpose flour
- In a medium saucepan, combine broth, spices, salt, and pepper. Allow to come to a simmer on low-medium heat.¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth¼ teaspoon onion powder⅛ teaspoon garlic powderSmoked paprikaSaltGround black pepepr
- Whisk the broth and slowly add the milk and flour mixture.
- Continue to whisk for 2-3 minutes until mixture begins to thicken.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. The mixture will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Use immediately or store in an airtight container.
Suggested Equipment
How to Video
Notes
Nutrition
Meet Kimberly
Hi, I’m Kimberly Vargo! Comfort food is at the heart of everything I make like easy dinners and sides to desserts, cocktails, and condiments. A lot of my inspiration comes from old family recipes, personal favorites, and vintage cookbooks.
I’ve been making this as a substitution for years now. Got it down to less than 8 minutes which is way quicker than a store trip and tastier!
Thanks so much, Sydney! We’re so glad you like the recipe. I agree! It’s much faster than a trip to the store and much tastier, too! 🙂
Due to dairy allergies, we cannot use store bought cream of anything soup. Thanks to this recipe my husband can use this to make his mother’s dressing recipe. I simply sub almond milk for regular milk and it is perfect. Thank you!
Good morning Denise, thank you for sharing your comments and rating the recipe! Kim and I are glad your husband can make his mother’s dressing recipe. It’s important to find ways to prepare special family dishes. Thank you again and have a lovely weekend 🙂
Thank you for your response. Very helpful!
You’re welcome Lynn. 🙂
My soup was not as thick as the condensed canned. Is this normal?
Good morning Lynn, thank you for asking your question. Our soup substitute is not as thick as condensed soup straight from the can. The substitute should be thicker than a broth but not as thick as gravy. So, it’s normal for it to seem thinner that what you’re used to, if you use a lot of canned condensed soups. I hope this information helps and that you have a lovely day 🙂
Love this recipe! Has anyone used it in a crockpot recipe? I was wondering how it might work in crockpot creamy chicken and broccoli.
Thank you Amanda! I don’t recall us using it in a crockpot recipe. However, I’ll leave this comment up to see if someone else has and can answer your question. Thank you again for commenting and have a lovely day 🙂
I made for the first tie. Awsome flavor. I added concentrated chicken broth and omitted the salt.
Worked great for my chicken pot pie
Hi Suzan! We’re so glad the concentrated chicken broth worked well. Have a wonderful evening! 🙂
Great soup recipe. Very simple. I have made several different recipes but this is my fav. I am gluten free and dairy free. Used GF flour and Oat Milk. It was perfect!! I will be using this Cream Of Chicken Soup as my go to.
Thank you Keisha! Kim and I are thrilled you like the soup substitute. It’s a great idea to use GF flour and oat milk to make the soup GF/dairy free. Thank you for commenting and rating the recipe. Have a lovely day 🙂
I cannot wait to try this !! Canned soup has so many ingredients that i prefer not to eat ! And they all have milk , I will use lataid milk and enjoy this soup ! Thank you !
We hope you enjoy the soup, Theresa! This is one of our favorites to use in casseroles. It works very well in place of 1 (10.5 ounce) can. Have a wonderful evening! 🙂
I can’t wait to try this! Canned cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup has become ridiculously expensive and it is a huge part of my grocery bill. No more thanks to this recipe.
I can’t tell you how well this turned out, in spite of the fact I sprinkled out more than a pinch of paprika. Never buying canned chi. soup again.
I guess I’m late to the party, but I’m wondering how this could be made to store dry in the pantry, then add the wet ingredients as needed tip use in recipes?
Thank you!
Good morning Deb, thank you for asking about the recipe. Unfortunately, Kim and I aren’t aware of a way to prep the dry ingredients in advance. We’re not sure this recipe can be modified in that manner. Thank you again for asking and have a lovely day 🙂
can you make this a dairy free recipe 1/2 cup milk?
can you make this a gluten free recipe 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour?
do you have to use 1/4 teaspoon onion powder?
Hi Annette!
To make this dairy free, swap out the milk with a dairy free alternative like soy milk. To make it gluten free, substitute the flour for a 1 to 1 gluten free blend. The onion powder can be adjusted or omitted. However, omitting it completely will change the flavor. Have a great day! 🙂
Does the 1 serving equal the size of a regular can of soup (10.5 oz.) ?
Hi Julia!
Yes, it does. Have a great weekend! 🙂
Hi there! I wanted to let you know how happy I was to find your site. The substitute for canned cream soups was just what I hoped for, and thank you! Loved that you added smoked paprika – a favorite of mine. But more than the soup substitute, I am happy to see lots of other things on your site that I will be checking out soon. Thanks very much to both of you!!
Hi Marilyn!
John and I are happy that you like the cream soup substitutes. They’re a favorite of ours, too. We hope you find some other recipes you’ll enjoy! Thank you for the comment. Have a wonderful week! 🙂
So fresh, tasty, and easy! My favorite recipe for cream of chicken soup. Thank you!!
You are welcome, and thank you! We are happy you like the cream of chicken soup substitute. Have a wonderful week! 🙂
I never use canned soup in any recipe. Thank you for the substitution solution. Also sour cream is a good substitute and the same concentration as canned soup would be!
Hi Judi,
Thanks so much for the tip about sour cream! We’re glad you enjoyed the chicken soup substitution. Have a wonderful evening! 🙂
I make this cream sauce when I’m making scalloped potatoes,tuna noodle casserole, chicken pot pie,and any other recipe that call for a creamed condensed soup. It’s always evident…and NOT in a good way…when canned soup is used in a recipe. Just don’t like that canned taste.
I love this soup, I will never buy canned again! Thank you for this!!
Good Morning Kelly, we’re thrilled to hear that. Thank you for coming back to comment on the recipe! Have a lovely day 🙂
I love your recipes. I just found your cranberry bread recipe and happened to continue reading all the comments and came across this! This is a keeper! A definitely healthier substitute instead of the canned variety. This has decided what I’m making for dinner tonight, tuna noodle casserole! I use almond milk and plant-based butter substitute. I think they will be perfect, keeping in mind use the unsweetened plain not vanilla almond milk.
Thank you so much for this!! We had to cut gluten from our diets several years back and there were so many comfort foods (that were so bad for us) that we had to give up. This recipe allowed me to sub gluten free flour and make my mom’s Chicken Divan recipe (with several other tweaks beyond the can of soup to make it actually healthy 🙂
The family was thrilled!! I will be using this substitute over and over again. Thanks you again!!
Good Morning Amy, that’s wonderful to hear! Kim and I are glad you’re able to use this substitute to make the recipes you love. Thank you for coming back to comment on and rate the recipe card. Have a lovely day 🙂
Thank you for this recipe. I haven’t made a casserole like this for years. It worked for me tonight when I made chicken noodle casserole. ?. Thanks
Thank you June! Kim and I are glad the substitution worked in your casserole. Thank you again for coming back to comment on and rate the recipe card! Have a lovely Friday 🙂
My daughter was recently diagnosed with a wheat allergy (among other good allergies) I was able to substitute a gluten free flour and it turned out perfect! She can now enjoy her daddy’s hashbrown casserole again!!
Thank you so much for sharing!!
Thank you Kelly! Kim and I are excited to hear you and your family enjoyed the soup substitute. Furthermore, we’re glad to know the gluten-free flour works for the recipe so that your daughter can enjoy her father’s cooking. Thank you again for coming back to comment on and rate the recipe card. Have a lovely day 🙂
My husband is lactose intolerant and I can not use Cream of chicken/mushroom soups so as you can imagine this limits my recipes.. I used your recipe ( soy milk in place of regular) and it mixed really well and incorporated awesomely into the recipe I was using… oh and no ummmm unpleasant outcomes for my husband! I am so freaking excited b/c this opens the possibility of so many new dinners!
Thank you, Denise! That’s wonderful, Kim and I are thrilled the substitution works for you and your husband. We also have cream of mushroom and celery substitutes on our site. So, if you need those, they’re available too. Thank you again for coming back to comment on and rate the recipe card. Have a lovely day 🙂
Thank you Julie! Oh no, well, we’re glad you found the substitute. Hopefully, everything went well with the chicken pot pie. Thank you again for coming back to comment on and rate the recipe card. Have a lovely Tuesday 🙂
Thank you so much. Forgot the Cream of Chicken soup for my pot pie recipe. This is much healthier!
Hi Kimberly and John,
Thanks for the fantastic recipe! It just makes me feel dirty to buy canned “Cream of Whatever” soups. We are trying our best to eat healthy, but every so often you want a version of a comfort food.
Thank you, Wendy! We know what you mean. 🙂 Kim and I appreciate you coming back to rate the recipe and make a comment. Have a lovely day 🙂
This worked perfectly! Tasted great, and now my crock pot pork chops will taste even better without the canned stuff! THANK YOU! 10 for 10 will absolutely use again!
Thank you, Lisa! We’re excited to hear the substitute worked perfectly for you. Thank you again for coming back to comment on and rate the recipe. Have a lovely day 🙂
Very useful, thank you!!
Thank you for commenting and rating the recipe, Maresa! Kim and I are thrilled you like the substitution. Have a lovely day 🙂
Good afternoon.
Found your recipe and plan on trying it tonight as my chicken divan base. Question for you is would this amount be about the equivalent of a can of cream of chicken soup, as I need two?
Thank you,
Valddie
Hi, Valerie! Yes, this recipe makes approximately the same amount of cream of chicken soup that’s in one can (about 10.5 ounces). It’s easy to double if you require more. Thanks for stopping by and have a great afternoon!
How would you recommend editing this to make cream of celery or cream of mushroom? I have breast cancer and I need to make diet changes of less processed foods whenever possible. I’ll definitely be using this cream of chicken in my old favorite recipes but we also make a lot of things that use cream of celery and mushroom! Would you think sautéing celery/mushrooms in olive oil first and stir them into a basic rue?
Hi Alisha! For cream of mushroom, add 1/2 cup to 1 cup finely chopped mushrooms (depending on how chunky/thick you want the soup). Cook those down first with a small amount of butter, then add the broth, spices, and roux. For the cream of celery, it’s the same as the mushroom. Add 1/2 to 1 cup finely chopped celery depending on how thick of a soup you like and how heavy of a celery taste. Follow the same directions as above for the rest. 🙂 You could also swap out the chicken broth for veggie broth, but it will change the flavor some. Thanks for the question! Best wishes for your health!
I just made your cream of chicken soup for subbing for the can. I like this better. But I also used in the Pressure cooker XL under the soup label. I will use this whenever I make or need soup.
Thank you for sharing Sherri! I am so glad the cream of chicken soup substitute works well for you 🙂 I will pass the comment over to Kim, she will be really excited to know. 🙂