Homemade ‘cream of soup’ sauce are a bazillion times better than the canned version. Because they taste better…fresher…and because you know exactly the ingredients that were added to the sauce. You can pronounce them all. And then there’s the you can season it as you like. Give it some garlic flare. Or a punch of onion flavor.
I began making homemade ‘cream of soup’ sauces when I lived in the Dominican Republic because at that time, they didn’t carry the canned version in the colmados and supermercados in our town. I continue to make the homemade version today because we deal with multiple children having food allergy/intolerance to dairy.
I use a dairy-free margarine and rice milk to make the dairy free version. You can use regular salted butter and 2% or whole milk for a dairy version. (I prefer not to use skim milk as it makes the sauce to thin. If you’re trying to save calories, maybe add a little more skim milk and let some of the water boil off to thicken it up!)
Here’s how it works…
Medium-high heat. Skillet with tall edge or saucepan.
Melt butter.
Give it a good swirl so that the pan is coated in the butter.
Add flour.
Whisk. Whisk. Whisk. Into a paste.
A very bubbly paste.
Quickly whisk in the milk, so no clumps form.
Yes, pour and whisk at the same time.
Reduce heat.
It will become smooth and thicken as it heats.
Medium to medium low heat.
You don’t want to burn the sauce.
Drop in mushrooms.
And/or chopped onions.
And/or fresh crushed garlic.
Let them cook up and bubble in the sauce for a few minutes. Season to taste.
Use in recipes that call for a can of cream of mushroom soup!
$5 Dinners Recipes with Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Creamy Ranch Chicken Skillet Dinner
- Slow Cooker Creamy Ranch Chicken
- Slow Cooker Ranch Beef Roast
- Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli & Rice Skillet (Homemade cream of sauce…mushrooms optional!)
- Slow Cooker Cube Steak Dinner
- Swedish Meatballs
- Cajun Chicken Fettuccine (Homemade cream of sauce…mushrooms optional!)
Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
Yield – about 4 cups
Preparation Time – 5 minutes
Cooking Time – 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 4 Tbsp flour (GF flour if need the sauce to be GF)
- 3 cups milk
- 4 oz. fresh mushrooms, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional spices: garlic powder or fresh crushed garlic, onion powder or minced onion or fresh chopped onion, Italian seasoning, Cajun seasoning
Directions
- Melt the butter and then whisk in the flour to form a paste.
- Whisk in the milk and let thicken over medium/medium-low heat.
- Stir in the mushrooms and let cook for a few minutes. Season to taste.
is it really only 1 can worth for 4 cups? seems like it should be more like 2 or 3?
Maybe they are talking about the huge can of soup and not the smaller can. I agree with you that 4 cups is a lot and would fill several small cans. LOL Can’t wait to try this easy version!
i see many recipes that show “Cajun Spice” what and where can I get this?
At Safeway yesterday and could only find the “Keg Restaurant” brand of Cajun Seasoning.
Thanks for the reply & info.
Ron
The Cajun seasoning I like is in a green canister in the seasonings section. It’s called Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning.
from their website you can order many different styles and quantities. Tony’s has salt so no need to add either that or pepper. the salt free taste’s good too.
This looks great, and easy! Can it be frozen? Would it taste just as good after having been frozen? Thanks so much for all your yummy meals!
How do you store it till you need it?
This is the way I have made my cheese sauce for Mac/ cheese for years…once the milk is added & begins to get thick ,make sure heat is low & add sm chunks of your favorite cheese. Keep stirring till cheese is melted. JAN from ILLinois
thank you for this idea re mac and cheese. Ever since I made a home made recipe for mac & cheese the thought of going back to Kraft Dinner in the box just turns my stomach, lol
Will rice flour work as well? I am trying to find an easy cream of Mushroom soup that is wheat free due to allergy to wheat.
Can you can it or freeze for an extended period of time?