Recipes with Cream Soup - Making Substitutions

Here is one method I have tried and its great and extremely healthy--its made from ground dry beans!
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2009/03/29/beans-the-magic...

You can make your own dry mix in batches, store it in an airtight container and use as needed.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Cream of Whatever Soup Mix

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 C powdered milk
3/4 C cornstarch
1/4 C instant chicken bouillon granules
2 t dried onion flakes
1 t crushed dried thyme
1 t basil - crushed dried
1/2 t pepper

To make 1 can soup, take 1/3 C mix and 1 C water, cook and stir until
thickened.

Here's a recipe to make your own cream soups. http://www.mindfullyfrugalmom.com/2011/11/make-it-yoursel...

I have the perfect answer for you!!! :)

We eat gluten free because my youngest has Celiac disease, and we previously used a LOT of cream soups for casseroles, etc...so we had to find an alternative. For awhile we bought GF organic cream soups, but they as SOOO expensive...three bucks a pop. I needed a cheaper alternative, and boy, have I found one! I can make about 100 cans of soup for the same price as I was paying for 3-4 of the GF soup.

Basically, it's a powdered soup base you make.

1 c. instant dry milk
1 c. rice flour
2 T. dried minced onion
1/2 t. pepper, 1/2 t. salt

mix it in a storage container...it keeps in the cupboard.

Then I buy "Better Than Boullion" soup base mix...it comes in a jar, near the boullion cubes. I buy it at WalMart...I have one jar of mushroom, and one of chicken.

Okay, so you want soup...you have two options. You can actually make it into a soup, or you can mix it into your casserole without making "soup."

To make soup, you take 3-4 T. of your powdered base (depending on how thick you want it) and mix with 1/4 c. cold water. Put it in your sauce pan, add 1 c. water and however much "better than" you want (to taste), and cook and stir until thick. Don't boil. Alternately, you can use a small can of v8 instead of water to make cream of tomato soup.

If you are just putting it in a casserole (to be baked at least an hour), add your powder (3-4 T), along with whatever liquid you would normally add, and to taste again with the "better than."

It may sound like a lot, but it's not. It takes about a minute to make the base, I keep it in the cupboard, and I can't even tell you how many uses we get out of it before I have to make more. Plenty. If you make the soup in a pan, THAT only takes about 2-3 minutes, and to just dump it into a casserole takes no time at all.

I love this option, it's much healthier, you can flavor to taste, and it is SOO cheap. Initial cost was a little bit (buying the powdered milk, the better than boullion, the rice flour, etc) but I haven't run out of them yet and I've made many batches of the base mix and have been making soup with this for about 4 months.

I use chicken broth....or milk for "looks".

I make a roux out of butter, flour, & milk if it's the basis of the dish. Not much healthier, but not as salty. :)

Here is a basic recipe. This is the basic amounts, but you can adjust it for however much you need. For mushroom soup... add diced mushrooms, for cream of celery... add diced celery, ... you get the idea.

1/3 c butter (I use Smart Balance)
1/3 c onion, chopped (optional)
1/3 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 c low sodium chicken broth
2/3 c milk

In a medium saucepan over med-high heat, melt butter. Add chopped onion, cook till tender.

Add flour, salt, pepper and any other seasonings (like garlic...), stir till well blended.

Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring till bubbly and thickened.

I use the same recipe that Jill K posted, to cut the fat down. The sodium can be an issue (since it uses bouillion and that has a lot of sodium), but we basically don't use salt at all unless we're making a from-scratch recipe that needs it and only calls for small amount.

You can also basically substitute white sauce in place of the cream soup, I think. But again, if you're going healthy, you're going to want to cut back on the cream and use 2% milk or less (and it will be a little less creamy, but more healthy).

Substituting cream or making your own from a cream base will not cut down the fat, and may in fact be fattier than the canned soup.

Hmm. Can you substitute a lower sodium, healthy choice version of canned cream soups the way you can the regular canned soups? (I dunno).

I do keep those recipes, but being mindful of the sodium content I don't season stuff with salt when cooking those recipes. I'll use fresh onions, bellpepper, garlic, maybe celery---cook those down with meats, or add chili powder or something to season it up a bit but not just salt. When serving one thing that's got higher sodium, I'll purposely not salt my steamed vegetables that are on the side, etc. I would personally keep the recipes, but space them out so you're not eating them everyday, and be mindful of what you eat during those days. (If I'm making king ranch casserole, a great recipe but has cream of whatevers in it, plus cheese....for breakfast that morning I'll have a yogurt or oatmeal, and for lunch something with fresh vegetables and low sodium/fat to make up for the fact that I'll be having that casserole later).

It depends what it is being used for. If it is being used for taste, then you need to find an ingredient that has a similar taste or a recipe to make something with a similar taste. If it is for a cream base/thickening base in something, then you can use anything that can make it thicker. You can always make a roux if you need something to be thicker.

Sometimes I use a 'coordinating' gravy. If the recipe calls for cream of chicken, I use chicken (or a white gravy); cream of mushroom, mushroom gravy, or beef gravy when applicable. You get what I mean. I don't really know that this would be any healthier, I have used this in the past if I am out of the right ingredient.

It comes out great! My casseroles are creamier, and tastes great.

You could even make your own gravy (even ahead of time, I don't know if you are into canning). I don't know if by healthier you mean less fat or less processed ingredients. Making your own gravy could be a great idea.

Actually, I may try it!

Thanks,
KATIE

I'm thinking milk, and a little starch or flour if it needs thickened. I was originally thinking 'evaporated milk' but we're going for health, here, not a triple bypass!

Usually I think those recipes are just looking for the creamy consistency. I usually use heavy whipping cream.

I think that the main problem with canned cream of mushroom/chicken/etc soups is the sodium and fat contents.

So I make my own and freeze it. It's wonderful and you can tweak it however you like.

Here's the recipe I use. I've also used heavy cream instead of half-and-half for a creamier result.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cream-of-mushroom-soup-i/det...

Sometimes I'll use a roux to get a creamy sauce going.
Equal parts melted butter and flour, then add milk (or cream, or chicken broth or wine, etc) and heat/stir till you get the desired consistency.
You don't have to use butter - any oil/fat will do (bacon fat, chicken/turkey/goose fat, etc).
You have to add seasonings/herbs/spices, but you're in total control of what goes into it.
I've thickened with corn starch before but it will go runny again after awhile.