This homemade cream of chicken soup recipe is quick and easy to make, and it tastes way better than what you get in a can! Perfect for using in your favorite recipes!

Have you tried making homemade cream of chicken soup to use in your favorite casserole recipes? It’s actually really easy, and there are no questionable ingredients!

(Updated September 2023 with new photos)

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Condensed soups are often an ingredient in favorite holiday dishes or in our favorite traditional comfort foods and casseroles.

But quite honestly, while I like the dishes that include “cream of” soups, the soups themselves are not that appealing to me. 

Not only are they high in sodium, but I also don’t like the small tidbits and chunks of food in them.

There have been many times when I’ve been making a baked dip for an appetizer that required a can of condensed soup, but I’ve had to sift through and try to pick out the little pieces of chicken or mushrooms or celery.

Because those “bits” don’t go well with the texture of the dip (I mean, who needs chicken pieces in their spinach dip?).

Over the years, I’ve tried to stop using the cans of soup as much as possible, but that often meant I wasn’t making some of my favorite dishes anymore.

That is, until I discovered just how easy it is to make my own homemade cream of chicken soup!  Seriously, it is so incredibly simple and only takes a few minutes.

Need a gluten free version? Check out my recipe for homemade gluten-free cream of chicken soup!

Substitute for Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

Once you make your own cream of chicken soup, you’ll love how the flavor profile of this homemade version is so much better than what you get in a can of cream of chicken soup.

This is a great homemade cream of chicken soup, full of flavor and easily integrated into your traditional, family-favorite recipes. 

It could also be served as a standalone creamy soup, and you could bulk it up by adding some veggies, noodles, or rice if you’d like.

How to Make Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup

I love that this homemade cream of chicken soup only requires a handful of simple ingredients. 

It’s ridiculously easy to make your own cream of chicken soup, so it doesn’t add a lot of time and effort to your meal prep.

Ingredients You’ll Need:

• Butter
• All-purpose flour
• Chicken broth
• Milk
• Salt
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Paprika
• Black pepper

How to Make it:

(Full printable recipe card is available below)]

Melt the butter. To start, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.

Create a roux. Once the butter is melted, whisk in some flour, creating a simple roux (it will be thick and pasty in consistency). 

Add liquids. Once that’s thick and pasty, gradually add in broth and milk, continuing to whisk while the liquid is added, until everything is combined.

Add seasonings. Last, stir in the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and black pepper. Reduce to medium heat and let it simmer for a couple of minutes as it thickens a bit.

And that’s it!  So, so easy.

And such a delicious canned cream of chicken soup substitute!

It will thicken a bit more as it cools, so you can use it warm or let it cool to room temperature.

What Can You Make with Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup?

The nice thing about this soup is that it’s a great recipe that’s quite versatile.

You can obviously use it in place of canned cream of chicken soup in your favorite casseroles, but you can also use it in lieu of cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery soup.

I’ve found that, in general, the flavor of those soups isn’t all that different, especially once they’re mixed in with other ingredients.

Many of my recipes that I’ve shared over the years use this cream of chicken soup. I’ve included several of them below.

Favorite Recipes That Use Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup:

• Quick and Easy Instant Pot Potato Soup
• Homemade Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup in the Instant Pot
• Instant Pot Creamy Italian Chicken
• Chicken and Dumplings with Noodles
• Easy Chicken and Bisquick Dumplings
• Creamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
• Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings with Bisquick
• Instant Pot Chicken and Noodles
• Cheesy Instant Pot Ground Beef and Potatoes
• Instant Pot Chicken and Stuffing
• Instant Pot Chicken and Gravy
• Easy Instant Pot French Onion Chicken and Rice
• Cheesy Instant Pot Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice
• Instant Pot Chicken Recipes with Cream of Chicken Soup
• Easy Chicken Hash Brown Bake
• Hash Brown Potato Soup (Made with Frozen Hash Browns)
• Oven Baked Chicken and Dumplings Casserole

Notes and Adaptations for Making Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup:

• I purposely don’t include any chunks of anything in my version. However, you are more than welcome to add some pieces of chicken, celery, or mushrooms if you prefer.
• I use chicken broth, but if you prefer, you can certainly substitute vegetable broth.
• You can whisk and simmer until your desired thickness is reached. I generally only simmer mine for a few minutes, because it really doesn’t take long to get it nice and creamy.
• This makes about two cups of cream of chicken soup, which is pretty close to what you’d get if you mixed a can of water with a can of soup.
• If your recipe calls for an undiluted can of soup (so just the condensed soup without the water), you can either simmer the soup longer so that it thickens up a bit more, or decrease the amount of this homemade soup that you add to your recipe.
• You can make a double batch of this and freeze some for later, that way you’ll have it on hand when you need it and you can skip the canned stuff.
• Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Recommended Equipment:

• Medium or Large Saucepan
• Whisk (Use a plastic or silicone whisk if you’re using a coated nonstick pan)
• Freezer containers if making extra to freeze

Be sure to save this recipe to your favorite board on Pinterest!