Homemade Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
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Make homemade condensed cream of mushroom soup with this easy recipe. It’s healthier and tastes better than Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup!
There are so many easy shortcuts to use when cooking, but I really try not to use canned, processed ingredients whenever I can help it. They are extremely high in sodium, and the flavor is really bland.
I’ll show you how easy it is to make condensed soup from scratch. It is SO much better than using Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup, and it only takes 10 minutes to make this recipe!
Homemade condensed cream of mushroom soup
There are so many holiday recipes that call for a can of condensed soup. I mean, who doesn’t serve up the infamous French’s green bean casserole, right? That’s a mainstay tradition!
Trust me, you will feel great knowing that you can control the ingredients and the amounts used. Oh, and no more tiny pieces of rubbery mushrooms. This recipe uses fresh crimini mushrooms!
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Butter and olive oil– I use a combination of butter and olive oil for better overall flavor. You can make this recipe using all butter if you’d like.
- All purpose flour– If you need a gluten free substitute, any 1 to 1 gluten free flour will work fine
- Half and half– This ingredient is a combination of heavy cream and whole milk. I’ve heard that it isn’t readily available in the U.K. If you have trouble finding it, you can use whole milk instead.
- Crimini mushrooms– These are also known as baby portobello, or baby bella mushrooms. They have a firm texture that holds up well to sauteing more so than white button mushrooms.
- Chicken broth or stock– If you’d like to make your own, I have a recipe for chicken broth. Otherwise, I recommend using a low sodium stock or broth. Vegetable broth works as well.
- Salt and pepper– As mentioned, one of the benefits of making homemade condensed cream of mushroom soup is that you can control the amount of sodium. If you want to omit the salt completely, feel free to do so!
What’s in Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup?
Here’s a little eye opening information on what’s hiding inside the can, and answers to commonly asked questions.
According to the ingredient and nutrition label, a 10.5 ounce can of traditional Campbell’s condensed mushroom soup has the following ingredients:
Water, Mushrooms, Vegetable Oil (Corn, Canola, And/Or Soybean), Modified Cornstarch, Wheat Flour, Cream, Contains Less Than 2% Of: Salt, Whey, Soy Protein Concentrate, Monosodium Glutamate, Yeast Extract, Dried Garlic, Natural Flavoring.
Interestingly, the label mentions sodium being less than 2 percent of the overall ingredients, yet the nutrition label says that 1/2 cup (just under one half of a can) of Campbell’s condensed mushroom soup has 880 mg of sodium! That’s more than one-third of the daily recommended intake of sodium!
See? Homemade condensed cream of mushroom soup is so much healthier than Campbell’s!
Recipe notes
- This will be thick, hence the condensed soup name. You can use this as a base for other dishes and your favorite recipes that call for the canned version.
- If not using right away, allow to cool and store in an airtight jar and refrigerate. This recipe makes 1 1/2 cups, which is equivalent to a 10.5 ounce canned version.
These two products aren’t identical, but they are very similar. Condensed cream of mushroom soup is a concentrated form of cream of mushroom soup. When you add a cup or two of liquid such as water, broth, or stock to condensed mushroom soup, it becomes cream of mushroom soup!
Condensed soup is meant to be prepared with a liquid to make soup. While you could eat it straight, the taste would be extremely rich, and the consistency would be too thick to be enjoyable.
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This post, originally published on Kevin is Cooking Dec. 15, 2015, was last updated with new content on Sept 20, 2021.
Homemade Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 oz crimini mushrooms chopped
- 1/2 medium onion grated
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour or gluten free flour
- 1/2 cup half and half cream or whole milk
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- salt to taste
- white pepper or black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Over medium heat in a large skillet add the butter and olive oil. When butter is melted add the mushrooms, onion and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally unit mushrooms are soft.
- Sprinkle the flour over mushroom mixture, stirring to cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in the chicken stock, then the cream. Cook for 3 minutes on simmer. Season to taste with salt an pepper. This will be thick.
- Use as you would a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup. If not using right away, allow to cool and store in an airtight jar and refrigerate. Makes 1 1/2 cups, the equivalent of a 15 ounce can of condensed soup.
Notes
- This recipe makes the equivalent of one can of Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup. Feel free to double the recipe if desired.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I said soy milk (ick) when I meant almond milk to sub for dairy milk in the soup.
Is it possible to substitute soy milk or coconut milk for the dairy cream or milk. The only dairy I can do is homemade yogurt or butter.
I haven’t tried this, but I would think the soy milk would work. The coconut milk may impart a a sweet flavor undertone… Let me know if it does and I can update the recipe card to reflect. Thanks!
I did not make this recipe. It looks delicious. I have a condensed soup mix base that I picked up years ago to use in place of canned condensed soup. I can then make any flavor I want out of it. It is comprised of dry milk powder, arrowroot and cornstarch, dried tarragon, garlic powder and onion powder. I keep this in a jar. When I need condensed soup for a recipe, I use this for the thickening agent and milk required. Add liquid or broth and whatever solids I need to support my recipe: chicken, mushrooms, celery, asparagus, etc. It keeps indefinitely and is easy to replicate. I came to this recipe from your chicken tetrazzini recipe. Wanting to see how your mushroom soup was made. This kitchen pantry staple, home made, is a great substitute. My favorite use is for beef stroganoff. Use this to replace mushroom soup….
Thanks for this tip Judy… love that tarragon add in it too. One of my all-time favorite herbs and is heavenly in my Creamy Blackberry Salad Dressing. Hope you give it a try, too. 🙂
So glad I found this! I am making a chicken pot pie for a family at church. She has blood pressure issues, so I need low salt cream soup to use with my no salt homemade chicken gravy. This is perfect! Thank you.
So sorry for the late reply as I have been away on a much needed vacation outside the USA. Needless to say, about your comment…Thanks so much Sally. Appreciate you coming back to let me know!
I have a 50 year old recipe for pasties that calls for condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup. I don’t buy it but had lots of mushrooms to use up. Used this recipe. I used undiluted evaporated (NOT CONDENSED!) milk for the cream. Worked great. The result was perfect. I’m keeping this recipe forever, clipped into my 1970s cookbook that calls for all the condensed soups. Thank you!
Love to read comments like this. Thanks so much Karen!
I just made this soup using frozen mushrooms. I chopped the mushrooms fine and sautéed them until liquid was gone. I then proceeded with the recipe. Excellent! No more canned cream of mushroom soup in our house
Fantastic! Isn’t it easy? 🙂