Many family favored recipes call for a can or two of cream of something soup (such as cream of chicken or cream of mushroom). It adds a smooth texture and a punch of flavor. Unfortunately, these cans of cream of something soup are chock full of unhealthy and fattening ingredients.
Not wanting to miss out on some of my favorite recipes (hello, chicken enchiladas and easy beef stroganoff!), I created this homemade cream of something soup that is Trim Healthy Mama friendly and has a gluten free option! This is an easier-to-make spin-off version of the one I developed in the past that uses egg yolks as thickener (which some found to be daunting or just too much work).
How to Customize the Cream of Something Soup
The recipe below results in the cream of chicken soup base. Here are a few other common customizations (feel free to add more or less to your liking):
- cream of mushroom – add 1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms (any kind)
- cream of celery – add an additional 1/2 cup finely chopped celery (including leaves)
- cream of broccoli – add 1/2 cup finely chopped broccoli
- cream of asparagus – add 1/2 cup finely chopped asparagus
- cream of whatever else – add 1/2 cup finely chopped whatever ingredient(s) you like
How to Make it Handy
Notes
About the Flour: Yes, I recommend using sprouted white wheat flour. It MUST be sprouted or it won’t fit on the THM plan. Either sprouted whole wheat or sprouted white wheat can be used, but I prefer the white because the brand I linked to is lighter in carbs. This recipe has such a small enough of amount of the flour that, as long as you don’t exceed about 1/2 cup worth serving of the soup, contains approximately 2 carbs (give or take) and an insubstantial amount of fat.
About the Oat Fiber: If you use the oat fiber and find that it isn’t thickening to your liking (I’ve found that some brands thicken better than others), feel free to add additional oat fiber and/or 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum or glucomannan while in the boiling stage (but don’t over boil the xanthan gum or gluccie as they may lose their thickening ability). Also, please note that this is oat FIBER which is not the same as oat FLOUR; oat flour has lots of carbs while oat fiber is carb free.
Homemade Cream of Something Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 stalk celery, finely diced diced
- ½ yellow or white onion, finely diced
- ¼ cup sprouted white wheat flour or ¼ cup oat fiber
- 2 cups chicken broth or stock (store bought or homemade)
- 2 chicken breasts, cooked and finely diced
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ cup heavy cream (for THM S) OR ½ cup 0% Greek yogurt (for THM FP)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter.
- Add the celery and onion. Sauté until the onions are translucent.
- Stir in the flour or oat fiber to create a roux.
- Pour in the chicken broth or stock, chicken, garlic powder, and onion powder. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Allow to boil for 2 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until beginning to thicken.
- Remove from the heat. Stir in the cream or yogurt, salt, and pepper. The soup should thicken more as it cools.
- To use, substitute one 10.5 ounce can cream of something soup soup with 1-1/4 cups of this homemade soup.
Notes
• cream of celery - add an additional 1/2 cup finely chopped celery (including leaves)
• cream of broccoli - add 1/2 cup finely chopped broccoli
• cream of asparagus - add 1/2 cup finely chopped asparagus
• cream of whatever else - add 1/2 cup finely chopped whatever ingredient(s) you like
Nutrition facts based on using the sprouted white wheat flour and heavy cream option (Fatastic/THM S).
Nutrition
Could you freeze this?
Yes, you can. 🙂 If you read under the “How to Make it Handy” section, I give directions and tips on how. 🙂
If making another version – like mushroom- do you still use the diced chicken breasts?
Yes. But if you don’t want to, you can omit it.
Some people might not know that sprouted white wheat is sprouted whole wheat, it’s just a type of wheat… there is red wheat and white wheat… white wheat has a lighter flavor:)
Yup, thank you! 🙂
Love it! ? Thank you so much, miss tj!