Quick and Easy Homemade Condensed Cream of Soup

How to Make Cream of Soup from Scratch (Quick & Easy)

If you’ve ever looked at a recipe and realized you’re out of canned soup, this cream of soup from scratch recipe will save the day. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it lets you skip all the preservatives that come with the canned version. Today I’m making cream of turkey soup because that’s the broth I have on hand, but this method works for truly any cream soup.

Welcome back — I’m Carrie from Keep It Simple, DIY, and today we’re keeping things simple and practical by making homemade cream of soup from scratch.

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Why Make Cream of Soup from Scratch?

Canned cream soups work in a pinch, but making your own gives you total control over ingredients, flavor, and texture. When you make cream of soup from scratch, you avoid preservatives, stretch your homemade broth further, and save money.

Another bonus? It takes just a few minutes. This recipe comes together faster than a grocery store run.

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What You’ll Need

This recipe uses basic pantry staples and homemade broth.

• Butter
• Flour
• Turkey stock (or chicken, beef, vegetable, etc.)
• Heavy cream or milk
• Salt and pepper

I’m making a large batch, so I’m using a stick and a half of butter and ¾ cup of flour. That gives me a quadruple batch of cream soup, which works perfectly for freezing.

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Step-by-Step: Making Cream of Soup from Scratch

Start by melting the butter in a large pot over low heat. Once the butter melts completely, add the flour. Use equal parts butter and flour to create a roux.

Whisk continuously and keep the heat low. This step removes the raw flour taste and creates a smooth base. Take your time here — smooth now means silky later.

Once the roux looks smooth and lightly cooked, begin adding liquid. Alternate between turkey stock and cream. Add a little at a time and whisk constantly.

You’ll notice the soup thicken almost immediately as the liquid incorporates. Keep alternating stock and cream until everything combines smoothly.

At this point, season with salt and pepper. Since my turkey broth wasn’t heavily seasoned, I add a generous pinch of both.

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Turn This Into “Cream of Anything” Soup

This method creates a neutral base, which makes it perfect for customizing. Once you’ve mastered cream of soup from scratch, you can turn it into anything you need.

• Cream of mushroom: add sautéed mushrooms
• Cream of celery: add finely chopped celery
• Cream of onion: use onion stock or sautéed onions
• Cream of chicken or turkey: keep it smooth or add meat

For this batch, I keep it smooth because I plan to use it in multiple recipes.

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Storage Tips (Important!)

You cannot safely can homemade cream soup because it contains flour, butter, and dairy. However, freezing works beautifully.

Pour the cooled soup into freezer-safe jars or containers and freeze flat if possible. If you own a freeze dryer, you may even be able to freeze-dry it, though I haven’t tested that yet.

The key takeaway: cream of soup from scratch freezes well and reheats perfectly.

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Why This Recipe Is a Pantry Staple

This entire process takes just minutes, costs very little, and replaces multiple cans of soup. One pot gives you enough cream soup for casseroles, pot pies, slow cooker meals, and more.

Once you make it once, you’ll never want to go back to canned soup again.