I have recipes that I use in which I used canned soups. The soup prices have skyrocketed. One of the soups is Campbell's French Onion which went from about $1.09 to $1.49. I refuse to pay those prices. Has anyone replaced canned soups with spices or other things in recipes?
I have not changed them out - but I have gone to swapping in the store brand where possible. In most cases the taste has been the same.
For other soups that don't come in store brand - like the cream of "whatever" that Campbells has, I usually stock up when I can hit a sale AND a coupon.
Whenever we have a chicken (fairly often) or turkey ettc.
I boil the carcass for several hours along with any leftover veggies in the fridge. Celert stumps, broccolli stems, ends of onions, etc.
Chill the broth and then seperate the meat bones and spent veggies.
What is left is a great broth that I freeze in old cottage cheese containers.
Don't know where you are, but if you are near a WINCO
store they have onion soup mix in bins, also dried onions and great beef and chicken bases in bins which are worth their weight in gold for flavor. One Tablespoon of beef
base and 2 T of dried onions would work, plus maybe 1-2 cups water, depending on what you are using it for.
You can get similar products at wholesale cash and carry
In place of the cream soups you can use a heavy white sauce equal to the amount of soup. This is what we used before the convenience of cream soups.
For Tuna casseroles etc. you will find they are tastier made with white sauce..
Here is a recipe for a mix that can substitute for canned soups:
Cream-of-Whatever Soup Mix
2c powdered nonfat milk 3/4 c cornstarch 1/4 c instant chicken bouillon
To substitute for one can of condensed soup: Combine 1/3 cup of dry mix with 1 1/4 cups of cold water in a saucepan. Cook and stir until thickened. Add to casseroles as you would the canned product.
Makes equivalent of 9 cans of soup.
Variations
Mushroom Soup: Add 1/2 C finely chopped mushrooms
Celery Soup: Add 1/2 C minced celery
Potato Soup: Add 1 C diced potatoes, cooked
Vegetable Soup: Add 3/4 C mixed vegetables, cooked
Broccoli Soup: Add 1 C chopped broccoli, cooked
Asparagus Soup: Add 1 C chopped asparagus, cooked
I use Swanson Chicken broth for everything. They sell them now in larger sized boxes, it stores well in the fridge for numberous uses. You can creame it up, with a roux, or create a french onion soup as you mentioned with their beef broth, sautee sweet onions, add some sherry, worchester sauce, top with a nice bagette and cheese.
Thanks to all for your suggestions. You ladies (and possibly guys) are the greatest. So simple but I would never have thought of mixing dried onions with a beef base. That hint alone took care of one of my favorite recipes. I don't enjoy cooking all that much; it has to be quick and simple with few ingredients or I won't fool with it. Good thing I don't have a husband. I love Thriftyfun!
Here's a basc mix I keep on hand:
Canned cream soups are often used as a sauce in casseroles. A healthier substitute is this mix, which can be the basis for soups as well.
Healthy Casserole Sauce Mix
(Use instead of canned cream soup)
[Mix makes the equivalent of 9 cans condensed soup.]
2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
3/4 cup corn starch or clear gel
1/4 cup instant reduced sodium chicken or beef bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed basil (optional)
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed thyme (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground white or black pepper
Combine ingredients. Store in an airtight container.
To prepare as a substitute for one can of condensed cream soup in recipes, stir together 1/3 cup dry mix and 1 1/4 cup water in a sauce pan or microwave cooking dish. Cook and stir until thickened. Chopped celery, or mushroom pieces or bits of broccoli can be added for soups.
A batch of the mix with a recipe tag as the gift card would be a wonderful holiday or hostess gift.
The last time I bought soups at Aldis, I believe the cream soups were .47 cents and the dry onion soup mixes were .49 cents for a box of two. Not as cheap as homemade, but still cheaper than name brand.
If you have a Target store. They have Campbell soup in their "Market " aisle. So far I have been able to get soup for 64 cents to $1.27 a can. My daughter said she was desperate for a can of Bean & Bacon soup to make tacos for her granddaughter and paid $1.89 for ONE can. I got it for 99 cents at Target...the next time it was $1.02 So just check out the prices and only buy it on sale.About twice a year Rite-aid & Longs drug store has a sale on soup,
2/$1.00. That's when I stock up for the year. Wal-Mart had tomato & chicken noodle last week for 64 cents a can. Watch the ads.GG Vi
To make onion soup mix: is simple is just dried onion beef granuales and a pinch of celery seed - combine this and ad to plain yogurt and you have onion soup dip
That's what my parents do as well...and they have two different brands which are both inexpensive. One of them tends to have a lot of sodium, but the other is a lot healthier and tastes great in recipes (and I am picky!)
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I saw a recipe recently that used a can of cheddar soup. It's the only ingredient I need that I don't have and don't want to make a large pot of it to get the equivalent of one can of soup. Any suggestions?
I have used any can of cream of anything soup and added cheddar cheese. Also sometimes made cream sauce with cheese = cheese sauce. 1 to 2 cups will do. An easy way to do this is to put ingredients in a blender. Then heat cook in sauce pan. You may have to adjust the liquid added to your main recipe.
Campbells makes this soup in the smaller cans. You can also get Fiesta Cheddar for a real nice kick!
When the recipe calls for a can of soup it means to open the can, & put it in undiluted.
Campbells makes Cheddar Cheese soup and it;s available in most supermarkets. When recipes mention a can of cheddar cheese soup, they often have Campbells in mind. Make sure the recipe calls for condensed soup. If not, you'll need to dilute the soup with a can of milk (or water).
Alternatively, you can use the cheddar cheese powder from an easily-available box of Macaroni and Cheese. Just dilute as necessary.
Recipezaar has a recipe for Homemade Cream Style Soup Mix Substitute # 184827 which is great for can soup substitute. It makes 3 cups of dry mix and can be used for chicken, mushroom, and celery. Just add cheese for cheese soup, maybe a 1/2 cup. " For 1/2 a can, divide measurements in half." Good for smaller recipes. I keep this in my pantry all the time. My preference, but I like it better than the canned.
No cheddar cheese soup in your pantry ? Me either.
Make a white sauce, with milk and flour, then add a combination of Velveeta cheese, and mild cheddar cheese. A dash of salt, a little pepper. Stir until all the cheese is melted, and sauce is smooth.
I believe that a can of condensed soup is a bit over 10 oz. Then you add milk or water to the soup, to prepare it. ( dilute it ) The amount you add is another 10 oz. So that's about 20 oz of the soup/liquid mixture.
Maybe if you made 2 cups ( 16 oz) of the white sauce, with the added cheese, the recipe would come close to the taste the recipe intended.
Campbell's makes a great cheese soup. I use it instead of velveeta for nachos. They also make a nacho cheese soup that is great. Cheaper and works just as good.
Many thanks for all the info. I never had this kind of soup from a can but didn't want to run to the store for one item. I ended up using the "cream of anything" mix I had in the pantry and adding both Velveeta and some sharp cheddar to equal one can of soup. The recipe turned out great. ms. carmen
I need a recipe for "canned" creamed soups. I have to eat gluten free and no MSG. Thanks.
Cookie from Splendora, TX
I found these recipes already posted on thriftyfun
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I have a really simple recipe that my husband loves.
Take 1 lbs. ground beef and brown. Drain fat.
Add one large can of cream of mushroom soup and heat through.
Add salt, pepper, garlic POWDER, onion POWDER to taste. Sorry, but I don't measure.
He loves it. When I use ground turkey, I call it 'turkey surprise'.
It's so simple and I really hope you try it and like it.
I'm a vegetarian so I can't speak for this recipe, though!
This recipe comes from the Iowa State University Extension office. It is a dry cream soup mix and makes the equivalent of 7 cans of soup. Mix together
2c nonfat dry milk powder
3/4 c cornstarch
1/4 c dry chicken bouillon
2 T dried minced onion flakes
1 stp dried thyme leaves
1 tsp dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp ground pepper
Mix all ingredients and store in a container with a tight fitting lid. Store in a cool dry place for up to 6 months. Stir or shake well before each use.
To use as a substitute for one can condensed soup, mix 1/3c dry mix with 1-1/4 cups water. cook and stir with whisk until thickened.
This has far fewer calories than the canned variety, and if you use low sodium bouillon it is even healthier!
Here's an easy, nutritious and fairly cheap chowder recipe that I make on Fridays when we eat fish. Boil 2 or 3 med size potatoes, drain and mash.
Add 1 can Campbell's cream of asparagus, celery or broccoli soup, 1 can of milk, 1 tbsp butter and 1 can of crabmeat or tuna including the water it was canned in. Add salt and pepper to your own taste and preference.
Simmer 5 or 6 minutes and you're done. A hearty side salad goes well with this, especially one made with tomatoes, finely chopped onion, fresh parsley and a bit of chopped anchovies. If you try this and like it, it would be fun if you let me know.
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I need a recipe for a substitute for canned cream soup.
