Healthy Substitutes for Cream of Mushroom Soup

Babette

July 26, 20080 found this helpful

It is a surprisingly delicious soup.
CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
&frac; tea salt
Dash white pepper
3 cups light cream or milk( I use evaporated milk)
1 can (10 &frac; oz) condensed beef broth undiluted( I use 1beef bouillon cube 10 &frac; oz water)
1 can water
&frac; teaspoon onion powder
&frac; teaspoon basil
1 small bay leaf
1 pound fresh mushrooms, cleaned and coarsely chopped

METHOD
Melt butter in large saucepan. Blend in flour. Cook and stir over low heat 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in salt and pepper. Slowly stir in cream so mixture remains smooth. Heat and stir over medium heat until thickened. Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients in medium-size saucepan. Simmer, covered, 10 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Slowly stir mushrooms and liquid into cream sauce. Correct seasoning Heat through . Makes 6 servings

or

Cream Of Anything
Basic Recipe:
Ingredients
· 2 1/2 cups milk
· 1/2 cups flour
· 2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
· dash salt
· dash pepper
Directions
Put all 5 ingredients into blender "briefly" until smooth and pour into saucepan. Stir constantly over medium-high heat until it begins to thicken (watch it! can scorch easily!). Take off heat at first bubble of a boil. To this basic mixture you add any of the following optional items:
(makes 4-6 servings)

Variations
· Cream Of Cauliflower: To basic mixture add 1 box (10 oz.) frozen cauliflower buds cooked per box directions until tender and well drained, 1/2 tsp. onion powder, 3 mashed chicken bouillon cubes, pinch dry parsley and a dash of garlic salt. Stir over lowest possible heat until piping hot. Serve at once.

· Cream Of Celery Soup: Do just as cauliflower soup, but substitute 1 cup cooked, drained, diced celery instead of cauliflower. Add a pinch celery seed and a pinch dry, canned parsley flakes.

· Cream Of Broccoli Soup: Add 1 box (10 oz.) frozen, chopped broccoli cooked per box directions and drained. Continue as in cauliflower soup.
· Cream Of Cabbage Soup: Add 2 cups packaged supermarket slaw mixture cooked until tender in just enough water to cover. Drain well. Continue as in cauliflower soup.
· Cream Of Potato Soup: Add 3 cans (1 lb. ea.) sliced, drained potatoes, 1/2 bottle (10 oz.) Hormel real bacon pieces and a dash of liquid smoke. Continue as in cauliflower soup.
· Clam Chowder: Prepare the potato soup and add 1 can (10 oz.) un-drained minced clams and 2 thin slices of boiled ham snipped into (1/4 inch) bits.
· Cream Of Corn Soup: To warm basic recipe, add 1 can (14 oz.) cream style corn, dash nutmeg and 1 tsp. dry minced onion. Heat through.

· Cream Of Mushroom Soup: To warm basic recipe, add 1 can (8 oz.) drained, sliced mushrooms, dash onion salt and black pepper to taste. Heat through.

I was looking for a substitute condensed cream soup recipe and found it at www.recipezaar.com-condensed cream soup substitute recipe #278274. I have only used it once but it worked well for me. You could possibly add any kind of cooked vegetable to compliment your dish.

cettina
Bronze Request Medal for All Time! 64 Requests

July 27, 20080 found this helpful

hi jan. i also live in europe(malta,to be precise) and i find it fascinating that the americans seem to base a lot of their cooking on CANNED SOUP!where i live canned soup is VERY expensive coz its all imported. i normally adapt the recipe using a veg. stock cube or veg. granules and add fresh (mushroom, broccoli, chicken, etc.) as my base so i can follow the recipes.

This is from Taste of Home several years ago.

CREAM SOUP MIX
2 cups dry milk powder (or 2 tubes sanalac)
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken boullion granules
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. onion powder

Combine all. Mix well. Store in air tight container. Yield: 3 cups

FOR CONDENSED SOUP SUBSTITUTE:
Blend 1/3 cup mix and 1 1/4 cups water in micro-safe dish until smooth. Microwave 2 1/2 - 3 minutes, stirring occasionally; cool. Use as substitute for 10 3/4 oz. cr. chicken, celery or mushroom soup.

FOR 1 1/2 CUPS SOUP:
Blend 1/3 cup mix with 1 1/2 cups water and prepare as above.

OPTIONAL:
May add freeze dried mushrooms when finishing soup. OR add finely chopped celery for celery soup. If you use it before it cools is seems to be a little thin but will thicken when cooled. If I plan to use it in a recipe I try to make it a few hours (or the night before and refrigerate it) so that it has time to thicken.

I keep it in a quart jar with instructions attached to the lid for single usage. Hope this helps.

Jana
Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 116 Feedbacks

July 27, 20080 found this helpful

The thing with the cream soups being the base of so many recipes is that it is fairly inexpensive here in the US, as well as an easy staple to keep in the pantry. It adds moisture and flavor to what might otherwise be a tough cut of meat, or a bland one.

Tonight I was trying to find something quick but yummy to fix and I had just purchased some cheap "shoulder steaks" yesterday. I seasoned and seared one and put it in a glass baking dish, sliced a bit of onion over it, was out of potatoes, or I would have sliced them over it as well. Then I covered it with cream of mushroom soup and baked it for about 20 mins -- sooooo yummy!

If you're concerned about sodium, there are low sodium and "no salt added" versions available as well.

shannon

July 28, 20081 found this helpful

Here is my answer to the expensive & not-so healthy canned soup:

Cream Soup-Cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup

2 C instant nonfat dry milk
3/4 C cornstarch
1/4 C reduced sodium chicken or beef bouillon
1/2 tsp dried crushed thyme
1/2 tsp dried crushed basil
1/4 tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients in blender. Store in airtight container. Use 1/3 C dry mix and 1 C water mix together in sauce pan. Cook until thickened.

I make mine in the microwave. I mix it up in a bowl, nuke for 1 minute, stir, continue to nuke and stir 1 minute at a time until thickened like reg. soup. I always keep a jar of this stuff in my pantry. I make one batch w/ chicken bouillon for cream of chicken soup and one batch w/ beef bouillon for mushroom soup. This recipe is equivalent to nine cans of soup.

Hope that helps someone,
sshallenburger

I am a vegan and I do not use canned food. My recipe for cream of mushroom soup is:
1 Cup water
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 garlic clove crushed
1 or 2 Tbsp of olive oil
2 cups chopped or sliced fresh mushrooms
1 Tbsp of corn flour
some Worcestershire sauce or some mustard, just
enough to taste (optional)
Salt, and pepper.
Heat oil in medium heat. Saute the onion,garlic and mushrooms. In a mixing bowl add water and flour and beat until it gets the consistency of heavy cream. Add more flour if needed. Add this mixture to the onions mixture little by little so it does not get lumpy and keep stirring. Add the rest of the ingredients. I hope you enjoy it.

I have a question why do you have to cook the basic cream of anything soup mix before you use it in a recipe. Can't you just add it in and go from there or not.

I am allergic to MSG and need to find substitues to replace the cream soups that are loaded with this dreadful product. It is difficult since there are about 12 different ways to label the same ingredient. I plan try the recipes here and hope to find a solution to the problem. Thanks.