Whether or not you eat dairy free, don't let this stop you from making homemade cream of chicken soup. This stuff is a game changer in your recipes! Once you make this Dairy-Free Cream of Chicken Soup, your taste buds just won't be satisfied with the stuff from the can. Not even Campbells can compete!
I believe I found this recipe online many years ago. It was so long ago that I've not been able to find the original source. If I find it, I will report back here and share. The original recipe was not dairy free, so my version is made with dairy free substitutes, and it is equally as delicious.
This recipe is perfect for my Dairy-Free Chicken and Rice Casserole! In fact, this condensed soup is the main star of my chicken and rice recipe. It gives it so much flavor that makes it incomparable to any other chicken and rice!
📋 Ingredient Notes
- Dairy-free butter: Use one that you like the taste of. I use country crock plant butter with avocado oil, as I feel (and many others) that the taste and aroma is identical to real butter.
- Almond milk: I love to use my homemade almond milk.
🥛 Substitutions
- Milk: Instead of using almond milk, you can use unsweetened coconut milk (from the carton, not the can), cashew milk (you can find my easy recipe for cashew milk here) or even oat milk!
- Flour: If you need to make this a gluten-free dairy-free recipe, you can substitute the flour for gluten-free all-purpose flour. I love to use Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour as a GF choice.
🔪 Instructions
Start by slicing up 1 ½ sticks of your favorite tasting non-dairy butter (I use country crock plant butter with avocado oil).
Then, add the butter to a pot over medium heat on the stove and allow it to completely melt.
When the butter has completely melted, begin to make your roux. A roux is cooked mixture of fat and flour that is used as a thickening agent for soups and sauces.
Slowly add the flour while whisking until the mixture is smooth.
Next, add in the chicken broth, a little at a time, while continuously whisking. Adding the liquids slowly will help ensure that there won't be any lumps.
After that, slowly whisk in the almond milk. Again, continue to whisk so that no lumps form and the contents do not stick to the bottom.
The mixture will look thin at this point. Turn up the heat and let it come to a light boil while whisking constantly. It will begin to thicken as it comes to a boil. Once it starts to look very thick like a condensed soup, remove it from the heat.
Mix in the spices.
It will continue to thicken as it cools, so if it seems like more than 3 cups at first, be patient and let it cool some!
Finally, you can add it to your favorite recipes that call for cream of chicken soup.
🧊 Storing
You can refrigerate the leftover cream of chicken soup in an airtight container and it will last for up to 4 days.
Can you freeze homemade cream of chicken soup?
Yes. You can. But keep in mind that when freezing cream of chicken soup, it does lose a bit of its original quality. Once thawed, it does have some separation and loses a bit of its creamy consistency. However, once mixed with milk and then cooked, it isn't really noticeable.
Before freezing make sure it's completely cooled. You can store it in freezer safe ziplocks, squeezing the air out of the bag first and then sealing. Store for up to a couple of months.
To thaw, leave in the refrigerator for 8 to 10 hours or until completely defrosted.
✅ Pro Tips
- The soup can slightly vary in thickness depending on your choice of flour and plant milks. However, all substitutions mentioned above I have tested and they work great!
- Another factor affecting the thickness is how slowly/quickly you add the flour, broth and plant milks as well as the temperature of the cream mixture.
- It could end up looking like a bit more than 3 cups if you don't follow the instructions mentioned below to help with the thickening.
- Watch the roux closely, whisking constantly throughout. It can easily burn by sticking to the bottom. If this happens, discard the burnt bits.
- A can of Campbells is 10 ½ ounces or 1 ¼ cup (298 grams). You can measure out how much you need and save the rest for later.
⭐️Before you go! If you enjoyed this recipe for my Dairy-Free Cream of Chicken Soup, leave a review and comment down below to share it with me! I love to hear from you. Also, if you aren't following me on Instagram, search @thedairyfreemenu for some more cooking inspiration!
📖 Recipe
Dairy-Free Cream of Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- ¾ cup dairy-free butter 1 ½ sticks
- ¾ cup flour
- 1 ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 ½ cup almond milk
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- ¾ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Slice up your butter and melt it in a pot over medium heat.
- Slowly add the flour into the melted butter and whisk until smooth.
- Pour in the chicken broth slowly while whisking. You want to add the liquids slowly to make sure the mixture remains thick, smooth and lump free.
- Whisk in the almond milk slowly.
- It will look thin at this point. So turn up the heat and let it come to a light boil while whisking constantly. It will thicken as it comes to a boil.
- Once it starts to look like very thick condensed soup, remove it from the heat.
- Add in the spices and whisk to combine.
- The soup will thicken more as it cools.
- Add to your favorite recipes that call for cream of chicken soup! Use right away or store for later use.
Notes
Nutrition
Note: The nutrition label is just an estimate. Amounts may vary.
Meredith says
I already posted a review on the chicken and rice recipe that uses this but this deserves a review of its own because it is the real star of that dish! WOW! The little extra step in making your own cream of chicken enhances the flavor by 5,000. What a great, simple recipe to take your food to the next level!
Kayla says
Thanks, Meredith! It really is a game changer!
Stephanie Mills says
Since going dairy free, I haven’t been able to make my casserole dishes. I’ve missed it, and didn’t want to buy dairy free one online that I might not like. I was so glad when I came across this recipe on Facebook! It was perfect in my green bean casserole for Thanksgiving and I’m looking forward to using it for more recipes!
Kayla says
I'm so glad!! I love this cream of chicken so much, I'm convinced it will taste amazing in just about anything! Thanks so much for the review!
Danielle says
This was excellent. I didn’t have almond milk and used extra creamy oat milk instead. It turned out great! Any idea how long this is good for in the fridge? I have some left over.
Kayla says
That's awesome to hear, Danielle! I would store it in the fridge for up to 4 days! I haven't tried it yet, but I think it will freeze well also. Which is something I'll be testing this week and reporting back 🙂
Stephanie says
Have you tried canning this recipe?
Kayla says
Hi, Stephanie! No. I have not tried canning it!
Shannon L. Carter says
Hi, anything with flour/starch would not be safe to can, per USDA Home Preservation guidelines.
Dalynn says
Delicious!!!!! Stupendous!!! Amazing!!! I even made mine with just lightly seasoned broth from a chicken I pressure cooked, and it was perfect with lower sodium for my hubby! We put it into our favorite Chicken and Dumpling recipe, it tasted just the same as it would with the Campbell Heart Healthy cans. And soooo easy to make!
Kayla says
That sounds delicious!! I'm so glad you loved it! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Tara says
Can you make this with a gluten free flour? Looking forward to trying this!!
Kayla says
Yes! I've made this with Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour before and it came out perfectly. I would imagine that other brands of gluten-free all-purpose flour will work just fine.
Miranda says
Kayla, these recipes are just amazing!
I’m gluten free, nut free and dairy free so my diet has been limited until now. I used Bobs Red Mill gluten free 1 to 1 flour and oat milk (instead of almond). Turned out perfectly! I’m looking forward to using this on thanksgiving for green bean casserole.Thank you!
Kayla says
This comment made my day! I'm so happy to hear you loved this recipe!!
N says
You’ve saved my belly! I am lactose intolerant and I’ve been looking for different ways to substitute Cream of Chicken/Mushroom in my dressing. This post came right on time before Gobble day! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Kayla says
Yay! I love to hear it. Thanks for sharing!