Nees subsitute for "Cream of" soups

[Anonymous]

I hate using canned Cream of Whatever soups but there are a lot of quick and delish-sounding recipes that call for them. Anyone have a good homemade substitute they use? I am going to try to make tuna noodle casserole and would love to use something other than flour, butter and milk -- or flour, butter and milk with suggested additions to it. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Whole Foods sells organic cream of mushroom. It's great and I use it when I don't have much time.

Otherwise, I make bechamel sauce. (Make less than half this for a can of soup: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/bechamel-sauce-recipe/index.html)

I can't think of any alternative that would taste close in recipes.

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm not sure I understand your question. You don't want to use the processed canned soups (commendable), but you also don't want to use the whole/natural foods alternative? Any cream of whatever soup or substitute, whether homemade or canned, is going to include three basic ingredients - a fat, a thickener, and a dairy. I suppose you could try olive oil rather than the butter, but I'm not sure that would work. Anyway, if you come up with something, please post it!

[Anonymous]

Meant "Need" not "nees" -- sorry.

[Anonymous]

I am allergic to mushrooms. I'll check for other "cream of" soups next time I'm at whole foods. Thanks for the suggestion.

Anyway, tonight I made a white sauce and doctored it with dijon mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, a splash of Worcestershire sauce, a splash of soy sauce, salt and some sour cream (plus the can of tuna). I liked it and my kids at the casserole (possibly only because of the cheese and potato chips on top). If I hadn't been cooking for kids I would have added some capers and ground pepper.

[Anonymous]

Low fat or fat fee sour cream might work for a tuna noodle casserole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Low fat or fat fee sour cream might work for a tuna noodle casserole.

Oops PP here, this was a late response, just saw in your last post you already thought of sour cream.

[Anonymous]

I've had varied success with mixing broth and milk thickened with flour over medium heat. Season as desired.

[Anonymous]

2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp flour, 1 cup broth. Sautee oil and flour until brown, whisk in broth and let thicken. Can double the recipe.

[Anonymous]

Cream of Whatever Soup substitution

1 tablespoon butter (you can use oil, but it is not as rich a flavor)
3 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup low-fat milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Make a basic cream sauce by melting butter over moderate heat. Stir in flour; keep stirring until flour and butter are combined and smooth. Remove from heat and add the chicken broth and milk, a little at a time, stirring to keep lump-free. Return to heat. Bring sauce to a gentle boil and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Taste and adjust seasonings.

You can use vegetable broth if you wish.

You can saute some sliced mushrooms and add at the end with just a tiny bit of sherry for cream of mushroom. Or sauted celery with a little sauted shallot for cream of celery. Some finely chopped roasted chicken for cream of chicken. Etc.