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– Mixes, Ingredients, Recipes – The Prepared Pantry

A Beginner’s Guide to the Best Soups on the Planet

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With these five simple steps, anyone can make fabulous soups—even if you’ve never made soup before.

Table of Contents

Five Steps to Making Cream Soup

1. Cook the starch

Most cream soups have a flour base and often an onion for flavoring.  Sauté the onion in butter.  Add the flour and cook while stirring until the butter and flour are combined into a thick paste.  The cooking should only last a minute or two and the flour should not be browned.

2. Cook the soup base

While still cooking, pour a little of the stock into the flour and stir to dissolve.  Gradually add the rest of the stock, stirring with each addition. Continue cooking until the base simmers–which is bubbling, just below the boiling point. It will thicken as it cooks to the consistency of a light sauce.

3. Add the vegetables

Add the vegetables and cook them until they are tender. 

4. Puree the soup

Pour the soup into a blender in batches and puree until smooth.  Pass the pureed soup through a strainer to catch any lumps.  Press the lumps through the strainer with the back of a spoon.  Discard any solids.

5. Finish the soup

Add the cream, thin with more water if necessary, and adjust the seasoning.

What if my soup is too thick?

Add more liquid—either water, cream, or broth to the soup.

What if the soup is too thin?

Put a tablespoon of flour into a small bowl and stir in two or three tablespoons of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer again. As the soup simmers, the starch granules in the flour will burst and thicken the soup.

If it is still not thick enough, do it again.

What if my soup is lumpy?

A whisk will often take the lumps out. If not, pour the soup through a strainer before adding the veggies. 

Lumps may form if the flour is not thinned enough before beginning to cook or with an addition of flour when thickening the soup.

Cream Soup Recipes

You can use this recipe to make a cream soup from most vegetables. Consider this recipe for asparagus, fresh pea soup, carrot soup, celery soup, and more.

Ingredients

  • 1 sweet onion, diced
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 4 cups vegetables of choice, diced
  • 2/3 cup cream
  • Salt and pepper as desired

Directions

  1. Sauté the onion in the butter.  Add the flour and cook while stirring until the butter and flour are combined into a thick paste.  The cooking should only last a minute or two and the flour should not be browned.
  2. While still cooking, pour a little of the stock into the flour and stir to dissolve.  Gradually add the rest of the stock, stirring with each addition. Continue cooking until the base simmers–which is bubbling, just below the boiling point. It will thicken as it cooks to the consistency of a light sauce.
  3. Add the vegetables and cook them until they are tender.  Cooking time will vary with different vegetables.
  4. Pour the soup into a blender in batches, two or three cups at a time, and puree until smooth.  Pass the pureed soup through a strainer to catch any lumps.  Press the lumps through the strainer with the back of a spoon.  Discard any solids.
  5. Add the cream, thin with more water if necessary, and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt and pepper as desired.

Additional Cream Soup Recipes

  • Cream of Broccoli Soup: You can turn this into the famous cheesy broccoli soup, or you can keep it as-is for a delightfully creamy soup.
  • Cream of Potato Soup: There’s nothing quite as warming as a creamy potato soup.
  • Cream of Corn Soup: This is a cream soup that doesn’t require you to cream the vegetables.
  • Cream of Celery Soup: This soup is similar to our cream of broccoli soup but uses diced celery instead.
  • Baked Potato Soup: This creamy soup is a great way to use baked potatoes, and the bacon and cheddar make it spectacular.
  • Roasted Cauliflower, Onion, and Garlic Soup: This soup is easy to prepare and delicious once the vegetables are roasted.
  • Fall Harvest Soup: This is an unusual cream soup made with apples and honey for a bit of sweetness that is well-balanced with a touch of curry.

Additional Chili and Soup Recipes

  • Merri Ann’s Easy Chili
  • Chicken and Black Bean Chili
  • Black Bean and Rice Chili Recipe
  • Wild Rice, Mushroom, and Ham (or Chicken) Soup
  • Chicken Rice Soup

  • Lemon Chicken with Lemon Garlic Orzo Soup

  • Texas Tortilla Soup

  • Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe

  • Southwest Beef and Dumplings Soup

  • Clam Chowder Recipe Made with Bacon

  • Chicken Soup with Homemade Egg Noodles Recipe

  • Southwest Corn Soup

More Resources

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Bread Mixes. We know breads! To get innovative ideas for breads and regular special offers on bread mixes, join our bread interest group. Our bread mixes are suitable for both bread machine and oven.

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Free Chowder E-book: “How to Make Chowder: A Chef’s Guide to Making Chowder”. Just tell us where to send it.

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