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The BEST Homemade Cream of Celery Soup (Gluten Free)

This homemade cream of celery soup is incredibly easy to make, and it’s naturally gluten free. It’s a delicious light soup, and yes, you can use it in all sorts of recipes that call for prepared cream of celery soup.

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White bowl of homemade cream of celery soup on a wooden table.

Do you have an official Soup Season? Once the weather turns cold and the sun disappears, I make homemade soup more than half the nights of the week.

Earlier this week, I made my Roasted Butternut Squash Soup , and it was good. Last night, I did a new one, and it was awesomely yummy and again focused on veggies.

And this soup was good. Even my husband who doesn’t like celery ate it, and Little Miss kept taking spoonfuls from my bowl after she finished hers. That’s a good sign, right?

This soup uses just basic ingredients, but it ends up with a distinct flavor everyone enjoys. Because it has just basic ingredients, make sure you use the freshest high quality ingredients you can, as the flavors really shine through.

This homemade soup tastes so much better than the canned variety.

Overhead view of a bowl of homemade cream of celery soup on a wooden board.

Is this soup really gluten free?

Yes! There is no wheat or wheat product anywhere in the recipe. Instead, it uses potato as a thickener.

Potato does an amazing job of making a beautiful thick texture and a creamy taste. I’ve used this technique before with my potato and corn chowder that has barely any milk in it.

How much celery is one pound?

I love my digital scale, and if you don’t have one, I recommend you pick one up. It makes all sorts of kitchen tasks so easy!

That said, if you don’t have a scale, 5-6 good size ribs is approximately one pound of celery. When I weigh mine, I usually need five big ribs and one smaller one to get me just over one pound before I trim them.

Do I use the entire piece of celery?

When you prep and chop your celery stalks for this homemade cream of celery soup, make sure to wash it first, as dirt and other things catch in your celery bunch easily.

You want to trim off the very base of your rib, but you don’t need to get rid of all the white – just where it’s woody. You also don’t want to use the celery leaves for this recipe.

Don’t throw those parts away, however. Add them to a zip top baggie and toss them in your freezer with other vegetable scraps for the next time you make homemade chicken stock.

Can I make vegan cream of celery soup?

Yes, you can absolutely make a couple tiny swaps and enjoy a vegan version of this recipe. I’ve made it this way many times when my daughter had a dairy allergy.

Instead of butter, use olive oil when you saute the vegetables.

In place of the half and half, you can either add a nondairy milk – I usually used coconut milk – or simply add a little extra stock, as the potato does a good job of making that creamy texture.

In place of chicken stock, use vegetable stock, and you’re all set!

What milk should I use for homemade cream of celery soup?

This cream of celery soup uses a potato in place of flour to thicken it. The potato also helps give it a creamy texture without adding a strong potato flavor.

That said, I like to add milk to my version to give it a little more richness. You can opt to leave it out and add a little extra chicken broth instead.

When I use milk, however, I generally add half and half or whole milk. If I feel truly decadent, I’ll use heavy cream, but I use about two-thirds what this recipe calls for because it is already so rich.

Skim milk and 2% milk won’t do much in terms of adding the flavor and richness you want for this homemade cream of celery soup. Instead, they just thin it out, so avoid using those.

What’s the best way to reheat cream of celery soup?

If you have leftovers of this homemade cream of celery soup, let it come to room temperature, then refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to three days. If  you refrigerate or seal it while still hot, it forms condensation which can ruin the texture.

When you reheat it, be careful not to reheat it too much, as anything over 160 degrees will separate the soup. For this reason, I suggest you don’t use a microwave or do so in small increments, stirring between each round.

Usually, I place mine in a small pot on the stove and heat it at a simmer, stirring periodically. It heats through within four or five minutes.

You can also freeze your soup if you don’t plan to eat it right away. Place it in a zip top baggie and remove all the air before you chill it.

You can freeze it for up to three months. When you want to enjoy it, let it thaw in the fridge overnight, then reheat it gently.

It likely will have separated some in the thawing process. Just stir it back together as you reheat it, and it should be fine.

How to Make Homemade Cream of Celery Soup

Chop your onion and celery into bite size pieces. While you wait for your pot to heat, smash your garlic and start to chop the potato, as well.

Chopped onion and celery on a wooden cutting board.

I leave the skin on my potato because I’m lazy, and it purees well. If you prefer, peel your potato before you chop it.

Heat a heavy soup pan over not quite medium heat. You want the pot hot before you add anything, which helps to create a nonstick surface (don’t use a nonstick pan).

Add the unsalted butter, and let it melt and start to froth. Add the onion and celery, and stir to coat in the butter.

Cook for five or so minutes, stirring periodically, then add the smashed garlic and cook another two minutes. You want to cook it until the onion is fairly translucent but before it truly caramelizes.

Add the potato, then add the chicken stock – adding the potato first means you don’t get splashes of stock. I’m always thinking, and no, I didn’t learn that one the hard way, why?

Grate the nutmeg straight into the pot. Stir and turn the heat up to medium high.

Grating nutmeg into a pot of soup.

Bring this to a boil (cover it to bring it to a boil more quickly, then remove the cover once it boils), then turn it down to a simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes when the potatoes are soft but not mushy.

Use your immersion blender – still my favorite kitchen gadget – to puree the soup. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use your regular blender.

Blending cream of celery soup with an immersion blender.

If you use a traditional blender, use your blender in batches. Don’t fill your blender more than one-third full of a hot liquid, and be sure to use a kitchen towel to hold the blender lid on.

You don’t want the pressure from blending hot liquid to case the top to fly off and spray scalding liquid, so be careful. See, this is why I love my immersion blender – it reduces danger, and it’s useful.

Add milk or heavy cream and stir to combine. Because you used potato to thicken it and make it already a little creamy, you don’t need much.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately. This is fantastic, even for me who doesn’t like celery. It’s a light, fresh and slightly sweet flavor that is a perfect soup weather dinner.

Save this homemade cream of celery soup recipe to make again!

White bowl of homemade cream of celery soup on a wooden table.

Homemade Cream of Celery Soup

Yield: 9 cups
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

This simple recipe uses basic ingredients to make a soup with a distinctive flavor of celery that tastes amazing whether by itself or paired with a bread bowl.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 pound celery stalks
  • 1 medium baking potato
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 4 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock to make vegan)
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Chop onion and celery into bite size pieces. Smash garlic. Chop potato, and keep separate.
  2. Heat heavy soup pan over medium heat. Once hot, add unsalted butter, then onions and celery.
  3. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring periodically, then add smashed garlic and cook 2 minutes until onions turn translucent.
  4. Add potato and chicken stock, then grate nutmeg straight into the pot. Stir and turn the heat to medium high.
  5. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cook 15-20 minutes until potatoes are soft.
  6. Blend soup with immersion blender or carefully with a traditional blender in small batches.
  7. Add milk and stir to combine, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Notes

  • The potato thickens the soup without flour, and it also adds a creaminess. If you choose, you can leave out the milk and enjoy it as is.
  • For more tips and substitutions, please see the full article above.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 9 Serving Size: 1 cup serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 114Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 235mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 4g

This site uses an outside source to provide nutrition as a courtesy. If you need exact values, please calculate yourself.

Did you make this recipe?

Please rate the recipe above and save it on Pinterest so you can find it to make again and again. Leave me a comment to let me know what you think about it, too!

Bowl of soup on a wooden table with text how to make cream of celery soup from scratch.

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  1. Lorraine Sinclaire says:

    Good soup I used the chicken stock home made & deleted the garlic since my chicken was roasted with lots of garlic. Pealed the potato to give a cleaner soup finish. Other than that followed the recipe as written. Make sure you add the nutmeg even 1/4 tsp. Gave the broth that bit of something.
    Everyone liked it served with toast & melted cheese. Will make again but doubling the amounts

    • Michelle says:

      I’m glad you enjoyed it. And yes – peeling the potatoes gives it a cleaner look to be sure. Nutmeg really makes a difference in so many dishes, and not enough people use it. Thank you for the feedback!

  2. Pat says:

    I made it, doubling the recipe. Mm-mm, yum. The second day I cooked some chicken breasts in the microwave, cut them into bite-sized pieces and added them to the soup for my protein-loving man.

  3. Pat says:

    I'm definitely making this on Tuesday. Yum!

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