Cream of Chicken Substitute

My husband has fondly named one of his favorite meals.  He calls it...drum roll please...Good Chicken. (It's more commonly knows as Poppy seed Chicken)  I enjoy this meal a lot as well, but I have a hard time eating things that I know are horrible for me.  The recipe calls for two cans of cream of chicken soup.  He named it "Good Chicken", not "Healthy Chicken" for a reason!  I tried this substitute a few years ago and we have been using it ever since.  I will admit, it doesn't taste exactly the same as the regular cans, but once you see the nutritional comparison, you probably won't care.  I started out slow and used one can of cream of chicken soup along with a can's worth of this mixture.  We could hardly tell a difference.  Now, sometimes I substitute both cans with this and we still enjoy the meal and I feel slightly healthier.  It's still full of butter and sour cream, but hey, every little bit helps!  The only other recipe I can think of I make with cream of chicken is cheesy potatoes and this works great in that as well.  Here's the recipe:

2 cups nonfat dry milk
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup instant chicken bouillon
2 tablespoons dried minced onion

1. Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container
2. To use as substitute for one can condensed soup, mix 1/3 dry mix with 1 1 /4 cups water in a saucepan
3. Cook and stir until thickened

Step 3 has never worked for me.   I have slaved over the stove and let it get really hot, whisked it constantly so it didn't stick to the bottom and it still never thickens up.  Now, I save some time and just put it on med/low, whisk it a few times and call it good when it gets hot.  My recipes still work fine.  Once it is in the oven and cooks you will never know the difference. 

Now, here's the really exciting part.  Yes, i just called this exciting, but I love nutrition facts and this one will blow you away!  I do not have a can of cream of chicken soup so I'll just get on Campbell's website and copy what I find...

Cream of Chicken Soup

Nutrition Facts*

Amount Per Serving (serving size) = 1/2 cup (120mL) condensed soup

Calories 130

Total Fat 9g
Sodium 870mg

Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup

 Amount per serving (equivalent to 1 can)

Calories 95
Total Fat 0.2g
Sodium 710mg 

At first glance you are probably thinking that is not much difference...BUT, the serving size for the cream of chicken is only 1/2 cup.  Guess how many servings per can? 2.5!!!  For one can, the nutrition facts total:

Calories 325
Total Fat 22.5g
Sodium 2,175mg

I rest my case.


My original recipe says you can substitute this for cream of "anything" soup.  I have never tried it in place of mushroom, celery, etc.  The only reason is I never cook with those, but it might work.  Give it a try!

One last added bonus...not that you should need more after you see the nutrition comparison.  You may be dumpster diver extraordinaire, but I am not about to go through trash so therefore I do not have 5 coupons for my cream of chicken soup can.  Each "can" you make only costs 15 cents.  It's a win-win!