Homemade cream of celery soup makes a hearty, warming bowl of soup that is relatively inexpensive to make. Celery, an often overlooked vegetables, takes center stage in this easy to make soup that's surprisingly delicious!
Recipe: $4.45 | Per Serving: $1.12 | Yield: 4
Celery soup is not something I ever thought I would want to make...or eat...or smell. I'm not a huge fan of celery but when you constantly have extra celery from your CSA box you find a way to use it!
I love the addition of 1-2 stalks of celery in soups and sauces, but who can possible use an entire bunch? I usually end up mincing it and freezing it in ½-cup portions for future use, or just tossing it into chicken stock. But an actual soup with celery as the base would have never crossed my mind.
This soup is inspired by the talented Andrea at Forest and Fauna. Her cream of celery soup is Paleo and Vegan. I wanted to take things up a notch and soften the celery flavor, so my stovetop version is paired with fresh dill and bacon, and I love it!
If you love vegetable forward soups you definitely need to try this Broccoli Kale Soup and this Creamy Asparagus Soup.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Budget-friendly. Made with simple and inexpensive ingredients.
- Easy to make. There's very little hands-on time required to make creamy celery soup.
- A healthy way to sneak in more veggies. And cream of celery soup is gluten-free and easy to make meatless too!
- Perfect for weekly meal prep. Make a batch and then enjoy it throughout the week.
Ingredients
Cream of celery soup only requires SIX ingredients! That's it! Here's what you need:
- Bacon: Adds salty, fatty flavor to creamy celery soup. Cook the veggies in the bacon grease to infuse the soup with more bacon flavor.
- Celery: You're going to need a whole bunch of celery for this recipe. It's also a great way to use up all the celery you bought to use just a couple stalks for another recipe.
- Coconut milk: Cooking with coconut milk keeps this suitable for paleo.
- Broth: I love making this celery soup with my homemade slow cooker chicken bone broth.
- Fresh dill: The mild herbal flavor of dill pairs perfectly with the celery in the soup.
Substitutions
- Coconut milk: If you don't need this soup to be dairy free and Paleo, you can use regular milk instead of the coconut milk. Additionally, soy milk is a great option here but will not be as dense and creamy.
- Bacon: If you want to make the soup without bacon no problem. You will need to add a bit of oil to the pan when cooking the veggies.
- Broth: You can also use this homemade vegetable broth or buy your favorite storebought low-sodium broth to use in the soup.
- Fresh dill: Swap it with any fresh herb you like, but there is something about the combination of celery & dill that is my preference.
- White Beans: I have also loved making this with the addition of white beans for a little bit of protein, starch, and fiber. Simply add a can of drained & rinsed white beans at the beginning and blend into the soup.
How to Make Homemade Cream of Celery Soup
Once you've got all your ingredients gathered together, you're ready to get started. Here's an overview of the main steps involved but be sure to check out all the details in the recipe card before cooking.
- Chop the onion and celery. No need for it to be too small because it will be blended later on in the recipe.
- Cook the strips of bacon in a soup pot or Dutch oven until they start to get a little bit crispy. Once they're cooked, remove from the pot and and set aside.
- Add the chopped onion and celery to the same pot with some of the bacon grease and cook them over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- Return one slice of bacon to the pot of veggies. Add the chopped dill, chicken broth, coconut milk, and salt and pepper to the pot. Bring the soup to a boil and them immediately reduce the heat to low-medium and cook for 30 minutes.
- Cut the remaining bacon into small pieces while the soup is cooking. You will use this to garnish the top of the soup after cooking.
- Blend soup when the veggies are soft with an immersion blender until completely smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, let the soup cool until it is safe to blend in a regular blender. Then blend it in batches as needed.
- Divide the blended soup among bowls for serving and garnish with reserved bacon and dill.
Expert Tips
Store the soup in the fridge for up to four days. This soup will separate if you freeze it, but will work well if you blend it again after thawing.
Top with fried croutons if you're feeling fancy. Cook sliced bread cubes in oil with a sprinkle of salt over medium-high heat. Turn to cook on all sides. Add a little garlic powder and toss those babies on top of your soup. So easy and awesome!
FAQs
Yes, celery is a good source of vitamin C, A, K, potassium, and folate. It's also packed with fiber and antioxidants making it good for digestion and oxidative stress.
Yes, you can. Replace canned cream of celery soup with 1 ¼ cups of this homemade soup.
Dietary Modifications
- Paleo: Yep!
- Vegetarian: No, but skip the bacon to make it vegetarian. You can also make this with a can of white beans & half soy milk (I've tried it!) and it will be a higher protein vegan option!
More Vegetable Soup Recipes
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Creamy Celery Soup with Bacon
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon
- 1 medium onion
- ¾ - 1 bunch celery about 6 cups
- 1 can coconut milk about 1.5 cups
- 2 cups chicken bone broth
- ½ teaspoon salt or more to taste
- ¼ teaspoons black pepper
- 3 Tablespoons fresh dill minced, more for garnish
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Roughly chop the onion and roughly chop the celery. (They will be blended.)
- In a medium-large pot, cook the strips of bacon until they start to get a little bit crispy. Remove from pot and and set aside.
- Add the chopped onion and celery to the pot and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Return 1 slice of bacon to the pot (saving the rest for garnish). Add the chopped dill (reserving some for garnish), chicken broth, coconut milk, and salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer over low-medium heat for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut the remaining bacon into small pieces for garnish.
- Using an immersion blender, blend soup until completely smooth. Alternatively, let soup cool until it is safe to blend in a stand blender and blend in batches if necessary, until smooth.
- Pour remaining pot into blender (in batches if necessary), and blend until smooth.
- Divide among bowls, garnish with reserved bacon and dill, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in May of 2016. It has been updated primarily for clarity, without any real changes to the recipe itself. Thank you for supporting me and my blog!
This tasted delicious! I'm wondering if it freezes well? I'm concerned that the cream may separate.
Hi Courtney - I've frozen it before and I didn't think the texture changed at all. I defrosted it in the fridge overnight and then warmed it up in the microwave at work. Still delicious! :) Thanks!