<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
On January 16, 2001 I submitted the following query:
> We love casseroles but have about given them up due to the inability of
> finding cream soups (especially Cream of Mushroom) to make them with. Can
> anyone tell us of a good substitiute or point us to a GF cream of mushroom
> soup.
I thought I'd get maybe 5 responses to my query. I didn't get 5, I got
64! I've broken the summary down into three sections; comments on
available products, a listing of websites for gf cream soups and gf
products in general, and lastly, recipes for making creamed soups of
all kinds from scratch.
Comments on available products:
Three commentors said they use the Lipton Cup-a-Soup products with the
following modifications;
1 - Add water, milk, or cream to thicken.
2 - Add one-half as much water as called for and then add cornstarch to
thicken as needed.
Two commentors use the "Watkins Concentrate for Soups and Sauces" These
are soup bases and comes as beef, chicken, or cream
1 - Add gf flour or cornstarch to thicken as desired
2 - Add a little more liquid than what is called for
Two commentors suggested Trader Joe's as a source of gf cream of mushroom
soup. Unfortunately we don't have one in our area
Eight commentors suggested that Imagine Food, Inc. has gf cream of mushroom
soup although it is not condensed.
1 - One commentor thought it was a little strong and adds milk when
using it in a casserole.
2 - Imagine Food also makes Soy Dream and Rice Dream.
One commentor noted that they get their gf soups from Ener- G-Foods in
Seattle
Six commentors noted they make their own using the recipes in the following
Bette Hagmag books:
"More From the Gluten Free Gourmet"
"Gluten Free Gourmet" (page 186)
"Gluten Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy"
(Note: See the Recipe section for one of the Bette Hagman recipes)
Three commentors noted they use(d) the Walnut Creek cream of mushroom soup
stock however one noted they can no longer find this brand.
Two commentors noted that Progresso Cream of Mushroom soup is gf. One,
however, noted that they can no longer find it in the D/FW area
of Texas.
Two commentors use gf soups from Glutino but provided no other information
except for a website address. I am not familiar with Glutino but
plan on visiting their website when I get this summary straightened out
Four commentors don't use the "standard" gf cream soup bases but rather are
using substitute products
1 - "Ragu's Chicken Tonight". The modified food starch on the label is
reported to be made from corn. Ragu also makes "Creamy Chicken Mushroom",
"Country French", and "Caccitori" (sp?). Ragu's toll free number is
1-800-328-7284.
2 - "Kosher for Passover Cream of Mushroom" Both Manischewitz and
Rokeach put this out. It is seasonal but the commentor noted it should be
available in a month or two.
3 - Pepperidge Farms' "Vichyssoise" makes a good cream soup although it
must be doctored to make it creamed. The label indicates it should be gf
and the commentor noted they had had no reaction from it
4 - Another Ragu product, "Ragu Alfredo Sauce" with a can of mushrooms
added makes a good substitute. The commentor also noted that "Ragu Four
Cheese" is great for making "mac & cheese" Websites:
- The Gluten Free Trading Co. http://www.gluten-free.net
- http://www.kinnikinick.com/
- Imagine Food www.imaginefoods.com
- Glutino www.glutino.com
- Pacific Foods www.pacificfoods.com (Note: Pacific soups are
noted as "broths". May have to be thickened. The following is from an
ad for Pacific Foods:
RECIPES
From: Mireille
Go to this site:
http://forums.delphi.com/celiac/messages
Have posted a variety of cream soup replacement GF recipes.
Good luck,
*****************
From: Kathy
Cream Soup Mix
2 cups instant nonfat dry milk powder
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup GF chicken bouillon granules
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. pepper
Combine all ingredients; mix well. Store airtight.
To use this in a casserole, or just to eat it:
1/3 cup mix 1-1/4 cups water Combine in 1 quart saucepan. Bring to boil,
stirring occasionally. Cool. This can be used in place of a 10-3/4 oz.
can of any cream soup.
******************
From: rcoxclan
Creamy Soup Mix
2 C powdered milk
3/4 C corn starch
2T onion flakes
dash pepper
optional: 1t basil, 1t thyme
To use:
stir together 1/3 C mix with 1 and 1/4 C cold water and 1 chicken
bouillion cube over low heat until thickened. Be careful not to burn.
To make cream of mushroom soup add 1/8 fresh chopped, sauteed mushrooms
To make cream of celery and 2 t celery salt.
********************
From: Bobbie
A good substitute is your standard cream sauce recipe (using cornstarch or
potato starch, not flour). You can mix in a can of chopped mushrooms if you
want them. I made a pretty good green bean casserole that way, and topped it
with crumbled gf potato chips instead of the canned fried onions.
*********************
From Opie431
Buy a box of corn starch and make the white sauce from the recipe that will
be on the side. They are quick and easy. I make mushroom soup by
substituting the liquid from the can for some of the milk and adding some
dry milk. Everyone thinks my casseroles are better then those made with
soup.
*********************
From: Brenda
Home made cream of mushroom soup is SO easy to make, and more
delicious. Just take 1 tablespoon of corn starch and stir into 1/4
cups of milk, (I prefer to use half-and-half) and 3/4 cups chicken broth
(make sure all the clumps are dissolved). Take either fresh or canned
mushrooms and sautee in small amount of butter with either shallots or
onions to taste. Add mushrooms to milk mix and cook slowly over
medium/low heat till thick (stir constantly so it won't clump).
After it gets to the consistency you want (should be fairly thick, but
not stiff), add about 2-3 tablespoons of a dry white wine (optional) and
season with salt and pepper (some people like to add a pinch of nutmeg).
This is a very versatile base-- also can add shredded cheese to make a
great cheese sauce.
***********************
From: CHEEKYR
I have a great and easy Cream of Mushroom soup that I make for casseroles.
Here it is:
GF Cream of Mushroom Soup
Heat together in pan:
1/2 C. butter/margarine
1 C. evaporated milk
1 C. 2% milk
Stir in these spices:
1 tsp. dried onion
2 pinches celery seed
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Make a smooth paste of:
5 Tbsp. white rice flour
1/2 cup milk (I finish evaporated milk and add 2% to equal 1/2 cup)
Add paste slowly to heating mixture. Stir constantly until thickened. Stir
in 1 cup canned, drained, and chopped mushrooms.
Use this in any casserole recipe that calls for cream of mushroom soup. Add
diced celery or chicken for variety.
_____________________________________________
Here is my tuna noodle casserole recipe that tastes just like the one made
with canned soup.
Jane's Tuna Noodle Casserole
2- 10 oz. boxes of GF elbow macaroni (I used Pastariso rice noodles)
GF homemade Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can milk (use evaporated milk can from soup recipe)
1- 10oz. package frozen spinach, cooked
2- 6 1/2 oz. cans tuna
salt & pepper to taste
Cook noodles in boiling water only 3 minutes, drain and rinse in cold
water. Mix all together. Sprinkle top with crushed GF rice cereal. Bake,
uncovered, at 350 degrees for 1hr. in 4-5 quart casserole.
******************
From: Holly, Linda, and Elaine
Bette Hagman's book The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy has a
recipe for creamed soups.
[This recipe has been removed from the logfiles, as]
[it is copyrighted material---the CELIAC Listowners]
copyright 1996 by Henry Holt Co., pages 62-63.
********************
From: Southworth, Teigh
This recipe, from the archives
<http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/celiac.html> , I have been using for
over a year now. We make a lot of casseroles this time of year to have left
overs after skiing or weekends. I have also used this successfully camping
over an open fire. I cheat I just dump the ingredients in when the soup is
called for and let it cook while in the casserole.
(Note: I could not get the recipes from either the commentor or the archives
to copy correctly into this response. If interested in the recipes, which
look very good, please go to the website and click on the fourth week of
March, 1998. The fourth item down reads ""/R GF Mushroom Soup/Summary"".
Click on it and it will bring up the recipes as well as the entire summary
which has several other recipes and information.)
********************
From: lauren
I checked my own archives cause it seemed to me that when I was low carbing
it I had some recipes for cream of mushroom soup.
www.lowcarbluxury.com/recipes/recipe-soup17.html
www.lowcarbluxury.com/recipes/recipe-soup15.html
www.lowcarbluxury.com/recipes/recipe-soup16.html
Of course there are a few ingredients you may have to substitute, like if
you decided to use the one with sour cream just make sure to use a gf one.
********************
From: Jessie
I, too, love casseroles so I use diced canned tomatoes as a liquid instead
of soups.
I make a lot of casseroles using brown rice as a base and some good gf
bullion cubes to produce a 'soup' for liquid.
*********************
From: Lee Family
Check out the following recipes in the Soup and Stew category at
www.gfutah.org/cookbook :
CREAM OF TOMATO, (Classic Soups and Stews)
CREAM OF MUSHROOM, (Classic Soups and Stews)
and CONDENSED CREAM SOUPS (scroll down to More Soups and Stews)
Here is the Condensed Cream Soups recipe from www.gfutah.org/cookbook :
CONDENSED CREAM SOUPS
Amber Lee
1 cup cold milk
3 Tbsp sweet rice flour
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper
1. In a small saucepan, whisk milk and flour till well blended.
2. Stir in water, butter, bouillon, salt, and pepper.
3. Heat to a boil. Stirring frequently. Simmer on low until ready to
serve. Use in recipes to replace one can of cream of anything soup. (To
reconstitute Condensed Cream Soup, stir in 1 cup water and heat to warm
through.)
VARIATIONS:
Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup:
Stir in a drained 4 ounce can of mushroom pieces to the recipe above.
Use in recipes in place of one can of Cream of Mushroom Soup.
Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup:
Stir in 1/2 cup cooked chicken pieces to the recipe above.
Use in recipes in place of one can of Cream of Mushroom Soup.
Condensed Cream of Celery Soup:
Stir in 1/2 cup sauteeed chopped celery to the recipe above.
Use in recipes in place of one can of Cream of Mushroom Soup.
*******************
From: Janet You can use Lipton Cup-A-Soup, comes 4 envelopes to a pkg.
You can thicken it after making it with sour cream. There's also a
fantastic to-die-for recipe on the list, but of course that's more work.
Recipe below:
Homemade recipe for Cream of Mushroom Sauce or
Soup/Celery/Chicken* This is good and simple:
In heavy saucepan, heat on medium:
1 Tbsp. margarine
Add, and sautee for 1 minute:
1 cup diced fresh mushrooms (approx. 1/4 lb.)
Remove from pan and reserve (mushrooms will now measure approx. 1/2 cup.
Also, 1/2 cup of canned, drained mushroom bits can be substituted for
mushrooms and margarine, if desired. If so, skip sautee step.)
Heat, in same saucepan:
4 Tbsp. margarine
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup milk (I used 2 percent to cut down on fat)
Stir in these spices:
1/2 tsp. dried onion flakes
1 pinch celery seed
1 pinch garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
Make a smooth paste of:
2 1/2 Tbsp. SWEET RICE FLOUR
1/4 cup milk
Add paste slowly to heating mixture. Stir constantly until thickened.
Stir in reserved mushrooms and heat through. Use in casserole recipes
or add 1 CUP MILK FOR SOUP. Equivalent to one can condensed cream of
mushroom soup.
*VARIATIONS: CREAM OF CELERY SAUCE OR SOUP: Substitute 1 cup diced
celery for fresh mushrooms.
CREAM OF CHICKEN SAUCE OR SOUP: Substitute 1 cup diced raw chicken for
fresh mushrooms and sautee for 3 min. OR substitute 1/2 cup diced COOKED
chicken for canned mushrooms.
********************
From: Ann
You can do it yourself. Sautee some mushrooms, adding salt
peper and some nutmeg...cook until it reabsorbs liquid in pan. Then add
cream [or milk,or whatever], and reduce it by half. You can also thicken
it further with a cornstarch slurry....2 tablespoons cornstarch to half
a cup of cold liquid. Add to boiling sauce and cook for a min or two
until thickened. Then proceed to pour over chicken...whatever. You have
much more control over recipe and salt.....do not salt until after cream
has been reduced because it will be too salty
Thanks again to all of you who took the time to reply to my query. I'm
sorry it took so long to wind this up.
You're a great bunch .
John in AZ
|
