Canned Soup Substitution Recipes and Conversion Tables

A Guest Post from Rachel

Have you ever started to make something, say dinner or a batch of cookies, and found out that you were missing an ingredient? I have many times! My solution..quick, find a substitution! I like to keep a list handy (in my cooking notebook) of easy substitutions for those last minute cooking problems.

These are some of my favorite substitutions!
Evaporated Milk Recipe - This is my ultimate favorite substitution recipe! It is very versatile and can be used in just about anything! I have used it both in my baking and my cooking. I normally will use this in my homemade potato soup instead of using the real stuff. It really makes it creamy and you can't even tell the difference! The other benefit is that it is super quick to put together and very inexpensive! =:) (now all I need is one for sweetened condensed milk! I did find some good looking recipes for it on Cooks.com if you want to try them out!)

Creamed Soup Base(From: The Gluten-Free Gourmet by Bette Hagman)
We use this book because my dad has a gluten/wheat intolerance. We do not really keep up with it very much though. I like to use this mix to make cream of chicken soup and cheese soup for my cooking. I have lot's of casseroles that use this and we don't always have the canned soup on hand, or I just didn't feel like putting it on the grocery list again, etc. You make up the base mix and then you can add things to make the different soups. It works very well and the base keeps in the freezer for a long period of time. I usually double or triple the base recipe so that I have it on hand all the time. I then will double the actual soup recipe for my casseroles because we like it really creamy.

Base Recipe:
1 cup Dry Milk Powder or Non-dairy substitute (I use the milk powder)
1 cup White Rice Flour
2 Tbsp. Dried Minced Onions
1/2 tsp. Pepper
1/2 tsp. Salt
3 Tbsp Powdered Soup Base (I use a dry chicken soup mix)
Combine all ingredients and mix well.
Store in an airtight container (or ziploc) by your kitchen stove or on the pantry shelf (I keep mine in the freezer).
This mix is equivalent of 8 or 9 cans of soup (the 10-1/2 oz. size).

For the soups:
Cream of Chicken Soup:
In a small saucepan, blend 4 Tbsp. of base with 1/4 cup cold water.
Add 1 cup hot water (or chicken stock) and cook over medium heat, stirring until the soup thickens.
Cheese Soup or Sauce: Follow the directions for Cream of Chicken Soup, using 1/4 cup of the base. Add 1/4 cup extra water.
Stir in 1/2 to 2/3 cup grated cheddar cheese before removing from the stove.

To use in a casserole: If your casserole (scalloped potatoes, etc.) calls for canned soup and is to be baked more than 1 hour, just stir the creamed soup base with the ingredients and pour on 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 cups hot water. Since my casseroles take 30-45 min. or up to an hour, I don't do it this way.

Another handy thing to have in the kitchen is a list of weights and measurements conversions. It's always helpful for exchanging tsp. for Tbsp., turning ounces. into pints, etc.
Conversion Table
Conversion Calculator
Ingredient Equivalents and Volume Measurements
Measurement Equivalents
Ingredient Equivalents
Conversion Chart - Ingredient Equivalents
Blessings and Happy Baking!
Rachel

A Big huge Thank You to Rachel and her sister Jessica for letting me use these tips! :D visit their amazing blog Young Homemakers to learn more about these delightful young ladies.