What Is Soup, cream of onion and How Can I Use It?
Wondering what to do with soup, cream of onion? This guide covers how to pick it, cook it, store it, and swap it, plus 7 recipes to put it to work.
Key Points
- Condensed onion-flavored cream soup; a casserole binder and instant oniony cream sauce.
- Holds together breakfast bakes, tuna casseroles, and warm onion dips with built-in onion flavor.
- Warm it gently with milk or broth, since the flour-thick paste scorches on dry heat.
- Swap cream of mushroom or celery plus onion powder; from scratch, sweat onion into a roux.
- Standard 10.5-ounce can keeps a year unopened; refrigerated leftovers last three to four days.
What is soup, cream of onion?
Cream of onion soup is a condensed canned soup in the cream-of family, the same pantry shortcut as cream of mushroom or cream of chicken. It is a thick, pale paste of onion-flavored cream sauce flecked with bits of cooked onion, savory and a little sweet.
Like the rest of the family, it is rarely eaten as soup. It is the casserole binder you reach for when you want onion flavor cooked into the dish without chopping and sweating onions yourself.
How to Use It
Straight from the can it is a thick, oniony cream sauce that melts into whatever moisture a dish already has. It glues together egg bakes like A Texas Breakfast Casserole and Easy Breakfast Casserole, and it carries the sauce in a White Trash Casserole or a quick Microwave Tuna Casserole.
It is also a strong base for warm onion dips and for the gravy over baked potatoes or chicken. Stir a little real onion or chives into the can if you want the flavor sharper.
Warm it gently with a splash of milk or broth, because the flour-thick paste scorches on dry, hard heat.
Substitutes and Storage
Cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup swaps in one for one, with onion missing; add a spoonful of dried onion flakes or onion powder to make up the difference. Cream of chicken with sauteed onion stirred in also works.
From scratch, sweat a chopped onion in butter, sprinkle on flour, then whisk in milk and broth and simmer until thick.
Cans run about 10.5 ounces (roughly 298 grams). Skip any that bulge or leak. Unopened they keep a year or more in the pantry; once opened, refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container and use within three to four days.
Quick facts
Where to find soup, cream of onion: Soup, cream of onion is usually found in the canned goods section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.
- In Chinese
- 汤，奶油洋葱
- British (UK) term
- Soup, cream of onion
- en français
- soupe, la crème d'oignon
- en español
- sopa, crema de cebolla
Recipes using soup, cream of onion
There are 7 recipes that contain this ingredient.
A Texas Breakfast Casserole
A Texas-sized overnight breakfast casserole with sausage, ham or bacon. Perfect for any Sunday morning. Make ahead the night before and simply throw it in the oven the next morning.
Dill Spiked Onion Rolls
Soft yeast rolls made with hot roll mix, cream of onion soup, Parmesan cheese, and dried dill. A shortcut bread recipe that yields 16 savory rolls with rich onion flavor baked right in.
Easy Breakfast Casserole
Easy breakfast casserole layers crescent roll dough, sausage, mushrooms, and Monterey Jack cheese under an egg and cream-of-onion soup custard. Make-ahead overnight bake for brunch.
Beef & Rice
Fork-tender beef chuck roast slow-baked for 3 hours in creamy mushroom and onion soup gravy, served over hot rice. Only 15 minutes of prep for a soul-warming, hands-off dinner.
Microwave Tuna Casserole
Microwave tuna casserole with broccoli, elbow macaroni, cream of onion soup, and crispy French fried onion topping. A quick comfort food classic in 30 minutes.
White Trash Casserole
Hearty ground beef casserole with crispy tater tots, melted Velveeta, corn, and creamy onion soup. Budget-friendly comfort food ready in under an hour.
Favorite Potato Casserole
A simple and scrumptious casserole that doesn't take a lot to make with this stress-free recipe!
