Celery Soup Recipe: 3 Tips for Making Celery Soup

Celery soup is a vegetable-based soup, traditionally consisting of chopped or pureéd celery, heavy cream, butter, diced onion, and dill. Healthier variations of the soup may swap the heavy cream for vegetable broth and incorporate more herbs and chopped vegetables. When celery soup is made with heavy cream, it is known as one of the main variations on “cream soup,” along with other classics like potato-leek soup (and its chilled twin, vichyssoise) or cream of corn soup (or corn potage).

Celery soup has a few nutritional benefits thanks to its star ingredient. Celery is a low-fat, low-glycemic index food, rich in dietary fiber and vitamins and minerals, like vitamin A, vitamin C, and potassium. With the exception of heavy cream, celery soups are a low-calorie dish; omit any crouton garnishes, and it is also gluten-free.

If you want to alter a celery soup recipe to fit a season or occasion, consider these tips:

1. 1. Strain for a smoother texture. Even after puréeing the celery, the stringy celery fibers will remain. Leave them in the soup for a more rustic texture or allow the soup to cool slightly, then pass it through a fine-mesh sieve to remove them. Add the cream to the strained soup, and enjoy.
2. 2. Make it a gazpacho. Cream of celery soup offers one example of incorporating celery into soup: In the summer months, blend up celery with green apple, honeydew melon, and fresh herbs for a bright, refreshing gazpacho, a seasonal chilled soup.
3. 3. Storing celery soup. Store celery soup in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator, or freeze it indefinitely—although six months is usually the ideal window for flavor.