Cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup has been a common ingredient in so many American recipes such as casseroles, crockpot meals, and other easy to throw together, no-nonsense dinners since forever- passed down from our moms and grandmas.
Cream soup has a quiet versatility that most home cooks take for granted. But if you have gluten sensitivity, which one do you choose?
You can pretty much count on paying a higher price for the gluten free version of most foods, and who wants to waste money on something that might not work in Grandma's famous casserole?
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What makes cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom soup NOT gluten free?
Unless it specifically states on the label that it is a gluten free soup, cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup are generally not gluten free.
Most cream soups use some kind of flour or starch to thicken the liquids to make it rich and creamy. This is usually in the form of wheat flour or wheat starch.
In some cases you can find cream soup that is thickened with modified food starch. This could come from either wheat, potato, rice, or tapioca. However, in the United States, if there is wheat in the food it must be stated on the label in the ingredients.
I scoured the soup aisles of several stores and grabbed three brands of gluten free condensed cream soup that I think almost everyone can find easily. We put them to the test to get some real-life info on the nutrition, cost, taste, texture, and how well they work in recipes.
Let's start with the cream of chicken soup brands.
Campbell's Gluten Free Cream of Chicken Soup 🐓
Campbell's soup company has been the classic soup champion for like 100 years, so I wasn't surprised to find that their gluten-free cream of chicken soup packs a silky, rich punch. The soup's texture is so good - creamy but not gloopy, thanks to real cream and butter in the ingredients. Right out of the can it's completely spoon-worthy if you're brave enough to try it solo (which we did). It could be the beginning of any great recipe that calls for cream of chicken soup.
A minor warning: it contains vegetable oil which is one of those dreaded seed oils, and some mystery ingredients like sodium phosphate, but hey, the flavor redemption is strong.
While it may not be the healthiest option, it's affordable and readily available. Plus, it has that classic Campbell's flavor that we all know and love. Just try not to think too hard about the sodium phosphate.
Campbell's GF cream of chicken soup ingredients:
Chicken Stock, Modified Cornstarch, Vegetable Oil, Rice Flour, Cream, Chicken Meat, Chicken Fat, Contains Less than 2% of: Salt, Whey, Yeast Extract, Dried Chicken, Soy Protein Concentrate, Natural Flavoring, Water, Beta Carotene for Color, Soy Protein Isolate, Sodium Phosphate, Celery Extract, Onion Extract, Butter, Garlic Juice Concentrate.
Pros ✅
- Rich and creamy texture
- contains real butter and cream
- widely available and often goes on sale
- great for recipes
Cons ❌
- Contains seed oil
- Contains sodium phosphate
Great Value Gluten Free Cream of Chicken Soup 🐓
Great Value, WalMart's store brand, offers several good gluten-free products. This budget-friendly gluten-free cream of chicken soup pulls in real ingredients like chicken broth and actual chicken meat (which is kind of refreshing in a world full of fillers).
It's a little gelatinous straight from the can, but fear not - as soon as it heats up and gets cozy with the other recipe ingredients, it's actually really good. Taste-wise It's what you'd expect from a cream soup - salty and creamy enough to hold its own as a recipe ingredient. The downside is the soybean oil lurking in there, and that potassium chloride sounds like something you'd pour in a science lab rather than in a creamy soup.
The mushroom variety is a little kinder on the ingredients list, skipping the potassium chloride but still holding its own on flavor.
Great Value GF cream of chicken soup ingredients:
chicken broth, cornstarch, cooked white chicken meat, rice starch, salt, chicken fat, soybean oil, rice flour, cream, sea salt, potassium chloride, whey protein concentrate, soy protein concentrate, yeast extract, garlic powder, onion powder, beta-carotene, lactic acid, and "spice"
Pros ✅
- Lowest everyday cost
- Widely available at Walmart
- Contains real chicken and chicken broth
Cons ❌
- Contains seed oil
- Contains potassium chloride
Pacific Foods Gluten Free Cream of Chicken Soup🐓
Pacific Foods offers a gluten-free cream of chicken soup that even the cleanest eater would approve of. This cream soup is made of mostly organic ingredients with none of those scary chemical names, which immediately earns it some serious points.
We're talking organic mushrooms, organic cream, organic cornstarch, organic rice flour, sea salt, organic garlic powder, and organic onion powder. It's like a gluten-free farmer's market in a can!
You're probably thinking: "Organic? Sounds expensive." And you're not wrong, it's the priciest of the bunch. But for those of us who like to know exactly what we're putting into our bodies (and our casseroles), it's a small price to pay for peace of mind.
The downside? Out of the can, the soup looks like it's a little low in the color department. Its kind of pale and has the consistency of very thick tapioca pudding. The texture is a lot less creamy which could throw you off if you're expecting something buttery and smooth. Flavor-wise it's pretty darn good but it could use some richness added during cooking, like a tablespoon of butter or cream. I added a little sour cream to boost the flavor a little when I made it for the recipe I'll be showing you in a minute.
It's a good fit if you want to keep your recipes wholesome and straightforward. The obvious win is that you don't have to worry about weird additives creeping into your sauce, which might make it a winner for people who want to avoid mystery ingredients. Just remember it's not the heavy hitter of cream soups but it's a good, honest player.
Pacific Foods GF cream of chicken soup ingredients:
Chicken Stock (Organic), Cornstarch (Organic), Chicken (Organic), Cream (Organic), Rice Flour (Organic), Sea Salt, Chicken Fat (Organic), Garlic Powder (Organic), Onion Powder.
Pros ✅
- Certified organic ingredients.
- No weird chemical additives.
- Great for health-conscious consumers
Cons ❌
- Most expensive of the cream soup brands
- The flavor is a little plain compared to the other two
Let's Look at Cream of Mushroom Soup Brands
I was able to find about 7 or 8 different types of gluten free cream of mushroom soups, but they didn't all suit my main purpose - a convenient, canned condensed soup that could be used in recipes, like casseroles and crock pot meals.
Progresso cream of mushroom soup, although gluten free, was a soup that was ready to eat right out of the can. It was just too thin to be used in my family's favorite recipes.
Other brands of gluten free cream of mushroom soups were actually a powder that needed extra ingredients added to it and cooked until thickened. This would probably work in recipes but it does add extra time, and for this purpose I was mainly going for ease and convenience.
So ultimately I went with the same 3 brands of canned soup as the cream of chicken soup that we just compared.
Campbell's Gluten Free Cream of Mushroom Soup 🍄🟫
Campbell's gluten-free cream of mushroom offering is basically the cream of chicken's sister - similar smooth, creamy flavor and texture of that classic Campbell's rich base but swapped out for mushrooms instead of chicken.
Butter and cream show up again, making it get high marks right from the get-go. It has that cozy, comforting mushroom flavor you expect, without pulling any weird ingredient stunts. Vegetable oil and soy protein are in the mix, which isn't ideal.
It's a reliable workhorse that does justice in any recipe calling for cream of mushroom soup, from casseroles to beef stroganoff. The price point is fair, especially if you catch it on sale, because who likes paying a premium for canned soup if you don't have to?
Campbell's GF cream of mushroom soup ingredients:
Water, Mushrooms, Vegetable Oil (Corn, Canola, and/or Soybean), Modified Cornstarch, Rice Flour, Contains Less than 2% of: Cream, Salt, Whey, Yeast Extract, Soy Protein Concentrate, Natural Flavoring, Dried Garlic, Spice.
Pros ✅
- Widely available.
- Affordable.
- Classic flavor.
- Good creamy texture.
Cons ❌
- Once again, I just don't like the seed oil!
Great Value Gluten Free Cream of Mushroom Soup 🍄🟫
Great Value is like the budget-friendly superhero of the soup aisle. It's got basic ingredients, and it's a solid option if you're watching your wallet.
I'm glad that it skips the potassium chloride that's in the cream of chicken version, and while I appreciate that it contains real mushrooms and cream, I'm not a huge fan of the soybean oil. But you can't have everything, especially when you're trying to save a few bucks. It's a decent soup for casseroles and other recipes, in spite of its gelatinous texture right out of the can. You might want to stir in an extra spoonful of milk or broth to thin it out and bring out its creaminess.
Great Value GF cream of mushroom soup ingredients:
Water, mushrooms, cornstarch, soybean oil, rice flour, cream, sea salt, whey protein concentrate, soy protein concentrate, mushroom juice concentrate, yeast extract, natural flavor, garlic powder, lactic acid
Pros ✅
- Most affordable everyday option.
- Decent flavor.
- Readily available at Walmart.
- Works well in recipes.
Cons ❌
- That darn seed oil again!
Pacific Foods Gluten Free Cream of Mushroom Soup 🍄🟫
Pacific Foods is once again playing the clean-eating champion with their cream of mushroom soup. Organic ingredients are its best feature, and you don't have to worry about any seed oils here.
The texture is very thick, but it is a little creamier than the chicken version. In recipes it blends well with the other ingredients, especially if you add a little cream or butter for richness.
Pacific Foods GF cream of mushroom soup ingredients:
Water, Mushrooms (Organic), Cream (Organic), Cornstarch (Organic), Rice Flour (Organic), Sea Salt, Garlic Powder (Organic), Onion Powder (Organic)
Pros ✅
- Clean, organic ingredients
- decent mushroom flavor
- No seed oil!
Cons ❌
- The flavor is less rich and creamy than the other two
- Highest priced brand of the bunch
Cost 💰
The cost is the same for both chicken and mushroom cream soup for each of the 3 brands. But to make it a little easier to skim through this post, I divided that info into 2 tables. Here's the summary of what I learned:
- Great Value - lowest everyday cost, price stays pretty consistent
- Campbell's - middle range in cost. However, since they are a big nation-wide brand, I find these on sale every few months or so. When they go on sale, they are typically the lowest price - 99 cents per can.
- Pacific Foods - most expensive, but for the quality of ingredients I figured you get what you pay for.
I shopped for these brands of soups in 3 different stores - Walmart, Target, and Smith's (which is called Kroger in some states).
Here's a table showing the cost comparison of each, in US dollars:
The Cream of Mushroom Soups 🍄🟫
| Brand of GF mushroom soup | Date | Smith's (Kroger) | WalMart | Target |
| Pacific Foods 🍄🟫 | August 2025 | $3.49 | $2.72 | $3.19 |
| Campbell's 🍄🟫 | August 2025 | $1.99 | n/a | $1.99 |
| Great Value 🍄🟫 | August 2025 | n/a | $1.79 | n/a |
The Cream of Chicken Soups 🐓
| Brand of GF chicken soup | Date | Smith's (Kroger) | WalMart | Target |
| Pacific Foods🐓 | August 2025 | $3.49 | $2.72 | $3.19 |
| Campbell's 🐓 | August 2025 | $1.99 | n/a | $1.99 |
| Great Value 🐓 | August 2025 | n/a | $1.79 | n/a |
Consistency
Are you curious to see what they actually look like? I was too, so here's some pictures showing what each of the gluten free soups look like right out of the can.
Gluten Free Cream of Chicken Soup 🐓
The cream of chicken soups, right out of the can:
- Pacific Foods - kind of like tapioca pudding. Not as thick as the Great Value brand, but not as creamy as Campbell's.
- Campbell's - so creamy and dreamy!
- Great Value - very much like gelatin. It needed some milk, broth, or cream added to make it usable.
Gluten Free Cream of Mushroom Soup 🍄🟫
The cream of mushrooms soups, right out of the can:
- Pacific Foods - the mushroom version is a little creamier than the chicken version, but still similar to tapioca pudding.
- Campbell's - yes, just as creamy, just as dreamy!
- Great Value - so very thick! Get some liquid in there STAT.
My thoughts on consistency: Campbell's was my top choice, Pacific Foods was a nice middle ground, and Great Value - it's missing some liquid.
Recipes - the Real Test
But how will they compare when they are added to a recipe? Maybe we won't notice much of a difference when they are mixed with other ingredients and cooked. That was the next test!
Cream of Chicken Taste Test
First we tried the 3 cream of chicken soups in my one pot chicken and rice. My grandkids like chicken and rice, so they agreed to taste them for me.
We found that although all 3 had a great taste, Campbell's had the creamiest texture.
When I was cooking them, I noticed that the Great Value soup needed some extra milk added to soften it up a bit and blend it with the other ingredients. But everyone said the taste was really good.
Pacific Foods was my granddaughter's favorite, and she had 2 servings. I did add some sour cream to boost the texture of the Pacific Foods soup, and that really made it so good.
Cream of Mushroom Taste Test
For the cream of mushroom soups, I made 3 small tuna casseroles that my husband, son, and I sampled. To be honest, all 3 were really great! I guess with all the other ingredients added to that casserole, it didn't much matter which brand of cream soup was used - they all added a nice touch to a classic casserole, and we loved them all.
Cream soups have long been a staple in the kitchen, mostly known for their versatility in all kinds of recipes. Whether you're making a nostalgic tuna casserole, stirring up a quick chicken and rice meal, or layering flavors in a slow-cooked beef stroganoff, now you know which brands to choose to suit your recipes and your food allergies.
