Campbell Soup Recipes for Easy Weeknight Dinners

Campbell Soup Recipes That Work on a Weeknight

Campbell soup recipes turn a pantry can into dinner in under an hour. A can of condensed soup stands in for a cream sauce, a gravy, or a casserole binder, so the cooking stays short and the ingredient list stays small.

This post collects seven of them, each built on a single 10.5 ounce can. The lead recipe is a one dish chicken and rice bake, and the rest cover the skillet, the slow cooker, or the oven. Every one of them uses ingredients you can find in a regular grocery store.

One rule runs through all seven. The soup is a base, not the finished sauce. Brown the meat first when the recipe calls for it, season as you go, and taste before you add salt. The can does the heavy lifting, and a little fresh cooking around it makes the difference between a flat bake and a good dinner.

Which Can Goes in Which Dish

Campbell sells its condensed soups in a few shapes, and each shape suits different dishes. Cream of mushroom brings an earthy note and a thick body. Cream of chicken is milder and leans savory, while cream of celery is lighter and works where mushroom would take over.

Tomato soup is sweet and sharp, and it belongs in dishes that want acidity. Cheddar cheese soup melts into a sharp, rich sauce.

Most campbell soup recipes use a single can, and one can holds about 1 1/4 cups of condensed soup. The swap table below covers the common moves, so a missing can does not stop dinner.

Soup	Best for	Swap with
Cream of mushroom	Chicken bakes, stroganoff, green bean casserole	Cream of chicken or golden mushroom
Cream of chicken	Chicken and rice, pot pies, noodle bakes	Cream of mushroom or cream of celery
Cream of celery	Tuna noodle, vegetable bakes, mild sauces	Cream of chicken or cream of mushroom
Tomato	Goulash, chili style bakes, pork chops	No direct swap, use only where tomato fits
Cheddar cheese	Broccoli bakes, macaroni, potato dishes	Cream of chicken plus shredded cheddar

Swaps That Need Care

Two swaps need care. Tomato soup changes the flavor of a dish instead of blending in, so use it only where a tomato note fits. Greek yogurt curdles in a hot oven, so keep it out of baked casseroles.

If you like the creamy chicken idea but want the soup itself to be the meal, these creamy chicken and quinoa soups cook the same way, with the grain right in the pot.

One Dish Chicken and Rice Bake

This is the recipe to start with. It is the Campbell classic for a reason. One dish, one can, and the rice cooks in the sauce while the chicken turns tender. The whole thing takes about ten minutes of hands on work.

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 45 minutes | Total time: 55 minutes | Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients for the Chicken and Rice Bake

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, about 1 1/2 pounds
• 1 can (10.5 ounces) Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup uncooked long grain white rice
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots

Steps

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Stir the soup, water, rice, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a 2 quart shallow baking dish until the rice spreads evenly.
2. Nestle the chicken thighs into the rice and spoon a little sauce over each piece.
3. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes, until the chicken reaches 165 degrees in the thickest part and the rice is tender.
4. Rest the dish for 5 minutes, then fluff the rice around the chicken and serve.

The foil traps steam, and the rice needs that steam to cook through. Lift it early and the top layer stays chalky, so leave the dish alone until the timer sounds.

Creamy Tuscan Style Mushroom Chicken

Chicken breasts sear in a skillet, then finish in a mushroom sauce with sun dried tomatoes and spinach. It lands on the table in about 30 minutes.

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 can (10.5 ounces) Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
• 3 cups fresh spinach
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and black pepper

1. Season the chicken and sear it in olive oil for 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden, then set it aside.
2. Cook the garlic and sun dried tomatoes in the same pan for a minute, then whisk in the soup and milk and bring it to a simmer.
3. Stir in the spinach and parmesan until the spinach wilts, return the chicken to the pan, and simmer on low for 10 minutes until it reaches 165 degrees.

A squeeze of lemon at the end lifts the whole pan. Serve it over pasta, rice, or crusty bread to catch the sauce.

Slow Cooker Mushroom Chicken

This one takes five minutes in the morning and waits for you at night. Thighs stay juicy through a long slow cook, which makes them the better cut here.

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 can (10.5 ounces) Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 packet (1 ounce) dry onion soup mix
• 1/4 cup water or chicken broth
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
• Black pepper

1. Layer the onion and mushrooms in the bottom of the slow cooker and set the chicken on top.
2. Whisk the soup, onion soup mix, water, and pepper until smooth, then pour it over the chicken without stirring.
3. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours, until the chicken is tender and reaches 165 degrees. Shred it with two forks right in the pot and stir it into the gravy.

Serve it over mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or rice. If slow cooking is your weeknight plan most nights, these easy chicken crockpot recipes give you five more dinners built the same way.

Tuna Noodle Casserole, the Pantry Classic

Everything in this one comes from the pantry and the freezer, so it is the dinner you cook when the fridge is nearly empty. Pull the noodles a minute early, since noodles that go in fully cooked turn soft in the oven.

• 12 ounces egg noodles
• 2 cans (5 ounces each) tuna in water, drained
• 1 can (10.5 ounces) Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• Salt and black pepper

Cook the noodles a minute short of the package time and drain them. Stir the soup, milk, tuna, peas, and half the cheddar in a large bowl, then fold in the noodles. Spread the mix in a greased 9 by 13 inch dish, top with the rest of the cheddar and the buttered panko, and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes until hot and bubbly. Rest it 5 minutes before serving.

Beef Stroganoff in One Pan

The canned soup version is a 30 minute pan dinner. The soup stands in for the long simmered sauce, and the sour cream goes in last so it stays smooth.

• 1 pound sirloin steak, sliced into thin strips
• 1 can (10.5 ounces) Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 12 ounces egg noodles
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Salt and black pepper

Cook the noodles while the beef cooks. Brown the steak strips in butter in batches so they sear instead of steaming, then set them aside. Cook the onion and mushrooms in the same pan until browned, stir in the soup and Worcestershire, and simmer for 5 minutes. Return the beef to the pan, take it off the heat, and stir in the sour cream. Serve over the noodles.

Do not boil the sauce after the sour cream goes in. High heat splits it, so pull the pan off the burner first and let the leftover heat do the work.

Pork Chops With Mushroom Sauce

This version needs about 20 minutes and works best with bone in chops about an inch thick, which stay juicy where thin chops dry out.

• 4 bone in pork chops, about 1 inch thick
• 1 can (10.5 ounces) Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and black pepper

Season the chops and sear them in olive oil for 4 minutes per side until browned, then set them aside. Cook the onion and garlic in the same pan until soft, whisk in the soup and milk, and bring it to a simmer. Return the chops to the pan, cover, and cook on low for 8 to 10 minutes until they reach 145 degrees with a 3 minute rest.

Pork and soup is an old pairing, and this warming pork and kraut soup shows the same flavors in a bowl.

Green Bean Casserole for the Holidays

Green bean casserole was born in the Campbell test kitchen in 1955, when home economist Dorcas Reilly built it from five pantry staples. It still takes about ten minutes to assemble. You can put it together a day ahead and refrigerate it, then bake it and add the onion topping in the last 5 minutes.

• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) green beans, drained, or 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, blanched
• 1 can (10.5 ounces) Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 1/3 cups French fried onions, divided
• Black pepper

Stir the soup, milk, soy sauce, pepper, green beans, and two thirds of the fried onions in a 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes until hot and bubbly, then sprinkle the rest of the onions on top and bake 5 minutes more until golden. Campbell’s own green bean casserole recipe gives the same timing and the fresh bean swap.

When the Sauce Turns Out Thin or Too Salty

Even a simple recipe can go wrong in two ways. The cause is almost always liquid or salt, and both come from the can.

The Sauce Came Out Thin

Thin sauce usually means too much liquid went in. Condensed soup is already thinned by the milk or water in the recipe, and an extra splash tips it over. Rice that cooks uncovered or a lid lifted mid bake lets steam out, which leaves the sauce watery instead of letting the rice drink it up.

Fix it by simmering the sauce uncovered for 3 to 5 minutes before the chicken goes back in. A cornstarch slurry also works: stir 1 tablespoon cornstarch into 1 tablespoon cold water, whisk it in, and cook for 2 minutes until the sauce coats a spoon.

The Dish Tastes Too Salty

Condensed soup carries most of the salt in these recipes, so added salt should wait until the end. Taste the sauce before you season it, and leave salt out of the early steps entirely. The unsalted version of cream of mushroom soup gives you the same body with room to season it yourself.

If the dish is already salty, stir in a splash of milk or a spoon of sour cream off the heat, or serve it over plain rice or potatoes.

Storing and Freezing Campbell Soup Dinners

Leftovers keep in airtight containers in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Reheat them until they reach 165 degrees, and add a splash of milk or broth if the sauce thickened in the fridge.

Most of these casseroles freeze well for up to 2 months. Freeze them without the crispy topping, then add fresh breadcrumbs or fried onions when you reheat. Thaw overnight in the fridge and bake at 350 degrees until hot through. Bean soups hold up even better in the freezer, and these hearty split pea soups are built for exactly that.

Campbell Soup Recipes FAQ

Start With the Chicken and Rice Bake

If you only cook one recipe from this list, make the chicken and rice bake. It teaches the whole method in one dish: one can, one pan, and a foil cover doing the real work. Once that bake works for you, the rest of the list falls into place.

Pick one can this week and cook one recipe from these campbell soup recipes. For the same chicken with crisp skin instead of a slow braise, these baked chicken hindquarters recipes show the oven version.