Why Campbell's Vegetable Soup Just Isn't Worth It

With pandemic-era inflation continuing its squeeze on grocery prices, we're all rethinking our go-to brands and the reasons why we choose the products we do. And if Campbell's is on your list of solid brand choices for soup, for the most part, it's earned it. But if you need a can of vegetable soup, you might want to skip the red-and-white can.

Campbell's Vegetable Soup placed poorly in our ranked taste test of 11 vegetable soup brands. According to the tester, it pretty much exemplified almost everything that can go wrong with a canned soup. There were plenty of vegetables, and it didn't receive any negative points its veggies' texture, but the flavor was primarily that of potato and salt. The broth is supposed to be a beefy, tomato-flavored liquid, but it's somehow overwhelmed by the potatoes. And for those who mind, this is a condensed soup, meaning you have to add water to create the flavorless broth (which actually explains a few things). Frankly, you can do better. If you want something that tastes homemade (because it is), why not try our recipe for All the Veggies vegetable soup?

If you're committed to canned soup, the three top soups in our ranking were Healthy Choice's Country Vegetable, Trader Joe's Garden Vegetable, and German brand Deutsche Küche's Fall Harvest Vegetable Soup (available at Aldi). Any of these three would be a better alternative, and they range from around the same price point as Campbell's to a bit more expensive, depending on where you purchase them.

Another alternative is to make a 15-minute hearty vegetable soup on your stovetop. You can use whatever broth you have on hand, whether it's homemade or store-bought, in any flavor that suits you. You can also add a spoonful of tomato paste if you like a tomato-y broth. Just boil the pasta and some frozen veggies right in it. Opt for small-shaped pasta like ditalini, shells, or even wagon wheels. You can also use leftover cooked pasta, rice, or couscous.

In the frozen section, you can actually buy vegetable mixes custom-made for soups. Some contain okra, potatoes, or corn, and carrots combined with some kind of beans or peas are also common. Choose one of those or buy the exact veggies you want individually. If you're using uncooked pasta, add the veggies in the last five to seven minutes so they don't overcook. If you're using cooked pasta, rice, or couscous, add it within the last two minutes — just long enough to heat it up. In the end, you'll have something that's at least twice as good as Campbell's without much extra effort.