Canned soups are a quick, budget-friendly lunch when there is no time to cook, but they can often be salty, bland, or just boring. Adding just an ingredient or two from your own pantry or fridge can turn a ho-hum canned soup into a satisfying meal. Here are our 10 favorite additions:
• 1 Greens: A handful of leafy greens like frozen spinach, thinly sliced chopped kale or bagged arugula add color, nutrition and a fresh flavor.
• 2 Acid: A little acid from lemon juice, vinegar, crème fraîche or pickles brighten up even the dullest soup.
• 3 Fresh herbs or spices: Leafy herbs like parsley or cilantro, or spices like toasted cumin or smoked paprika add a ton of flavor with very little work.
• 4 Meat: Anything from leftover grilled chicken breast to crumbled bacon or sausage can bulk up soups.
• 5 Eggs: Add a sliced hardboiled egg, a soft poached egg, or drizzle a scrambled egg into simmering broth for an egg-drop-style soup.
• 6 Grains: Leftover cooked grains make for a nice textural contrast.
• 7 Cooked potato: Ladling hot soup over a baked potato, a roasted sweet potato or leftover mashed potatoes makes for a filling meal.
• 8 Caramelized onion or shallot: Stirred in or added as a garnish, crispy caramelized onions add a blast of flavor.
• 9 Grated cheese: Try adding a handful of finely grated Parmesan or a sprinkle of sharp cheddar.
• 10 Bread: Go simple with a few crunchy croutons or all the way with a cheesy, toasted-bread top.
How do you dress up canned soup?
Related: Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup: As Bad (or As Good) As We Remember?
(Image: Sara-Kate Gillingham-Ryan)
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I love Trader Joe's Tomato Roasted Red Pepper Soup. But add a little smoked paprika and sherry vinegar to it and, wow, you've got a gourmet meal.
This is a nice idea, but I find it so easy to make soup from scratch that I never buy canned soup any more. In the winter I'll use a good quality canned tomatoes, and within minutes you can have a much tastier tomato soup than you can buy in a can! Add a few more ingredients and you have something extra delicious, like this spicy tomato bisque with roasted butternut squash and roasted red peppers.
I made so many soups this winter.
I learned this in home ec in 8th grade and have been making it ever since.
Tomato beef basil: one can tomato soup, one can beef bouillon instead of the water, and 1/2 t basil.
Sriracha. :-)
A big dollop of butter improves most things.
When I don't have time or patience to make my favorite pan-roasted cream of tomato soup, I'll toast some rosemary, oregano, paprika, and just a pinch of curry in oil or butter, then add a shot of sherry, let that bubble down to a glaze. Then open up a can of tomato soup and heat it, and a few minutes before serving, I mix in a tiny can of evaporated milk.
It's not as rich and luscious as homemade, but it's tasty, it's lickety-split fast, it requires no thinking or patience, and it's just the thing after a hard day.
I add frozen veggies — peas, carrots, green beans, or whatever I have in the freezer!
love these ideas! Also Sriracha or hot sauce and even toasted coconut can make a dull store bought soup amazing.
This isn't a canned soup per se, but for a quick tomato soup, I like to take a jar of Classico Spicy Red Pepper Pasta Sauce (Arrabiata) and blend it until smooth,I thin it out a little with some broth, or rather a dollop of Better than Bouillon and water, and then heat it up. Needs no further seasoning, but some grated parm on top is nice.
I like to add pasta to my tomato soup. It makes it really hearty!
I often add vegetables (frozen mixed are good, as are roasted leftovers) and cooked grains or pasta (brown rice, couscous or tiny pasta) to canned lentil soup, thinned with water or broth. I think of canned soup as a blank slate to embellish.
I almost never eat canned soup, but I'm too lazy to make tomato soup from scratch, so canned tomato soup with extra tomatoes is amazing with grilled cheese.
Sometimes I just use canned things to make a sort of soup. Two cans of diced tomatoes (or one large can), a can of chickpeas, a chopped onion, and a little olive oil can make a very delicious stew. Add some parmesan or leftover chicken or greens or bread and you've got a meal.
What I do is sometimes get a tin of soup, heat it up, poach an egg in it, serve that with a pork pie/sausage roll.