I Tested the Subscription Box Designed for Soup Lovers and It Tastes Straight from My Mom’s Kitchen

If there’s one thing you need to know about me it’s that I’m a big soup girl. In my home, soup wasn’t just the thing you turned to when you had a cold or needed to warm up after a chilly winter’s day. It was a meal, an experience, a way to experiment with new flavor combinations you wouldn’t have tried otherwise (To this day, my mother’s Granny Smith apple, parsnip, and onion soup is my favorite thing she makes). So, you can imagine how excited I was when I discovered 18 Chestnuts, a company designed to get delicious, high-quality soups delivered right to your door.

As much as I love to make soup, as someone who lives on her own, making a whole pot of soup can be a lot for one person. Plus, I don’t think I need to tell you how pricey groceries have gotten so the last thing I want to do is waste anything (and I can only freeze so much). So, when I saw that 18 Chestnuts soups came in convenient 16-ounce servings and featured some incredible flavors, I knew I had to give it a try. What I didn’t expect was for these soups to not only nourish my body, but my soul.

Based in Asheville, North Carolina, 18 Chestnuts began as a creative outlet for soup-lover and founder Ilona Kossoff. With the intent of keeping community and sustainability at the forefront, the brand works with local farmers to source the freshest fruits and vegetables to make nutrient-dense, plant-based soups. With 10 soups on its roster — including the namesake Chestnut Maple blend, made with, yes, 18 chestnuts per batch — you have a great variety of unique flavors to choose from. Bonus: each soup comes in an easy-to-recycle glass jar!

To say I was excited to try these soups would be an understatement. I decided to go with the Best Seller Box, which comes with three of the brand’s most popular soups: Butternut Squash Pear soup, Tuscan Tomato soup, and Roasted Cauliflower soup. Now, after the aforementioned Granny Smith-apple soup, my mother’s butternut squash soup is second to none, so the moment I pulled the 18 Chestnuts variety out of the box, I knew what I was having for dinner that night.

As I warmed up a serving (each 16-ounce bottle comes with two servings but you can also opt for 32-ounce bottles for double the soup), the rich smell of butternut squash and pears began to fill my apartment. I then leaned over the pot, took in a big whiff of the soup, and immediately a smile crept across my face: this soup smelled just like my mother’s. And while it tasted different, the feeling I was looking for was still there. The comfort, the nostalgia, the hug-like warmth — the things that make soup, in my humble opinion, the best type of meal around. As I happily devoured my soup, I pictured myself at seven years old, helping my mother create a big batch for Thanksgiving with the biggest grin. I couldn’t wait to try the other flavors — and yes, my night did end with a great catch-up with my mom.

Whether you’re in search of a great meal with a homemade feel, looking for a great gift for the foodie in your life, or simply love soups, 18 Chestnuts is a can’t-miss. The Best Seller Box comes in at $38 for three jars of rich soup. Not into these flavors? No worries, you can build your own box, too! As for the subscription part, you can pick between a one-time purchase or a recurring order (Note: with the subscription, you’ll save 10% on each order!) so you’ll never have to be without your new favorite soups ever again.

Buy: Best Seller Box, $37.95