30 Simple Recipes with Canned Soup That Actually Taste Good (2024)

FAQs

What can I add to canned soup to make it taste better? ›

Herbs: Fresh chives, thyme, or cilantro stirred in just before serving. Spices: Your soup is probably salty enough, but what about simmering a bay leaf in there for a while (don't forget to remove it before serving)? Depending on the soup's flavor profile, you could shake in some cumin or red pepper flakes.

Use fresh vegetables, high-quality meats or broth, and fresh herbs to add depth of flavor. Add acidity: A squeeze of lemon or lime juice, a dash of vinegar, or a splash of wine can brighten the flavors of a soup and make it taste more complex.

Another hack for canned chicken noodle soup includes building a foundation of flavor with a mirepoix, a standard of classic French cooking employing two parts onions, one part celery, and one part carrots. Dice the vegetables and sauté them in a pot with olive oil before pouring your chicken noodle soup in.

Besides adding vegetables to your soup, another option is to play around with stirring in herbs and spices. If you love food with some zing to it, drizzling in some hot sauce can be a great way to bring on the heat and give your soup an extra edge.

Add swirls of pesto, chili crisp, hot sauce, sour cream, or salted yogurt. Garnish your bowl with fried shallots, garlic chips, croutons, or a mish-mash of toasted seeds. Douse tender, fresh herbs—like cilantro, dill, parsley, or basil—in good-quality olive oil and vinegar and pile them on top.

The key here is using the right herbs. Choose tender, leafy herbs for topping soup, like parsley (flat leaf or curly), cilantro, chives, or even mint. Skip the woody herbs, like rosemary and thyme — or add them in the beginning of the cooking process — otherwise they will dull, rather than brighten, the flavor.

Adding Worcestershire Sauce To Soups

It will work in a broad range of dishes from your favorite French onion soup to velvety tomato bisque. It definitely does a great job of amping up the meaty flavors of a beef stew as well as giving vegetable soups a flavor lift, too.

Originally Answered: Does simmering soup longer make it taste better? If you're simmering a thing for hours, you will intensify the flavor by cooking off some of the liquid. This might make it taste better, but if cooked too long, it may end up too salty or otherwise be over-seasoned.

If you're making soup, have an egg at the ready. When you remove the broth from the heat, crack an egg into the hot broth and stir slowly. The yolk and white will poach slowly in the liquid and absorb the flavor of the soup and ingredients, adding heartiness and rich texture to your broth.

Can I crack an egg in my chicken noodle soup? ›

Adding eggs to chicken noodle soup can affect the texture, flavor, and nutrition of the soup. Texture: Adding eggs to chicken noodle soup creates a creamy, velvety texture that can help to thicken the broth and add body to the soup. The eggs also help to bind the ingredients together, making the soup more cohesive.

Adding fresh herbs like thyme, parsley, or dill for freshness and depth. Incorporating aromatics like onions, garlic, and celery for added complexity. Seasoning with salt, pepper, and other spices like bay leaves or paprika to taste. Adding a splash of lemon juice or a dash of vinegar to brighten the flavors.

Dried herbs and spices are the easiest and most budget-friendly way to add flavor to your canned soup. They'll last forever in your pantry, and you don't need to add much to get a good kick.

Ok, this may be a little obvious, but just adding water is going to make your soup go a little further. If you stick to a 50/50 ratio between water and whatever flavoured liquid you're using in your soup (be it tomatoes, a stock type, or a cream), you're unlikely to dilute it to the point of making it unpalatable.

Pasta, rice, quinoa, farro, barley, and many other grains can be added to your canned soup. While these are tasty additions, there is a word of caution and a general rule to remember when doing this. As outlined in Bon Appétit, adding grains or pasta means that they will absorb the liquid in your canned soup.

Add garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper and let sit on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Pour into bowls and top with parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

A squeeze of citrus, a dollop of yogurt or a drizzle of cream, a dusting of cheese or a good chile powder, a sprinkling of some herbs or croutons — all can take a perfectly fine soup into the realm of the delectable. Even a spiral of good olive oil to finish and some coarse sea salt can do wonders.

If you find that canned cream of mushroom soup lacks creaminess, you can fix that easily. Stir in a little heavy cream or half-and-half to enrich the texture and make it more velvety. Alternatively, you can use milk or even Greek yogurt for a lighter option.