‘Tis the season forsoup!
Trader Joe’shas many varieties of soup for sale this time of year.
There was one lonely can of TJ’s soup in the mix, too.
Photos by Ronnie Koenig, Art by Jené Luciani Sena for Eat This, Not That!
(More on that one later.)
Overall, Trader Joe’s has some great soups.
The ones from the prepared foods section were, in general, much tastier than the jarred soups.
Ronnie Koenig for Eat This, Not That!
Butand this is abigbutall of the soups contained loads of sodium.
Here are the 10 soups I tried, ranked from worst to best.
The consistency made me think it was pumpkin-spiced baby food.
Ronnie Koenig for Eat This, Not That!
The taste was overly sweet.
At 22 grams of sugar per serving, it’s no wonder!
The ingredients listed garlic and onion but all I could taste was something more akin to a seasonal candle.
Ronnie Koenig for Eat This, Not That!
The soup tasted like eating straight up tomato sauce with gnocchi (and not a lot of them).
The addition of chilis gave this soup a good amount of heat, but not a lot of flavor.
I might pour this over pasta, but as a soup, it wasn’t great.
Ronnie Koenig for Eat This, Not That!
So, when I sawthis jarred versionfor $4.99, I was excited to give it a try.
Through the glass, I could see tons of little meatballs, plus acini di pepe in chicken broth.
Unfortunately, after heating and taking a bite, I was totally underwhelmed by how bland this soup was.
Ronnie Koenig for Eat This, Not That!
The beef meatballs were flavorless and the whole thing just tasted like chicken broth.
I recommend skipping this and making the Barefoot Contessa’s rendition instead.
There were no noodles or rice, just chicken soupand nary a matzoh ball in sight!
Ronnie Koenig for Eat This, Not That!
This soup would be okay to have on a sick day.
Surprisingly, it was pretty flavorful!
While the chilis gave the soup heat, it was hot but not flavorful.
Ronnie Koenig for Eat This, Not That!
I did enjoy the chicken in this chili and would probably get it again.
After tasting this, it would be difficult to go back to regular ol’ Campbell’s.
I want a grilled cheese to dip into it right now.
Ronnie Koenig for Eat This, Not That!
And although it needed lots of salt and pepper, this soup was mostly nutritious and delicious.
Added bonus: at $2.49, it’s also the most affordable option of the whole haul!
Ronnie Koenig for Eat This, Not That!
Ronnie Koenig for Eat This, Not That!
