This Store-Bought French Onion Soup Is So Good, You Wouldn't Know It Came Frozen

French onion soup isn't just a fancy bistro menu item, as many restaurant chains crank out their own version. But, you can save even more money without sacrificing the decadence by looking for frozen or canned French onion soup at your local grocery store. We tasted and ranked 5 store-bought French onion soups according to the taste of the broth, texture of the onions, and accompanying seasonings and ingredients. Our favorite store-bought French onion soup is from Cuisine Adventure, which happened to be the only frozen soup in our ranking.

We were skeptical when sliding this soup out of its wrapping, as it resembled a rock-hard giant bouillon block with layers of croutons and cheese all stuck together. Despite a less-than-appetizing first impression, its transformation in the microwave rendered mind-blowingly delicious results. To begin, Cuisine Adventure's French onion soup had both melted Swiss cheese and croutons, which none of the other competitors had. The cheese dispersed beautifully throughout the broth, providing a decadent, savory flavor to complement the sweetness of the caramelized onions. The croutons weren't crunchy, but absorbed all the flavorful broth while contributing a comforting yeasty taste of their own. The veggie-based broth was a sweet and savory foundation with a luxuriously velvety consistency, while the caramelized onions themselves were melt-in-your-mouth tender. With no beef stock, this French onion soup is suitable for vegetarians, but it'll still wow meat eaters. You can find it in many popular grocery stores, from Costco to Walmart.

Customers on Reddit also praised the luxurious flavor and easy preparation of the Cuisine Adventures French Onion soup. One Reddit review gave the soup a 9 out of 10, stating, "Flavor is really nice and the cheese tastes real, onions and croutons likewise taste like the real stuff". A thick layer of cheese is one of the components we love most about French onion soup, and one customer loves how "the cheese melts perfectly on top instead of just mixing into the soup when you use the microwave". Customers thought the Cuisine Adventures French onion soup could pass for a menu item served at a low to mid-priced restaurant. One Redditor wrote, "I would say this is close to what you might get at Panera — a cut below proper, cheesed out quality but still rather tasty and easy to make". One Redditor even thought it was better than Panera's French onion soup. Considering that particular version fared favorably in our ranking of fast food soups, that's quite the compliment.

While the microwave is the quickest, simplest method for transforming this soup from solid to liquid, many Redditors recommended heating it in a crock pot, adding extra cheese, and finishing the soup under the broiler. While homes don't have the cheese melters that restaurants do, which is why French onion soup tastes better at a restaurant, a minute under the broiler will create those slightly charred cheesy bubbles and a layer of gooey goodness that's as close to restaurant-worthy as you can get.