10 Store-Bought Vegetable Soups, Ranked

When the weather turns nippy, nothing hits the spot quite like a steaming bowl of soup. Ladles full of chicken noodle, potato, broccoli cheddar, butternut squash, and even chowder warm us from the inside out. But at the heart of it all sits a true classic: vegetable soup.

With the only requirements being broth and any ol' assortment of veggies, this soup category breeds a wide range of creative interpretations — in household kitchens and in grocery store aisles alike. Your mom or grandma may have their own prized family recipe, and brands also like to put their own unique twist on the versatile dish. They'll throw in lentils or beans to make it more substantial. Some add noodles as a core ingredient, for a changeup in texture. And others spruce up the tomato puree base with a fragrant medley of herbs and spices. No matter the formula, brands often promise a garden-fresh or harvest flavor, but which ones actually deliver? I scooped up 10 different store-bought vegetable soup options to find out.

It soon became very obvious that not all cans, jars, or even boxes of vegetable soup are created equal. I ranked them based on their mix of veggies and their texture, ratio of broth to bits, seasonings of choice, and overall flavor. Some prove that throwing a bunch of ingredients haphazardly into a pot doesn't always bode well, while others deliver all the warm fuzzies of a textbook vegetable soup.

Pacific Foods is, in fact, a brand that was born on the West Coast (you guessed correctly). Founded in Oregon in 1987, it focuses on organic, high-quality ingredients, and one of its most prominent product categories is broths and soups. You may have seen its green boxes and cans nestled in the pantry aisle next to Campbell's and the like — with them a can of its ready-to-heat Organic Hearty Vegetable Soup.

The soup is plant-based and vegan, and the veggies of choice are diced tomatoes, onion, carrots, corn, roasted red peppers, celery, green beans, kale, and potatoes. They're all fresh enough with that crisp organic flair to them. However, they're chopped up uber fine and don't take up a majority of the bowl (if this were a Campbell's soup, it wouldn't be certifiably "Chunky"). That leaves the broth to do most of the talking, and I didn't necessarily care for what it was saying. Made up mostly of tomato puree, roasted garlic puree, spices, and sea salt, it immediately overwhelmed my palate with a sour, acidic bite. Then, after a few bites, it settles into blandness with no hints of garlic or other spices or herbs. I'm honestly not sure which taste was worse. But what I do know is that this Pacific Foods can settle to the bottom of the vegetable soup rankings.

It seems that I accidentally picked up a condensed version of Campbell's vegetable soup. This wasn't a big problem. It simply meant more work for me as I had to combine it with a can full of water before heating it in the microwave (as per instructions). It also meant that the soup mixture came sliding out of the can the same way cranberry sauce would — not terribly appetizing, if you know what I mean.

Once everything was sorted, I was staring down a classic-looking veggie soup swimming in a beef stock base. It's also one that would be kid-approved thanks to the letter-shaped pasta noodles floating among the vegetables. These noodles were tender, as were the sizable hunks of potatoes, carrots, green beans, corn, peas, and celery. Where the soup goes wrong is the thin broth itself. It includes so many add-ins to make it more flavorful, like soy sauce, allspice, cloves, cumin, turmeric, and coriander, yet it still manages to taste diluted. It's better than Pacific's sour, then diluted taste, though, not by much.

I think next time, I would combine the Campbell's jumble with a smidge less water — perhaps ¾ of a can rather than a full can. This would hopefully help some of those spices and other flavors make their way to your taste buds. I also like the idea proposed on the back of the can of spicing it up with a few slices of avocado.

Annie's follows along with Pacific Foods' organic schtick. That means that you'll pay a premium price for its veggie soup with pasta, but it's also made with natural, non-GMO ingredients, and it's even gluten-free. Essentially, what you see is what you get with this can — for better and for worse.

The broth is simply tomato puree and carrot puree sprinkled with ingredients like onion powder, garlic powder, bay leaves, thyme, and corn starch (presumably to thicken it up). It somehow achieves an almost creamy texture, similar to that of tomato soup, yet it's fairly one-dimensional in terms of flavor. Meanwhile, bits of celery, carrots, onions, and peas are kept small, except for some weirdly large corn kernels. Then comes the baby penne pasta noodles. I was excited for this addition since I assumed it would give the bowl some body and heartiness, but they unfortunately turned out chewy. I was disappointed to find out that Annie's used to make a version of the soup with farm-shaped pasta (aka noodles in the shape of bunnies, carrots, and more), though I wondered if those pieces had texture issues as well.

Overall, I would say Annie's recipe is a decent pick, and one that's a touch more flavorful than the cans from Campbell's or Pacific Foods. At the same time, I think it's more of an I'll-eat-it-just-to-eat-it meal, rather than a must-have comfort food.

Just what the doctor ordered. Named after physician Dr. John McDougall himself, this brand offers 100% plant-based, vegan, non-GMO, and oil-free products. Unsurprisingly, I found him and a range of his products at Whole Foods, including his can of Organic Lentil Vegetable with Kale Soup.

Available in a cardboard box rather than a can or jar, the ready-to-serve soup tumbles out looking more like a thick chili than a vegetable soup. It's so chock-full of ingredients that there's hardly any broth to work with — I probably could have eaten most of it with a fork. The lentils and diced potatoes take center stage, supported by spinach, carrots, celery, and onions. Despite its mention on the front of the box, I didn't find that kale played a large role in the recipe. What did, though, was the addition of the fragrant herb thyme. It's tacked onto the end of the ingredient list, and it shows up strong in every single spoonful. A little thyme often goes a long way, and I fear it was overused in this soup to the point where it trampled other flavors like garlic, basil, and other spices.

I do appreciate the pure and simple ingredient list of Dr. McDougall's powerhouse soup, and if you're a big fan of thyme, you'll love this one. But personally, it was a bit out of my palate wheelhouse and only stood a few other bowls in the taste test.

Aldi spins up multiple German-inspired soups under its store brand Deutsche Küche. You'll find wholesome picks like a German bean soup, harvest potato soup, and this Fall Harvest Vegetable Soup. Before jumping into the taste, it's also important to call out the astronomical size of these cans. These are not individual portions. Weighing in at 28 ounces, each one holds enough to feed multiple people, and it still comes at a ridiculously affordable Aldi price.

This particular can ends up tasting like a cross between a standard veggie soup and a plate of spaghetti. As an authentic German-style blend, the soup comes packed with large bits of garden veggies like potatoes, white cabbage, green beans, peas, carrots, and red and green peppers. This ingredient diversity allows you to enjoy a different flavor combination in every bite. Then you also have a hearty helping of egg spaghetti noodles. This shape is an interesting choice for a soup since it's difficult to scoop up with a spoon. But they offer a nice texture, and I like how they absorb some of the surrounding tomato-based broth.

The Fall Harvest Vegetable is one of the better soups you'll find at Aldi. My only real complaints that send it further down in the rankings are its inclusion of artificial flavorings, and concurrently its lack of bolder herbs and seasonings to really bring those veggies and noodles to life.

Also featured at Aldi is the premium Specially Selected soup line. Their glass jars make them seem like a fancier indulgence, and the sleek black labeling further proves their status. The brand's creamy curry bisque is a personal favorite of mine. Its mushroom and herb bisque is another good one for fans of fungus, and this Hearty Vegetable holds its own as well.

This is one of the thickest soups in the taste test, and it comes in a deeper red color with a deeper, richer flavor to match. There's a plethora of stringy spinach, along with firm bites of potato, black beans, green beans, carrots, and zucchini. The veggies are all divine and cooked to just the right consistency. The first thing anyone will notice about the soup, though, is its sweetness and its likeness to a sweet and garlicky marinara sauce. It has that same taste and texture paired with a stew-like thickness.

It's a unique vegetable soup, to be sure, which is why it beats out other picks like its Aldi shelf buddy, the Deutsche Küche Fall Harvest Soup. But I think some people may be turned off by the stark sweetness. There are actually 15 grams of added sugar in every single serving of this soup. That means if you happened to polish off the entire 24-ounce jar yourself, you'd be looking at about 28 grams of added sugar in your bowl (or 56% of your daily recommended total).

If you're going the lentil vegetable soup route, I would tell you to pick Amy's over Dr. McDougall's. You're still getting all your clean eating attributes like organic ingredients and a vegan, gluten-free product. But, you're getting a better flavor (and no unsavory overload of thyme).

In the bowl, this soup takes on a light brown shade that makes it look like a Midwestern ham and bean, and the taste even leans that way as well. It hits you first with a strong onion-y flavor mixed with the tiniest bit of pungency from the organic garlic. There's certainly more green lentils than veggies, so you get that earthiness throughout, and at the same time, they're cooked down to the point that they're smooth with an incredibly soft chew. Other ingredients that are noticeable in every bite include potatoes, green beans, and small bits of carrot, while celery and spinach were more scarce. The additions of balsamic vinegar, spices, and black pepper give it an added layer of complexity.

Although it's not your classic tomato-based vegetable soup — and other brands do this time-honored take really well — I really enjoyed this canned Amy's soup. It has a soul-warming taste, and it truly feels like you're getting something good and nutritious out of it. With some protein from the lentils, low calories, and a hearty helping of veggies, that is absolutely the truth.

Progresso operates under the slogan, "Make it Progresso or Make it Yourself," implying that its soups are just as good, if not better, than homemade dishes. It's a bold statement, and in many cases and flavors, I don't find the brand's soups to be quite that scrumptious — for example, its French onion leaves much to be desired. Its Garden Vegetable soup, though? That one comes close.

It's a light pick. And I'll admit, the brand doesn't do anything original or overly spectacular to the recipe. It just whips up a super clean and simple version that is bound to satisfy every time. Made from tomato puree and various vegetable juice concentrates, the broth is kept basic, allowing the garden veggies to really dominate in the bowl. Large potato cubes saddle up next to carrots, celery slices, green beans, and corn. Each one holds its shape, even after soaking in the can, and still lands at a balanced bite right in between firm and mushy. I like the inclusion of kidney beans here as well. Not only do they add protein, but they also provide even more texture variation into the mix.

Progresso ensures that this is a true vegetarian vegetable soup, and its calorie count isn't bad at all — set at 180 calories for the entire can. With a similarly great taste, it's hard to beat. But there are two other brands out there that do it up a little better with the broth and seasonings.

This Campbell's product feels like the quintessential vegetable soup — even more so than the Progresso garden vegetable. The Campbell's Chunky line actually offers several vegetable soup options. However, I found that most are coupled with beef or beef stock, like the Campbell's condensed vegetable soup. Beef with Country Vegetables, Old Fashioned Vegetable Beef, and even Savory Pot Roast are all available on the shelves. This vegan soup, on the other hand, keeps things focused on the veggies and the veggies only.

On paper, it looks like nearly any other soup on this list. The typical gang of vegetables is all here, including potatoes, carrots, celery, green beans, corn, peas, and diced tomatoes. It certainly does the "Chunky" name justice, and all of these elements are cooked to a desirable texture. What makes it better than the lion's share of other store-bought veggie soups is the savory flavor it pipes into the tomato puree broth. Based on the ingredient list, it's difficult to pinpoint exactly what that flavor is attributed to. Just dried onions, salt, sugar, generic spice, and natural flavoring are called out. Whatever it is, though, it gives the entire dish an extra splash of umami and even richer taste — almost a meaty flavor, but without the beef. It doesn't fall into the trap of being overly salty like many other canned soups do, making this Campbell's soup a strong contender in the taste test.

Calling it a Vegetable Minestrone is a bit redundant. Typically, the veggies cooked into a minestrone are implied. But we'll give Rao's a break, especially considering its recipe turns out to be the best store-bought veggie-centric soups money can buy — in my humble opinion, of course.

You can tell just by its appearance that the soup is going to be full of bright and fresh flavors. Made from Italian whole peeled tomatoes, the broth catches your eye in a zippy shade of red. It could stand on its own, yet it also strikes a good balance with the long list of vegetables in the bowl. A diverse medley of standard picks like potatoes, carrots, celery, peas, and green beans sits in the soup base. Then, Rao's ups the ante with surprise guests, including chickpeas and dark red kidney beans, which make the soup even more filling and wholesome. We can't forget about the pasta as well–the part of the equation that allows it to be classified as a minestrone. Its ditalini pasta (shaped like short tubes) offers the perfect al dente texture that makes it seem like it was added to the bowl right before serving.

Even with all of these show-stopping ingredients, what really makes the soup stand out is its unique flavor enhancers. Plenty of basil, garlic, fennel, parsley, oregano, bay leaf, and even Parmesan cheese merge to make this a savory and fragrant veggie soup that even Nonna would approve of.

I visited multiple grocery stores — including Meijer, Aldi, and Whole Foods — to pick up this collection of various vegetable soups from name brands and private label store brands (though the majority were from big name brands). I heated them all in a bowl in the microwave for just a few minutes per the instructions on the packaging and then tasted them while they were still warm. As I tasted, I began taking extensive notes.

I evaluated each soup on how thick or thin the broth was and what it was made from (more often than not, tomato puree mixed with other various ingredients). I favored soups that landed somewhere in the middle: not too watery but not too clumpy either. I took note of the veggies that were included and their tenderness, hoping to find potatoes that still had a tiny bit of bite, carrots that weren't too mushy, celery that held its shape, and so on and so on. When they were cooked well, I also really liked the addition of something like beans, lentils, or pasta that added a surprisingly wholesome element to the soup.

I also considered price point and things like organic status in some instances, but really, it all came down to overall flavor. The soups that ranked high incorporate seasonings and bold flavors while maintaining that beloved and familiar veggie soup essence.