The Store-Bought French Onion Soup You Should Avoid At All Costs

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

In her seminal "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," Julia Child's French onion soup recipe claims, "The onions for an onion soup [soupe à l'oignon] need a long, slow cooking in butter and oil, then a long, slow simmering in stock for them to develop the deep, rich flavor which characterizes a perfect brew. You should therefore count on 2 ½ hours at least from start to finish." Fellow classically-trained French chef, the late great Anthony Bourdain, agrees, "Onion soup, unsurprisingly, is all about the onions [...] the better and more intense your stock, the better the soup's going to be. This soup, in particular, is a very good argument for making your own" (via The Food Dictator). Oh how we wish that the folks at Progresso had read either of these entries.

When foodies don't have the time to spend crafting a homemade French onion, they might turn to canned soup as a time-saving alternative. In such desperate times, set your expectations low, and pick any brand besides Progresso — whose canned French onion ranked last in Tasting Table's ranking of five store-bought French onion soups. Despite being one of the best-known names in canned soup, Progresso ultimately fails to translate gooey, glorious French onion soup into a shelf-stable container. The brand's website promises "sharp, rich flavors of onion and beef broth in every bite." But, in execution, this soup is an ultra-thin broth that tastes more like beef than the namesake onion.

As we mentioned in our review, "There are real slivers of tender onion hiding in the crock, yet they're few and far between," and accompanied by literally nothing else: "Butter, paprika, toasted onion powder, and even sugar are thrown in, but don't make a noticeable impact." Also, instead of rich, satiny, deep caramelization, Progresso's canned soup achieves its dark brown color with a mixture of apple juice concentrate and hibiscus juice concentrate. Walmart customer reviews echo our feedback: "[T]his french onion soup tastes more like beef bouillon then anything else," "[H]ave a beef bouillon cube instead. tastes watered down and boring," and "[I]t's basically just a can of beef broth. Not a whole lot of flavor and very little onion. I even tried to Dr. it up with the toasted bread and Gruyere cheese, but even that didn't help very much."

By contrast, the French onion soup by Cuisine Adventure (the brand that won first-place in our ranking) arrives not in a nuclear-war-proof can but as a kind of kit. The soup is frozen into individually-portioned blocks, which get reheated to liquify, creating surprising creaminess. Woe to Progresso's watery counterpart. At least the price is right. An 18.5-ounce can of Progresso French onion soup costs $1.98 on Amazon, or $2.68 at Walmart. Although, Progresso's French onion soup relies on a beef broth base, so technically, the product's "Vegetable Classics" moniker fails to deliver off the rip.