The Best Store-Bought Vegetable Soup Comes From A Popular Pasta Sauce Brand

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Nothing beats a cozy homemade soup recipe, but the reality is that preparing one from scratch isn't always feasible. If you want to eliminate all the work of chopping, preparing, and serving soup, you'll want to take a stroll down your grocery store's soup aisle. From classic chicken noodle soups to beefy French onion soups, there are no shortage of options to choose from — and this is especially true when it comes to vegetable soups. 

To decide which store-bought vegetable soup has the best flavor, ratio of broth to add-ins, and use of seasonings, our taste tester tasted 10 different products across brands. While some brands' soups were bland, sad, or watery, there was one selection that soared above the rest: Rao's vegetable minestrone. Shoppers shouldn't be surprised here, as Rao's is a brand known for its jarred pasta sauces and foray into frozen entrées, and it brings that same attention to quality to its minestrone. 

Our taste tester lauded Rao's canned minestrone for its diverse medley of ingredients, including the likes of potatoes, plump Italian tomatoes, al dente ditalini pasta, beans, and chickpeas. It balances heartiness and flavor well, making for a soup that you may even be able to pass off as homemade.

Customers have seemed to really take to Rao's vegetable minestrone soup. On Target's website, reviewers highlight its delicious flavor. "Only soup my mother-in-law will eat along with the tomato soup. She says it is [better] than homemade," wrote one customer in their review. "I am a good cook but honestly can't make that soup better than Rao's," said a Walmart reviewer. Like our own taste-tester, customers compliment the medley of veggies in this soup and say that it has the perfect balance of flavors — high praise for any store-bought soup.

Besides sharing what they enjoy about this product, reviewers have also taken to sites to share ways that they upgrade this soup. One Walmart reviewer, who said that the soup was well worth its price tag, said that they like to add par-cooked potatoes and shredded mozzarella to theirs. A Target customer also suggested adding a half-packet of Lipton Secret Recipe beefy onion soup and dip mix, paprika, and pepper. Pair this cozy soup with Ksenia Prints' ultimate grilled cheese sandwich recipe and you'll have an irresistible, homemade-ish lunch on your hands.