9 Delicious Ways to Enhance Boxed Soup (2024)

Dana Velden

Dana Velden

Dana Velden's first book, Finding Yourself in the Kitchen: Kitchen Meditations and Inspired Recipes from a Mindful Cook (Rodale Books) is available where ever books are sold. She lives in Oakland, CA.

published Oct 19, 2012

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9 Delicious Ways to Enhance Boxed Soup (1)

While I would like to live in a world where I eat homemade soup all the time, the truth is I usually keep a few of those aseptic boxed soups in the pantry for when homemade is just not going to happen. In general, boxed soups aren’t that bad but here are nine little tricks I use to improve their flavor.

1. A Dash of Dairy
Creamed soups such as tomato, squash or red pepper really benefit from a swirl of dairy. A spoonful of yogurt, sour cream, creme fraiche or even heavy cream swirled into each bowl not only makes it look pretty, but it adds a nice tang and richness.

2. Fresh herbs
A few snips of almost any fresh herb will brighten up your soup and add a fresh flavor. Thyme is good with chicken or squash soup, basil with tomato soup, rosemary with bean soups. Just chop or snip about 1 scant tablespoon of fresh herbs into each bowl as a garnish. The heat of the soup will soften the herbs and release their fragrance.

3. Lemon or Vinegar
Anjali already alerted us to the trick of adding an acid to soup to perk it up and this is especially true with boxed or canned soups. Add a squeeze of lemon or lime or a splash of sherry vinegar at the end of heating the soup.

4. A Touch of Nut or Truffle Oil
Try drizzling a few drops of roasted nut oil on top each bowl of soup. Roasted pumpkin seed oil on butternut squash soup, for instance, or roasted hazelnut oil on mushroom soup. And while some truffle oils are crap, some aren’t all that bad (try La Tourangelle’s Infused White or Black Truffle Oil) especially dribbled over lentil soup.

5. A Fresh Garnish
I recently garnished a bowl of boxed cream of tomato soup with a chopped fresh tomato and it really picked up and improved the flavor of the soup. Try a few chopped green onions, some pesto, slivered slices of bell pepper or radish on top of your soup.

6. Freshly Grated Parmesan.
There’s very little a few gratings of fresh parmesan or romano or dry Jack can’t improve!

7. Sausage
Slice up a favorite pre-cooked sausage and add it to your soup while it’s heating. Chorizo is a great way to add flavor and a little heat to a bean soup while chicken apple would be great with pumpkin soup.

8. Delicious Accompaniments
Serve your soup with the best crusty bread possible or toast up a favorite slice into a crunchy crouton. When the bread is good, it will bring the soup up a few notches, just by proximity!

9. A Splash of Wine
If you like to pour yourself a glass of wine to sip while heating up your soup, be sure to add a splash to the pot! Wine is acidic (see above) but it also adds depth and complexity. This works especially well with broth-based soups.

What are your favorite ways to dress up store-bought soups?

Related: What Ingredients Go Well with White Truffle Oil?

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9 Delicious Ways to Enhance Boxed Soup (2024)

FAQs

9 Delicious Ways to Enhance Boxed Soup? ›

"Ground paprika, turmeric, nutmeg, ground ginger, and other powdered spices add a touch of color and spiciness to broths," she says. As a general rule, use fresh herbs at or near the end of cooking and dried herbs and spices early on. This helps you get the flavors you're looking for in the right balance.

What can I add to my soup to make it tastier? ›

"Ground paprika, turmeric, nutmeg, ground ginger, and other powdered spices add a touch of color and spiciness to broths," she says. As a general rule, use fresh herbs at or near the end of cooking and dried herbs and spices early on. This helps you get the flavors you're looking for in the right balance.

How to make store-bought soup taste homemade? ›

A pinch of seasoning can make all the difference to freshen up the flavors in a ho-hum soup. Most canned soups have plenty of sodium, so skip the salt and stick with spices like cumin or curry powder or try dried herbs like basil or rosemary.

How to rescue a boring soup? ›

Spike it with acidity. The palate gets bored with one flavour, and needs contrast and surprise. A dash of lime or lemon juice adds instant brightness. A swirl of black rice vinegar into a thick bean soup, hot and sour soup or lentil soup brings it all together beautifully.

How to jazz up soup? ›

Soups are transformed by the addition of crunchy, creamy, fresh and/or herby things, he says, but you can go as simple (yoghurt, soft-boiled eggs, toasted nuts) or fancy (fish tartare) as you like.

How do you make soup taste deeper? ›

You can add a head of garlic when you make the broth. Just slice it in half crosswise to expose the cloves and toss it in the pot. Some other ingredients I like to use include tomato paste, anchovy paste and Marmite. Each of them adds depth in a different way, and they are all interesting.

How to make progresso chicken noodle soup better? ›

Try adding coconut milk, lime juice, or even curry to your canned soup to elevate the flavors and creates a different taste. This is the perfect remedy when you are simply tired of your old favorite.

Why do you put lemon juice in soup? ›

While salt can be added to balance out this richness, using lemon instead will actually be more effective. This is because the acid from the lemon cuts through the fat and balances out the spices. Using lemon zest on top of each bowl is also a great garnish that provides a zesty punch in every bite.

How do you make store bought vegetable soup better? ›

ADD ACID

Fresh lemon juice: this is best to add at the end of cooking, otherwise the lemon flavor can become bitter. Cooking Vinegars: such as balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, or even apple cider vinegar. Hot sauce: helps to add both acid and heat, so you're getting even more bang for your buck.

How to elevate Lipton soup? ›

Start with an aromatic base. Pretty much every can of soup already contains aromatics. But to put some pep back in your soup's step, you're going to want to add more. Start by sautéing any combination of finely chopped vegetables and alliums—like onion, garlic, carrots, celery, bell peppers, and ginger.

Are packet soups any good? ›

Many instant soups are made as health foods and are made to become a healthy part of your diet. That said, there are many instant soups that are not healthy. Some brands contain a high amount of sodium. While a pack or two of these noodles won't harm you, having them on a regular basis can have negative effects.

How can I make bland potato soup taste better? ›

Adding an acid like vinegar or lemon juice and incorporating fresh herbs can also help add flavor to a potato soup. While you may not need to implement all of these strategies, it's good to keep them in the back of your mind for when you realize your next pot of soup needs a flavor boost.

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