10 Best Canned Chicken Noodle Soups, Tested by Food Network Kitchen
For the times when you can’t be bothered with stovetop cooking.
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Making your own chicken soup can feel daunting — even more so when you’re feeling under the weather. That’s when the canned variety comes in handy. But how do you know which one to choose? Especially when there’s so much more than Campbell’s on the shelf nowadays. From organic, to meat-free to hearty homestyle, there’s a chicken soup in a can for every palette.
We tried more than a dozen cans of chicken soup to find the best ones on the market. While nothing beats homemade, these were the varieties we’d reach for on days when we’re not feeling our best.
Overall, this was our favorite chicken noodle soup in a can. The taste was classic and we liked the ratio of chicken to veggies and noodles. We were able to get a chicken, vegetable and noodle in every bite. This version also had seasoned chicken and broth that brought out a bolder flavor in this variety than others.
We liked this variety of Campbell’s for its big pieces of chicken and firm noodles — we found lots of the noodles in canned chicken soups to be a bit on the soggy side. This can tasted hearty enough to be a full meal and we liked that we could taste the herbs in the broth.
If you’re looking for nostalgia in a can, this is it. We found this canned soup to taste like childhood. With smaller noodles and tiny pieces of chicken (and no veggies), this soup is kid-friendly and perfect for anyone who’s not feeling at their best.
As far as chicken soup goes, this is a can that tastes about as close to homemade as any of the ones we tried. The salt content isn’t too high and the chicken pieces are larger than your average condensed soup can.
This chicken soup tasted the fanciest out of the bunch. The flavors in the broth shined through and the chicken tasted more tender than the rest. We also like that the price range isn’t completely out of the question. At around $2.50, this is less than $1 more than many other soups on this list.
One tester said she tasted "Thanksgiving flavors" in this can of chicken noodle soup. We can only assume it’s from the sage and thyme listed on the ingredient list. Overall, this wasn’t the most traditional tasting soup, but we think it would be soothing on a sick day.
This soup isn’t classic chicken noodle soup. The soup is bright thanks to the lemon and has a great taste at the start. However, we found the finish tasted a bit artificial. If you’re in the market for a non-traditional chicken soup in a can, this one might be worth trying.
One tester declared this can “tastes healthy.” There’s no denying the variety is in need of some salt, but you can always add that to your bowl after heating the soup on the stove or in the microwave. Overall, this wasn’t a totally terrible option.
After tasting the other cans of Progresso on the market, it becomes obvious that this one is lacking in the salt department. If you’re skipping out on salt, this soup could be the right move for you.
Looking at the can, you might expect this soup to taste super-comforting. Unfortunately, we found the flavor to be a bit lacking and the texture to be thinner than anticipated. That said, the soup did have a thicker texture than the others and if you’re looking for something on the creamy side, this might fill that need.
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