The Best & Worst Chicken Soups on the Shelves—Ranked!
Whether it's a winter evening spent by the fire or a sick day on the couch, a cup of the best chicken noodle soup seems to be everyone's ally once the weather turns cold. And believe it or not, there's even research that backs up this observation. According to a national analysis from GrubHub (an online food ordering service) and ZocDoc (a service that helps patients find and book doctor appointments online), when cold- and flu-related appointments increase, there's also an uptick in soup orders—especially the chicken-based varieties. And since research suggests that chicken soup can be particularly effective at providing relief from these types of illnesses, it makes a lot of sense.
But not all canned chicken soups have the same nourishing effects as the homemade varieties. Many of them actually have far too much sodium and fat to be considered healthy. Then there are the cans that are riddled with creepy ingredients that will do the opposite of benefiting your health. To help you identify the allies from the bad guys, we've scoured the supermarkets for the best and worst options available. We even have a section filled with some B-team picks, just in case you have trouble tracking down the winning cans.
But before you rush off the market to stock up, know this: Cans are okay in a pinch, but making soup from scratch will almost always be the healthiest option. So, for those times when you're in the mood to cook, be sure to give these delicious and healthy soup recipes a try. They're some of our favorites! We acknowledge that taste is a big factor so after you're scanned this list, check out: We Tasted 10 Chicken Noodle Soups & This Is the Best
Campbell's Chunky Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
Nutrition: 210 calories, 13 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 790 mg sodium, 16 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 7 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: Soy Protein Isolate
After chicken stock, cream is the next ingredient listed on this soup's ingredient panel. That said, it's not exactly a surprise that it contains 40 percent of the day's saturated fat intake in a small, one-cup serving. Paired with the fact that Campbell's also manages to pack a staggering 790 milligrams of sodium into a single bowl (and what you'd find in five servings of Lay's chips), it's easy to see why we consider this to be a Not That!
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Progresso Chicken & Homestyle Noodles
Nutrition: 1 cup, 100 calories, 2 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 690 mg sodium, 12 g carbs, < 1 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 7 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: Soy Protein Isolate, Sodium Phosphate, Chicken Skin
While the calories and fat content aren't concerning to us, we don't love the high sodium and low fiber content. We're also not fans of the soy protein isolate. The reason: "The process of chemically engineering soybeans to isolate their protein strips out all of their other healthy nutrients and leaves behind potentially dangerous substances like hexane and aluminum," explains Stephanie Middleberg, RD, founder of Middleberg Nutrition.
Wolfgang Puck Organic Soup Free Range Chicken Noodle
Nutrition: 1 cup, 90 calories, 3 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 860 mg sodium, 11 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 5 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: None
It may be free of icky ingredients and make with nutritious free-range chicken, but we can't ignore the fact this soup contains 36 percent of the day's sodium in a single serving. There are better options on supermarket shelves.
Progresso Chicken Tuscany
Nutrition: 1 cup, 110 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 690 mg sodium, 16 g carbs, 5 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 8 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: Soy Protein Isolate, Sodium Phosphate, Calcium Chloride
This Progresso soup is made with sodium phosphate, an additive made of sodium and phosphate that's used to keep meats juicy and tender during storage. Even though phosphates are necessary for our diets, the inorganic phosphates that are added to packaged foods have been linked to higher rates of chronic kidney disease, weak bones, and premature death. That doesn't sound like a soup you'd want to slurp, does it?
Campbell's Chicken Noodle Condensed Soup
Nutrition: 1 cup, 90 calories, 2.5 g fat, ,0.5 g saturated fat, 790 mg sodium, 10 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 6 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), Sodium Phosphate
It may be low-cal, but this soup is a dangerous pot. Not only will its crazy high salt content cause your belly to balloon, its MSG will leave you feeling ravenous. MSG has also been shown to make food taste more appetizing, which increases the desire to eat and eat and eat. To make matters worse, it also blocks the "I'm full" hormone from communicating with the brain and instead tells your body to pump out insulin, the fat-storage hormone—not good news for those looking to melt their belly fat.
Campbell's Chunky Soup Creamy Chicken and Dumplings Soup
Nutrition: 160 calories, 8 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 890 mg sodium, 16 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 6 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), Sugar, Sodium Phosphate, Soy Protein Isolate
Overflowing with MSG, sodium phosphate, and soy protein isolate, this salty stock doesn't deserve a place in your shopping cart. You should know by now that the word "creamy" is also a red flag; we do have a better-for-you suggestion below, though, so keep going!
Swanson Chicken Broth
Nutrition: 1 cup, 10 calories, 0.5 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 860 mg sodium, 1 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 1 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: None
This homemade soup-starter is packed with salt and offers very little protein. You'd be better off buying a collagen– and protein-rich bone broth.
Pacific Organic Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
Nutrition: 120 calories, 4 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 660 mg sodium 17 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 5 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: None
Minus the massive quantity of salt, we love everything about this soup. If you decide to dig in, be sure to wash it down with a big glass of H20 to flush the excess sodium from your system.
Campbell's Chunky Fajita Chicken with Rice and Beans Soup
Nutrition: 1 cup, 130 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 850 mg sodium, 23 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 6 g sugar, 7 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: Carrageenan
We love that the majority of this can is filled with veggies and fibrous beans, but the sodium content is far too high to get our full stamp of approval. Plus, some may find the carrageenan, an additive derived from seaweed, to be irritating. It's been linked to ulcers, inflammation, and other gastrointestinal problems in sensitive individuals.
Progresso Zesty Santa Fe Style Chicken Soup
Nutrition: 1 cup, 80 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 460 mg sodium, 13 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 5 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: Potassium Chloride, Soy Protein Isolate, Sodium Phosphate
This low-sodium soup uses potassium chloride to make up for the lack of salt. The additive is considered safe by the Food & Drug Administration; however, people with kidney or heart problems should avoid it. It's also found in fertilizer and was used in fire extinguishers as an effective fire retardant up until the 1960s. However, if you only look at the nutritionals, this isn't a horrible soup. We'll let you decide if it's something that's worthy of a place in your bowl.
Campbell's Healthy Request Savory Chicken with Brown Rice Soup
Nutrition: 1 cup, 110 calories, 2.5 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 410 mg sodium, 16 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 4 g sugar
Ingredients We Don't Love: Potassium Chloride, Carrageenan
If you ignore the potassium chloride and carrageenan, this soup has a relatively sound nutritional profile. The only thing it's really lacking is fiber. If you decided to dig into this can, be sure to pair it with something else that's rich in the nutrient—or your stomach may be left rumbling.
Progresso Savory Chicken & Wild Rice
Nutrition: 1 cup, 110 calories, 0.5 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 470 mg sodium, 23 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 6 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: Potassium Chloride, Soy Protein Isolate, Sodium Phosphate
If you ignore the fact that the ingredients label reads like a science lab's inventory list, this is a pretty nutritionally sound can of broth—high in protein, too.
Campbell's Organic Chicken Tortilla Soup
Nutrition: 140 calories, 2 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 650 mg sodium, 22 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 7 g sugar, 8 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: None
The only thing we don't like about this soup is the excess salt.
Pacific Organic Santa Fe Style Chicken Soup
Nutrition: 1 cup, 140 calories, 2.5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 700 mg sodium, 22 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 6 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: None
This has too much salt to land a spot on our Eat This list, but otherwise, there's nothing but wholesome goodness inside this container.
Annie's Homegrown Organic Soup Star Pasta & Chicken
Nutrition: 80 calories, 2 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 680 mg sodium, 9 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 0 g sugar, 6 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: Soy protein concentrate
It's not that this is an awful pick, but Campbell's makes a similar soup that's lighter in sodium and gets all of its protein from chicken rather than soy fillers.
Health Valley Organic Soup No Salt Added Chicken Noodle
Nutrition: 1 cup, 80 calories, 2.5 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 135 mg sodium, 12 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 5 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: None
Water, carrots, celery, and chicken make up the bulk of this can, making it a no-brainer Eat This! If you're not used to slurping something with so little salt, amp up the flavor with a sprinkle of salt and other spices from your rack. Even if you're a bit heavy-handed, you're bound to take in less sodium than if you had heated up some of the Not Thats! from this list.
Campbell's Organic Chicken & Stars Soup
Nutrition: 80 calories, 2 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 590 mg sodium, 11 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 4 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: None
If you've been having trouble getting your little one to eat his or her veggies, this is the perfect solution. It's far lower in salt than other kid's picks and it's packed with wholesome ingredients like carrots, peas, and turmeric, a spice that's been shown to boost memory boost and focus. We definitely want to spoon into this best canned chicken noodle soup.
Imagine Natural Creations Organic Chicken Corn Tortilla Soup
Nutrition: 1 cup, 130 calories, 3 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 480 mg sodium, 18 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 7 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: None
Organic tomatoes, corn, beans, red pepper, and chicken join together to create this protein-rich soup.
Health Valley Organic Soup Cream of Chicken
Nutrition: 1 cup, 110 calories, 3 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 480 mg sodium, 15 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 5 g sugar, 6 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: None
A creamy soup with only three grams of fat and an ingredient list that we can actually pronounce?! Sign us up!
Health Valley Organic No Salt Added Soup Chicken Rice
Nutrition: 1 cup, 110 calories, 1.5 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 120 mg sodium 14 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 5 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: None
A single serving of this low-sodium soup provides 20 percent of the day's vitamin A, a nutrient that can ward off age-related macular degeneration.
Pacific Organic Chicken Bone Broth
Nutrition: 1 cup, 35 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 95 mg sodium, 0 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 0 g sugar, 9 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: None
Bone broth may have more calories than chicken broth, but all of them come from extra protein. You'd be hard-pressed to find something else that's so low-cal and protein-rich. Bonus: Bone broth is a great source of collagen, which can stave off wrinkles and arthritis.
Pacific Organic Chicken Noodle Soup Reduced Sodium
Nutrition: 1 cup, 90 calories, 1.5 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 460 mg sodium, 12 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 1 sugar, 5 g protein
Ingredients We Don't Love: None
This soup is low in calories and sodium, but overflowing with flavor. Since the fiber content is a bit on the lower side, we suggest pairing your soothing bowl with a small spinach salad topped with beans and veggies. And if you have time, why not drizzle it with a homemade dressing? It'll help you elevate your green topper to the next level.
