​​10 Ways To Upgrade Canned Tomato Soup

We love canned tomato soup as much as the next person, but it's hard to say that there's a lot going on in it. The whole point of this food is that it's easy, reliable, and consistent every time, but because of this, manufacturers don't take a lot of risks with their flavors, especially in classic canned tomato soups. You only have to take a look at the ingredients in Campbell's Tomato Soup to know this to be true: Tomato purée, water, flour, and sugar dominate things, with a couple of flavorings thrown in. Simple and effective? Yes. Interesting? Not really.

Never fear, though, folks. Upgrading canned tomato soup is unbelievably easy. Its unassuming flavor makes it perfect for sprucing up with all manner of different ingredients, both those that make immediate sense with tomato soup, and those that feel a little more out-there. Roasted garlic, cheese, and cream can give this dish a quick, delicious boost, while additions like fish sauce or eggs can move it into entirely new territory. The best part is that so many of these ingredients are things you probably have in your pantry already.

The problem with canned tomato soup is that it comes and goes pretty quickly. Sure, its speed is part of its charm, but it's hardly the most substantial meal in the world. So when you can add ingredients that both make it feel more filling and improve its flavor, it's a real win. Beans and greens can do just that, filling your soup with nuttiness, earthiness, and an ever-so-subtle savory note that creates even more depth. Beans and greens also take the incessant saltiness out of some canned tomato soups, which can make your mouth feel pretty dry afterward.

As for what beans and greens you pick, it's totally up to you — most of them will work pretty well — but it's hard to go wrong with a combination of white beans and kale. These two will give your soup a minestrone-like effect, and subtly enhance its flavor without getting in the way. Kidney beans or canned lentils, with spinach or even arugula, would work just as well, though. Just make sure you're rinsing both your beans and your chosen greens to remove any sliminess from the former and dirt from the latter.

Few flavors go better together than tomatoes and garlic, and so it's little wonder that the allium can amp up canned tomato soup immensely. However, if you're adding garlic, make sure you're going for the roasted kind. Using roasted garlic is a hands-off way to imbue your tomato soup with a huge amount of flavor. The sweet, smoky notes of roasted garlic deepen the taste of canned soup (which can often be a little flat), and give it a fullness and an aromatic sensibility, without any real work required. It'll give your soup way more oomph than using garlic granules, which may be the quicker option, but which will also yield poorer results.

It's also worth remembering that roasting garlic is incredibly easy, and while it can be tempting to go for the easier route of dried or raw garlic, we really recommend you take the time to do so. You don't have to use your oven, either: You can roast garlic in the air fryer for an even speedier result. When it's cooked, just squish or slice it up and stir it through.

Shakshuka is one of our favorite breakfasts, but you know what we don't love about it? How long it takes. If you're making shakshuka from scratch, you have to cook the tomatoes with the other ingredients and aromatics for 20 minutes or so, to fully break them down and unlock their flavors. We don't know about you, but we don't have time for that in the morning — especially when we're hungry.

That's why transforming canned tomato soup into shakshuka is one of our favorite ways to spruce it up, or to use up your leftover soup. Adding eggs increases the soup's heartiness and adds a smooth, rich flavor, and throwing in garlic and spices gives it an intensity and a genuine depth of flavor without any real work. Tomato soup already has some seasonings in it, but its flavor profile is generally mild enough for you to add other aromatics without any fear of clashes, so don't be scared to include everything that you would in a regular shakshuka. We would recommend cooking off your aromatics and spices before you add the soup, though, as this is the best way to unlock their intense notes.

Tomatoes and basil are an iconic food pairing, and you may well find that your canned tomato soup has some dried basil in its ingredients list. That, of course, helps give it more flavor, but if you ask us, it's just not enough to create real intensity and pop. Pesto, on the other hand, will. Topping your soup with a dollop or two of pesto will give it immediate zing, and the combination of the bright basil and the rich olive oil will bulk up its flavor in two different directions. The cheese and nuts in the pesto, meanwhile, will add savoriness, earthiness, and a sense of robustness to the soup.

What we love about using pesto is that this upgrade is as easy as opening a jar. Just grab your favorite store-bought pesto, mix it up well with a spoon, and add it to your soup. However, it's hard to beat the dynamite flavor of a fresh pesto, so we'd always recommend making the effort to make one yourself. It takes way less work than you might think, and the flavors you'll be rewarded with are honestly second to none.

Cheese makes almost anything better, and canned tomato soup is no exception. However, while most cheeses will work well with tomato soup, you want to make sure you're using the right one. For us, pecorino romano really hits the spot. It has a sharp, slightly spicy, almost smoky taste that really deepens the flavor of the soup, as well as giving a savoriness that makes it taste fuller and more complete. It's the sharpness that really works well here, though, as the cheese can really hold its own against the saltiness of the liquid.

If you don't have pecorino romano, using Parmesan or Grana Padano will work well, too. However, it's useful to bear in mind that while all of these cheeses look very similar, they have subtly different flavors. Parmesan (which is packed with protein) has an intense saltiness that works well with almost anything. However, in sodium-rich tomato soup, it can sometimes intensify things in the wrong way. Grana Padano, meanwhile, has a nice sweetness to it that can sometimes feel ever-so-slightly out of place in tomato soup. That being said, they'll still make it taste great.

Okay, now we're cooking with gas. Using fish sauce in tomato soup might sound a little left-field, but it really works. This ingredient is an umami bomb, which amplifies the natural flavors of tomato soup and its inherent savoriness from the tomatoes. Because canned tomato soup has a creaminess to it, the intensity of the fish sauce is smoothed out somewhat, and instead, you're just left with pure flavor.

Crucially, though, you should be a little careful when using fish sauce. A little goes a long way, and if you add too much, your food will begin to taste like an aquarium — so add a tiny bit at a time. You should also cook your fish sauce off in the soup, to remove some of that fermented fish flavor. If you find that the fishiness is a bit too intense or that it tastes too salty, then smoothing out the taste of your soup with some additional unsalted butter can work wonders. Oh, and make sure you're using good-quality fish sauce, too: Lower-quality varieties can have additional ingredients or flavors that may shift the taste of your soup in ways you don't like.

Canned tomato soup has a lovely texture (if it's not too thin, that is), but crunch is not high on the agenda. You can create crunch and crispiness in it in plenty of different ways, with croutons being the most popular option, but honestly? We think seeds are better. Toasted seeds can deliver a gentler, but sometimes more satisfying crunch than croutons will, and they'll give your soup more fiber, fats, and heartiness. Seeds also get soggy way more slowly, and so will retain their crispiness once they're stirred through. Most importantly, though, they'll give your soup a nutty aroma and flavor, which will make it a lot more interesting.

Most, if not all, seeds will work with tomato soup, although some (like toasted sesame seeds) will give it a much more pronounced flavor. Untoasted seeds will generally have less intensity, but you might miss out on a bit of richness. Plus, you can add additional flavor to your seeds when you toast them by adding spices, garlic, or maple syrup, which will all create more intrigue, both in the seeds and in the soup. If that wasn't enough to convince you, this just might: You can even toast seeds in the microwave. 

Sometimes, folks, the obvious is staring you right in the face. Canned tomato soup lives or dies by its creaminess, and while you obviously want a punchy tomato flavor and a nice saltiness in your bowl, if it's not thick and rich enough, it'll be a dud. Adding a little cream into the mix, therefore, is an easy way both to salvage a watery soup and to make a regular one way more luxurious. The cream mellows out the flavor of your soup while making it more substantial and improving its mouthfeel, and swirling a little on the top can give it a cheffy touch that creates an immediate sense of fanciness.

The type of cream you use is largely your call. Heavy cream is the obvious choice, but if you find it to be a little too rich, then you can always cut it with some whole milk. You can even just use milk on its own or light cream. If you want our top tip, though, sour cream is your best friend here. Sour cream may not have great pourability (although you can thin it out with some light or heavy cream, if you want), but what it does have is a lovely tang that will add way more nuance to your soup. Plus, it can thicken watery soups way more effectively than thinner creams can.

Canned tomato soup can be very salty. A mere half-cup of Campbell's Tomato Soup has 480 milligrams of sodium, or 21% of your daily recommended value — and honestly, you'll taste that salt in full force. As a result, finding ways to balance out the soup's saltiness that will not only reduce the sodium's impact, but also make the soup taste more well-rounded and full, is a great move to improve your overall experience. Adding lemon juice and honey can do just that, as the ingredients can help to level out the salt and savoriness in tomato soup and create a better sense of roundness.

While you can add any type of acid and sweetener to achieve this effect, lemon juice and honey are our favorites. Lemon juice has a bright, fresh acidity that works excellently with the flavor of the tomatoes, and which won't provide too much of a briny note. Honey, on the other hand, has a nice florality to it and will make your soup both sweeter and fruitier. If you have neither, apple cider vinegar and a pinch of sugar are good substitutes.

You can toss plenty of different types of meat into tomato soup, but honestly, there's just something about ground sausage. It's no great surprise that ground sausage goes well with this soup, given how at home it is in a tomato-based ragu. However, it's always worth remembering why this is the case. Ground sausage is full of savoriness, saltiness, and spice, and it can also add a smokiness to the soup, which is often in short supply, particularly if you caramelize it really well and then deglaze the fond before adding it in. It creates an intensity in your bowl that's hard to beat, and it also makes soup a lot more filling.

If you want to keep things simple, you can simply throw browned ground sausage in and go to town. You can also pair it with your vegetables of choice: Onions, garlic, bell pepper, and carrot all go wonderfully with sausage. As for the sausage you use, it really is your call. Go for a simple breakfast sausage, or a super-spicy, vibrant chorizo. No matter what you opt for, it'll be delish.