8 Soups From Costco, Ranked Worst To Best

In the middle of a freezing cold winter, one true blessing is declaring it to be "soup season." And while it's always great to make your own favorite recipes at home from scratch, it's also nice to have the option to run out to the store and pick up a few things for your fridge for those weeks when you might only have time to get into your kitchen to heat something up on the stove. That's where having a Costco membership can be a true lifesaver, especially since it gives you access to a whole set of freshly prepared soups that tend to be lighter and fresher-tasting than their canned counterparts. But how do the options at the warehouse retailer stack up against the best soups at Trader Joe's and other grocers?

As a lifelong Costco shopper, I've gotten to know the inventory over time and have quickly realized that opting for the store's non-canned products can often yield some delicious results. I recently made a trip out on a snowy afternoon to finally put the inventory to the test, picking up a wide range of options, grabbing my spoon, and digging in. Here's which soups will likely become a part of my regular rotation, and which ones I'll be leaving in the cooler section from now on.

Unlike any of the other options on this list, I've had prior experience with this pick in the wild. Even though it's been well over a decade since I last ordered it, I still had decent memories of this decadent soup. Still, I'm not big enough of a Panera fan to have sought out their packaged products before, and I wasn't totally convinced this one would still hit in quite the same way it did when I was living on a college student's budget.

Not surprisingly, it smells buttery and rich on the stove, in almost the exact same way as preparing a batch of homemade queso dip for a party. This should've been a warning: This dense concoction hit the table with a thud, and the palate just as heavily soon thereafter. It's so dense and creamy that it almost feels more like a watery Velveeta dip than a stew or soup. Unfortunately, the one flavor that dominates throughout is best described as supermarket broccoli that's gone off in your crisper drawer. What's worse, even when you do get a floret, the limp texture is fully off-putting and adds to the overall gooeyness of the soup. 

I should also mention that this somehow manages to be the saltiest soup in this bunch by a mile! While it's likely to work for some people, three spoonfuls were more than enough for me to safely declare that I wouldn't be buying it again.

Seeing this in the cooler section at Costco made me initially excited. I love white bean soup! If anything, it's become my veggie-heavy go-to when prepping a batch through the week. This version from Soupergirl also appeals to all kinds of dietary requirements, including having no dairy, soy, or gluten, and packing 12 grams of protein per serving.

Once I opened the packaging and got into the pot, I was thrilled to notice that the bean-to-broth ratio was certainly on the heartier side (which is typically how I like it when I make it myself). But all it took was one bite for me to realize that there was a punch of acidity in this soup that was way out of whack with everything else going on. While I always want that brightness, there wasn't nearly enough salt, fat, or even really any flavor to speak of, to balance any of it out. This all makes this a surprisingly bland, one-dimensional soup option that ultimately ended up tasting like canned beans with no seasoning whatsoever.

While I considered adding a drizzle of Kirkland olive oil, a sprinkle of salt, or maybe a dash of hot sauce, my tasting partner and I also agreed that no amount of dressing up or at-home alterations would be likely to salvage the bowl. This landed at somewhere around a 2 out of 10 on our at-face-value ranking, and we agreed that this isn't the type of soup we'd pick up again.

From the start, I knew I couldn't run this ranking without at least one chicken soup option in the mix. There are plenty of ways to make homemade chicken soup, and this version had a distinctive twist, swapping in rice for noodles, which is something I typically love to do at home (especially when I have leftover rice to get rid of). It's also packed with chunks of carrots and celery, which makes it look appealing in the container.

Once I began warming it up, a delicious aroma of homemade chicken soup began to fill the kitchen. But as soon as my ladle hit the liquid, I knew something was going to be off with this batch. While I appreciated the sizable pieces of white chicken meat and carrots that seemed to make their way into each bite, the texture was fairly gummy and thick, even when served piping hot. I know this is a common issue for soups that are packaged with their starchy ingredients, but I also couldn't help but notice that there really wasn't very much rice to work with, either!

Still, the worst offense is probably how under-seasoned it is. I would need to add garlic powder, salt, and cracked pepper to my next bowl (and maybe some grated Parmesan for a little more umami). My wife agreed, conceding that it might be good for someone with an upset stomach or for those watching their sodium, but otherwise, it's undeniably bland.

With the winter doldrums in full force, even seeing this soup in the cooler brightened up my spirits a little. This is exactly the kind of rich food I crave when the temperature outside is stubbornly staying below freezing. I wasn't disappointed when heating it up, either, immediately noticing bright red flecks of crab throughout, and a bright, summery aroma wafting up from the stovetop.

As you'd hope with corn chowder, it's relatively thick off the ladle. However, while I was expecting plenty of corn flavor, it was surprisingly sweet off the bat and desperately needed a little bit more salt to put it in balance. I was also hoping for a little more seasoning or spice: It needed some thyme, oregano, and black pepper, which I could easily add myself. Because of this, the base product is far from a total loss, but this isn't ready to eat out of the package like I was hoping.

My tasting partner agreed that while it was comforting, it was also so rich that it might be hard to finish anything besides a medium bowl. Still, I appreciated the thick chunks of potato throughout, and the way the crab didn't come across as fishy (or tasting like imitation crab) as so many prepackaged seafood soups do. If I were to buy this again, I'd do so with the understanding that it does need a little help to get into its finest form.

Can you get much better than a bowl of spicy soup on a cold day? As an outlier of the tasting group, I held out hope that this one would stand out for all the right reasons, even if I was initially skeptical of the prepackaged shrimp component.

This warmed up on the stovetop with an aroma so enticing that it drew my wife in from another room to ask what it was. My first spoonful certainly didn't disappoint: A positively vibrant yellow curry flavor, with plenty of bright lemongrass and piquant spices, dazzled my palate. The broth also seemed to have a perfect silky texture, and it definitely helped that the shrimp and other ingredients were very evenly distributed and perfectly spoon-sized. And even with all of the thrilling elements happening, there wasn't one thing that overpowered everything else overall.

Amidst a lineup of soups with wildly underwhelming seasoning, this soup provided the lively punch I was desperately looking for. Aside from being absolutely ready to eat on its own, it was the kind of prepackaged soup that made me want to learn a new recipe. At just $14.99 for two 24-ounce containers, it's hard to beat that value. I absolutely foresee this becoming a go-to in my soup rotation.

Anyone who's done their research knows that tomato soup is a truly hit-or-miss variety of the soup category. Still, having had some recent success venturing out of my comfort zone, I was fairly confident that this Kirkland version would be able to win me over in the end. With a relatively thick, creamy texture right out of the packaging, its aromatics on the stovetop only helped reinforce that belief while it warmed up.

As expected, this soup has a fantastically creamy, silky texture. Most importantly, it had the perfect amount of basil so as not to overpower the rest of the flavors, all punctuated by a bright acidity. Far from being overly salty, it tasted better than I was expecting. A few bites in, I realized that bigger chunks of tomato were still there, but they were carried on such a silky texture from the broth that it was more of a pleasant surprise, making it feel surprisingly homemade.

That being said, this version is a touch heavier in texture compared to my other favorite (the Trader Joe's fan-favorite tomato soup). I assume this is because the Kirkland version uses heavy cream in the recipe instead of cheese, but still, I'm not complaining. I'd load this up with plenty of cracked black pepper and a grilled cheese on the side any day. And at $9.99 for two massive 32-ounce containers, it's hard to beat this on price.

I need to be perfectly honest here: As a born and bred New Englander, I'm as tough a critic as it gets on clam chowder. It was my first favorite food as a young child, and it is often the first thing I'll order as soon as I make it back home for a visit. That being said, I've forever struggled to find a single store-bought canned clam chowder that's been anything better than underwhelming, so to say this item had me apprehensive was an understatement — even if the packaging overtly says it's "made locally in New England."

Let me be the first to say that there might be a hope for store-bought clam chowder. It had the thicker, richer texture I was hoping for (milkier texture tastes more homemade to me, but that's a different story). It also has plenty of nice, firm, perfectly sized pieces of potato, and chunks of clam evenly distributed through each bite. And while it's comforting, it's not overly rich or buttery.

Despite my fears of yet another prepackaged disaster, this was far from it! Of course, I miss my oyster crackers and green onions, and I'd still add a dash of hot sauce, but that's just personal preference. This is well enough done for me to come back and buy it again when I'm feeling a craving.

I was beyond thrilled to see that Kirkland produces its own chicken tortilla soup, which somehow came as a surprise to me. This is one of my favorite types of soup out there, and I can barely stop myself from ordering it whenever I see it on a menu. I was most excited to try this one out of everything else in the lineup.

This anticipation only escalated when it hit the stove and started to make my kitchen smell fantastic. As I'd hoped, this soup is nice and brothy with smaller, manageable pieces of chicken and vegetables, but it's packed with so much flavor. There's plenty of bright acid and enough salt to balance it all out without either going too far. Overall, combined with the flavors and texture, this makes it feel like it's genuinely homemade (not unlike the Kirkland Tomato and Basil soup).

My co-taster and I both agreed this was a supreme choice from the cooler section. If I were to truly make this my own, I would add a dollop of crema or Greek yogurt and maybe a couple dashes of hot sauce. My wife agreed, saying it would be very easy to doctor up with things like cheese or crispy tortilla strips. Sold in a hefty 32-ounce 2-pack, I fully plan on buying this again, to enjoy one immediately and freeze the spare for another cold day emergency.

To set this somewhat apart from what you can typically find at grocery stores, I researched and chose freshly packaged soups (i.e., not canned) available at a Costco location in Brooklyn, New York. I opted against including the store's own packaged-in-store options (which, during this shopping visit, included chicken noodle soup and chili) because staff explained to me that their availability is largely based on location and time of year. It's also worth noting that each of the products I selected came in two packs, which certainly cemented every one of the bunch as a great value-per-ounce purchase.

Once back home, I prepared all of them according to the packaging instructions for the stovetop and ranked them based on how well they lived up to expectations for each style, freshness, and overall flavor. As is my tendency as a home chef, I also pointed out how I would potentially dress up each store-bought version to my own tastes. With so many above-average options in the group, I gave tie-breaker preference to the items I knew I would be buying again to finalize the ranking.