Souped-Up Cans: Elevate Your Canned Soups with These Flavorful Add-Ins
Northern California, epically where I am in Redding has this interesting weather pattern the last couple years. Our January starts out nice, and sometimes even warm. But our February is usually wet and cold. This year, is no exception.
Since Friday, its been cold and rainy outside. And when that happens, my mind and body always wants soups or stews. Homemade preferred, but I have tricks up my sleeve which will make that canned soup taste a little better.
What’s the Soup?
Some of these ideas will of course depend on what soup your having. For example, Bacon Bits are a great idea- for a cream based soup such as Potato or clam chowder. But for something like chicken noodle? Nah.
Crackers
Now this one is a classic staple to go in soups I feel like. Most soups you can pair with crackers and have it hit the spot, some more so then others. My personal favorite however? Campbells Chicken Noodle Soup, with crushed up crackers inside.
Goldfish Crackers
Have you ever had a nice warm bowl of tomato soup with some goldfish in it? It is SO GOOD! So I can’t help but think that goldfish crackers would go good with just about any tomato based soup. Sometimes I might also put them in some Broccoli cheddar soup for that added crunch.
Bacon Bits
When I say bacon bits, I mean the actual bits of bacon you can already get at the store, not the artificial kind that taste overwhelmingly like artificial bacon. I find that bacon bits fit perfectly in many different soups:
- Potato soup
- Split Pea soup
- Clam Chowder/Corn Chowder
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Cheese
Let us not forget that for some of us, adding cheese as a garnish to our soups is a must! For some soup it gives just the right added flavor to be perfect. Adding cheese to these soups is surely some added flavor:
- Potato Soup
- Taco Soup/Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Chili
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup (if it wasn’t cheesy enough that is)
Crutons/Chips
This might sound crazy, but for potato soup epically salad crotons are very good in them! Epically when accompanied by the cheese and bacon, all three of them together just add the perfect texture. But when I’m having taco soup, or a tortilla soup, I like adding tortilla chips for the added crunch. Weather you add crotons or chips, its all dependent on what the soup is for what flavor and texture you get.
Other Garnishes
There are other garnishes that are really dependent on your personal taste and the soup you have.
- French Fried Onions
- Jalapeno Slices
- Fried Garlic
- Olive Oil
What do you add to store-bought soup to make them just a little bit better?
