What’s more comforting in fall than eating a good chicken noodle soup? After an outdoor activity to warm up or when a virus affects the appetite, this soup is perfect! If homemade soups are certainly the best choices, what about store-bought ones?
17 choices of chicken noodle soups were the subject of this test. The analysis includes ready-to-heat soups and dehydrated soups sold in sachets.
Each ready-to-eat 250 ml (1 cup) serving provides:
- Between 50 and 200 calories
- Between 0.5 and 13 g of lipids, including between 0 and 2 g of saturated fat
- Between 8 and 15 g of carbohydrates
- Between 0 and 2 g of fiber
- Between 2 and 8 g of protein
- Between 470 and 830 mg of sodium, or between 20 and 36% of the daily value
The best choices
The classic chicken noodle soup in a light version Campbell’s is a good choice. It is one of the options with the lowest sodium content (480mg). It also contains a little less lipids (2g) than average. The list of ingredients contains few additives (eg: potassium chloride). However, this soup contains slightly less protein than average (4g).
provided by Isabelle Huot
Chicken noodle soup Tim Hortons is another good choice. This soup is among the richest in fiber (2g) and protein (7g). It also contains a little less lipids (2g) and sodium (600mg) than average. The list of ingredients contains few additives (e.g.: potassium chloride).
Chicken noodle soup with 25% less salt St-Hubert completes the best choices. It contains more protein (6g) and less lipids (1g), saturated fat (0.3g) and sodium (590mg) than average. The list of ingredients contains few additives (e.g.: potassium chloride, glutamic acid).
The worst choices
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup Campbell’s is a less good choice. This product is the richest in lipids (13g) and saturated fats (2g) in the test bench. It also contains more sodium (750mg) than average. On the other hand, it provides more protein (7g) than average and the list of ingredients is rather simple. The soup classic chicken and noodles and the soup spicy chicken and noodles from the same brand are also less good choices. These are the richest in sodium on the test bench, with 830mg of sodium per serving. As a bonus, they contain monosodium glutamate and flavorings.
With 790mg of sodium and only 3g of protein, the chicken noodle soup mix from Lipton is not much better. As a bonus, this soup loses a lot of points with an ingredient list full of additives. We note that chicken fat and soy protein come well ahead of dehydrated cooked chicken in the list of ingredients. The 25% less salt version (470mg) is better, at least for sodium intake.
Among the less good choices, we still find two mixtures to rehydrate. Chicken noodle soup mix Unnamed provides 780mg of sodium and only 2g of protein. The ingredient list lists chicken fat and soy before the chicken jerky as well as additives like disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate.
The soup mix Selection has similar nutritional values. The 25% less salt version of the latter brand (480mg) is more interesting for the sodium content.
Of course not, the richest in protein providing 8g of protein per serving. The caloric intake is also insufficient to make it a complete meal. In general, ready-to-heat soups are more interesting than dehydrated versions due to their list of ingredients. With a slice of toasted whole grain bread, cheese or hummus and raw vegetables, they can become a balanced meal. Otherwise, during a cold, flu or gastroenteritis, when the appetite is lacking, it helps to hydrate while providing a good dose of sodium.
For my capsule on soup meals, visit this link:
https://www.isabellehuot.com/blogs/video/les-soupes-repas?_pos=1&_sid=97fc572c8&_ss=r
