Soup—especially canned soup or pre-packaged soup—is a personal meal. You rarely crack open a can of soup for the family. That can of soup is just for you. And boy oh boy is there a lot of canned soup and packaged soup out there. Lucky for you, we’ve tasted a lot of it. In 2023, we tasted cream of mushroom soup, butternut squash soup, minestrone soup, tomato soup, split pea soup, potato soup, and even Panera soup. And that’s not even including all the instant ramen we tried. In 2023, we guzzled soup. We slurped soup. We downright swam in soup. And out of all that soup, two stood out as the runner-up and the winner for the prize of best soup of 2023.
This year, we updated our best instant ramen ranking to include this showstopper. We are not lying when we tell you it tastes just as good if not better than the tom yum you get at Thai restaurants. The flavors are so bold and vibrant. We’re talking lemongrass, ginger, and lime—the gang is all there. Plus, the noodles are perfectly springy and satisfying. If you love a tangy Thai soup, you need to buy this instant ramen. If you love us, you’ll buy it, too.
This isn’t a flashy soup. It doesn’t have chunky mix-ins. It isn’t made in collaboration with a star chef. It’s not flavor blasted. It’s simply split pea soup executed to perfection. It’s wildly creamy and rich and decadent—yes, pea soup can be decadent. It elevates the humble pea with just the right amount of salt and seasoning so that the flavors of the pea are enhanced, not overshadowed. You can eat this alone, without toppings, or you can go wild and sprinkle on diced ham, shredded cheddar cheese, or bacon. You could even add a dollop of sour cream for an extra rich bowl of soup. But you don’t need to—it’s perfectly capable of impressing you all on its own.
Justine Sterling is the editor-in-chief of Sporked. She has been writing about food and beverages for well over a decade and is an avid at-home cook and snacker. Don’t worry, she’s not a food snob. Sure, she loves a fresh-shucked oyster. But she also will leap at whatever new product Reese’s releases and loves a Tostitos Hint of Lime, even if there is no actual lime in the ingredients.
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!