Justine Sterling
Ariana Losch
The best vegetarian soups are available to you whenever you want—because they come in cans! (And the occasional shelf-stable box.) No longer will you have to slave over homemade vegetable stock to experience some good, wholesome chicken-free soup for the soul. We tasted some of the best vegetarian canned soup brands on the market and found the ones worthy of your pantry.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re making soup with an entire chicken or some root vegetables, good soup should be well seasoned, comforting, and substantial enough to be a meal on its own. It should also have a great texture—whether that’s totally smooth or studded with fun food bits. The best vegetarian soup needs to do all of that with no help from the animal kingdom. And honestly? Over the course of a few separate taste tests now, we’ve found the ones that really deliver. Get the big bowl ready, because here are the best vegetarian soups you can buy.
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- Gardein Plant-Based Saus’ge Gumbo
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This gumbo isn’t just vegetarian, it’s straight-up vegan canned soup. Made with okra, red bell peppers, celery, white rice, Cajun spices, and something called plant-based saus’ge, it’s a good vegan approximation of a gumbo. It’s hearty thanks to the rice (fun fact about me: I love rice in soup) and the big chunks of saus’ge are spiced with a good peppery flavor. “If you are a vegan, this will be impressive,” former New Orleanian and Sporked senior writer Jordan Myrick said. “But it’s not for meat eaters.” As a meat eater, I agree, I would not pick this over a meaty gumbo. But I think vegans deserve sausage gumbo, too. And this one will do nicely. —Justine Sterling
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Progresso Cheese Tortellini Garden Vegetable Tomato Soup
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Progresso’s Cheese Tortellini in Garden Vegetable Tomato Soup is basically what happens when a can of tortellini Chef Boyardee meets a light-bodied, herby tomato soup. Luckily, when I say herby, I mean it in a good way—no dried herb unpleasantness here. The tortellini are big, plentiful, and satisfying. It might not be the most revelatory vegetarian soup you can find, but it is comfort food, plain and simple. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Pacific Foods Organic Thai Sweet Potato Soup
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Some of the best vegetarian soups are filled with tons of vegetables, and some require no chewing at all. This is the latter kind of vegetarian soup. There are some chunks of sweet potato but they’re very soft. It’s a very comforting soup and if you paired it with a big hunk of toasted sourdough, you’d have a great lunch for a rainy day. There’s tons of lemongrass aroma and nice curry flavors. “It feels healthy,” said Sporked managing editor Gwynedd Stuart. But it’s still creamy, too. —Justine Sterling
Credit: Merc / Target
- Campbell’s Well Yes! Garden Vegetable Soup With Pasta
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This is a vegetable-forward vegetarian soup. The broth is light and herbaceous and, very importantly, the pasta isn’t mushy. I hate mushy pasta in canned soup. There’s lots of roasted red pepper and tomato flavor, it’s seasoned with pepper and not too much salt. I’d eat this hearty canned vegetarian soup out of a mug, curled up on the couch. It’s the best vegetarian soup when you really just want some vegetables in soup. —Justine Sterling
Credit: Merc / Target
- Amy’s Kitchen Thai Coconut Soup
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This take on tom kha phak is so creamy and delicious. Made with sweet coconut milk, lime leaf, lemongrass, tofu, shiitake mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and green beans, it’s a vegan canned soup that even non-vegans will love. While it’s perfectly satisfying as is, you could add some rice (maybe leftover from last night’s dinner), as well as a squeeze of lime and a drizzle of hot sauce for a restaurant-quality feast. —Justine Sterling
Credit: Merc / Target
- Bare Bones Lentil Curry Plant-Based Soup
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Lentil soup isn’t always the most thrilling bowl on the table, but Bare Bones manages to make it something truly special. Green lentils, carrots, onions, diced tomatoes, and kale come together in a vegetable broth infused with garlic, lemongrass, and a kick of black and red pepper. The result? A perfectly balanced mix of warmth, spice, and depth. The lentils are creamy yet sturdy, the lemongrass adds a bright zing, and the spices bring just the right amount of heat. If you think lentil soup is bland, this one will change your mind. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- Maya Kaimal Creamy Spiced Butternut Soup
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“Yum yum yum,” I wrote in my notes. This boxed soup (it still counts as canned in my book!) is so flavorful. It’s sweet but not overly so, balanced out with some acidity. Gwynedd favorably compared this to her own homemade soups, while Jordan said it was reminiscent of rasam. Try pairing this creamy vegetarian soup with a grilled cheese sandwich for a real game-changing lunch. —Justine Sterling
Credit: Merc / Thrive Market
- Cuisine Adventures French Onion Soup
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Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a good store-bought french onion soup? We scoured the shops, begged the internet for recommendations, ranted among ourselves in the Sporked group chat. But our managing editor Gwynedd Stuart prevailed: Hiding in the Trader Joe’s frozen aisle is Cuisine Adventures French Onion Soup, with an incredibly rich, savory broth that’s somehow completely vegetarian. Loaded with caramelized onions, croutons, and cheese that melts into that classic chewy, gooey French Onion goodness, this is the best vegetarian soup for anyone in the mood for something deeply savory. Or anyone who just misses the steakhouse. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Cuisine Aventures
- Amy’s Quinoa, Kale & Red Lentil
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For me, the best vegetarian soups give me something new and interesting. And this one certainly does that with its mix of quinoa, kale, and lentil. There’s lots of turmeric flavor and tons of fun textures, so every spoonful is different. And there’s no stringy kale! Just good, in-tact kale leaves. This is lunch. This is a substantial lunch. I will be buying this again, because it’s simply the best vegetarian soup I’ve tried. —Justine Sterling
Credit: Merc / Target
- Pacific Foods Organic Creamy Tomato Soup
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Why buy any other brand of tomato soup when Pacific Foods exists? (Unless you’re looking for dairy free tomato soup, in which case, I understand; this stuff has a sneaky amount of milk—organic milk, from Oregon-local dairies, as they specify.) This is better than most restaurant-quality tomato soups I’ve tried in the past. It’s so simple yet so aromatic with the perfect blend of tomato, garlic, and onion. And that creamy, velvety texture really can’t be beat. All you have to do is add some fresh basil. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Amy’s Organic Southwestern Fire Roasted Vegetable Soup
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We’ve been really loving the Amy’s brand lately! (Amy’s frozen meals? We haven’t put out the official ranking yet, but spoiler alert: They’re surprisingly delicious.) Whoever or whatever “Amy” is, it’s obvious she makes some of the best vegetarian soups you can buy, too. This Southwestern Fire Roasted Vegetable Soup takes the fragrant, smoky spices of tortilla soup and piles on the hearty vegetables. Every sip wakes you up with those bold flavors… but it also calms you down, because that’s just what the best comfort soups do. Oh, and bonus: it’s gluten free! —Ariana Losch
Read our full ranking of the best vegetable soups
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
Best Fake Meat
Best for Kids
Best Creamy
Best Vegetable Soup
Best Restaurant Quality
Best Lentil Soup
Best Almost Homemade
Best French Onion
Best of the Best
Best Tomato Soup
Best Vegetable Soup
Other vegetarian soups we tried: Pacific Foods Organic Creamy Cashew Carrot Ginger Soup, Amy’s Kitchen Thai Curry Sweet Potato Lentil Soup, Gardein Plant Based Chick’n And Rice Soup, Pacific Foods Organic Spicy Black Bean & Kale Soup, Pacific Foods Organic Spicy Black Bean & Kale Soup, Campbell Well Yes! Minestrone Soup, Amy’s Kitchen No Chicken Noodle Soup, Gardein Vegan Plant-Based Be’f and Country Vegetable Soup, Gardein Vegan Plant-Based Meatball Italian Wedding Soup, Zoup Fresh Soup Company Tomato Bisque
Sporked Staff
Matt Crowley
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!