If you aren’t feeling well, there’s pretty much nothing better than a bowl of Campbell’s condensed tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich (made with American cheese, please). Hell, even if you feel perfectly fine, it’s a really filling, savory, and delicious meal. Cut that sandwich diagonally and get to dunking. Heaven. Question is: Can the flavor of this classic pairing be condensed and canned? Campbell’s Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup is testing the premise. It’s a limited time offering that’s “set to hit shelves at select grocery stores soon,” according to Campbell’s (very vague)—but should you rush out and get it or just stick to your usual soup and sandwich? We tasted it to find out.
This soup claims to contain multitudes—in this case, grilled bread, gooey cheese, and savory-sweet tomato soup—and that’s a tall order. Does it pull it off? Not quite. Is it good? Sure! It’s Campbell’s tomato soup.
Pros: If you like Campbell’s condensed tomato soup, you’re going to like this. It’s like a slightly saltier, slightly richer, slightly creamier version of the genuine article. It reminds me of Campbell’s condensed tomato soup that was made with a can of milk rather than a can of water, even though I made this one with water. My colleague Jordan Myrick thought they detected a touch of a bacon-y flavor, which I suspect could have been an attempt to channel the flavor of grilled bread through food science. Me? I couldn’t taste it at all. Cons: It’s good, but it doesn’t quite nail the flavor combo. It could have had a much cheesier flavor—I was definitely let down in that respect. Sure, you could rush out to buy a can of this before it vanishes from shelves (if it ever materializes on shelves near you), but you could also dissolve a few cubes of Velveeta in regular ol’ Campbell’s tomato soup and get a better result. If you try it, tell me how it is.
Howdy! I’m Gwynedd, Sporked’s managing editor. I live in Los Angeles and have access to the best tacos the U.S. has to offer—but I’m a sucker for a crunchy Old El Paso taco night every now and then. I’ve been at Sporked since 2022 and I’m still searching frozen mozzarella sticks that can hold a candle to restaurant sticks.
Why you should trust me: I’ve been a journalist for 20 years (yikes), a consumer of food for 40-plus years, and I’m truly hard pressed to think of foods I don’t like (or that I can’t tolerate at the very least). Oh and one time I cooked my way through Guy Fieri’s cookbook and wrote about the journey through Flavortown.
What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s Original Savory Thins. Fat free plain yogurt (usually Fage or Nancy’s). Honeycrisp apples. Sweet cream coffee creamer for my at-home Americanos. A frozen cauliflower crust pizza and some jarred mushrooms to top it with. Old El Paso Stand ‘N Stuff taco shells and Gardein Ground Be’f, even though I think “be’f” is a nightmarish contraction.
Favorite ranking: Stouffer’s frozen dinners. I don’t own a microwave (I get my cancers the old fashioned way!), so I love taste testing things that I don’t really buy to eat at home.
Least favorite ranking: Soy sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love soy sauce—but consuming that much sodium in one sitting is probably illegal in some countries. Our frozen enchilada taste test was a close second; the smell of microwaved corn tortillas still haunts me.
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Gwynedd Stuart
Jon Gutierrez
Justine Sterling
Vinz Karl
