Chicken noodle and chicken and corn are the most popular varieties of chicken soup in supermarkets
You can pay from $0.11 up to $4.50 per serve for store-bought chicken soup
The most meaty soups contain 11% chicken. Nine of the 53 products reviewed contain none – they’re just chicken flavoured
You know we're heading into winter when the aisle ends of supermarkets are piled high with packets of soup, bags of lentils and cartons of stock.
Sure, you can make your own, but it's also handy to have a can, packet or pouch of soup stashed in the pantry to pair with crusty bread for a quick and easy lunch, or for instant warmth during a cold snap.
Chicken soup in particular is a fave, in part because of its claimed cold-busting benefits. It may not cure your cold (the claims are unproven), but a mug of steaming hot chicken soup can certainly make the sniffles more bearable.
We compare the price, ingredients, nutrition details and country of origin of 53 supermarket chicken soup products from brands including Campbell's, Continental and Heinz – and share our top picks for your pantry.
Coles Chicken Noodle Flavoured Soup Mix ($0.45 per 4-pack)
Woolworths Essentials Chicken Flavoured Noodle Soup ($0.45 per 4-pack)
These two products were the cheapest in our review, working out at just $0.11 per serve (or $0.05 per 100mL) when prepared with hot water, as directed.
At the other end of the price scale is Australian Organic Food Co 100% Australian Organic Chicken, Spelt & Vegetable Soup, which costs $4.50 for a single serve pouch ($1.36 per 100mL).
Cheapest chicken soups
Soups that cost less than $0.30 per 100mL
Coles Chicken Noodle Flavoured Soup Mix: $0.05 per 100mL
Woolworths Essentials Chicken Flavoured Noodle Soup: $0.05 per 100mL
Continental Chicken Noodle Simmer Soup Salt Reduced: $0.10 per 100mL
Continental Chicken Noodle Simmer Soup: $0.10 per 100mL
Continental Cream of Chicken Simmer Soup: $0.14 per 100mL
Aldi Simplee Soup in a Cup Classic Chicken Flavoured with Noodles: $0.20 per 100mL
Continental Cup a Soup (Our Classic Flavours) Cream of Chicken: $0.20 per 100mL
Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken: $0.20 per 100mL
Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken & Corn: $0.20 per 100mL
Continental Cup a Soup (Our Classic Flavours) Chicken Noodle: $0.20 per 100mL
Coles Soup in a Cup Roast Chicken With Noodles: $0.20 per 100mL
Coles Soup in a Cup Chicken & Mushroom with Croutons: $0.20 per 100mL
Coles Soup in a Cup Creamy Chicken & Corn with Croutons: $0.20 per 100mL
Coles Soup in a Cup Creamy Chicken with Croutons: $0.20 per 100mL
Campbell's Condensed Chicken Noodle: $0.21 per 100mL
Lowest salt
Continental Chicken Noodle Simmer Soup Salt Reduced
This was the only product in our review with a sodium content of less than 120mg per 100mL (as prepared), a level considered to be 'low salt' according to the Food Standards Code.
Although it's the only product specifically marketed as low salt, the sodium content of the other products is still fairly moderate, all sitting below 400mg per 100mL (as prepared).
Most chicken
Australian Organic Food Co 100% Australian Organic Chicken, Spelt & Vegetable Soup (11% chicken)
Heinz Classic Country Chicken (11% chicken)
These are the meatiest soups in our review, both weighing in at 11% chicken.
This might not sound like a lot – chicken is the key characterising ingredient of chicken soup, after all – but it's significantly more than 0%, which is the chicken content of nine of the 53 products in our review. That's right, some chicken soup products are simply chicken-flavoured.
And although you may feel ripped off, tucking into chicken soup only to find it's chook-free, there is a silver lining. Because these products are suitable for vegetarians, you can serve them up on meat-free Monday!
In fact, two of these soups – also the cheapest products in our test – are free from animal products altogether, making them suitable for vegans too.
Soups with the most chicken
Chicken soup with 5% or more chicken
Heinz Classic Country Chicken: 11%
Australian Organic Food Co 100% Australian Organic Chicken, Spelt & Vegetable Soup: 11%
Heinz Soup of the Day Old Fashioned Chicken: 10%
Campbell's Country Ladle Chicken Noodle: 9%
Hart & Soul All Natural Chicken Noodle Soup Cup: 8%
Campbell's Chunky Chicken Korma: 8%
Campbell's Country Ladle Creamy Chicken: 8%
Coles Chicken & Vegetable Soup with Buckwheat: 7%
South Australian Gourmet Food Company Creamy Chicken & Sweet Corn Soup: 7%
Campbell's Chunky Roast Chicken & Vegetable: 7%
Well Yes! Chicken Noodle Soup: 6%
Well Yes! Roasted Chicken with Wild Rice Soup: 6%
Hart & Soul All Natural Chicken Noodle Soup: 6%
Aldi The Soup Co Old Fashioned Chicken Soup: 5%
Heinz Classic Creamy Chicken & Mushroom: 5%
Campbell's Country Ladle Chicken & Sweetcorn: 5%
Soups with the least chicken
Chicken soup with 0% chicken
Aldi Simplee Soup in a Cup Classic Chicken Flavoured with Noodles
Coles Chicken Noodle Flavoured Soup Mix
Coles Soup in a Cup Chicken & Mushroom with Croutons
Coles Soup in a Cup Creamy Chicken & Corn with Croutons
Coles Soup in a Cup Creamy Chicken with Croutons
Coles Soup in a Cup Roast Chicken With Noodles
Continental Cup a Soup (Our Classic Flavours) Chicken Noodle
Continental Cup a Soup (Our Classic Flavours) Cream of Chicken
La Zuppa Natural Soup for Two Tuscan Chicken & Vegetable (40% veg: cabbage, potato, carrot 6.9%, borlotti bean, zucchini, onion, lentils 2.2%)
The noodle content of the chicken noodle soups we reviewed ranged from 1.6% up to 77%. If you're after oodles of noodles, look no further than this soup:
Continental Chicken Noodle Simmer Soup Salt Reduced (77% noodles)
Most Australian ingredients
At least a third of the soups in our review contain no Australian ingredients at all. For those looking for significantly more local flavour, the following products topped the list for Australian ingredients, all with more than 90%:
Australian Organic Food Co 100% Australian Organic Chicken, Spelt & Vegetable Soup (100%)
South Australian Gourmet Food Company Creamy Chicken & Sweet Corn Soup (96%)
Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken (95%)
Coles Chicken Noodle Flavoured Soup Mix (91%)
Country of origin of soup
Chicken soups with 80% or more Australian ingredients
Australian Organic Food Co 100% Australian Organic Chicken, Spelt & Vegetable Soup: 100%
South Australian Gourmet Food Company Creamy Chicken & Sweet Corn Soup: 96%
Continental Chicken Noodle Simmer Soup Salt Reduced: 87%
Continental Chicken Noodle Simmer Soup: 85%
Coles Chicken & Vegetable Soup with Buckwheat: 80%
Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken & Corn: 80%
Best value
Are you after a good all-rounder that offers value for money? The following 12 chicken soups get a tick for both price (they cost just $0.70 or less per 100mL as prepared) and ingredients (they all contain at least 5% chicken and have a higher than average sweetcorn or vegetable content, where this applies)
Aldi The Soup Co Old Fashioned Chicken Soup
Campbell's Chunky Chicken Korma
Campbell's Chunky Roast Chicken & Vegetable
Campbell's Country Ladle Chicken & Sweetcorn
Campbell's Country Ladle Chicken Noodle
Campbell's Country Ladle Creamy Chicken
Coles Chicken & Vegetable Soup with Buckwheat
Hart & Soul All Natural Chicken Noodle Soup Cup
Heinz Classic Country Chicken
Heinz Classic Creamy Chicken & Mushroom
Heinz Soup of the Day Old Fashioned Chicken
South Australian Gourmet Food Company Creamy Chicken & Sweet Corn Soup
Which chicken soups are gluten-free?
Twelve of the 53 products we looked at are gluten-free:
Aldi The Soup Co Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup
Coles Chicken & Corn Soup
Hart & Soul All Natural 56 Calorie Chicken Bone Broth Soup
Hart & Soul All Natural Chicken & Corn Soup
Hart & Soul All Natural Chicken Noodle Soup
Hart & Soul All Natural Chicken Noodle Soup Cup
Heinz Soup of the Day Thai Style Chicken
La Zuppa Natural Soup for Two Creamy Chicken & Vegetable
La Zuppa Natural Soup for Two Tuscan Chicken & Vegetable
La Zuppa Natural Soup in a Bowl Chicken Noodle
La Zuppa Natural Soup in a Bowl Creamy Chicken & Vegetable
La Zuppa Natural Soup in a Bowl Hearty Chicken & Vegetable
Avoiding MSG?
A very small number of people who have food allergies and intolerances, especially those with asthma, may be sensitive to glutamate. These people need to avoid glutamates in food – both those that occur naturally in foods such as parmesan cheese or tomato, and those such as monosodium glutamate (also known as MSG, or additive 621), which have been added to food as flavour enhancers.
The following four soups do contain additive 621, so are probably best avoided by people who are glutamate sensitive:
Continental Chicken Noodle Simmer Soup Salt Reduced
Continental Cup a Soup (Our Classic Flavours) Chicken Noodle
Continental Cup a Soup (Our Classic Flavours) Cream of Chicken
Heinz Classic Country Chicken
Chicken soup recipes
Prefer homemade? Pull out your stock pot and get your cook on with these simple chicken soup recipes – stock recipe included – from Fiona Mair, CHOICE home economist.
Chicken noodle soup
Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 carrot peeled, halved and sliced
1 celery stick, finely sliced
3 litres chicken stock (store bought, or see our recipe)
150g dried egg noodles
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
Parsley, a handful, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper
Method
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat.
Add onions, garlic, carrots and celery and cook for 5 mins to soften.
Add stock and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Add noodles and chicken and cook for 3-5 minutes
Add parsley.
Season to taste.
Serve topped with extra chopped parsley and grated parmesan as desired.
Serves 6
Tip
For an Asian flavour, add 1 tablespoon of grated ginger with the garlic, add ½ teaspoon of sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to the stock, and garnish with chopped green onions instead of parsley.
Chicken and vegetable soup
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, peeled and finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 carrots peeled, halved and sliced
2 celery sticks, finely sliced
3 litres chicken stock (store bought, or see our recipe)
1 cup button mushrooms, sliced
3 cups cooked shredded chicken, or chicken dumplings (see below for recipe)
Handful of baby celery leaves and parsley, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese, grated
Method
Heat olive oil and butter in a large saucepan on a medium heat.
Add onions, garlic, carrots and celery and cook for 5 mins to soften.
Add stock, chicken, mushrooms and half the celery leaves and parsley, and bring to a gentle simmer.
Simmer for 15 mins.
Season to taste.
Serve with a sprinkle of the extra celery leaf, parsley and grated parmesan as desired.
Tips
Chicken dumplings can be used instead of the shredded cooked chicken. Recipe: combine 250g of chicken mince with 1 egg, salt and pepper, 1 cup of bread crumbs and ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese. Roll into walnut size balls and drop into heated stock.
Any vegetables, such as sliced green beans, shredded cabbage, diced potatoes and sliced zucchini, can be added to the soup.
How to make chicken stock
Ingredients
1kg chicken wings
3 litres water
1 tablespoon salt
Method
Place ingredients in a large 4 litre saucepan.
Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for roughly 2-4 hours (the longer the better).
Strain the stock using a fine sieve, discard the chicken wings.
Stock can be used immediately, or poured into containers and frozen for later.
Tips
If using stock straight away, let it sit for a few mins to allow the fat to come to the top and then spoon off before using freezer containers and freeze if not using immediately.
If using from frozen, scrape off and discard the layer of fat that will be sitting on top before defrosting.
These are the 53 chicken soup products we compared in this review:
Aldi Simplee Soup in a Cup Classic Chicken Flavoured with Noodles
Aldi The Soup Co Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup
Aldi The Soup Co Old Fashioned Chicken Soup
Australian Organic Food Co 100% Australian Organic Chicken, Spelt & Vegetable Soup
Campbell's Chunky Chicken Korma
Campbell's Chunky Roast Chicken & Vegetable
Campbell's Condensed Chicken Noodle
Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken
Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken & Corn
Campbell's Country Ladle Chicken & Sweetcorn
Campbell's Country Ladle Chicken Noodle
Campbell's Country Ladle Creamy Chicken
Coles Chicken & Corn Soup
Coles Chicken & Vegetable Soup with Buckwheat
Coles Chicken Noodle Flavoured Soup Mix
Coles Soup in a Cup Chicken & Mushroom with Croutons
Coles Soup in a Cup Creamy Chicken & Corn with Croutons
Coles Soup in a Cup Creamy Chicken with Croutons
Coles Soup in a Cup Roast Chicken With Noodles
Continental Chicken Noodle Simmer Soup
Continental Chicken Noodle Simmer Soup Salt Reduced
Continental Cream of Chicken Simmer Soup
Continental Cup a Soup (Our Chicken Flavours) Chicken with Lots of Noodles
Continental Cup a Soup (Our Chicken Flavours) Chinese Chicken & Corn with Lots of Noodles
Continental Cup a Soup (Our Chicken Flavours) Creamy Chicken & Corn with Croutons (sachet)
Continental Cup a Soup (Our Chicken Flavours) Creamy Chicken & Corn with Croutons (cup)
Continental Cup a Soup (Our Chicken Flavours) Creamy Chicken with Lots of Noodles (sachet)
Continental Cup a Soup (Our Chicken Flavours) Creamy Chicken with Lots of Noodles (cup)
Continental Cup a Soup (Our Chicken Flavours) Homestyle Chicken
Continental Cup a Soup (Our Chicken Flavours) Homestyle Chicken Noodle
Continental Cup a Soup (Our Chicken Flavours) Roast Chicken
Continental Cup a Soup (Our Classic Flavours) Chicken Noodle
Continental Cup a Soup (Our Classic Flavours) Cream of Chicken
Continental Nutrish Soup Feeling Clucky
Hart & Soul All Natural 56 Calorie Chicken Bone Broth Soup
Hart & Soul All Natural Chicken & Corn Soup
Hart & Soul All Natural Chicken Noodle Soup
Hart & Soul All Natural Chicken Noodle Soup Cup
Heinz Big'N Chunky Chicken & Corn
Heinz Classic Chicken & Sweetcorn
Heinz Classic Country Chicken
Heinz Classic Creamy Chicken & Mushroom
Heinz Soup of the Day Old Fashioned Chicken
Heinz Soup of the Day Thai Style Chicken
La Zuppa Natural Soup for Two Creamy Chicken & Vegetable
La Zuppa Natural Soup for Two Tuscan Chicken & Vegetable
La Zuppa Natural Soup in a Bowl Chicken Noodle
La Zuppa Natural Soup in a Bowl Creamy Chicken & Vegetable
La Zuppa Natural Soup in a Bowl Hearty Chicken & Vegetable
South Australian Gourmet Food Company Creamy Chicken & Sweet Corn Soup