I tried all the supermarket veg soups – my winner beats Heinz, Lidl and Aldi and you won’t find cheaper
NOTHING warms the soul like a tin of soup on a chilly winter's day.
It's an easy lunch or snack to have on a budget, with more of us than ever turning to cheap tins amid the cost of living crisis.
While Heinz is the big name in the soup market, a branded tin of Heinz Vegetable Soup will now set you back around £1.70 depending on where you shop.
So, perhaps it's time to try some own brand broths.
The Sun's Lynsey Hope tested a range of supermarket tinned vegetable soups against the market leader. Here's what happened...
Heinz Vegetable Soup (400g) - £1.70
Not only was this more than double the price of most own brands, it was really lacking in taste too.
Read more on Taste Tests
I'd expected Heinz to be the best of the bunch but this was overpriced mulch.
Most of it is water, it's thin and it contains just 9% carrot, 7% potato, 6% peas and 3% swede. That means vegetables only make up around 25% of the ingredients.
There is a bit of red pepper, but it's barely noticeable. Overall, it's to runny and lacking in flavour. Very disappointing and over-priced.
- Taste: 3/10
- Value: 2/10
- Overall score: 2/10
M&S Chunky Vegetable Soup (400g) - £1.10
This soup tastes quite carrot-heavy, so I wasn't surprised to see they make up 18% of the ingredients.
But, it also contains yellow split peas, onions, peas, potato and tomatoes which made for a nice flavour and thick texture, and it was seasoned beautifully.
The caramelised sugar is a strange addition and means it is quite heavy in sugar content, though, with 8.4g in the can.
But overall, as an easy lunch or snack when you can't face cooking, this was nice.
- Taste: 9/10
- Value: 6/10
- Overall score: 8/10
Essential Waitrose Vegetable Soup (400g) - 70p
This Waitrose soup had a very strange yellow colour that made it look rather unappetising.
But, there was a good spread of vegetables with 10% carrots, 7% potato as well as parsnips, sweetcorn, onion, green beans, marrowfat peas, green peans and peas.
The variety was much greater than it was in most other supermarket tins but sadly, the flavour was still lacking.
It was quite bland and a bit disappointing. I'd been hoping for more.
- Taste: 6/10
- Value: 6/10
- Overall score: 6/10
Lidl Newgate Vegetable Soup (400g) - 62p
Beware of thinking this is a healthy option as it contains a whopping 12.4g sugar per can.
It was quite tomatoe-y in flavour, probably as it is bulked up with tomato puree.
There is a decent amount of vegetables though, including potatoes, carrots, peas, onion and swede and they had a nice solid texture without being too squishy.
At 62p, the price is great.
- Taste: 7/10
- Value: 8/10
- Overall score: 7/10
Morrisons' Vegetable Soup (400g) - 72p
A little pricey compared to the other own brands but this soup had a nice thick texture without being too gloopy.
It had a generous helping of vegetables with carrots, potato, green beans, onion, swede and haricot beans making up 40% of the ingredients - around 15% more than the famous brand.
Half a tin contains 10g sugar, but it didn't actually taste too sweet.
I liked the green beans, which weren't included in most of the other tins.
Overall, a lovely taste and good cheap snack.
- Taste: 9/10
- Value: 9/10
- Overall score: 9/10
Sainsbury's Vegetable Soup (400g) - 62p
The biggest selling point for this soup is the price.
At just 62p for the tin, it's on a par with Lidl and Aldi, but it tastes better.
It had quite an earthy flavour and perhaps doesn't contain as much veg as others, but the cooked pasta added in bulked it up and made it more filling and enjoyable.
The texture was beautifully thick and it wasn't too sweet or salty. Very enjoyable with some bread.
- Taste: 10/10
- Value: 10/10
- Overall score: 10/10
Tesco Vegetable Soup (400g) - 62p
A delicious warming and filling lunch option.
It is quite tomato-y with 29% vegetables - more than Heinz.
It had plenty of taste and a slight peppery flavour, which I enjoyed.
A great option to have on standby and definitely tastier than Heinz.
Be aware though that whilst the can is only 200 calories, it does contain 13.6g sugar.
- Taste: 8/10
- Value: 10/10
- Overall score: 9/10
Asda Hearty Vegetable Soup (400g) - 75p
I did indeed find this quite hearty and enjoyed the mix of vegetables and the odd haricot bean in the tin.
It had a hint of Oregano and Paprika, which I enjoyed and it had a thick, creamy texture without being too pithy.
I felt Asda had really thrown their all into making this recipe delicious. It's not the cheapest but it's worth a few extra pennies. Delicious.
- Taste: 9/10
- Value: 8/10
- Overall score: 8/10
Aldi Bramwells Vegetable Soup (400g) - 62p
Not only was Aldi's soup an off-putting bright orange, the vegetable were a bit mushy.
The main ingredient was actually tomatoes as it contains 24% and then a mix of other vegetables including carrot, potato and peas.
It looked like sweetcorn though this is not listed in the ingredients.
It's bland and uninteresting and in desperate need of some extra herbs or spice.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
On the plus side, it is cheap.
- Taste: 5/10
- Value: 7/10
- Overall score: 5/10
How to save money on your food shop
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save hundreds of pounds a year:
Odd boxes - plenty of retailers offer slightly misshapen fruit and veg or surplus food at a discounted price.
Lidl sells five kilos of fruit and veg for just £1.50 through its Waste Not scheme while Aldi shoppers can get Too Good to Go bags which contain £10 worth of all kinds of products for £3.30.
Sainsbury's also sells £2 "Taste Me, Don't Waste Me" fruit and veg boxes to help shoppers reduced food waste and save cash.
Food waste apps - food waste apps work by helping shops, cafes, restaurants and other businesses shift stock that is due to go out of date and passing it on to members of the public.
Some of the most notable ones include Too Good to Go and Olio.
Too Good to Go's app is free to sign up to and is used by millions of people across the UK, letting users buy food at a discount.
Olio works similarly, except users can collect both food and other household items for free from neighbours and businesses.
Yellow sticker bargains - yellow sticker bargains, sometimes orange and red in certain supermarkets, are a great way of getting food on the cheap.
But what time to head out to get the best deals varies depending on the retailer. You can see the best times for each supermarket here.
Super cheap bargains - sign up to bargain hunter Facebook groups like Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK where shoppers regularly post hauls they've found on the cheap, including food finds.
"Downshift" - you will almost always save money going for a supermarket's own-brand economy lines rather than premium brands.
The move to lower-tier ranges, also known as "downshifting" and hailed by consumer expert Martin Lewis, could save you hundreds of pounds a year on your food shop.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
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