"As soon as my husband and I feel the slightest shift to cooler temperatures, we declare it the start of soup season. Like George Costanza famously said, we shift “into soup mode.” My husband and I have a handful of go-to soup recipes and find new ones to try that we DM each other on Instagram. But when we’re crunched for time or need a quick WFH lunch, few kitchen staples offer up as fast a meal as store-bought soup. And one of the best grocery stores for soups is Trader Joe’s.
Trader Joe’s has a reputation for delicious, affordable food—but how do their soups stack up? As a (self-proclaimed) soup connoisseur, I decided to sample and rate over a dozen Trader Joe’s soups. I wanted to see which ones rivaled my homemade soups, discover some notable new flavors, and share which soups I would buy—or have already bought—again. To be sure, I tried a swath of popular Trader Joe’s soups; I ate refrigerated, canned, boxed, frozen, jarred, and instant options. I also included my family on the test—my husband and two kids. Here, I’m sharing my honest review of the best soups at Trader Joe’s.
White Bean Chicken Chili
Where to find it: Refrigerated section
Pros: This chunky soup is chock-full of beans, chicken, corn, and other veggies, giving it 9 grams of protein per serving. It tastes freshly made, and I like to add my little pizazz with crumbled tortilla chips on top. The soup also has just the right amount of spice, in my opinion.
Cons: Admittedly, this soup doesn’t necessarily look appetizing. The brown broth, made cloudy by the beans and other ingredients, doesn’t look as good as it tastes.
Buy Again: Yes. This is a staple in my fridge during soup season.
Pumpkin Butternut Squash Bisque
Where to find it: Refrigerated section
Pros: This soup tastes like fall in a bowl, with flavorful notes of sage. Of all the soups on this list, this is the only smooth, pureed option: pumpkin and squash are combined with other ingredients like onions, carrots, honey, brown butter, and fresh sage leaves.
Cons: Pumpkin isn’t for everyone, and this soup tastes more like pumpkin than butternut squash.
Buy Again: No. While I love butternut squash soup, the pumpkin puree was too overpowering for me.
Kettle Cooked Chicken Soup
Where to find it: Refrigerated section
Pros: This small-batched, kettle-cooked soup tasted fresh and homemade with a thin broth and plenty of vegetables.
Cons: The soup looked nothing like the photo on Trader Joe’s website, so if you’re expecting a hearty, creamy chicken soup, this one is much lighter and broth-based.
Buy Again: Maybe. My husband loved how fresh this tasted, so he would say yes. But I thought it lacked flavor and didn’t care for the dark chicken meat.
Tomato Feta Soup
Where to find it: Refrigerated section
Pros: Not your typical tomato soup, the feta cheese added to this refrigerated soup gives it a unique flavor, not to mention you might see actual pieces of cheese in the broth. TJ’s website suggests pairing it with a grilled cheese.
Cons: You have to like feta, as the flavor comes through pretty strongly.
Buy Again: No. If you’re looking for a tomato soup to pair with your favorite sandwich, Trader Joe’s boxed Organic Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup is just as good, cheaper, and one my kids will eat. Plus, it keeps longer in the pantry.
Organic Hearty Minestrone Soup
Where to find it: Refrigerated section
Pros: This soup had a great broth-to-chunkiness ratio with tons of fresh vegetables, kale, cannellini beans, and rice and quinoa orzo pasta. It’s also low calorie—only 100 per serving with 4 grams of protein.
Cons: It definitely needs accompaniment to make it a full meal that will last you until dinner.
Buy Again: No. When it comes to a hearty vegetable soup, I’d choose Trader Joe’s Garden Vegetable Soup (below) over this refrigerated option.
Trader Joe’s Garden Vegetable Soup
Where to find it: Shelf
Pros: The sleeper hit of my Trader Joe’s soup review experience was this jarred garden vegetable. Both my husband and I remarked on how fresh it tasted, which made sense once I read the ingredients. This hearty vegetable soup includes sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, tomatoes, zucchini, red bell peppers, and leeks, as well as leafy greens like kale, Swiss chard, and spinach. It was satisfying on its own, but I could even imagine pouring it over noodles as a veggie spaghetti.
Cons: Higher sodium than the similar Trader Joe’s Hearty Minestrone Soup with less protein (2 grams per serving).
Buy Again: Yes. Already have.
Calabrian Chili Tomato Dumpling Soup
Where to find it: Shelf
Pros: Another unique tomato soup, this creamy concoction gets its heat from Calabrian chilis. What are Calabrian chilis? I had to Google them. They’re small, round red peppers that originated in the Calabria region of Southern Italy and are known for their mid-level spice. This is exactly how I’d describe this one—tomato soup with just a little bite. I added crumbled crackers and parmesan cheese on top.
Cons: The dumplings add texture, but not much flavor.
Buy Again: Yes.
Italian-Style Wedding Soup
Where to find it: Shelf
Pros: Last year, I discovered this newer soup on the bottom shelf of my Trader Joe’s (it moved to the top shelf with the season shift). With such pretty packaging, I had to try it. Delightful pearls of acini di pepe pasta and bite-sized beef meatballs make this soup a seasonal favorite for me. I’ve also made homemade Italian Wedding Soup, and it’s a LOT of work, so I reach for this jar instead again and again. Fun fact: The wedding in the name comes from the ‘marriage’ of flavors and is called “minestra maritata,” meaning marriage soup, in Italian.
Cons: I eat the whole jar, which means half my daily sodium intake.
Buy Again: Yes. This one is always in my cart.
Trader Joe’s Chicken Noodle Soup
Where to find it: Shelf
Pros: White meat chicken, hearty egg noodles, and chunks of veggies (Trader Joe’s calls them “carrot coins”) set this canned Chicken Noodle soup apart from typical canned soups like Campbell’s or Progresso. My daughter LOVES chicken noodle soup, and she gave this one an enthusiastic two thumbs up. She thought she tasted a hint of lemon as well and decided to add her own fresh squeeze to top it off.
Cons: It still is canned chicken noodle soup, so, of course, a simple homemade chicken noodle isn’t too hard to throw together for a fresher take.
Buy Again: Yes. We’ll keep this one on hand for quick kid-friendly lunches.
Organic Lentil Vegetable Soup
Where to find it: Shelf
Pros: This soup smelled delicious right out of the can and was full of surprising vegetables like green beans and potato chunks in a tomato-based broth. This Trader Joe’s soup is also organic, vegan, and gluten-free. Plus, one serving includes 9 grams of fiber and 12 grams of protein.
Cons: The dusty brown matte packaging for this soup does not do justice to the soup’s fragrant aroma.
Buy Again: Not for me. I couldn’t get past the texture of the lentils (I prefer a noodle), but if you’re a lentil fan or gluten-free, I think you’ll like this one.
French Onion Soup
Where to find it: Freezer section
Pros: French onion soup lovers will not be disappointed, except perhaps by the smaller size of this delectable soup. By following the baking instructions, you get a perfectly crusted cheese on top (although we didn’t have a bowl small enough for the recommendation, so pardon the photo).
Cons: You can microwave this soup, but it’s just not going to be as good as baking it for 40 minutes in the oven. It’s also higher in saturated fat due to the cheese (6 grams) versus some other options in this Trader Joe’s soup review.
Buy Again: Yes.
Trader Joe’s Instant Ramen
Where to find it: Shelf
Pros: Trader Joe’s microwaveable ramen soups come in three varieties: chicken, spicy miso, and miso. Our family is partial to the chicken and spicy flavors. My daughter likes these soups on their own, but my husband and I like to add a little leftover ground beef, chicken, or some steamed Trader Joe’s gyozas to give them more substance. But each cup does have 8 grams of protein. The biggest pro for me? My kid can make these on her own without my help.
Cons: The ramen soups are not very filling, so my daughter is asking for a snack within the hour. They also lack the vegetable content of some of the other best Trader Joe’s soups on this list.
Buy Again: Yes, my daughter loves these for easy at-home lunches.
The Best Trader Joe’s Ingredients for Homemade Soups
In addition to plenty of ready-made soups, Trader Joe’s also has some of my favorite ingredient hacks to make homemade soup recipes easy. Here are a few of my favorite ingredients and soup recipes you can make after your next trip to TJ’s.
Soup Ingredients to Grab
Making homemade soup can be time-consuming, so grab some of these Trader Joe’s ingredients if you want some soup shortcuts. Their Organic Free Range Chicken Broth is more flavorful than others I’ve tried. The frozen garlic and ginger cubes make adding soup seasoning super easy. And their Sicilian lemon juice makes measuring simple. Plus, if you want to skip chopping vegetables, Trader Joe’s also has ready-made Mirepoix in the fresh section of the story.
Wonton Soup
Simply combine any broth (love TJ’s Chicken Bone Broth to help fight inflammation) and a handful of Trader Joe’s pork, chicken, or vegetable gyoza. Add green onions or other vegetables for a quick and tasty meal.
Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup
This creamy sausage tortellini soup recipe from Chungah Rhee at Damn Delicious is a winter staple and so easy to throw together with ingredients from Trader Joe’s, like refrigerated tortellini, bagged shredded kale, and sweet Italian sausage.
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Another go-to recipe from Damn Delicious, this soup is a lemon-flavored alternative to your typical chicken noodle with delicious little orzo pasta—that you can also buy in a bag at TJ’s along with all the other fresh ingredients. Rhee also has a slow cooker version of this recipe on her website.
Kathy Sisson, Senior Editor
A mom of two, Kathy is passionately committed to sharing the honest, helpful—and often humorous—stories of motherhood, as she navigates her own everyday adventures of work, marriage, and parenting. She honed her creative and strategic skills at advertising agencies in Detroit and Chicago, before pivoting from marketing to editorial. Now instead of telling brand stories, she’s sharing her own, with articles published across popular parenting sites—including hundreds of stories on The Everymom.