9 Delicious Ways to Enhance Boxed Soup

While I would like to live in a world where I eat homemade soup all the time, the truth is I usually keep a few of those aseptic boxed soups in the pantry for when homemade is just not going to happen. In general, boxed soups aren't that bad but here are nine little tricks I use to improve their flavor.

1. A Dash of Dairy
Creamed soups such as tomato, squash or red pepper really benefit from a swirl of dairy. A spoonful of yogurt, sour cream, creme fraiche or even heavy cream swirled into each bowl not only makes it look pretty, but it adds a nice tang and richness.

2. Fresh herbs
A few snips of almost any fresh herb will brighten up your soup and add a fresh flavor. Thyme is good with chicken or squash soup, basil with tomato soup, rosemary with bean soups. Just chop or snip about 1 scant tablespoon of fresh herbs into each bowl as a garnish. The heat of the soup will soften the herbs and release their fragrance.

3. Lemon or Vinegar
Anjali already alerted us to the trick of adding an acid to soup to perk it up and this is especially true with boxed or canned soups. Add a squeeze of lemon or lime or a splash of sherry vinegar at the end of heating the soup.

4. A Touch of Nut or Truffle Oil
Try drizzling a few drops of roasted nut oil on top each bowl of soup. Roasted pumpkin seed oil on butternut squash soup, for instance, or roasted hazelnut oil on mushroom soup. And while some truffle oils are crap, some aren't all that bad (try La Tourangelle's Infused White or Black Truffle Oil) especially dribbled over lentil soup.

5. A Fresh Garnish
I recently garnished a bowl of boxed cream of tomato soup with a chopped fresh tomato and it really picked up and improved the flavor of the soup. Try a few chopped green onions, some pesto, slivered slices of bell pepper or radish on top of your soup.

6. Freshly Grated Parmesan.
There's very little a few gratings of fresh parmesan or romano or dry Jack can't improve!

7. Sausage
Slice up a favorite pre-cooked sausage and add it to your soup while it's heating. Chorizo is a great way to add flavor and a little heat to a bean soup while chicken apple would be great with pumpkin soup.

8. Delicious Accompaniments
Serve your soup with the best crusty bread possible or toast up a favorite slice into a crunchy crouton. When the bread is good, it will bring the soup up a few notches, just by proximity!

9. A Splash of Wine
If you like to pour yourself a glass of wine to sip while heating up your soup, be sure to add a splash to the pot! Wine is acidic (see above) but it also adds depth and complexity. This works especially well with broth-based soups.

What are your favorite ways to dress up store-bought soups?

Related: What Ingredients Go Well with White Truffle Oil?

(Image: Emma Christensen)

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Beans, Lentils, Chickpeas & More: 10 Hearty Soups Made with Beans & Legumes

Bean, Bacon and Butternut Squash Soup with Swiss Chard

Where would we be without hearty, healthy beans and legumes? They're an essential part of the following 10 soups, offering flavor, texture, and a good dose of fiber. We've got chicken stew with kale and cannellini beans, black-eyed pea soup with collards, lentil soup with lemon yogurt, and more!

TOP ROW
1 Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Andouille & Collards
2 Bean, Bacon and Butternut Squash Soup with Swiss Chard
3 Chicken Stew with Kale and Cannellini Beans
4 Cuban Black Bean Soup
5 Ham Bone, Greens, and Bean Soup

MIDDLE ROW
6 White Bean and Roasted Squash Soup with Pistou
7 Lentil Soup with Lemon Yogurt Cream
8 Curried Vegetable and Chickpea Stew
9 Creamy Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Cumin
10 Vietnamese Dessert Soup With Mung Beans

Related: Beautiful Beans: 15 Delicious Recipes with Beans

(Images: see linked posts for full image credits)

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Recipe: Bean, Bacon and Butternut Squash Soup with Swiss Chard Recipes From The Kitchn

Smoky, hearty bean and bacon soup is a classic, but soups in my house never feel complete without a few vegetables. In this rendition of bean and bacon soup, soft cubes of butternut squash and silky shreds of chard add a little freshness, transforming this soup into a comforting and nutritious one-pot meal.

During the summer, I rely on salads to transform my weekly farmers market haul into impromptu dinners; in autumn and winter, it's soups. Freezer beans make bean soup a tasty weeknight option, with the added benefit of being able to throw the bean cooking liquid into the pot for extra flavor. (Canned beans can be used, but don't use the liquid they are stored in. Just add a little extra stock instead.)

It only takes a couple strips of bacon to infuse the soup with a pleasant smokiness. Where I go heavy is with the vegetables, a couple of my fall favorites. Cubed butternut squash only takes about ten minutes to soften in the simmering broth, while you chop a bunch of chard into thin strips. When the squash is soft, the chard goes in, cooking down for just a couple minutes, until it is silky-soft and still bright green.

Vinegar is the last ingredient, rounding out the heavy flavors of the beans and bacon, the sweetness of the butternut squash and the slightly bitter greens. Every bite of this soup includes a little of each it's a satisfying, warming meal that feels just right for fall.

Bean, Bacon and Butternut Squash Soup with Swiss Chard

Makes 4 servings

2 strips bacon
2 cups diced butternut squash (1/2-inch cubes)
1 1/2 cups cooked beans, plus cooking liquid
3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 bunch Swiss chard
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Cut the bacon strips in half lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise. In a large pot over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp, stirring frequently. If there is a lot of fat, spoon off most of it, leaving just a thin film in the pot. Add the squash and stir, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the beans, bean cooking liquid and the stock, and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, or until squash is tender.

Meanwhile, remove the tough stems and ribs from the chard and cut leaves into thin strips. When the squash is tender, add the chard to the soup and stir. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until chard is soft and still bright green. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Just before serving, stir in the vinegar.

Additional Notes:
Although you can use any type of cooked bean in this soup, Jacob's cattle beans or cranberry beans have a size and texture I especially like and Jacob's cattle beans retain some of their beautiful spots even after cooking.

The color of the Swiss chard will eventually dull, so this soup looks its best right after making it. (Though the leftovers will still taste great!)

If substituting canned beans, use one 15-ounce can of beans, drained and rinsed, and add an additional cup of stock in place of the bean cooking liquid.

Related: Autumn Is Here: 10 Fall Vegetable Soups

(Image: Anjali Prasertong)

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