1/31/06 | Progresso Chicken Rotini Soup
[ Currently Eating: Carbonara Pasta ]
When winter’s closing in all around you (Yes I know I should quit complaining about these balmy 40 degree nights), nothing hits the spot like Chicken Soup. Unfortunately, the majority of people are too darn lazy (or sick in bed) to whip up a homemade batch of chicken soup. That’s when it’s time to peek in the pantry to see what cans of soup might make a good meal.
Earlier, we had reviewed Progresso’s Clam Chowder and had been pretty well pleased with the soup. I think as far as cost goes, that’s where it’s really difficult to make a judgement call. After all, you can get plain old Campbell’s Chicken Noodle soup on sale for 30 to 50 cents usually but dang do you get what you pay for! Nostalgia aside, unless your idea of “mmm, mmm good” is watery chicken soup with small pasty noodles, you’d best look elsewhere. Anyhow, being able to store soup in the pantry for long periods of time, takes a little of the edge off the price. I’m willing to pay a bit more for canned soup.
When I get Progresso soup, I usually try to buy it in bulk at a place like CostCo or wait for sales in the supermarket. I think the normal price ranges from $1.50-$2.50 for most of their soups. I got this 8-pack of Progresso Chicken and Rotini Soup (there are actually 2 varieties in this pack, Chicken and Rotini and Plain Chicken Noodle) for about $10 which works out to a little over a dollar a can.
As far as overall taste goes, Progresso Chicken & Rotini Soup is very good. The spiral Rotini are large and not pasty at all; they have a good bite to them… I think the soup companies must have figured out how to keep pasta in liquid for long periods of time without it going soggy because it sure tastes fresh.
The actual flavor of the chicken soup is pretty good as well, pretty rich in chicken taste with not too much of the “tinned” taste that comes from being in a can. I mean, it’s definitely nowhere near homemade chicken soups and those “specialty grocery” soups that are made fresh every day will likely kick Progresso’s ass any time flavorwise. I’m pretty liberal with cracked black pepper on the soup which gives it some extra taste zing.
One thing with canned soups is that they are very salty… at least for me. I usually add about a quarter can of water or so, even this is a “ready-to-serve” variety of canned soup (as opposed to the add-a-can Campbell’s concentrated variety).
The other items in the soup are celery and big chunks of carrots. And then there’s the chicken of course. White breast meat chunks of chicken swimming around in the broth. I’m actually quite surprised how large these breasts, er, I mean these chicken pieces are. I forgot to measure the chicken the last time I had Campbell’s Chunky Chicken soup so there’s nothing to compare it to.
But in any case, some of these chicken nugget pieces are almost an INCH long. You could knock someone out with some of these bad boys. Well, not really. Anyway, that’s not bad for canned soup I’d guess, and that definitely is what you’re paying for in the purchase price. Which is all the more reason to wait for the sales for Progresso Soup, or buy it in bulk.
Other than the price, this soup is really good.
Price: $1.13 ($9.99/8 pack)
Bought at: CostCo
Cheap Eats Score: 7/10
January 31st, 2006 at 2:29 pm
Quite often at the Dollar Tree near me they have Progresso Soup. The varities are always changing but it is nice getting a good brand of canned soup for a dollar a can. Last week when I was there they had Turkey Rice and Italian Style Wedding soups- they seem to always have 2 varities.
January 31st, 2006 at 3:06 pm
budderocks - ooh… I’ll have to check that out, I know I’ve seen some off-varieties of unknown generic soups for a buck. I didn’t see Progresso last time, but now I’ll be on the lookout!
January 31st, 2006 at 8:23 pm
I like Campbell’s Chicken Noodle soup. It’s just really simple and plain, much like myself.
January 31st, 2006 at 9:21 pm
marvo - aw, c’mon… you’re not so simple! would a simple guy think of the Knight Rider Drinking Game? I think not. =)
Well… I have to admit that I do have cans of campbell’s soup stocked up. But it’s the cream of mushroom variety. I bought a farkload of these, for times i need to make something quick…
February 1st, 2006 at 9:41 am
Well, someone’s got to be the devil’s advocate here, and I guess it’ll be me. I bought some of this a while ago, because even though I usually make my own stock and soup, there’s not always the time, so I figured this would be a better-tasting choice than some others available. And I do love me some good soup.
I about gagged on this stuff. Though you are correct about the ‘al dente’ noodle consistency, that is the nicest thing I could say about this. The taste of the preservatives and the textures of the vegetable really put me off. And the ‘thickening’ that apparently made up most of the broth was just cornstartch and who-else-knows-what. I forced down about four spoonfuls and dumped the rest down the disposal. Major YUCK to this one.
February 1st, 2006 at 10:07 am
peggasus - hmm, I am wondering if maybe you got a bad can(s)? But then, I don’t get to make my own stock often (though i should) so I can’t compare it side by side. I didn’t taste the preservatives and the vegetables were fine, much better than in concentrated soup. It IS rather thick, and that is why I always water it down a bit. The saltiness is actually more of a problem for me than the thickener. I actually drink a lot of soups in restaurants (chinese mostly) that are thickened about twice as much as this… often with cornstarch.
February 1st, 2006 at 11:25 am
Yes, I agree that progresso makes some decent soup. I was a little disappointed last time eating I think the chicken and wild rice when I took a close look at the chicken piece to find that it was “Particle Chicken”, probably made from a piece of actual chicken 1/10th the size that has been pumped with air and binders. Tasted allright though!!
February 1st, 2006 at 8:52 pm
Ya gotta love marketing. On the can it boasts WHITE MEAT, but if you look closer, it’s actually only CONTAINS some white meat. From the label:
Cooked Seasoned White Chicken Meat (White Chicken Meat, Water, Rice Starch, Soy Protein Isolate, Sodium Phosphate, Salt)
The rice and soy are your fillers of course. Oh and we have the ever present Monosodium Glutamate also. Add to that Sodium 970mg 40% RDA for half a can.
But hey it does taste pretty good and has 8g protein and the veggies are pretty good for canned soup.