I rarely ever buy canned soup. Every once in a while I'll pick up an Amy's tomato one to have with a grill cheese, but it's very rare. Most canned soup leaves a lot to be desired, in all honesty. The soups that come in the shelf stable cardboard boxes are better, in my opinion. Well, I was excited to see that Gardein has out a new line of canned plant-based soups. They have several different flavors, including a be'f and vegetable one. I decided to buy one and give it a try for lunch yesterday.

The first thing I noticed was the difference in how my soup looked in the bowl verse how it looked in the picture on the can. In the can picture it's loaded with veggies and beefless tips. In my bowl all I could see was the broth really. Okay, I heated it up and started to dig in. That's when I noticed that it has 1,100 mg of sodium in it. Ouch. That's a lot of sodium for lunch that will not even fill me. Anyway, I still wanted to try it.

There were literally four pieces of Gardein beefless tips in the whole can. Four. There were some veggies, but it was very light on the veggies, nothing like the picture on the can. The soup was largely made up of a can of broth, four beefless tips, and a tiny amount of veggies thrown in. Not only was I disappointed, but I didn't want to drink all that broth knowing it was just loaded with sodium, so I ate the "stuff" that was in it and left most of the broth. After this lunch I ended up hungry and back in the kitchen looking for something to eat. 

While I think it's great that they have this line of soup out for those who like to purchase canned soup, I have to say that it reminds me of why I don't really buy canned soup. It was disappointing and not something I'd be buy again. 

I do, however, make my own vegan beefless stew using the Gardein beefless tips, and it's great! I'll stick to the homemade soups, since they are healthier, far more delicious, and more filling.