6 Popular Costco Soups, Ranked Worst To Best

In the winter months, Costco dedicates a whole aisle of chest refrigerators to showcase prepared soups. All look savory and delicious, but you may want to know which one is the tastiest of all. When I tried six of the most popular varieties, I learned that none of these soups will let you down. Ultimately, they're all yummy and require almost no cleanup. Most of them come in plastic tubs that go straight into the microwave for a few minutes. If you don't want to get a bowl dirty, you could even conceivably eat the soup straight out of the tub with a spoon. That's especially handy if you're feeling under the weather.

Here, I've ranked each product according to a variety of factors, starting with taste. Your favorite will depend on the flavors you like best, and may not coincide with ours. That's okay — different strokes for different folks, after all. I've also included a description of the ingredients, texture, and price of each product so you can choose accordingly even if we have different soup opinions.  I also got my kids involved. My four-year-old consistently gave most soups an "Ewww-gaud!" rating, though he ate two spoonfuls of the tomato basil. My eight-year-old, also an openly picky eater, surprised me by giving the gumbo a seven out of 10, though no soup received a perfect score on his scale. My main takeaway: adults will probably find more to like in Costco's refrigerated soup aisle than their kids.

Anyone with a cold should head to Costco to pick up a tub of chicken noodle soup, which is made from surplus rotisserie chickens. Each spoonful brims with chunks of celery, carrots, chicken, and noodles, while the broth is as thick as egg drop soup to the point where some commentators recommend thinning it out with a bit of water before enjoying. To me, this deli item tastes worse than homemade chicken noodle soup, but a thousand times better than canned. That makes it perfect for those days you need comfort food, but don't have enough energy to make it for yourself. The price per pound is about $3.50 and a tub contains just under 4 pounds.

The most positive thing about this soup is the fresh ingredients, especially the Costco rotisserie chicken. Yet, there are far more negative points. First, the overpowering salty flavor makes it hard to swallow. Meanwhile, the large chunks of veggies and chicken mean that you'll likely have to use your spoon to cut these into smaller pieces that will actually fit in your mouth. Finally, the noodles in this product are thick and floury, contributing to the heavy feel. A more delicate pasta would have been a far better choice.

Some soups may leave you hungry after you eat them, but this broccoli cheddar by Panera surely never will — all that creamy cheese fills you right up. When you stir the tub after microwaving it, you'll come across thumb-sized chunks of broccoli in the depths that fit on your spoon perfectly, as well as inch-long slices of carrot. Those ingredients come together to make an alluring lunch. Your officemates won't even complain about it because this soup isn't stinky like most dishes with broccoli; here, the aroma is barely noticeable. Even better, a pack of this soup costs around $10 and should fill up about eight bowls.

The best aspect of this broccoli cheddar soup is the number of vegetables in it, namely the noticeable chunks of broccoli and ribbons of carrot. The flavor is boldly cheesy and tastes just as broccoli cheddar soup should. However, it is powerfully salty. If that's especially bothersome, you can take a microwaved potato, cut it into cubes, and add those to the soup, though that takes away a significant part of its convenience.

Kirkland's chicken tortilla soup is nothing short of delicious. It's packed with little squares of chopped red and green bell peppers, shredded chicken, cubes of carrots, and kernels of corn in a tomato base. The flavor is spicy, sweet, and salty. It could make a big splash at a dinner party if you served it with additions like sour cream, avocado chunks, crushed tortilla chips, cilantro, and lime wedges. Guests would have fun putting in just what they like and, even better, you could have everything ready in a matter of minutes. It won't cost you much either — in this case, $9 for two tubs, which makes it the cheapest soup on this list.

The slightly tough texture of the chicken is the worst thing about this soup, but everything else is top-notch. It's flavorful, easy to eat, simple to prepare, and low-priced. Even the level of spice is just right — it'll wake up your taste buds, but is still mild enough that most kids will be willing to eat it. If you try only one soup from Costco, it should be this one.