Transform Basic Canned Soup With A Store-Bought Ingredient That Adds Major Crunch

Canned soup has all the makings of a solid meal, but some satisfying crunch introduces a dichotomy of textures that really makes it taste homemade. That's why adding just a handful of store-bought croutons can be such a game changer, in addition to introducing new flavors and seasonings.

Much like adding noodles, using croutons bulks up a meal of canned soup quite easily, ensuring you walk away full. Many are also made with some amount of cooking oil, contributing a bit of heartiness to even the leanest soups without overshadowing any of their subtler flavors. Croutons come in such a variety that you can easily find little firecrackers of flavor that are perfect for your favorite canned soup, ensuring you won't need to put in a lot of effort for great taste.

This trick works with just about any canned soup you can think of, but you may need to add the croutons in different ways depending on what you're working with. Something with few solids, like tomato soup, needs whole croutons so the liquid doesn't saturate them too quickly and make them soggy. Something like beef stew, on the other hand, may require you to break up the croutons a bit. Since it has so many solids, using whole croutons may give you a lot of crunch, but it'll also displace other ingredients on your spoon.

Making croutons from scratch can be a bit of a challenge since it's all about balancing ingredients and controlling the temperature to produce a shattering crunch without sacrificing flavor. Fortunately, store-bought brands have already done the hard work for you, but that doesn't mean you can't take a moment to add a flavor or two of your own.

Your best bet is to take inspiration from the best soup and sandwich combos and try to adapt the sandwich components to your croutons. Something as simple as adding a parmesan crust, tossing them with herbs, or even toasting them in leftover bacon fat can make them taste even better. Plus, this may even save you money, especially if you upgrade plain croutons with leftover scraps of ingredients rather than splurging on heavily seasoned varieties. Since canned soup is meant to be a cheap meal, this ensures you don't have to sacrifice flavor for an affordable price tag.

For something easy that works with any crouton-and-soup pairing, just give the croutons an extra toasting. Ina Garten's pro tip is to use just a spoonful of high-quality olive oil to give them an even more golden-brown exterior. Not only does this give them more flavor, but it also firms up their exterior to prevent them from becoming soggy quite as quickly. While it won't make them entirely watertight, this versatile trick lets you enjoy your meal at a leisurely pace rather than trying to consume the whole thing while the croutons are still crunchy.