When the weather turns nippy, nothing hits the spot quite like a steaming bowl of soup. Ladles full of chicken noodle, potato, broccoli cheddar, butternut squash, and even chowder warm us from the inside out. But at the heart of it all sits a true classic: vegetable soup. With the only requirements being broth and any ol' assortment of veggies, this soup category breeds a wide range of creative interpretations - in household kitchens and in grocery store aisles alike.
When determining the ranking of these Panera goods, I paid attention to flavor, texture, and whether the soup lived up to what it was supposed to be or tasted like. Did the lobster bisque actually taste like lobster? Was the creamy tomato actually creamy and tomato-y? Was there plenty of tortellini to be found in the Tuscan-style tortellini soup? These were all questions I asked myself (and found the answer to) when trying and ranking these soups.
It's always a good day when French onion soup is the soup du jour. Can you tell it's a personal favorite of mine? There's just something about that combination of buttery caramelized onions in a rich broth that makes my taste buds want to sing a little French melody. Throw on a cap of toasted bread and an ungodly amount of broiled cheese, and it's just unfair how good it is.