Best Instant Tomato Soup Brands in India – Mishry

Binge-worthy series, fuzzy socks and your favorite bowl of soup MINUS the cooking. We found the tastiest instant tomato soup brand that would be perfect with buttered buns or grilled cheese.

Four popular brands were put to test, and our result is based upon parameters like taste and consistency. After two tasting sessions, Bambino won the title of the best instant tomato soup brands in India because it has a fresh tomato tang and a rich, creamy consistency. 

A tabular comparison of all the brands we tested and the rating awarded to them – 

Our review process was fairly simple. All the soups were made as per the instructions given on the pack and tasted one by one while they were hot. We tasted these again back-to-back for comparison. 

We set the following parameters to test all four brands of instant tomato soup.

1. Taste

The right balance of acidity and sweetness, natural tanginess of tomatoes, precise salt levels were the sub-parameters we gauged taste on. 

Which brand has the freshest taste? 

2. Consistency

Thin, watery, flowy, or thicky, luscious, and creamy? Gelatinous or gloopy sips? Is the consistency even throughout? Does the powdered mix turn into soup effortlessly or were there lumps formed?

3. Appearance + Aroma

Fresh and tangy or industrial and off-putting, how was the aroma? Did it change before and after adding water?

What about the appearance? Was it a vibrant red or something completely out of the blue? Did the soup premixes have croutons, herbs or vegetables?

4. Other Parameters

The price, packaging, main ingredients, shelf life were some non-tasting parameters. 

Products details about the tomato soups, their pros and cons are discussed below –

Let’s paint a picture. Bambino’s Instant Tomato Soup transports you back to your childhood days where a piping hot bowl of cream of tomato soup was served with oily croutons at your nearby restaurant. 

This is backed up with a rich, creamy consistency, a fresh tang of tomatoes and a certain sweetness (but it doesn’t define the entire bowl). This isn’t gloopy, but is thick and flowy. This is a well-seasoned soup and can be topped with homemade bread croutons or with a side of grilled cheese sandwiches. 

This has the most striking orange-red color due to the added food colors, which in our opinion, could have been avoided. 

Product Features

A 50-gram pack is priced at Rs 60/- and has a 1-year shelf life. The main ingredients are sugar, tomato solids (18%), starch, refined wheat flour, salt, milk solids, interesterified vegetable fat (trans fat free), onion powder, color (INS 162), artificial flavoring substances (tomato, hydrolysed vegetable protein, food color (INS 160 C), spices and condiments, stabilizer (INS 415), flavor enhancers (INS 627 and 631), and acidity regulator (INS 330).

Knorr Tomato Soup featured an average flavor profile. Clearly not as fresh tasting as our Top Pick, overall Knorr was better, more balanced in terms of seasoning. While the tang and savory profiles were in sync, the sweetness was a bit on the higher side. The ketchup-like flavor was prominent.

This was a rich, thick soup that was thankfully not gloopy.

To enhance the visual appeal, Knorr uses red beet juice powder, which we think is a better alternative to artificially added colors. 

Product Features

A 51-gram pack is priced at Rs 60/- with a 1-year shelf life. The ingredients are sugar, maize starch, tomato paste solids (15%), refined wheat flour (maida), iodised salt, hydrogenated palm oil, dehydrated vegetables (onion powder 2.8%, leeks 1.2%), hydrolysed vegetable protein, spices and condiments (black pepper 0.4%), anticaking agent (551), thickener (415), red beet juice powder (anticaking agent 551), flavors natural (garlic) and nature-identical flavoring substances, flavor enhancer 627 and 631, oleoresin chilli, and acidity regulator 330.

Chings called for a different and frankly, most convenient method of preparation. Here, water was poured over the premix and stirred well.

First things first, Chings was the only soup premix that came with mini croutons. The croutons were quite hard, even after adding water and tasted almost stale.

Consistency wise, this wasn’t as creamy or as thick as the previous two contenders. So for those who want a lighter soup – this might be something you like.

Coming to the taste, this was dominant on sourness. This sourness wasn’t like the natural, fresh tanginess of tomatoes, in fact Chings has the lowest tomato content. The flavor was laced with a mild herbiness but it didn’t taste natural.

Product Features

A single-serve, 16-gram pack is priced at Rs 10/-. The shelf life is 1-year and the ingredients used are sugar, potato starch, bread croutons (19%) (refined wheat flour, palm oil, spices and condiments, salt, dried glucose syrup), iodized salt, tomato powder (5.5%), flavor enhancer (INS 635), pepper powder, coriander powder, acidity regulator (INS 330), onion powder, garlic powder, dehydrated parsley, sunflower oil, anticaking agent (INS 551), beetroot powder, natural flavoring substances. 

Keya tomato soup scored the lowest because of its flavor and consistency. Synthetic flavors, unusual sweetness, and the odd aftertaste brought down the experience of relishing a warm bowl of soup. Moreover, it was not fresh. The only plus in terms of taste was the balanced salt levels.

Consistency-wise, Keya was the quickest to turn gloopy.  

Product Features

A 53-gram pack is priced at Rs 55/- with a 1-year shelf life. The main ingredients are sugar, maida, cornstarch, salt, tomato powder (13%), dehydrated vegetables (onion, garlic), hydrolyzed vegetable protein (soya), pepper, beetroot juice powder, yeast extract, herbs (basil and rosemary), thickening agent (E 412), anticaking agent (E 551), acidity regulator, flavor enhancer (E631, E627)

Why did we choose Bambino’s Tomato Soup as our Top Pick?

Bambino Tomato soup was titled our Top Pick as it had the most commendable consistency and flavor. It was rich and creamy and the flavors were fresh, natural with a beautiful balance between tang and sweetness. 

Here are some interesting FAQs on instant tomato soup mix.

Quick, convenient, flavor-rich hug in a bowl- Bambino Tomato Soup is one of the best instant soup options available in the Indian market. Pair it with some bread croutons or grilled cheese for a heavenly meal.

Do you prefer preparing soup from scratch or store-bought ones? Let us know.