The Best Ways To Upgrade Store-Bought Chicken Noodle Soup, Hands Down

That cold-weather comfort food, chicken noodle soup, is one of the easiest, cheapest, and most convenient meals to make. It's a crowd-pleaser for all ages — although you'll want to get the best store-bought chicken noodle soup to make sure everyone is happy — but, admittedly, it can be a bit boring if it's been your reliable workhorse for too long.

Instead of trying to build a whole new menu or add too many new dishes to your repertoire (and honestly, who has time for that these days?) here are ways you can upgrade store-bought chicken noodle soup for the best flavor, hands down. Budget-friendly, user-friendly, and, most importantly, delicious, these easy upgrades are excellent ways for you to transform that lackluster can or container of soup into something nearing gourmet.

So, if you don't have the time to whip up a batch from scratch, stock and all, fake it 'til you make it. These easy solutions might convince even the most astute of palates that you're serving up something a lot tastier than regular Campbell's.

One of the simplest, best, and cheapest ways to amp up the flavors of store-bought chicken noodle soup is to add a squeeze of lemon juice while you're heating it up on the stove. The natural acidity in lemon juice can brighten up a lackluster broth and add a dose of freshness to the soup as a whole.

Lemon juice also acts as a great flavor balancer. If you've accidentally saddled yourself with a chicken noodle soup that's way too salty, for example, this citrus fruit can help neutralize the flavor so you don't feel yourself retaining water with every spoonful. To maximize the benefits of this chicken noodle soup upgrade, you'll want to use fresh lemon juice. Avoid the stuff that comes in a plastic, lemon-shaped squeeze bottle and use the real deal. It has more depth and vibrancy –– two things you definitely need if you want a high-quality chicken noodle soup (even if it did come from a can).

Chicken noodle soup is arguably at its best when you're sipping a mugful under a pile of blankets trying to get over a cold. There's something unmatched about that level of coziness — plus, chicken noodle soup, with its warm temperature and easy nutrients, can actually help you feel better when you're under the weather.

One way to amp up the nutrition and speed you along the process to getting well soon while providing extra flavor is to add some leafy greens to your pot. Nutrient-dense veggies like spinach or kale can add more bulk to your bowl as well as some valuable nutrition. In fact, even Campbell's recommends adding spinach (alongside the afore-mentioned squeeze of lemon) to the brand's Chicken Noodle Soup for a heartier meal. Depending on what greens you use as well as your own taste preferences, you can add raw leafy greens just before serving, as a sort of garnish, or you can heat them up directly in the pot while you're simmering the soup.

Of all the many ways you can use leftover store-bought rotisserie chicken, one of the best has to be adding it to canned chicken noodle soup. Unfortunately, despite "chicken" being one of the words in "chicken noodle soup," some brands can be a bit skimpy on the poultry. Using leftover chicken, turkey, or even a plant-based option like tofu can add a bit more beef to your, er, chicken noodle soup.

Using leftover chicken in your soup also helps reduce the amount of waste you're contributing. All those delicious odds and ends still attached to the carcass can get new life (figuratively speaking) when they're added to a hum-drum can of chicken noodle soup. This method of upgrading is really only limited by two things: how much extra meat or protein you have on hand and how willing you are to turn your chicken noodle soup into more of a chicken noodle stew.

Store-bought soups have to appeal to the largest number of consumers, which is why some can taste under-seasoned. Or, if they are adequately seasoned, that seasoning is salt, as evidenced by the high sodium content of most canned soups, chicken noodle included. Rather than drown your sorrows in a sodium bath, remedy a bland flavor by dipping into your own spice cabinet.

Turmeric is a great spice to use to upgrade your chicken noodle soup. With a slight pepperiness and hint of citrus, it packs a powerful punch in a small amount. You can also heat up your chicken noodle soup with a bay leaf, black pepper, and thyme – three ingredients that pop up in many homemade chicken noodle soup recipes. For the best results, use dried herbs and spices at the beginning of the cooking process. This gives them enough time to release their flavors and be incorporated into the broth. Fresh herbs are better added towards the end of cooking, or even as a garnish, so as not to dilute their brighter flavors.

We've already mentioned adding leafy greens as a way to upgrade store-bought chicken noodle soup, but what about other veggies? Plenty of chicken noodle soups already have carrots, maybe onions, and occasionally some celery for a pop of color, but there's nothing more disappointing that cracking open a can or plastic tub of store-bought soup and seeing that you spent your hard-earned money on what basically amounts to broth and noodles.

This is an easy fix so long as you have some veggies stocked in the crisper drawer of your fridge or even your freezer. Add more nutrition and bulk to every spoonful by chopping up more celery, carrots, onions, mushrooms, or whatever veggies you like best and tossing them in your pot. A mirepoix is a finely chopped combination of onion, carrot, and celery, and can really give a disappointing soup some extra oomph. Cook all three together low and slow for the best flavor before adding to your store-bought soup. This upgrade takes a bit of extra time, but the end result is well worth the effort.

Clear out those sinuses and add a little extra heat when you're doctoring up your next bowl of store-bought chicken noodle soup. Like lemon juice, spice is good at battling a soup that leans a little too heavily on salt to ramp up the flavor.

There are lots of ways to spice up canned soups. For a more classic iteration, we recommend chili flakes or a few drops of hot sauce to your favorite bowl of chicken noodle. For an Asian-inspired spin, that source of heat could come from Sriracha or gochujang, instead. If you even feel up to it, you could slice up some fresh chili peppers and add them just after cooking (remove the seeds if you don't want to breathe too much fire after eating). If you find that you have gone overboard on the heat front, you can easily fix it. That jack of all trades, lemon, can help balance out the heat, or you could add a swirl of cream to neutralize it. Whichever method you choose — and how intense you go on the Scoville scale — is entirely up to you.

Texture is one thing missing from chicken noodle soup. As far as soups go, it's pretty minimal in that regard, with equally tender chicken, noodles, and veggies sort of blending together in a bit of a homogenous mouthful. When it's canned or store-bought, that lack of texture is compounded. At least when you make it homemade, you can leave a little toothsomeness to your veggies.

Enter: crunch. Croutons aren't just for salads. Instead, try upgrading your store-bought soup by sprinkling them on top. If croutons aren't your thing, you can try crushed tortilla chips or crackers, which will also add texture as well as flavor. For a more savory, smoky element, you can even add some well-cooked crumbled bacon bits as a garnish. With their hearty, meaty flavor, they pull double-duty as an enhancer on both the texture and flavor fronts. To get the best crispy bacon, you'll want to know the ideal temperatures and times, too.

Who doesn't love a hearty bowl of pasta when the weather is erring on the side of frigid? When it comes to chicken noodle soup, sometimes the best way to upgrade it is by grabbing something you always have on hand in your pantry: namely, pasta.

This cheap kitchen staple can do wonders to bulk up your store-bought chicken noodle soup, really leaning into the "noodle" part of the dish. Whether you have the same noodles on-hand as the ones in the can or container you just purchased or you have just enough pasta leftover for soup but not enough for an actual meal, adding some pasta can make your store-bought soup that much heartier. For dry pasta, you can add it directly to the soup while heating. Dry pasta will absorb some of the liquid, however, which means you may need to add more water or stock for the ideal consistency. You can also cook dry pasta beforehand and add it to the pot. Fresh pasta can be added directly in as well. Since it's not dry, it won't absorb as much liquid. Pro tip: Try adding fresh tortellini to your chicken noodle soup for a bulked-up bite.

If your canned chicken noodle soup is off the condensed variety, instead of adding water, add chicken stock instead. Instead of diluting the flavor that's already in the can, chicken stock will provide more chicken flavor.

Since canned soup tends to be so salty as part of its preservation method, we recommend going with a low-sodium chicken broth. This will still impart that all-important flavor without totally overdoing it on the sodium front. If you don't have extra chicken stock but you do have bouillon powder or a bouillon cube, that works, too. Use water as directed and flavor with bouillon, tasting as you go. This upgrade imparts a deeper, richer flavor to your store-bought chicken noodle soup. It might not taste quite like homemade, but it will taste a lot better than the salty noodle water you might have otherwise been spooning up.

Cheese makes everything better, including store-bought chicken noodle soup. An upgrade you might not have considered, adding cheese to chicken noodle soup is a chef-worthy upgrade more people need to be aware of. To help your soup reach more gourmet heights, try simmering it with the rind from a wedge or wheel of Parmesan. It doesn't matter if your chicken noodle soup is cream-based or broth-based – a Parmesan rind will add a delicious, umami-laden depth to even the cheapest of cans.

Salty, sweet, and a bit nutty, Parmesan rinds are also a great way to reduce food waste. After you've used most of your cheese, you can easily freeze the rinds for uses like this one later. If you're not quite down to the rind part of your wedge of Parmesan, consider sprinkling some freshly grated cheese on top of your soup. That hint of cheese and nuttiness is one of the best ways to ramp up the flavor of store-bought soup. No Parm? No problem. Just use your favorite grated cheese you have on hand. Take it as an opportunity to mix and match to find what flavor pairing you like best.

Transform your store-bought chicken noodle soup into a hearty meal with the help of biscuit dough. You've heard of chicken and dumplings and chicken and biscuits, and this easy upgrade combines the two, making a can of soup more worthy of a wholesome, convenient dinner.

To do this, choose a chunky can of chicken noodle soup (or cream of chicken noodle soup) and add it to a saucepan. The amount of cans needed will depend on how many people you're feeding. Then, thin the can (or cans) with a bit of chicken stock. Finally, top it with cut portions of refrigerated biscuit dough. Bake the whole thing in the oven until the biscuits are puffed, golden, and have absorbed most of that chicken noodle soup. The end result is a sticky, fluffy, tender dish that's quite reminiscent of chicken and dumplings, only much easier, and all done in one pan. Have leftover biscuits? Bake them on the side for dipping into regular chicken noodle soup.

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