Is a Cup a Soup healthy? We take a close look at this instant soup product
Soup is a comforting meal which millions of people enjoy every day. Making soup from scratch can take a while, so many people will often opt for a ready-made alternative, such as a Cup a Soup.
Bachelors Cup a Soup is the biggest cup soup brand out there (although there are lots to choose from), with many people choosing to make a cup of this for their lunch. But is Cup a Soup healthy? We wanted to take a close look at this instant soup product to try and find out, let's get into it:
What is Cup a Soup made from?
We have to admit that we didn't know what to expect when looking at the ingredients of a Cup a Soup, but we were quite impressed by what we did find. For example, the Tomato Cup a Soup contains 52% tomatoes, which is actually the main ingredient in the product. The Tomato Cup a Soup also contains onions, cream, and sugar. The only artificial flavouring is citric acid, and it contains absolutely no artificial colours or preservatives. Overall, this Cup a Soup contained a lot more "real" ingredients than we expected.
We were even more impressed to see that the Chicken Cup a Soup actually listed cooked chicken as an ingredient! We definitely thought that Cup a Soup would consist of 100% artificial flavours and ingredients, but that definitely isn't the case.
What is the nutritional breakdown of Cup a Soup?
One thing which impressed us was the low calorie content of a Cup a Soup - you'll find just 89 calories in a Tomato Cup a Soup. Half a can of Heinz Cream Of Tomato Soup (which is the same size as a Cup of Soup) contains 102 calories, so you're saving 13 calories if you choose a Cup a Soup over a cup's worth of Heinz Cream Of Tomato Soup.
The fat content of a Cup a Soup is also very impressive when you compare it to the Heinz Cream Of Tomato Soup - there are only 2.3g of fat in a full Tomato Cup a Soup, whereas you'll find 4.3g of fat in a cup's worth of Cream Of Tomato Soup from Heinz.
And again, when comparing the sugar in a Batchelors Tomato Cup a Soup to the sugar in a Heinz Cream Of Tomato Soup, we were impressed - a prepared Cup a Soup only contains 8.6g of sugar, whereas a cup's worth of Cream Of Tomato Soup from Heinz contains 9.7g of sugar.
If you want an even lower sugar option then you could go for the Chicken Cup a Soup, which contains just 1g of sugar per cup.
So, is a Cup a Soup healthy?
Overall, we'd have to say that Cup a Soup sachets do make for quite a healthy meal. They're low in calories, low in sugar, and contain real ingredients without the use of artificial colours or preservatives.
It's almost always healthier to make your own soup from scratch, but if you're looking for a quick meal then there is nothing wrong with a Cup a Soup.
What do you think of Cup a Soup? Let us know if you've tried these or if you have any other suggestions for us. If you want to read something similar, we have a guide about how healthy Pot Noodles are.
Finn H
Finn is the editor of You Well and has been writing about travel, health, and more for over 10 years.