Make Canned Soup Taste Restaurant Quality With This Easy Pantry Trick

Bland canned soup doesn't have to be the end of the story. There are several ways to light up your tastebuds, such as adding an Italian ingredient, like pesto, for a tasty transformation or improving the gloopy texture of canned soup. But to truly make canned soup that turns heads (and envelopes the kitchen in fragrant scents), you'll want to add bloomed spices to it — aka spices toasted in warm oil.

While canned soups can sometimes come across as lackluster, too salty, or even too sugary, bloomed spices help bring it balance. And nothing says restaurant-quality like a well-seasoned soup. You can achieve this depth with the help of a few spices that are likely already in your pantry. Blooming is a trick to get more flavor from your spices by combining heat and oil, so the fat-soluble compounds of your spices unlock even deeper notes. It is a technique used by chefs to usher in a richer, more aromatic soup dish. 

To improve your canned soup using bloomed spices, pick some of your favorite flavor-packed spice blends, like curry, ras el hanout, or five spices, and stir them into hot oil for a minute or so. Once the spices have been heated in the oil, you can then add the canned soup to the pot. You don't only need to go for spice blends either; this also works with whole seeds — especially cumin, fennel, and coriander.

Blooming is naturally a great way to distribute flavor throughout a dish, but to bring in even more layers, you can add some chopped onions or other sautéed veggies for a pop of umami that will work magic when tossed into canned soups. 

For restaurant-worthy results, it's best to choose a fat with a high smoke point like sunflower oil, avocado oil, or refined coconut oil so your spices don't easily burn, which could leave you with a bitter tasting soup. Alternatively, you can use ghee, which is used widely in Indian cuisine and also has a high smoke point. If you're a fan of warm buttery notes, the good news is you can use butter so long as you mix it with an oil that has a high smoke point. 

The sweet spot is to warm your spices on the stove until the seasoning is fragrant and seeds are softened, which usually takes only a couple of minutes. The best part is you don't have to confine your bloomed spices only to soups. Try adding them to other side dishes, such as rice, hummus, and condiments, or even as a way to bring life to steamed veggies. You can also add fresh herbs on top to maximize your flavors even more.