The last time I was in Utah, the local grocery store had Readywise Simple Kitchen dried soups on sale, so I decided to try 2 of them to see what they were like and to save me some time preparing dinners during the holidays.
The first one I tried was Creamy Cheddar Broccoli Soup (5.7 oz./4 servings). It was easy to prepare by just adding the mix to boiling water. I recommend using a whisk rather than a spoon because it’s mostly a powder.
The cheese flavor was weak, so we took the package recommendation to sprinkle cheese on top. We had both grated Gruyere and fresh Parmesan. Both worked well and added the cheesy flavor that was missing.
The broccoli and onion pieces were sparse. It was definitely not a chunky soup. The green you see in the soup is lots of parsley and not broccoli.
The soup was thick and as it cooled down it started to set up like a soft-set pudding. Not what you particularly like to see in a soup. I’m assuming that is the result of too much cornstarch in the mix. The fact that it was 3 months past the “best by” date may have contributed to it, too. (I purchased it after the best by date without realizing it.)
Comparing what I purchased to what I can find online, the ingredient lists differ. So, if you buy one that looks different than the picture here, it will probably have a different ingredient list and may taste different, too.
I highly recommend testing this, and any other dried product designed for “emergency” use, before stocking up. I would get tired of this particular soup really fast if I had a lot of it in my storage.
Look for a Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe using shelf stable foods next week.
