Chicken noodle soup is the most classic example of healing, comforting sustenance that we've all gulped down on a sick day. Consequently, it's almost always on the lineup for every canned soup brand out there. Tasting Table tried and ranked 15 different brands of canned chicken noodle soup to find the cans to pick up and those to avoid. The worst overall was Health Valley organic chicken noodle soup. We based the ranking on quality of ingredients, consistency, and flavor. While we generally liked the idea of whole, organic ingredients and a low sodium, chemical-free canned soup, the problem with Health Valley's store-bought soups is a complete lack of flavor.

The broth should be equal parts savory and aromatic, thanks to chicken bones or carcass being stewed with foundational vegetables like carrots, celery, and onions. The amount of sodium found in competitor brands may be excessive, but salt is crucial to bringing out the comforting, savory flavor profile of the broth itself. Unfortunately, there was no salt at all, nor were there any other seasonings to compensate. This soup also lacked all the other ingredients on its minimalist list. The dark meat chicken, a tender and flavorful choice compared to the drier white meat, was as scarce as the noodles and sliced carrots. In the end we were left with a big bowl of tasteless broth that a small sprinkling of boiled veggies, pasta, and carrots couldn't correct.

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Many customers are understandably attracted to the Health Valley brand as a healthier option. But after tasting this chicken noodle soup, they quickly realize that it's a grocery store canned soup they'd happily never eat again. One Amazon reviewer was disillusioned with all the healthy marketing hype, arguing, "It's organic but cheap ingredients and zero nutrition," adding, "If you want to pay for half water, this should be your go to." Likewise, a customer on vitacost complained that their bowl of soup consisted solely of a "few and tiny chicken pieces in watery liquid." A user on Healthy Heat Market bolstered those claims by pointing out, "A full ⅔ of the can is just broth. The remaining ⅓ is mostly noodles with very little chicken or anything else."

Just as we thought that flavor could come from ingredients other than salt, one Amazon customer noted, you'd "have to add non sodium spices" to bring some taste to the bland broth. You can try one of these 12 ways to improve store-bought canned soup, like adding a dash of low-sodium soy sauce or a sprinkling of fresh herbs. That said, you could also just choose a better brand of chicken noodle soup. In our ranking, Campbell's chunky classic chicken noodle soup was everything Health Valley wasn't; chock full of chicken, veggies, pasta, and most importantly, flavor.