Rao’s Chicken & Gnocchi Soup Review
Author’s Note: These are my own weird little opinions. I have no affiliation with Rao’s or Publix. Enjoy my unbiased nonsense.
It flirts with being creamy.
I’ve never been particularly impressed by canned soups. But I do really like Rao’s pasta sauce (who doesn’t?!). So here I am, giving their jarred soup a try.
Chicken meat
The Chicken & Gnocchi variety has decent chunks of white meat chicken. It’s firmer than I expected, with a slightly “canned” consistency. But it has a much better texture than most soup-chicken. No jiggly bits. There’s not “tons” of chicken here, but enough to give you 15 grams of protein per serving. More about that later.
Gnocchi
The gnocchi are too soft, IMHO. Made from potato flakes, they have a neutral, dumpling-like flavor. I found them a novel departure from typical “noodle” soup. Fun, but maybe not better.
Broth texture
This soup flirts with being “creamy,” without quite getting there. The broth has a nice viscosity that slightly coats the spoon. Almost like a thin gravy. And there IS “cream” in the ingredients. But. At the end of the day, it falls slightly more on the translucent broth side. It has more corn starch vibes than actual cream.
(Would you rather make your own soup? Check out my review of Aldi’s 16-Bean Soup Mix.)
I think the mouthfeel is definitely improved by the generous fat content. I am “Team Fat,” so I don’t mind the 28 grams of fat per serving. And I appreciate that Rao’s has used real olive oil and chicken fat, instead of soybean oil sadness. You know.
It needs salt
Personally, I think this soup needs a ton of salt to taste right. It has a very bland flavor right out of the jar. Adding salt fixed it pretty quickly. I know the Salt Police would prefer less sodium. But. Bland soups are a crime that the Snarkle-Sauce cannot ever condone. Straight to jail!
Vegetables & Herbs
I like the generous bits of spinach, and the tiny cubes of carrots. There are also textured celery fragments, and some elusive onion pieces. A whiff of oregano. I enjoyed the complex (and natural tasting) savory aroma from all the herbs and veggies. Well done.
Serving the soup
A serving is an entire jar. Poured into a bowl, this is a hearty and realistic meal for one person. The label doesn’t give instructions for heating, but I tried microwaving mine for 2.5 minutes in a bowl, and it worked pretty well. The gravy developed a slight film during heating.
Ingredients in Rao’s Chicken & Gnocchi Soup
I really can’t complain about these ingredients, although I do wonder why “natural flavor” is needed:
- Chicken Broth
- Cream
- Potato Gnocchi (Rehydrated Potatoes [Water, Potato Flakes], Wheat Flour, Potato Starch, Rice Flour, Salt, Lactic Acid, Natural Flavor)
- Chicken
- Carrots
- Onions
- Spinach
- Celery
- Contains 2% or less of: Food Starch, Olive Oil, Chicken Fat, Sea Salt, Garlic, Spices, Oregano.
Surprisingly, this is made in Canada. Eh.
More information from the label:
- Chicken raised without antibiotics
- No artificial colors or flavors
Nutrition Facts
A serving is one 16 ounce jar and contains 440 calories. You get 28 grams of fat (14 grams saturated fat) and 15 grams protein. There’s 33 grams total carbohydrates, of which 3 grams are fiber and 5 grams are sugars (0 grams “added sugars”). There’s 48% your daily value of sodium, and 30% your daily value cholesterol per serving. Plus, you get 10% your daily value Calcium and Potassium.
Price and Servings
The regular price for the 1 pound jar is $5.49 at my local Publix Supermarket. But, I got mine on sale for $3.50.
Other Rao’s Soup varieties:
By the way, I was staggered to discover how many different Rao’s soup varieties there are. I counted a dozen different flavors at my local Publix grocery store. You could eat a different flavor every day for almost two weeks! I also bought the Italian Wedding version, so stay tuned for a review of that:
- Lentil
- Tuscan-Style Beef
- Tortellini & Vegetable
- Pasta & Fagioli
- Chicken Noodle
- French Onion
- Butternut Squash
- Vegetable Minestrone
- Creamy Tomato
- Chicken Orzo
- Italian Wedding
Shelf Life
The “best by” date on my jar allowed about 1.5 years to consume. I do love that this comes in a glass jar, instead of a can.
Dramatic Conclusion
In conclusion, this soup has better taste and texture than typical canned soup options. The ingredients are admirable. But for me, it doesn’t approximate a true “homemade” taste. I don’t think it quite reaches the level of excellence that Rao’s pasta sauces have attained. Without the sale price, it’s a spendy option for canned soup. However, I’d definitely seek it out again if canned soup was my only option.
My super-scientific Awesome-o-Meter rates this soup a quizzical “Maybe.”
The End.
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