{"id":3666,"date":"2024-09-28T17:52:14","date_gmt":"2024-09-28T17:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/?p=3666"},"modified":"2026-01-05T20:03:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T01:03:54","slug":"aldi-hearty-pea-soup-deutsche-kuche-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/28\/aldi-hearty-pea-soup-deutsche-kuche-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Aldi Hearty Pea Soup (Deutsche K\u00fcche) Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Author\u2019s Note: The following review is my own silly opinion. I don\u2019t work for Aldi<\/a>. Nobody paid me to write this review. I have no affiliation with Deutsche K\u00fcche brand or Aldi. I don’t actually know what prison food looks like<\/em>, and I’d like to keep it that way.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay out of Soup Jail.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

OK, so first of all, I don’t hate<\/em> this soup. Would I buy it again? No. Did I eat it all? No, but I tried. Would I recommend it to friends? Probably not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I bought this during German Week<\/a> in mid-September. German Week is a highly anticipated, twice-annual Aldi event which features many imported “Authentic German Food” options. Most of these are within the Deutsche K\u00fcche store brand, although other Aldi brands are sometimes imported from Germany, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s the scoop on this Aldi canned Hearty Pea Soup from Deutsche K\u00fcche:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sad beige soup.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is “sad beige soup.” It has a few bright pops of orange carrots. Otherwise, it is a dull “greige” color. My camera was kind and gave it a slightly warmer, richer color than it had in real life. It looks like the stuff prison wardens plop in your bowl when you are in a very bad prison. Or orphanage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is little<\/em> liquid between the vegetables, but what is<\/em> there has a moderate thickness. The soup broth doesn’t fully coat a spoon, but it isn’t runny either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(For a much happier soup, try this 16 Bean Soup Mix from Aldi. Here’s my full review<\/a> with cooking tips.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ornery peas and defeated carrots<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The peas are enormous<\/em>. And strangely colorless. Vampire peas. They are so huge, I thought they were chickpeas at first. I mean, look at them. They are roughly the same size and shape (and color?) as a chickpea. I guess I am used to “split pea soup” \u2014 which uses dried peas and has a softer, thicker consistency with more natural “pea color.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The “heartiness” of this soup is definitely due to the vast quantity<\/em> of these bean-like peas. Most of my bowl was a big pile of peas. They are<\/em> filling, but I would suggest serving this with bread to complete the amino acids<\/a> in the protein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(If you’re a fan of chickpeas, check out my review of these pickle-flavored chickpea puff snacks<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The peas have more structure than I expected. The skins are thick and slightly fibrous. Given the extreme softness of the other vegetables, it’s nice to have something to chew. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway. Those peas. After you get past the thick skin, they have a soft, mealy inside. Not much like a vegetable. They taste like beans<\/em>. In fact, if I didn’t know this was “pea soup,” I would swear they were just beans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know peas are kind of a gray area in the legume\/veggie world. According to Harvard Health<\/a>, peas are classified as a starchy vegetable when they are fresh or frozen, but considered a legume when they are “mature,” or dried. In this case, they function as legumes. I like legumes, so this is OK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you like chickpeas? Perhaps you’d enjoy my slightly eccentric review of Aldi Lentil & Chickpea Soup<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, the carrots are excessively soft. Carrot mush. There aren’t enough of them to be distressing, but I really hated their texture. It’s like they’ve just given up on life and aren’t even trying anymore. Come on, carrots! Fight back!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Surprisingly, the potatoes are fairly perky. They’re much firmer than “soup potatoes” would normally be. Not raw or deeply unpleasant, but still oddly stiff. If I could switch the carrot texture with the potato texture, I would. It seems backwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I found no leeks or onions in my soup, so I assume those are cooked into oblivion and merely lend flavor.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The flavors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of flavor, this soup has an OK flavor. It’s a savory, slightly smokey taste \u2014 like one might get from cooking a ham bone in the soup. However, there is no meat or bone broth in this soup \u2014 instead, there are “artificial flavors.” As in, plural. As in, multiple artificial flavors. How many? We don’t know. We just know they are here. Artificial flavoring in a soup is very disappointing. More about the ingredients later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, wait. I’m not done complaining. It should be possible to make a flavorful soup with actual food<\/em>, and not with “artificial flavors.” If you need artificial flavors to make soup taste good<\/em>, I question the quality and type of ingredients used. Do better, Aldi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway. This soup didn’t taste very salty. I added salt to mine. It also has no spice flavors or heat. Some freshly ground pepper perked it up a bit. Minus the smokey artificial flavors, it’s very bland food.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Ingredients<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients in Aldi Deutsche K\u00fcche Hearty Pea Soup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here are the ingredients from the label:<\/p>\n\n\n\n