Before you reach for the salt and pepper it’s worth knowing there are many surprising ways to season your soup.

Herbs and spices are an essential part of the soup-making process and provide extra layers of flavour to the finished dish. More than anything, they enhance and complement the other ingredients rather than overpower them.

Armed with this knowledge, the next time you cover your soup with salt and pepper, consider the alternative herbs and spices that could do a better job of bringing the best out of the flavour.

Here are 7 tempting ideas that will make you rethink the way you season your soup – whatever delicious flavour it may be!

How to Season Soup

1. Bring out the Basil

Tomato and basil are a match made in heaven and this delicious combo is a firm favourite with soup lovers too.

Basil is sweet, pungent, and has a slightly spicy edge which makes it a highly versatile herb that complements a wide range of dishes.

We recommend taking a warm bowl of Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Tomato Soup, ripping up some fresh basil, and then stirring it into the soup while reserving a little to sprinkle over the top.

If you don’t have fresh basil, the dried variety also works well. However, fresh basil can be easily grown in a sunny location such as a windowsill, so you never need to be without fresh basil in your home.

Basil is also an ideal seasoning option for most vegetable and seafood-based soups and bisques.

2. Grab the Garlic

Garlic delivers an instant flavour punch when added to any flavour of soup.

You can buy garlic in a variety of forms – fresh, paste, granulated, powdered, and flaked – all of which can be used as seasoning for soup.

Crushed fresh garlic stirred into soup will add a pungent kick, while garlic granules are easy to measure and dissolve nicely when allowed to cook for a few minutes before serving. Powdered garlic is milder in taste than granulated and can be sprinkled over your soup as you would with ground white pepper.

You can use garlic as a seasoning with virtually any variety of soup including bean soups, seafood soups, tomato-based soups, meaty soups, and vegetable soups. We suggest adding garlic to a bowl of warm Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup for that unbeatable mushroom and garlic combination.

3. Make for the Marjoram

If you’re looking to bring out the best in soup, marjoram is an aromatic herb that provides a delicious twist.

Marjoram belongs to the mint family and, while similar to oregano, it is milder in flavour with hints of citrus and sweet pine. It can be used to garnish soups, salads and meat dishes.

A warm bowl of chicken soup such as Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup is crying out for a pinch of fresh or dried marjoram to enhance the meaty flavour of the dish. Marjoram also goes particularly well with a variety of vegetable soups including minestrone, onion, and potato soup.

4. Go Crazy for Cayenne

If you’re craving a spicy kick with your soup, cayenne offers a great alternative to cracked black pepper.

Cayenne peppers are moderately hot chilli peppers that are generally ground into a powdered spice. It is used to add heat and flavour to a host of popular dishes including curries and casseroles, so there’s no reason why you can’t add it to soup too.

However, cayenne also works perfectly well as a season for soup and vegetable soups, in particular, such as Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup.

It is best to use cayenne sparingly for a delicious background heat. Too much cayenne can be overbearing, even for people with a high spice tolerance.

5. Delve for the Dill

The fern-like, aromatic leaves of dill provide a fragrant twist to many dishes. They can also be used as a delicious seasoning for vegetable soups or those that contain meat or fish like Campbell’s Condensed Cream Chicken Soup.

Dill comes from the same family as celery, though its strong, herby taste is more comparable to tarragon and its anise tones. It is recommended to use dill towards the end of the cooking process, though it can also be added at a later stage when in powder form.

Dill is commonly used to flavour gravlax and other fish, pickles, and borscht, which is a type of soup common in Easter Europe and Northern Asia.

6. Season with Celery Seeds

Celery is a certain winner when used as seasoning for soup. However, its seeds should be used sparingly because of their strong and distinctive flavour.

Whole celery seeds should be cooked for at least an hour, so it is best to use ground seeds when added toward the end of cooking or sprinkled over your favourite soup. Ground celery seeds possess a far more subtle yet savoury flavour that has the ability to enhance other complex flavours in soups rather than overpower the dish.

A dusting of ground celery lifts any flavour of soup from tomato soup to chicken soup and is also a great addition to salads, stews and seafood dishes.

7. Drizzle with a Splash of Sauce

There is a multitude of sauces you can add to soup as an alternative seasoning to salt and pepper.

Just a few drops of your favourite condiment will give your soup a new richness and bring the best out of the other ingredients.

The saltiness of soy sauce goes especially well with meaty soups such as Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup, while just a few drops of Tabasco provides a real kick and a fiery heat.

You could provide a subtle hint of Asia and a salty punch to your soup by adding a little fish sauce or reach for the Worcestershire sauce when you need help cutting through the richness of heavier soups.

How Do You Season Campbell’s Soup?

Have you found a delicious way to season Campbell’s Soup we should know about? Tag us on social media, we’d love to see your photos!