I compared tomato soup from Tesco, Aldi, M&S and Lidl to Heinz and the best was under £1

The cheaper soups were less than a third of the price of the big brand

From left to right: Tesco, Aldi, Heinz, M&S and Aldi’s cream of tomato soups(Image: Ray Bonsall/Liverpool ECHO)

Nothing is more comforting than a warm bowl of tomato soup, especially when the weather is starting to change and autumn is in grasping distance. While we might associate a cream of tomato soup with one particular big brand, it’s far from the truth that this is the only one worth buying.

With supermarket-owned brands offering savings of more than a third compared to individual cans of Heinz, it could be well worth trying a rival option. With soup season just around the corner, I put four supermarket own brands to the test to see if they could prove just as satisfying.

Heinz – £1.90/400g

Heinz tomato soup is such a familiar and nostalgic flavour that it’s easy to see why we might fall into the trap of believing it can only be found in branded tins. The taste of Heinz is undoubtedly unique, and my first spoonful sent me right back to my childhood, slurping a steaming bowl from the kitchen table or huddled around a camping stove.

When I do have a rare craving for Heinz tomato soup, it seems that nothing else can beat it. But tasting it now, I realised that the flavour is actually quite strong, and getting through a whole bowl on a warm day was a challenge. Having tried four 65p cans, it seemed impossible to justify the £1.90 cost of this one – unless you are a mega fan.

If my taste test proved one thing, it’s that despite the famous slogan, it does not have to be Heinz.

6/10

Lidl cream of tomato soup (left) and Heinz (right) (Image: Ray Bonsall/Liverpool ECHO )

Aldi – 65p/400g

Aldi’s soup was probably the most similar to Heinz, if a little less flavourful. If brand accuracy is what you’re going for, this is a very close match, though something I can’t put my finger on was lacking.

That said, for less than a third of the price, this is a very justified swap, and I doubt anyone in your household would notice it. It was smooth, creamy, tangy and, most importantly of all, had the bright orange colour of Heinz’s famous soup down to a tee.

7/10

M&S -65p/400g

I was surprised to learn that Marks & Spencer’s cream of tomato was exactly the same price as all the other supermarkets I visited. Despite its reputation as a more expensive place to shop, low prices can be found on some basics.

The ingredients weren’t as closely matched to Heinz as other brands. The tomato content was lower at 72%, quite a jump down from Heinz’ 89%. It had a higher sugar content too, at 5.9g per 100g as opposed to 5g in Heinz cans.

Despite this, it was just like it says on the tin and tasted lovely and fresh. You could taste the sweetness from the tomatoes, and mixed with its creaminess, it was delicious and well worth ditching the big brands for.

8/10

M&S cream of tomato soup (Image: Ray Bonsall/Liverpool ECHO )

Lidl – 65p/400g

Lidl’s can of soup was very similar to Heinz as far as both its packaging was concerned and how it looked in the bowl. On the first taste I didn’t notice any difference between the two.

This is unsurprising considering the ingredients were almost exactly the same, with 89% tomato puree content at just 0.1g difference in salt and sugar content – with Heinz being higher.

But after a few mouthfuls, going back to my Heinz bowl in between, I decided I much preferred Lidl’s soup.

It was richer and sweeter, in the way that the best fresh tomatoes are. It still had the comforting taste of a cream of tomato soup and was silky smooth, though it had less of a tang to it than Heinz.

9/10

Tesco – 65p/400g

Tesco’s soup was probably the sweetest of them all, but this wasn’t a bad thing at all. It was darker in colour and had a lovely rich tomato flavour that, I have to say, Heinz doesn’t.

Checking the ingredients, my flavour-packed experience was soon explained, as Tesco’s soup has the highest tomato purée content of all five soups at 91%. The other ingredients were much the same, although it did list basil extract as an ingredient, which Lidl’s soup did not.

9/10