Gordon Ramsay's Easy Upgrade for Store-Bought Tomato Soup

This upgrade only takes a few seconds and transforms even store-bought tomato soup.

On Netflix’s Culinary Class Wars, a chef adds sugar to enhance the natural sweetness of pumpkin, impressing the judges and winning the round. They praise the chef's skill in bolstering the pumpkin’s inherent sweetness with added sugar. Similarly, I find it intriguing that Gordon Ramsay upgraded his tomato soup with an acidic and slightly sweet addition: balsamic vinegar.

How I Use Gordon Ramsay's Upgrade To Make Outstanding Tomato Soup

Ramsay’s tomato soup recipe is a bit fussy for my tastes. As a busy working mama gearing up to write a fourth cookbook, I needed a simpler way to incorporate Ramsay’s secret ingredient into any tomato soup. So I looked at my pantry and found a carton of Pacific Foods Creamy Tomato Soup.

This brand makes my favorite store-bought tomato soup because it’s shelf-stable, easy to prepare, and pretty delicious right out of the box. To heat it up, I poured the carton's contents into a saucepan and gently warmed it on the stovetop.

In Ramsay's recipe, he recommends drizzling a touch of balsamic vinegar over the tomatoes as they roast. He stated, “A little sprinkle of aged balsamic vinegar gives a nice, dark, rich acidity to the soup.”

Since he didn’t specify a precise amount, I started by adding a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar to the soup once it began to simmer. This amount hit the sweet spot for me, and adding it toward the end kept its rich, bright flavors intact.

Immediately after I stirred in the balsamic vinegar, I noticed a difference, and I kid you not, the soup underwent a full transformation. While my store-bought tomato soup is quite tasty and creamy out of the box, it is noticeably sweet and lacks a punch. The soup also could benefit from a touch more savoriness.

Thanks to its acidity, subtle sweetness, and woodsy caramel notes, the balsamic vinegar added depth and brightness while complementing the tomatoes' natural sweetness.

The result was a fuller-bodied,  more complex soup, with each bright spoonful warm, tangy, sweet, and savory all at once. Best of all, this shortcut only took a moment and left me licking the bowl clean. With the time I saved by not making tomato soup from scratch, I whipped up a melty grilled cheese to serve alongside.

If you have the time to follow Ramsay’s recipe, go for it. If, like me, your lunch breaks are short and sweet, this quick upgrade using Ramsay’s secret ingredient will make any homemade or store-bought tomato soup sing.