Frozen Spinach Is The Secret To A More Hearty Canned Tomato Soup

Canned tomato soups are a pantry essential for many reasons. They offer long shelf life and affordability, but what's even better is how delicious they can be when properly reheated. They're a perfect solution for those days when you're too tired to cook from scratch. However, just because they come in a can doesn't mean you have to compromise on taste or texture. With a few simple additions, even canned tomato soup can rival homemade. One such addition is frozen spinach.

Why frozen, specifically? Well, it's incredibly convenient. Frozen spinach is pre-blanched, so it's already soft and ready to go from out of the bag. Unlike fresh spinach, which requires time to wilt and soften as it cooks in the pot, frozen spinach can be added right away into the pot without any prepping. Add it straight to your simmering canned tomato soup a few minutes before it's done cooking and the spinach will blend perfectly into the liquid. Plus, it boosts the soup's nutritional value, too.

Spinach is a nutritional powerhouse, packed with antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds, dietary fiber, vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, and iron. While canned tomato soup is already quite nutritious on its own, there aren't any cons to making it an even heartier meal, are there?

For the sake of convenience, especially when using canned tomato soup, you can skip the thawing process and just add the frozen spinach directly into the soup pot. The veggies will naturally thaw and heat up as it cooks. 

But if you have a bit more time and want to boost the soup's flavor, consider thawing the spinach before adding it. Frozen spinach has water content a tad higher than usual from all the ice crystals stuck on it from the freezing process. All these ice crystals, when melted down into water, will mix with the soup's liquid base and slightly dilute its flavor. It won't make the soup alarmingly watery, but you might miss out on the full richness of the tomato soup nonetheless.

To thaw the frozen spinach, just put it in a colander and run warm tap water over it for a few minutes. Then, shake it dry as much as you can before adding it to the pot. This way, you'll add next to no extra water to the soup, and all its deliciousness is preserved.