Trader Joe’s Autumnal Harvest Soup

When I think of fall foods, I often think of things like pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, apple cider, apple cider donuts, and other sweets.

But fall has a savory side as well. Aldi’s cousin, Trader Joe’s, usually sells a range of savory seasonal foods each autumn alongside the cookies and jams and rolls … things like butternut squash and cheese, pumpkin ravioli, and pumpkin butternut squash bisque, to name a few. I decided to try one of the not-so-sweet offerings at TJ’s this fall: a tomato soup with pumpkin and butternut squash. It looked like it might go well with a grilled cheese sandwich on a cool day.

Trader Joe’s Autumnal Harvest Soup cost $3.99 for a 25-ounce jar. The label describes this as “a creamy tomato based soup with pumpkin & butternut squash.”

Ingredients are: tomato puree, pumpkin puree, onion, celery, carrot, pasteurized heavy cream, butternut squash, butternut squash puree, butter, sugar, salt, dried garlic, citric acid (to extend shelf life), dried onion, and spices.

If you’re looking out for allergens, this contains milk.

Trader Joe’s Autumnal Harvest Soup nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)

One jar contains about three servings. A 1-cup serving (245 grams) has 150 calories, 8 grams of total fat (10% DV), 4.5 grams of saturated fat (23% DV), 20 mg of cholesterol (7% DV), 790 mg of sodium (34% DV), 20 grams of total carbohydrates (7% DV), 4 grams of fiber (14% DV), 11 grams of total sugars, 4 grams of added sugars (8% DV), and 3 grams of protein.

The label has instructions for heating this soup in the microwave or on the stove top.

To microwave, pour the desired amount of soup into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until heated through.

To heat on the stove top, pour the desired amount of soup into a medium pot. Heat on medium high for 6-8 minutes, stirring often, until heated through.

Trader Joe’s Autumnal Harvest Soup ready to eat.

I opted to heat this soup on the stove top, and it was simmering and bubbly after a few minutes.

It’s an interesting soup. I was expecting more of a pureed soup, similar to a homemade tomato soup that I like to make in my slow cooker. This soup is actually a mix of pureed ingredients and chunky ingredients. It has tomato, pumpkin, and squash purees that create a thick type of broth, and it also has small-to-medium-sized bites of carrots, squash, celery, and onion. The texture is all right, but if I bought this again I might run it through my blender to give it a smoother overall texture.

As far as taste, it’s got plenty of tomato flavor with notes of squash, and it has some zest to it. It’s not bland, and it doesn’t taste like your typical canned soup. My family loves tomato soup but is more hesitant about things like pumpkin and squash in soup, and they weren’t quite sure what to make of this soup or its seasonings. I thought it went well with grilled cheese sandwiches, especially if you like to dunk your grilled cheese in tomato soup. Whether you like this soup probably depends on how much of a vegetarian you are and how much you like tomatoes, pumpkin, and butternut squash.

The Verdict:

Trader Joe’s Autumnal Harvest Soup is one part pureed soup and one part chunky soup. It features tomato, butternut squash, and pumpkin purees, along with small chunks of carrot, squash, celery, and onion all mixed with heavy cream, garlic, and other spices. It’s flavorful and can be a good soup to dip a grilled cheese sandwich in, but how much you like it depends on how much you like pumpkin and squash.