We examined the contents of Heinz tomato soup to see if it was healthy for you, and this is what we found out.
Heinz tomato soup is a favourite among the masses. There is nothing better to warm you on a cold day. However, just because it tastes good, doesn’t mean it is good for you. We decided to explore the topic, to find out if Heinz tomato soup is healthy.
The Ingredients Found in Heinz Tomato Soup
First, let’s look at the ingredients list to determine if Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup is good for you or not.
One of the primary ingredients (as you might expect) is tomato. Each 400g tin contains 89% tomatoes, which helps give it the intense tomato flavour.
Unfortunately, when you have such a high volume of tomatoes, you then need an acidity counterpoint. For this, Heinz use the traditional sprinkle of sugar, coupled with an acidity regulator known as citric acid.
Citric acid helps to metabolize foods by altering their acid levels. It is colourless and odourless, making it an ideal addition to foods. It has a pleasant, sweet, tart taste which neutralizes some of the harsher acids in tomatoes.
Other ingredients in Heinz tomato soup include:
- Water
- Modified cornflour
- Rapeseed oil
- Dried Skimmed Milk
- Salt
- Cream and Milk Proteins
- Spice and Herb extracts
Heinz tomato soup has no artificial colours, so that bright red colour comes from the tomatoes. It has no artificial flavours or added preservatives, either.
Other Heinz Tomato Soup Varieties
There are other varieties of Heinz tomato soup, which contain similar ingredients in different quantities. There is a 300g tin version, an organic version, a no added sugar version, and a cream of tomato with a kick of chilli version.
The 300g tin has the same ingredients to the same ratios as the larger can.
The kick of chilli version has 84% tomatoes. In place of the lost tomatoes, they use chilli powder and paprika extract, but the other ingredients remain the same.
The organic version has 85% of tomato content per 400g tin. It is EU Organic with Soil Association Organic GB certification 5. It contains sunflower oil instead of rapeseed oil, uses onion powder, and is produced in accordance with organic farming standards.
The no added sugar version of Heinz tomato soup has 88% tomatoes and substitutes the sugar with Steviol Glycosides, instead. These are extracted from the leaves of the Stevia plant, which produces a natural sweetness.
Nutritional Information for Heinz Tomato Soup
Heinz tomato soup consists of fat, carbohydrates, fibre, protein, and salt. Let’s take a look at the quantities of each. We have based the following on the typical 400g tin.
How many carbs are in Heinz tomato soup?
A portion of Heinz tomato soup (half of a 400g tin) contains 13.6g of carbohydrates. Sugar accounts for 9.7g per 200g portion. For those on a low carb diet, Heinz tomato soup can be replaced with a Keto friendly recipe.
There are 10.1g of carbs in the no added sugar version (200 g portion), with 5.3g sugars. In the chilli version, this changes to 13.2g with 9.6g sugars.
How much sugar is in Heinz Tomato Soup?
It is estimated that 4g of sugar equals one teaspoon. Therefore, each 200g portion of Heinz tomato soup contains almost 2.5 teaspoons of sugar. This is definitely a significant amount so Heinz tomato soup is clearly not low in sugar.
If you eat the whole 400 g tin of Heinz tomato soup this will account for almost 5 teaspoons of sugar or 19.4 g. Considering that adults should have no more than 30 g of free sugars a day, this represents over 60% of the recommended daily sugar intake.
The no added sugar version is much better in terms of sugar content, containing almost 1 and a half teaspoons of sugar per 200 g portion.
How many calories are in Heinz tomato soup?
There are 102 calories in a 200g portion of Heinz tomato soup. By comparison, a half can of oxtail soup contains 86 calories while a half can of chicken soup contains 106 calories.
There are 116 kcals in a 200g portion of the chilli version.
How much fat is in Heinz tomato soup?
There is 4.3g of fat per 200g portion of Heinz tomato soup.
There is 2.4g of fat in the no added sugar version.
How much fibre is in Heinz tomato soup?
There are 1.3g of fibre in a 200g portion. This is a little on the low side. Fibre is required to make the digestive processes easier. Heinz tomato soup is not high in fibre.
There is 0.7g of fibre in the no added sugar version of Heinz tomato soup.
| Typical Values | Per 100g | Per 1/2 can |
| Energy | 215kJ | 429kJ |
| – | 51kcal | 102kcal |
| Fat | 2.1g | 4.3g |
| – of which saturates | 0.2g | 0.4g |
| Carbohydrate | 6.8g | 13.6g |
| – of which sugars | 4.8g | 9.7g |
| Fibre | 0.6g | 1.3g |
| Protein | 0.8g | 1.7g |
| Salt | 0.5g | 1.1g |
FAQs about How Healthy Heinz Tomato Soup is
In this section, we have tried to answer any other questions you might have about the health benefits of eating Heinz tomato soup.
Is Heinz tomato soup good for weight loss?
Since each portion contains only 102 calories and 4.3g fat, you could incorporate Heinz tomato soup into a balanced diet aimed at losing weight. However, you need to be aware of its high sugar content which is almost 2.5 teaspoons per 200 g portion. Consuming too much sugar every day contributes towards weight gain so also be aware of other sugary foods you consume and aim for a balanced approach.
Is Heinz tomato soup one of your 5 a day?
Yes, since Heinz tomato soup contains 89% tomatoes, it can count towards your five a day. Heinz claim the tomatoes contain within count for 2 out of your 5 portions a day. They have had to defend this in the press but maintain it is so.
Is Heinz tomato soup high in salt?
There is 1.1g of salt in a 200 g portion of Heinz tomato soup. The recommendation is not to exceed 6 g of salt a day and Heinz tomato soup represents 18% of that amount. This concludes that Heinz tomato soup is not low in salt but it’s also not extremely high in salt, it’s somewhere in the middle.
Conclusion – Is Heinz tomato soup healthy?
Given the ingredients and nutritional values, Heinz tomato soup is not the healthiest soup you could have. It contains proportionately large amounts of sugar although it is low in fat and contains no preservatives.
It still counts towards your five a day though and doesn’t have too much salt if you stick to the recommended portion size. So there are some benefits of eating it but the best is to only eat it occasionally as part of a healthy and balanced diet and not in excess.
Related:
