Infused Oil Is The Secret To Transforming Store-Bought Soup

Sometimes store-bought soup gets a bad rap that's a bit unearned. Sure, you can take as much time as you like creating a culinary masterpiece in a bowl, but the convenient supermarket version has its time and place. Canned soup can double as an earthy pasta sauce and enhance a casserole with just the turn of a can opener. It's also one of the easiest things to make when you don't feel like cooking a complicated meal, and it's maybe even sitting in your pantry right now. However, eaten on its own, canned soup does tend to be lackluster — unless you know to use infused oil to elevate it.

You could always add a drizzle of plain olive oil to your liquid fare, adding a depth of flavor with just one addition. However, imbuing oil with the essence of other ingredients can quickly make the soup taste like an entirely different dish. Basil-infused oil will add the herbaceous notes a plain tomato soup is usually begging for and, when doctored up with chili peppers, this oil can impart just the right amount of heat to make other soups more appealing. The best part is that you can typically buy it right along with your canned goods in the grocery store. Yet, if you have a bit of extra time, creating your own unique blend allows you to tailor this upgrade to your specific desires.

Just like you can infuse tequila with fruit for a refreshing summer cocktail, oil will take on other flavors that it's been blended with and which allow it to level up a dish in several ways. It might take only minutes, and when paired with store-bought soup, the result may just change your opinion of the easily accessible food forever. 

How to make it at home? Instead of buying a basil-infused concoction for a tomato soup, for instance, consider gently heating some garlic and oregano with oil to create a saturation of tastes you won't be able to purchase at the supermarket. Infusing oil only takes about five minutes on the stovetop at medium-low, and the mix can last up to a month if stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

If you don't want to turn on the stove, break out the blender. Mixing olive oil, lime zest, and cilantro creates a medley of flavors that can add a unique personality to several varieties of liquid comfort food. Because canned soup is oftentimes pretty salty, adding infused oil has the additional benefit of mellowing out the salinity while introducing another level of excitement to the dish. And it really doesn't take that long, as using the blender to make an infused oil takes the same amount of time required when using the stove. Either way, you still won't have to be in the kitchen any longer than you want to before enjoying your convenient meal.