Top 9+ best fast-food soups, ranked

9. Subway

Coming in at the bottom of our list was the chicken noodle soup from Subway. Here, an 8-ounce cup of soup sells for $3.49, which was one of the most budget-friendly options we found. While the price was nice, the soup itself was watery and skimpy on the vegetables. We did appreciate the larger chunks of chicken, and the noodles were adequate. Unfortunately, Subway didn't provide any crackers or bread to go along with our soup, which was also a disappointment.

Bottom Line: Ultimately, our biggest complaint about the Subway soup experience was the fact that it was re-heated in a microwave right in front of us. It certainly didn't align with the brand's "Eat Fresh" slogan.

7. McAlister's Deli

McAlister's Deli is a soup, salad and sandwich restaurant with 563 locations across the United States. This was our first time pulling up to the chain's drive thru, so we were excited to see what they had to offer. McAlister's sells cups of soup for $4.79 and bowls for $6.29. The prices seemed reasonable, and there were a variety of soups to choose from. This location offered chicken tortilla, broccoli cheddar, country potato, veggie chili, classic chili and a rotating soup of the day option. We ordered the classic chili, which included two packages of saltines.

There are many opinions when it comes to chili, and many purists believe that beans have no place in a bowl of chili. If this sounds like you, then McAlister's Deli is right up your alley. However, we are fans of beans so we didn't love that the beef was so finely chopped it felt like a blended paste.

Bottom Line: We would prefer a mix of hearty beef chili with chunks of ground beef, tomatoes and beans. The flavor of the chili was adequate, so we might give another soup a try someday to see if it might suit our taste better.

5. Noodles & Company

Surprisingly, there is only one soup on the menu at Noodles & Company. The chain's signature chicken noodle soup is made with chicken breast, celery, carrots, onion and wavy egg noodles. It's sold as a regular entree size for $6.55 or a side cup size for $2.85. Our cup came with a bag of oyster crackers.

As the name of the chain suggests, the noodles were fantastic in this bowl of soup. They were large, tender and perfectly cooked. We also appreciated the plentiful pieces of chicken and hearty vegetables.

Bottom Line: Our only complaint here was that this bowl wasn't filled completely, making the portion size feel a bit skimpy even though the flavor stood out.

4. Potbelly

Potbelly offers a variety of soups on its menu. There's broccoli cheddar, garden vegetable, loaded baked potato, chicken potpie and chili. Each cup sells for $4.89 and a bowl goes for $6.59. We ordered a cup of chili that came with a bag of oyster crackers. We found the chili to be one of our favorites. It was a thick and substantial chili with an ideal ratio of meat to beans, peppers and tomatoes.

Bottom Line: The spices were well-balanced, and it tasted fresh rather than mass-produced. We were impressed enough that we want to come back and try all the other soup options.

3. Café Zupas

This fast-casual restaurant is known for its soups, salads and sandwiches. The chain prides itself on using healthy, fresh ingredients. Needless to say, the soup menu was substantial and included golden curry, chicken enchilada chili, lobster bisque, Wisconsin cauliflower, tomato basil, southwest potato and green chili, chicken noodle, mushroom bisque, and chickpea and vegetable. Our mouths are watering just mentioning all the names of these soups! With such a plethora of choices, it was hard to stick to our plan and just order the chicken noodle. However, we knew that if it could successfully create a classic, we could bet the others would be just as amazing.

Ultimately, we were very impressed with our meal at Café Zupas. The cup of soup arrived with a lovely baguette roll and a chocolate covered strawberry! It made the meal feel extra special and handcrafted.

Bottom Line: The prices were on the higher side, but we felt like the quality justified the price. Here, a half portion of soup is $5.99 and a large is $8.29. We loved the perfect balance of noodles, chicken, vegetables and seasonings. It felt like it was homemade!