Minestrone soup: a light bowl whose sodium comes from the can

In 60 normal-weight adults eating a laboratory lunch once a week, a vegetable soup starter cut total meal energy by 20 percent, about 134 calories, whether the soup was chunky or pureed. That trial used a low-energy vegetable soup, and we found no study of minestrone itself. A second trial shows the limit. In 32 lean young men, low-energy soup starters were followed by a bigger lunch, and total energy over the day came out the same as after richer soups. Minestrone is light by weight. Canned minestrone made up with water gives 34 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g) in US tables, and ready-to-serve versions run from 31 to 53 calories. The number to watch is sodium. The diluted canned version has 254 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g), about 610 mg in a 241 g cup by our own arithmetic from a single record.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• Ready-to-serve minestrone ranges from 138 to 288 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g) across US records, and the UK canned version lists 200 mg. — USDA SR Legacy FDC 171550 (chunky), 174530 (reduced sodium), 171578 (SMART SOUP Greek Minestrone); CoFID 2021 17-711 (Soup, minestrone, canned) (n = 4 records) Evidence E source
  Sodium 288 mg (chunky), 215 mg (reduced sodium), 138 mg (SMART SOUP), 200 mg (CoFID); energy 31 to 53 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g)

What a real portion looks like

• US dietary surveys count one cup of minestrone as 245 g, a single-serve container as 440 g and a whole can as 525 g. — USDA FNDDS, food code 75651000, Soup, minestrone (fdc_id 2710114) (n = 4 portion measures) Evidence E source
  1 cup 245 g; individual container 440 g; 1 can 525 g; quantity not specified 245 g
• In a trial of 60 adults, eating vegetable soup before lunch cut total meal energy intake by 20%, about 134 calories, whatever the soup's texture. — 60 normal-weight men and women, lunch once a week for 5 weeks (n = 60) Evidence B source
  Meal energy intake -20% (134 +/- 25 calories) with soup preload versus no soup; no difference between chunky, pureed or separate broth and vegetables
• In a cafeteria crossover trial of 69 students, a perforated spoon cut broth intake by about a third and salt intake by 0.7 to 0.8 g per meal. — 35 male and 34 female university students eating ramen (n = 69) Evidence B source
  Men salt 2.4 vs 3.1 g (P = 0.022); women 2.2 vs 3.0 g (P < 0.001); satiety and palatability unchanged

What your body absorbs

• In a 4-week crossover trial, carotenoid-rich vegetable soups and drinks raised plasma beta-carotene by 250% and lowered homocysteine by 8.8%. — Volunteers in a single-blind crossover, 4 weeks per arm with 10-week washout Evidence B source
  Plasma alpha-carotene +362%, beta-carotene +250%, lycopene +31% (P < 0.01); homocysteine -8.8% (P < 0.01); oxidative stress markers unchanged

What cooking and storage change

• In a 12-month trial of 608 rural Chinese adults, a potassium salt substitute left the taste of a standard salty soup almost unchanged. — 608 adults, mean age 60, rural northern China, 12 months (n = 608) Evidence B source
  No difference in saltiness, flavor or acceptability in primary analyses (all P > 0.08); flavor of standard soup -1.9 mm VAS in secondary analysis

What it does to your health

• In a crossover trial of 68 women with overweight, adding MSG to a 6.8 fl oz (200 ml) vegetable soup lowered energy eaten at the following lunch. — 68 otherwise healthy women with BMI 25.0 to 39.9 (n = 68) Evidence B source
  Significantly lower lunch energy intake and less energy from high-fat savory foods; afternoon snack not significantly different

What people believe that the data does not support

• In a crossover trial of 32 men, a low-energy broth preload led to more eating at lunch, and total daily energy did not differ from richer soups. — 32 healthy lean men, mean age 28.9, mean BMI 22.1 (n = 32) Evidence B source
  Higher ad libitum lunch intake after low-energy-density preloads (p = 0.012); total daily energy intake no different (p >= 0.214)

Who this works differently for

• FDA notes that more than 70% of the sodium Americans eat comes from processed, packaged and prepared foods, the group canned soup belongs to. — US population, FDA sodium reduction program Evidence E source
  More than 70% of sodium intake from processed, packaged and prepared foods

What is still unknown

• Canned minestrone made up with water gives about 34 calories and 254 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g), roughly 610 mg sodium in a 241 g cup. — USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy, FDC 172913, Soup, minestrone, canned, prepared with equal volume water (n = 1 record) Evidence E source
  34 calories, protein 1.77 g, fat 1.04 g, carbohydrate 4.66 g, fiber 0.4 g, sodium 254 mg, potassium 130 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g); 1 cup = 241 g

The bottom line

Brands differ. Ready-to-serve US records run from 138 to 288 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g) and the UK canned version lists 200 mg, a spread across brands and recipes that says nothing about batch-to-batch variation. Portion size matters as much as the label. US surveys count a cup as 245 g, a single-serve container as 440 g and a whole can as 525 g, so one container is close to two cups. How much broth you drink sets how much salt you get. In a cafeteria trial of 69 students eating ramen, a spoon with holes cut salt per meal from 3.1 to 2.4 g in men and from 3.0 to 2.2 g in women, with fullness and taste unchanged. In a 12-month trial of 608 adults in rural northern China, a potassium salt substitute left the taste of a standard salty soup almost unchanged. That trial measured taste, not safety, and we hold no card on who should not use potassium-based substitutes. Adding MSG to a 6.8 fl oz (200 ml) vegetable soup lowered the energy 68 women with overweight ate at the next lunch, and the abstract gives no size for the drop. In a 4-week crossover trial, carotenoid-rich vegetable soups and drinks raised blood beta-carotene by 250 percent and lowered homocysteine by 8.8 percent, and the abstract does not say how many people took part. FDA says more than 70 percent of the sodium Americans eat comes from processed, packaged and prepared foods, the group canned soup falls into. Sodium is the one caution these cards support. We have no card on minestrone in pregnancy, in children, in allergy or alongside medicines, so this page cannot speak to those.

Sources

1. minsp-daily-r4-02 · dataset
   Soup, minestrone, canned, chunky, ready-to-serve (FDC 171550): Energy 53 kcal, Sodium 288 mg; Soup, minestrone, canned, reduced sodium, ready-to-serve (FDC 174530): Energy 50 kcal, Sodium 215 mg; SMART SOUP, Greek Minestrone (FDC 171578): Energy 40 kcal, Sodium 138 mg; CoFID 17-711 Soup, minestrone, canned: Energy 31 kcal, Sodium 200 mg
   USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy 2019-04-01 (FDC 171550, 174530, 171578); CoFID 2021, Public Health England, code 17-711 · checked 2026-09-30
2. minsp-daily-r4-03 · dataset
   Soup, minestrone (FNDDS 75651000): 1 cup 245 g; 1 can 525 g; 1 individual container 440 g; Quantity not specified 245 g
   USDA FNDDS, food code 75651000, fdc_id 2710114 · checked 2026-09-30
3. minsp-daily-r4-04 · RCT crossover
   Normal-weight men and women (n = 60) came to the laboratory for lunch once a week for 5 weeks... When soup was consumed, subjects reduced meal energy intake by 20% (134+/-25 kcal; 561+/-105 kJ). The type of soup had no significant effect on test meal intake or total meal energy intake.
   Appetite, 2007 · checked 2026-09-30
4. minsp-daily-r4-09 · RCT crossover
   Among male participants, the median (25th, 75th percentiles) soup intake was 95.0 (77.0, 236.0) g with the perforated spoon and 141.0 (93.0, 347.0) g with the regular spoon (P = 0.004); salt intake was 2.4 (2.1, 4.9) g and 3.1 (2.4, 6.9) g (P = 0.022), respectively. Among female participants, soup intake was 84.5 (71.0, 122.0) g and 129.5 (95.5, 165.3) g (P < 0.001), and salt intake was 2.2 (1.9, 2.8) g and 3.0 (2.4, 3.6) g (P < 0.001), respectively.
   Front Public Health, 2026 · checked 2026-09-30
5. minsp-daily-r4-07 · RCT crossover
   Compared with the control treatment, consumption of the carotenoid-rich soups and beverages increased dietary carotenoids, vitamin C, alpha-tocopherol, potassium, and folate, and the plasma concentrations of alpha-carotene (362%), beta-carotene (250%) and lycopene (31%) (P < 0.01) and decreased the plasma homocysteine concentration by 8.8% (P < 0.01).
   J Nutr, 2006 · checked 2026-09-30
6. minsp-daily-r4-08 · RCT
   The mean age of the 608 participants from rural northern China was 60 years and 56 % of them were females. In the primary analyses, the changes in the saltiness, flavour and overall acceptability of both home-cooked foods and a standard salty soup were not different between the randomised groups (all P>0.08).
   Br J Nutr, 2009 · checked 2026-09-30
7. minsp-daily-r4-06 · RCT crossover
   A fixed portion (200 ml) of control vegetable soup or the same soup with added MSG (0·5 g/100 ml) was provided 10 min before an ad libitum lunch and an ad libitum snack in the mid-afternoon... The soup with MSG in comparison with the control soup resulted in significantly lower consumption of energy at lunch.
   Br J Nutr, 2016 · checked 2026-09-30
8. minsp-daily-r4-05 · RCT crossover
   There was a significant difference in ad libitum lunch intake between treatments (p = 0.012), with higher intake in sweet LED and savoury LED compared to sweet HED and savoury HED. Energy intake at subsequent meals and total daily energy intake did not differ between the four treatments (both p ≥ 0.214).
   Nutrients, 2018 · checked 2026-09-30
9. minsp-daily-r4-10 · agency position
   more than 70 percent, comes from processed, packaged and prepared foods
   U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Sodium Reduction in the Food Supply · checked 2026-09-30
10. minsp-daily-r4-01 · dataset
    Soup, minestrone, canned, prepared with equal volume water (FDC 172913): Energy 34 kcal; Protein 1.77 g; Total lipid (fat) 1.04 g; Carbohydrate 4.66 g; Fiber 0.4 g; Sodium, Na 254 mg; Potassium, K 130 mg per 100 g; portion 1 cup (8 fl oz) 241 g
    USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 2019-04-01, FDC 172913 (Soup, minestrone, canned, prepared with equal volume water) · checked 2026-09-30