For a low-fat tinned soup meal under 500 kcal, check fat per 100g separately from calories for the amount you will eat: NHS food-label guidance uses 3g fat or less per 100g as its low-fat benchmark for foods. Tesco Groceries lists Heinz Weight Watchers Tomato Soup at 76 kcal and 1.3g fat per can, while its Tesco Low Fat Lentil & Vegetable Soup works out to about 174 kcal for the full can. Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Condensed Soup illustrates the distinction: Campbell’s lists 6.7g fat per 100g as consumed, above that low-fat benchmark.
If keeping fat low is the reason for choosing soup, compare fat per 100g before looking at calories. NHS guidance uses 3g fat or less per 100g as the low-fat benchmark for foods; the full-can amount still matters if you eat it all.
If a whole tin is your lunch, use the number of servings on its label to work out the calories for the amount you will eat, rather than relying on a half-can figure.
A low-fat label does not tell you the salt content. Compare salt per serving and per tin when deciding between soups you might eat regularly.
Start with fat per 100g, then calculate calories and salt for your portion, including anything added to the soup.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Fat | Read total fat per 100g; NHS guidance uses 3g or less per 100g as the low-fat benchmark for foods. Check fat for the portion you will eat as well. | I am choosing soup specifically to keep fat low, so an under-500-kcal figure alone does not answer my question. |
| Meal calories | Check kcal per serving and servings per tin. Count bread, toppings or other additions separately if they are part of the meal. | If I finish the tin, I want the calorie calculation to cover the whole tin and anything I eat with it. |
| Salt | Compare salt per 100g and per serving, then account for how much of the tin you will eat. Do not use a low-fat label as a substitute for the salt figure. | Salt matters to me too, particularly when a stated serving is only half a tin. |
| Ingredients and preparation | Read the current ingredients and allergen information. For condensed soup, follow the preparation directions and count any milk or other additions separately. | I need to check ingredients that matter to me and calculate the meal as prepared, not just the contents of the tin. |
Campbell’s lists 6.7g fat per 100g as consumed for its Cream of Mushroom Condensed Soup, above the 3g-per-100g low-fat benchmark in NHS guidance, even though its energy figure is 90 kcal per 100g.
Check fat per 100g independently of calories before deciding whether a soup fits a low-fat choice.
Sainsbury’s lists Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup at 102 kcal and 4.3g fat per half-tin. Eating both stated servings makes that approximately 204 kcal and 8.6g fat before any sides.
Multiply the serving figures by the number of servings you will eat, then account for additions to the meal.
Low fat and salt are separate label measures. In its 2026 analysis of 481 chilled and ambient soups, Action on Salt reported that 23% exceeded the Government’s voluntary maximum salt target.
Compare the salt figures for the amount you expect to eat, rather than relying on the front-of-pack fat description.
ASDA’s directions for Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup say to mix the soup with one tin of water, or milk or a milk substitute for a creamier result. The final meal depends on what you add.
Check the nutrition basis on the label and count any added ingredients when assessing calories and fat.
These named soups show why the per-100g figure and the amount eaten need separate checks; the figures apply to the specified products, not every soup from each brand.
The tomato soups listed by Tesco Groceries and Sainsbury’s offer two different whole-tin fat figures.
Tesco Low Fat Lentil & Vegetable Soup 400G provides both per-100g and half-tin nutrition figures on its Tesco Groceries listing.
Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Condensed Soup is a condensed soup that can also be used as a cooking base.
These three 400g tinned soups offer different flavours to assess against your low-fat and under-500-kcal meal criteria. Check each current nutrition panel for fat per 100g and calculate the amount you plan to eat.
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For a chicken noodle lunch, use the 400g tin size to check the nutrition for the portion you will eat. Read the current fat, salt and allergen information before choosing it for a low-fat meal.
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If you want sausage and vegetables in a 400g tin, check the current fat per 100g alongside the figures for the full amount you will eat. Read the ingredients and allergen information as well.
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For a spicy parsnip-and-carrot soup, the 400g tin size lets you calculate a whole-tin meal from the current nutrition panel. Check fat per 100g, salt and allergens on the pack.
No. Check fat separately: NHS food-label guidance uses 3g fat or less per 100g as the low-fat benchmark for foods. Campbell’s lists 90 kcal but 6.7g fat per 100g as consumed for its Cream of Mushroom Condensed Soup, so its calorie figure does not make it low fat.
Use the amount you expect to eat. Tesco Groceries lists 87 kcal per 200g half-tin of Tesco Low Fat Lentil & Vegetable Soup, making its two stated servings approximately 174 kcal before any additions.
Yes. Fat and salt are separate label figures: Tesco Groceries lists 1.7g salt per tin for Heinz Weight Watchers Tomato Soup and 0.93g per half-tin for Tesco Low Fat Lentil & Vegetable Soup. Compare salt for the portion you will actually eat.
Yes. Calculate the soup using the label’s stated preparation and count additions separately. ASDA’s directions for Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup allow water or milk or a milk substitute, so check which preparation basis applies to the nutrition figures you use.
Read the current tin’s ingredients and allergen information for the exact soup you intend to buy. A calorie figure or low-fat description cannot establish whether it meets an ingredient requirement.