- Progresso brought back its viral Soup Drops after selling out last year.
- The 2026 version features three new flavors: Chicken Noodle, Tomato Basil, and Beef Pot Roast.
- Our editors did not enjoy any of the flavors, but Tomato Basil was the most palatable of the 3.
Some stunt marketing campaigns are quietly forgotten once the hype subsides. And then there are others that linger long after, continuing to haunt our nightmares. Progresso Soup Drops fall into the latter category.
Last year, the canned soup brand sent shockwaves through social media when it introduced Soup Drops—cough drops designed to taste like chicken noodle soup. Like everyone else on the internet, our team had some… strong thoughts on the flavor.
And now, for 2026, Progresso Soup Drops are back and better(?) than ever. The second installment features not one, but three soup-inspired flavors: the OG Chicken Noodle, Tomato Basil, and Beef Pot Roast.
Our team got our hands on the new Soup Drops and tasted them all for science. So if you’re one of the many people waiting with bated breath for the next release, here’s what you can expect.
The Warming Feature
First, we need to address the biggest change in the Soup Drops formula. New this year is the claim that these lozenges “warm in your mouth,” mimicking the cozy comfort you feel when eating actual soup.
So does this claim translate to the Soup Drops experience? The jury’s still out. After the candy-like coating dissolves, the flavor changes in true Willy Wonka fashion. The savory, soupy flavor becomes more concentrated and intense, and some editors felt it getting warmer.
“Eventually, I did notice a bit of a warming sensation,” said Digital Food Production Assistant Colton Trowbridge. Others were less convinced. Senior Editor Samantha MacAvoy said she was either being punked, “or that warming sensation does not exist as it says it does.”
While we can’t definitively agree on this new effect, the editors reached a clear consensus on the flavors.
The Flavors
We were already familiar with the Chicken Noodle Soup Soup Drops, and trying them again was a painful reminder. The intensely savory flavor is evocative of a bouillon cube. But it’s also coated in a sugary outer layer, which creates a sweet-and-salty combination that leaves our mouths confused.
The first new flavor is inspired by tomato basil soup, and it’s not too far off. With the ultra-concentrated flavor, though, the taste is more like tomato paste than a cozy bowl of soup. Even still, it was the flavor that our editors enjoyed the most (or, rather, hated the least).
“The tomato was the least bad, I think because it had some sweetness,” said MacAvoy. Tomatoes are a fruit, after all—which might be why the sweetness felt less jarring.
And then… there’s the Soup Drop inspired by beef pot roast. This is, by far, the most upsetting flavor of the three. MacAvoy described the taste as “moo-y,” and Trowbridge was “caught quite unpleasantly off guard by the strength of the flavor.”
The worst part about all three flavors is that you’ll taste them long after you spit them out. Associate Editor Amanda Mactas said, “The flavor just lingers and reminds you of your poor life choices.”
If you want to subject yourself and your friends to this experience for a bit, knock yourself out. But don’t expect this to replace your standard cough drops.