Campbell’s Kickin’ Buffalo-Style Chicken Soup

Campbell's Chunky Kickin' Buffalo Style Chicken SoupAside from the occasional beer cheese variety I really don’t eat soup too often. It’s not that I dislike soup, it’s more that I’m just not a fan of the soup eating process. It’s SO slow…. If it was socially acceptable to treat soup like the leftover milk in the bottom of a cereal bowl and just life the bowl up to my mouth and drink it I’d be all over it, but as it is I’m just way too impatient.

Luckily, while checking out the back of one of the cans of Kickin’ Buffalo-Style Chicken soup that Campbell’s sent me recently I noticed that they suggest serving it over cornbread, so that’s how I decided to try it.

Taste-wise the soup tastes just like a Buffalo style sauce and has chunks of chicken, potatoes, celery and red peppers. Eaten by the spoonful it was definitely kickin’ and was almost even a little too spicy for me, although I’m a total wuss when it comes to anything even remotely spicy. Over cornbread though I liked it a lot more. It was definitely one of the more filling soups I’ve eaten.

I’d also be willing to bet that if you mixed this soup with some cream cheese you could make some pretty delicious Buffalo chicken dip. Maybe I’ll try that with the one can I have left. Oh yeah, and if you want to make awesome cornbread at home try using half cornbread mix and half yellow cake mix. You can thank me later….

62 Comments on Campbell’s Kickin’ Buffalo-Style Chicken Soup

  1. Jake Salvo
    October 18, 2012 at 1:55 pm (11 years ago)

    “Bowl”? You’re doing it wrong. Soup is designed to be drunk out of the tin.

    Reply
    • Dan
      November 13, 2014 at 11:09 am (9 years ago)

      I found a piece of chicken in this soup.

      Do I get a prize for that?

      Reply
    • Bap
      June 17, 2015 at 1:39 pm (9 years ago)

      Best Campbell’s Soup ever! Even better with added hot sauce. The only soup I could stomach on a regular basis.

      Reply
    • Kim
      December 19, 2015 at 7:44 pm (8 years ago)

      This soup smells like rotten eggs and the shit one takes after eating indian food. Kudos and props to you if you can get your mouth and nose close enough to this soup to take a bite. If the smell doesn’t knock you over the taste will. Hands down the worst smelling and tasting thing I have ever eaten. I managed to take one bite just to see if the taste was better than the smell but not the case. IT TASTES EXACTLY LIKE IT SMELLS. LIKE SICK PEOPLE SHITS.

      Reply
  2. elle
    October 19, 2012 at 9:55 am (11 years ago)

    Thanks for your suggestions on adding cream cheese and for your corn bread adaptation.
    I doctor up all canned soups with a variation of diced tomatoes, olive oil, herbs, or a dash of cumin, depending on the soup. I find it vastly improves edibility.

    Reply
  3. Raunak
    October 19, 2012 at 10:37 am (11 years ago)

    U have a wonderful site. thanks

    Reply
  4. Austin
    November 18, 2012 at 12:35 pm (11 years ago)

    This soup smells like vomit/baby poo. If you can’t tell that from the first 30 seconds, you are a campbells shill. Worst soup ever. Threw 100% of it away plus the other can in my cupboard. (and I wanted to like it so bad)

    Reply
    • mike
      November 27, 2012 at 12:33 am (11 years ago)

      dude, Austin, you are so right . i immediately gagged and even then i thought “maybe it will be better after microwaving it” boy was i wrong the most disgusting food ive ever ate with the most horrific smell know to man. literally smells like vomit! I am not kidding buy one your self. I dare you. after microwaving we had to cover our noses with our shirts and pour it down the drain. lost my appetite and pretty much puked. tried to eat the buffalo wings that we made but barely could stomach them after that smell. Jesus please dont eat this. I have no idea how Campbells let this product on store shelves. i never write comments and i instantly googled this soup to see what people had said. im warning you this is a mistake. if you like this soup i will think less of you as a person.

      Reply
      • Dude
        December 7, 2012 at 11:04 am (11 years ago)

        Dude, I totally agree. Why?????? Terrible soup. How can we ban this soup? I have eaten other Campbell’s Chunky but this one was straight out of the can bad. I first thought maybe its just me. Microwaved, still smelled funky, wait a little, maybe if I don’t breathe and taste it, taste…eww tasted the vomit smell in my mouth…blah….

        Reply
    • BDK
      December 16, 2012 at 3:34 pm (11 years ago)

      Agreed. I accidentally grabbled this off the shelf thinking it was Chipotle. The color is nuclear and while it wasn’t horrible, buffalo sauce should not be the basis for a soup. I finished because I didn’t want to waste it but I would never buy it again.

      Reply
      • lynn
        December 30, 2012 at 9:16 pm (11 years ago)

        why is it the color of french dressing? also yes i noticed the vile vomit smell too. managed one bite. never again!!!!!!

        Reply
    • Pulse
      April 9, 2013 at 5:58 pm (11 years ago)

      My son and I both decided that we couldn’t bear to eat even a spoonful of this baby shit smelling rotten vomit embryonic pig urine.

      Wow. Epic fail from the ol’ soupsters.

      Reply
    • Roland
      April 16, 2014 at 12:44 am (10 years ago)

      I totally agree. Absolutely 100% the worst, most vile, disgusting smelling and tasting bowl of wretch-inducing crap (read: bowl of puke) I have ever experienced (and I was in the military 6 years too!) It’s all going back to Costco tomorrow. Thankfully they have a good refund policy.

      Reply
    • paul
      October 8, 2014 at 1:07 pm (9 years ago)

      I actually like this soup. it tastes like Zaxby’s kicken chicken sandwich. I’ve noticed that sometimes I get a can that looks off. It’s supposed to look like french dressing in color, but every now and then it looks more watery, red in color and seems like they forgot the cream.

      Reply
  5. Bill
    December 1, 2012 at 7:16 am (11 years ago)

    I only wish I had found this site BEFORE my family and I tried to eat this stuff. From the moment I opened the can I knew something was wrong. Like others I hoped that heating would improve it but the ghastly miasma that emanated from the pot on the stove actually made the burned popcorn odor from earlier in the evening smell pleasant. Holding onto the last vestige of hope, we each tried a spoon full and then nearly trampled each other getting to the sink to dispose of it. Giving this to a food pantry should be a criminal offense.

    Reply
    • Rick
      December 1, 2012 at 10:54 am (11 years ago)

      The only way to mitigate the smell was for me to make popcorn. I don’t even like popcorn.

      Reply
  6. Margaret
    December 1, 2012 at 8:40 am (11 years ago)

    Lord Save Us from this Unholy Turd of a Soup!

    I am not sure HOW Campbells got this soup thru to store shelves, unless they used test subject that did not posses a sense of smell. This soup has an odor that induces nausea. The taste is no where close to that tasty bar food that the name implies. Throw it out!! (We did.) Do not donate this soup to a food pantry, that would be considered a criminal offense. I would hope that the Campbells “test subjects” are well compensated! Campbells should take the whole lot to an otolaryngologist because they obviously need help!.

    Reply
  7. Rick
    December 1, 2012 at 10:55 am (11 years ago)

    This might be the worst soup ever made. Worse than anything with mushrooms in it. How it was given anything more than a “unfavorable” rating is beyond me.

    Reply
    • Nick
      December 1, 2012 at 12:56 pm (11 years ago)

      Honestly, mine didn’t smell terrible like most of yours seemed to. I think they sent me the cans of it before it was actually in stores, so maybe something changed between then and when they started selling it or maybe the older the cans get the worse the soup smells or something, but if mine was that terrible I never would have eaten it.

      Reply
  8. Mahiti Jones
    December 3, 2012 at 12:10 pm (11 years ago)

    I smelled this and I wanted to die. I ate this and I almost did. Don’t do drugs and don’t do campbell’s kickin buffalo style chicken soup.

    Reply
  9. James
    December 6, 2012 at 10:35 am (11 years ago)

    Looks and feels like diarrhea when pouring it out of the can. Made me feel physically ill handling at eating it.

    Reply
    • Tyra
      December 16, 2012 at 3:59 pm (11 years ago)

      Well i haven’t tried it yet but maybe it would be good in a pot pie.

      Reply
  10. Courtney
    December 19, 2012 at 12:17 pm (11 years ago)

    I want my $3.00 back. My “soup” contained NO chicken (perhaps my can was defective in addition to disgusting) but rather consisted of stringy vegetable bits drowning in a sea of buffalo sauce the consistency of spit. Absolutely FOUL.

    Reply
  11. Karen
    December 21, 2012 at 3:42 pm (11 years ago)

    I see there are so many haters of this soup. I happen to love it. Don’t throw away your spare cans, I will be GLAD to take them! 😉

    Reply
    • Hingle McCringleberry
      January 18, 2013 at 10:39 am (11 years ago)

      Fuck you Karen! If I were stranded in an inescapable location and were given a revolver with one round and this can of soup, I can assure you the can of soup would remain untouched. Vomit is the only word that comes to mind. Seriously, I’ve smelled enough of it in my life to know the absolute difference between vomit and soup. This “Kickin Style” however isn’t so clear. How in the hell did they even get this on the shelves? You’re guess is as good as mine.

      Reply
  12. Paula
    December 27, 2012 at 7:32 am (11 years ago)

    It had to have been a bad batch. The stench had us opening the windows and putting on the overhead fan in December. I bought it because my hubs is from Buffalo New York and I thought it would bless him. Even though the stench alarmed us he still tried it.

    Only one spoonful had him trying not to vomit and made his stomach sore to the actual touch. He said it felt like an internal bruise. I got him the pepto and it helped. However, he did hit the toilet pretty hard from the “other end”. We did call Campbell’s and are very surprised they have not recalled that lot number. Our concern is people who are older, with a very tight budget, may force themselves to eat it ~ or go hungry and they will probably get very sick,in our opinion, as one spoonful affected Tom the rest of the day/night.

    We posted our experience and found that many, many people had similar BAD experiences. So, because our review was “thumbs down” and our comments factual but humorous ~ our friends BOUGHT it to see if it was awful. The two that tried it, one in Florida and the other in Michigan said they liked it and had no problems.

    I think one of the batches they made had bad milk products in it. As it permeated the house with the lasting putrid smell of regurgitated sour milk and baby diarrhea.

    Reply
    • Nick
      December 27, 2012 at 8:47 am (11 years ago)

      I’m glad you at least know some other people who got a normal batch, because I was starting to think I was crazy for actually liking it when every other person leaving a comment was just mentioning how disgusting it was.

      Reply
      • Paula
        December 30, 2012 at 5:21 pm (11 years ago)

        My one friend, Susie, opened it almost like you would open a can where the coiled up fun toy launches out. She waited for the horrible odor that we experienced and it did not reek. Next, she bravely tried it and found it to be good. We have concluded, that those of us who had the cans that smelled like soiled diapers, must have had a bad batch.

        Glad you had a pleasant experience.

        Reply
  13. Hugo
    January 1, 2013 at 8:13 pm (11 years ago)

    Opened up a can of this for the first time tonight hoping for a delicious soup only to find that it smelled a little funny out of the can. I figured maybe it smells off when it’s cold…heating it surely will make it smell better? Put it on a pot in the kitchen and when I came back to check on it my kitchen smelled of vomit and death. I didn’t even attempt to try it because I was afraid of throwing up in my kitchen. Worst soup ever. I hesitate to eat things out of cans as it is, now I’m going to avoid Campbell’s. I’m afraid of getting sick. Something was wrong with the soup.

    Reply
  14. Derrickj
    January 7, 2013 at 7:06 am (11 years ago)

    I was afraid to try this soup at first,but after i did,it is the only soup i buy! love the sauce,chicken and potatoes,i can’t get enough. Just don’t buy it assuming its something you won’t like,really savour it. mmmm ;3

    Reply
  15. Lauren L
    January 9, 2013 at 2:34 pm (11 years ago)

    tasted like throw-up. Felt badly about throwing it away but it was HORRIBLE.

    Reply
    • Nick
      January 12, 2013 at 3:58 pm (11 years ago)

      Whoa! Those reviews are terrible, ha ha ha.

      Reply
  16. Beth
    January 14, 2013 at 11:52 pm (11 years ago)

    No one likes the person who heats up seafood at work and stinks the place up. This was even worse. I work in a hospital and the whole unit smelled as if I didn’t clean any of my 8 patients. It’s hard to get by the smell long enough to try it.

    Reply
  17. vi
    January 17, 2013 at 7:42 pm (11 years ago)

    this soup seriously tastes like vomit. DON’T BUY IT, IT’S GROSS.

    Reply
  18. Matthew
    January 23, 2013 at 7:45 pm (11 years ago)

    I just made some of this stuff, and I was prepared to really like it, I really was. But the thing is the stuff has a very distinct smell of vomit. I wasn’t sure right away and I took a second wiff and another taste and sure enough, the stuff smells and tastes slightly like pukc. It also looks strikingly similar to throw-up, something which I am usually ok with. I have eaten many things that were delicious despite their passing resemblance to barf, but it can’t both look *and* smell like the stuff.

    I mean, come on.

    Reply
  19. Vomit
    January 25, 2013 at 10:35 am (11 years ago)

    After making this soup last night and tasting it the first thing I did was run to google and search “campbells kickin buffalo vomit” and found many pages on the subject. This stuff is absolutely putrid. I would not even feed it to my dog. Campbells should be ashamed or at least rename it to Vomit Stew. STAY AWAY unless you like the taste and smell of puke.

    Reply
  20. Peter Mandrillred
    January 26, 2013 at 4:52 pm (11 years ago)

    elephant seal toe-cheese. i had to do a cross wind and burn candles in my house for 2 days. campbells also includes now elephant carrot in all of their soups which basically is a carrot that is genetically engineered to grow into a size of a vacuum cleaner. it tastes like an old reebok.

    Reply
  21. Suzy
    January 31, 2013 at 3:23 pm (11 years ago)

    This is the worst soup I have ever tasted. Smelled horrible and tasted even worse. Vomit is the best word to describe it.

    Reply
  22. ROb
    February 20, 2013 at 1:16 am (11 years ago)

    I smelled the soup in the can after opening it and was already disgusted. After cooking it, it didn’t get any better. Managed to get a piece of chicken and a potato before flushing it down the toilet.

    Reply
  23. Horrible
    March 18, 2013 at 8:57 pm (11 years ago)

    This is the most foul smelling thing I have ever smelled in my life. My wife and I both smelled it upon opening the can. I thought after cooking it would smell and taste fine. OMG was I wrong. I immediately tossed this unedible garbage away then puked all over my kitchen.

    Reply
  24. itzami
    April 10, 2013 at 5:27 pm (11 years ago)

    im eating this right now and it smells/ has an after taste of tuna. what the hell man, its one of the worst soups i have ever had and also has a slight taste as if you just threw up milk and buffalo sauce. disgusting.

    Reply
  25. Michelle
    April 23, 2013 at 1:22 pm (11 years ago)

    Just threw the “Vomit Soup” away. Smells just like it when I popped off the lid. I double checked the expiration date to make sure it wasn’t old as I had just bought it recently. Nope. Expiration date is next year.

    The appearance and consistency is that of neon orange chunky diarrhea. So, it not only smells terrible, it looks terrible.

    I burned my microwave popcorn on purpose to cover up the vomit-y smell in my office.

    Reply
  26. Weez
    May 6, 2013 at 12:13 am (11 years ago)

    I wish I had been as fortunate as the majority of posters on this site. Today, I decided to try the soup that at one time I was actually looking forward to. Campbell’s usually pulls off everything they sell and I figured this would be different. I opted to go with just soup, no cornbread. As I finished my bowl I did make a mental note that it seemed a little bitter, but didn’t think much of it.

    8 hours later when I decided to get ready for bed, I noticed some extreme rumbles followed by a severe stomach pain. Immediately I knew the soup was the culprit. Sure enough after about 1 hour of sleep I awoke to the feeling of regurgitation. I almost didn’t make it to the bathroom! I am about 99% sure I vomited the entire can back into the toilet. Now the disgusting part, it looks the exact same as it did in the can! Yuck! I won’t be buying anymore canned soups after this awful experience.

    Reply
  27. Weez
    May 6, 2013 at 1:41 am (11 years ago)

    Just had round 2 ugh.

    Reply
  28. Xavvi
    May 8, 2013 at 9:55 am (11 years ago)

    Just read this. We actually reviewed this on our site:

    http://whydidieatthis.com/2012/10/down-the-aisle-campbells-chunky-kickin-buffalo-style-chicken-soup/

    and frankly our experience was terribly negative. Like you, Campbell’s sent us the soup directly, so we didn’t get it from the store and likely got it from the same batch you got.

    You can see from the link I posted that we thought it tasted like hot cat puke and looked even worse. I’m honestly having troubling fathoming how anyone could not think this is bad. It’s terrible.

    Reply
  29. Beau
    May 27, 2013 at 12:20 am (11 years ago)

    Honestly, I just tried this and decided to look it up after I noticed that it was pretty much chicken-free. I didn’t think it was too bad, otherwise. Though, disappointing. It definitely didn’t smell or taste like puke. I even asked the family members that had to suffer through it’s odor. But, based both on the reviews and my experience, I may just give away the 2nd half of the pair I bought. Quit while I’m ahead.

    Reply
  30. PISSED
    June 6, 2013 at 3:30 am (11 years ago)

    ATTENTION: This soup will scald you at HALF the recommended cook time at recommended wattage. I cooked this soup at HALF the recommended time for my microwave wattage and it scalded my hand through a cooking pad I was using to carry the soup less than 5 feet, causing me to drop it and scald my foot. Do not purchase this product the instructions were not tested and reflect the negligence of the company.

    Reply
  31. Emmy
    July 18, 2013 at 5:26 pm (11 years ago)

    This is exactly what I wrote to Campbell’s : I thought buffalo chicken style soup sounded great, but from the thousand island dressing color, when I opened it up, of the vast amount of broth/gravy, to the vomit like odor; I was hoping it would at least taste good… Alas, since taste is roughly 80% smell, I wasn’t supprised that I couldn’t stomach more than two bites. I enjoy nearly all of your soups, however I am thoroughly disappointed and disgusted buy this soup in particular

    Reply
  32. Eric
    December 22, 2013 at 3:57 pm (10 years ago)

    I googled this soup only to make sure I wasn’t the only one who instantly tossed this soup in the trash after one bite. The smell was grotesque, the look of the soup wasn’t appetizing, and the taste was just as bad as the smell. I am one of the least pickiest eaters there might be, I had escargot recently because I’m open minded to try new things, however this soup is so disgusting that I’m surprised this even made it on the shelf. It honestly looks and smells like vomit in a can, and taking a bite only reminds you of eating vomit.

    Reply
  33. mike
    January 2, 2014 at 9:45 pm (10 years ago)

    I poured a few tablespoons of franks into it and it was great.

    Reply
  34. michael
    February 22, 2014 at 10:57 am (10 years ago)

    Almost all these negative comments are bull (paid shills).
    This in fact is the best soup I have had. Great taste, smell,
    and very filling. The color is a bit odd, but love it.
    I buy as many cans as I can afford each time and keep it in
    stock.

    Reply
    • david
      June 16, 2014 at 3:16 pm (10 years ago)

      Your taste buds must be tainted by years of smoking. Nastiest soup ever made by anyone any given time and place ever

      Reply
  35. Lauren
    February 25, 2014 at 12:17 pm (10 years ago)

    I was so excited for this soup as I am a huge fan of all things buffalo style. When I opened the can, immediately the smell of sour vomit filled my kitchen. I thought that if I heated it, the smell would round out a little. I was wrong. I could barely hold my own stomach down as I flushed this horrible vomit in a can. It’s currently snowing yet I am sitting with all the windows open. Definitely a bad batch. GROSS!

    Reply
  36. Jack
    May 7, 2014 at 1:25 pm (10 years ago)

    It was bad

    Reply
  37. Jack
    May 7, 2014 at 1:34 pm (10 years ago)

    Honestly, no one will see this before they buy kikn chicken soup but what the heck. I’m really surprised this soup has stayed in production for 2+ years. Hardly ever have I found it hard to finish eating any marketed food. Idk what taste-testers okayed this one. I would compare my experience to drinking wing sauce mixed with some sour cream. If you are a person that would like that then you may like the soup.

    Reply
  38. Lisa
    November 10, 2014 at 11:20 pm (9 years ago)

    I knew something was off as soon as I opened the can. It smelled like a mixture of cat pee, a wet dog and vomit, and tasted the way you might think that smells. I heated it up and tried to eat some but couldn’t. At one point I felt a big mushy piece in my mouth and figured out it was supposed to be chicken. It put me in mind of what it might be like to chew on a rotten carcus. I wouldn’t even feed it to my dog for fear of her getting sick as well. I was sure I would be throwing up and have the runs later but didn’t. Maybe a big vat had been made that was bad and something was put in it to kill bacteria so as not to make people get sick???? I believe the chicken was bad!! It was HORRIBLE and stunk up the whole house.

    Reply
  39. Bret
    December 13, 2014 at 11:56 am (9 years ago)

    This is another Campbell’s soup flavor that I had to throw away because the smell of vomit is so strong that I’d puke if I eat it or had to smell it any longer. I’ve found at least 5-6 of their soup flavors like this, don’t understand what Campbell’s is thinking. I hate wasting food (and money) but I can’t even donate this to the hungry, I wouldn’t wish this garbage on my worst enemy.

    Reply
  40. Lori
    May 19, 2015 at 4:29 pm (9 years ago)

    I am totally dumbfounded at all of the comments saying that this soup smells/tastes like vomit. The only thing I smell is tabasco. I agree with the few people who do like this soup. It is one of my favorites and is especially comforting on a cold day.

    Reply
  41. Arlene
    May 11, 2016 at 5:32 pm (8 years ago)

    I’ve bought any number of cans of this soup and enjoyed every one. Mine never smelled or tasted like some people are saying. It was my favorite chunky soup. I bought two new flavors today because I couldn’t find the Kickin Chicken. I’m not going to read reviews for these other two soups and will judge them for myself.

    Reply
  42. mdask
    May 23, 2016 at 11:36 pm (8 years ago)

    I love this soup. Its my favorite. For all of you saying it smells like this or it smells like that, yes it kinda does. Okay. We get it. I tried it and its not so bad. Its the best soup for me. We all have different tastes but just because you dont like it doesnt mean everyone else doesnt like it either. And i dont think they ban foods like that.

    Reply
  43. Donna
    July 2, 2022 at 6:31 pm (2 years ago)

    This was my favorite Chunky soup. I add some extra Franks hot-sauce to make it really kick. I’ve been disappointed that I can’t find it at the store anymore.

    Reply

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