Tomato Basil Soup
Quick Overview
Why does grilled cheese and tomato soup taste so good together? It might be the smooth, velvety tomato soup combined with the crunchy and gooey grilled cheese. Tomatoes, basil, cheese, and bread is a perfect combination of flavors.
This soup is very easy to make at home and will take less than an hour. Make it ahead of time too and store it in the refrigerator so that you have a 5-minute lunch the whole week. It reheats very easily in the microwave.
No matter if I’m making the classic tomato soup, tomato bisque, tomato zucchini soup, or this tomato basil version, I always make some sort of a grilled cheese to go with it.
Of course, it’s not the only thing that you can pair with a classic tomato soup. Garlic and herb croutons add great flavor pop and crunch to the soup. Try different sandwiches as well, especially in you want to add protein to the meal. And of course, crackers is another classic companion.
Tips and Steps to Make Tomato Soup
- Although it’s not necessary, I like to use a combination of fresh tomatoes and canned tomatoes in this soup. Fresh tomatoes add crisp and light tomato favor while canned tomatoes are more meaty, rich, and deep in flavor.
- Start by sauteing onion, fresh tomatoes, and garlic in some olive oil until the vegetables are softened. Add canned tomatoes and crush them with a wooden spoon while mixing.
- Sprinkle some flour over the vegetables, slowly stir it in while pouring in vegetable broth. Stir in sugar, salt, red pepper flakes, thyme, and oregano. Bring the mixture to a low boil and turn the heat down to low. Cover and let it simmer for about 40 minutes.
- Stir in fresh basil and transfer the mixture into the blender. Blend until smooth and pour back into the pot. Be careful because the blended soup will splatter as it simmers. Cook for a couple more minutes and serve.
Variations and Allergy Alternatives
- Make it cheesy: If you want to make your tomato soup cheesy, add about 1/2 cup of shaved Parmesan cheese to blended soup. Stir and cook until cheese is melted.
- Make it creamy: You can also add cream in addition to cheese or instead of cheese. Add about 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream to the blended soup and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Gluten Free: simply use 1:1 gluten free all-purpose flour instead of the regular all purpose flour. Gluten free flours have come far and work incredibly well in soups and sauces. (My personal favorites include King Arthur and Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flours.)
Storing Instructions
- Refrigerator: Store homemade tomato soup in an air-tight container, in the refrigerator. Kept in the refrigerator, the soup will be good for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: You can also freeze all or a portion of the soup. Freeze soup in thick, zip-lock freezer bags. Pour cooled soup into the bag, get all the air out, and close tight. Label and lay it on the cutting board. Freeze soup bags laying down for easier storage. In the freezer, tomato soup will last for about 4 months.
- Note: do not add heavy cream or cheese if planning to freeze the soup. You can add cream and cheese when reheating.
- To thaw: Transfer the frozen bags into the refrigerator and thaw it slowly overnight. Place them in a bowl while thawing to protect the refrigerator from possible spills.
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Tomato Basil Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 Vidalia onion
- 3 tomatoes on a vine diced
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 28 oz can peeled whole plum tomatoes
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 cup vegetable broth or chicken broth
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- salt
- 2 tbsp fresh minced basil
Instructions
- Preheat a cooking pot over medium heat and add oil. Add onions and saute until transparent.
- Add fresh tomatoes and cook until softened. Smash and mince garlic and add it to the pot. Stir and saute until fragrant.
- Add canned tomatoes and crush them with a wooden spoon while mixing.
- Sprinkle flour over the vegetables, slowly stir it in while pouring in vegetable broth.
- Stir in sugar, salt, red pepper flakes, thyme, and oregano.
- Bring the mixture to a low boil and turn the heat down to low. Cover and let it simmer for about 40 minutes.
- Stir in fresh basil and transfer the mixture into the blender. Blend until smooth and pour back into the pot. Be careful because the blended soup will splatter as it simmers. Cook for a couple more minutes and serve.
To make the soup cheesy:
- Add about 1/2 cup of shaved Parmesan cheese to blended soup. Stir and cook until cheese is melted.
To make the soup creamy:
- You can also add cream in addition to cheese or instead of cheese. Add about 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream to the blended soup and cook for a couple of minutes.
Notes
- Make it cheesy: If you want to make your tomato soup cheesy, add about 1/2 cup of shaved Parmesan cheese to blended soup. Stir and cook until cheese is melted.
- Make it creamy: You can also add cream in addition to cheese or instead of cheese. Add about 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream to the blended soup and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Gluten Free: simply use 1:1 gluten free all-purpose flour instead of the regular all purpose flour. Gluten free flours have come far and work incredibly well in soups and sauces. (My personal favorites include King Arthur and Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flours.)
Nutrition
More Soup Recipes To Try
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles on May 10, 2011.
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
This is now my go to recipe for tomato basil soup. I usually go heavy handed on the garlic because my family loves garlic. If I’m in a pinch I just use Italian seasoning, but it is much better with fresh Thyme and fresh Oregano.
This recipe is super simple and perfect for weeknights when I want something healthy, but don’t feel like cooking.
I have never really loved can tomato soup, but made this tonight and I am a huge fan! It is delicious! I doubled the recipe but next time I will double it again!
Wow! Thank you, Angie! I am so glad you liked it!
Hii
I just made this soup last night and my whole family loved it! didn’t add any cheese or cream and still the consistency was great!
Thank you
Hi Karina,
I am so glad your family liked it! Thank you for stopping by to let me know!
Hi Lyuba, (gorgeous name)
This tomato soup looks delish and it seems very easy to make – which is always good!
Can I ask would it be possible to roast the tomatoes first – just to change the flavour slightly?
thanks again Viki – Manchester England
Of course, Viki! That would add it a nice flavor. In the summer, you can even fire-roast the tomatoes on the grill first.
Thank you for your comment!
like others, I’m also growing tomatoes…and will be definitely be trying this one out when they get ready!
This is my husband’s favorite kind of soup. I can’t wait to get my hands on some great tomatoes and get to cooking. Thanks for sharing!
tomatoes already?! you are one lucky gal. ours have a way to go. this soup looks gorgeous. thank you for sharing with tuesday night supper club!