Preheat a large pot over medium heat and add canola oil. Saute diced onion until transparent and add minced garlic.
Add tomatoes and crush them up with the spatula (unless using crushed tomatoes). Add garlic powder, salt, sugar, black pepper, and dried basil. Mix well and cover with a lid. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Use either an immersion blender or a food processor to blend the tomato mixture and set aside.
In the same pot (or a separate pot), melt butter and whisk in flour until combined and slowly pour in milk and heavy whipping cream, while slowly stirring. (I like to use a whisk because it blends flour in with milk much better.)
Season the milk mixture with some salt and pepper and cook while stirring until it’s thickened.
Once the mixture is thickened, pour in the tomato mixture and stir until smooth. Bring the mixture to simmer and cook for just a few more minutes covered with a lid.
Take off heat and serve.
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Notes
Gluten Free: This soup is so easy to make gluten free just by swapping out regular flour for gluten free all purpose flour. Make sure to use all purpose gluten free flour, not other kinds. Remaining ingredients should ready be gluten free but make sure to double check the packaging label to make sure.
Dairy Free Options: You can make this tomato bisque dairy free, but the taste will be affected slightly. Substitute butter for the plant based “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter,” “Earth Balance,” or another plant based buttersubstitute you prefer. If you have access, Green Valley Creamery dairy free products are wonderful, it’s my personal preference, and you won’t notice the difference! Milk and cream can be substituted by lactose free or dairy free alternatives. Some brands make plant based heavy whipping cream but check your stores for availability. You can also use a 13 oz. can of unsweetenedcoconut cream. Size of the can varies from brand to brand but they’re all about 13 oz. The taste of soup be slightly sweeter and it might have a mild hint of coconut. You can also try using oat milk, but it’s not as thick so more flour may be needed. If lactose is the reason and not dairy all together, use lactose free milk and half and half.