Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
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This Roasted Tomato Basil Soup soup is a delicious easy weeknight dinner or healthy lunch with oven roasted tomatoes, onions, and garlic for a robust flavor. It’s thick and creamy, and I love how the delicious addition of fresh basil really makes this dish come to life with a burst of flavor. This soup is truly so simple to make but feels gourmet!
Exploring The Recipe
Do you know where tomato soup came from? It wasn’t until the 1830s and 1840s that tomatoes became more of a commodity crop in the United States, appearing in several recipes throughout modern cookbooks of the time. In fact, one of the first tomato soup recipes, which included solely tomatoes, was published in The Kentucky Housewife by Lettice Bryan. As canning food became more popular, condensed soup was discovered in the late 19th century and thus… canned tomato soup was born!
Tomato soup, in general, is a blend of tomatoes that have been cooked down into a sauce and then thinned with broth. You can adjust the seasonings and add other flavors to make your own homemade tomato soup recipe as unique as you like!
Why You’ll Love This Tomato Soup
Quick and easy to make for a weeknight dinner or a flavor lunch. This soup comes together in about an hour!
Packed full of flavor, this soup starts with a roasted tomato, onion, and garlic base plus the addition of fresh basil.
You can easily make this a vegetarian or vegan tomato soup by using vegetable broth and omitting the cream or using a non-dairy version.
I don’t know about you, but I love a thick & creamy tomato soup, and this one definitely is!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Tomatoes. You will want to use fresh tomatoes, which are roasted in the oven. The best kind are paste tomatoes or plum tomatoes, which have more “meat” to them and less juice.
Onions. For this recipe, I recommend using yellow onions.
Garlic.
Olive Oil. Feel free to swap for any other neutral cooking oil such as avocado, sunflower, etc.
Salt & Pepper.
Red Pepper Flakes. Omit this ingredient if you want to avoid any spiciness in your soup.
Canned Diced Tomatoes. You can also use a 16 oz jar of tomato sauce, if you prefer.
Fresh Basil. Make sure the basil is fresh!
Fresh Thyme. You can swap in dried thyme instead.
Chicken Stock. You can swap for vegetable broth.
Heavy Cream. You can omit or substitute with a non-dairy creamer, if needed.
How to Make Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
Roast the tomatoes, onion, and garlic.
Combine the roasted veggies, seasonings, canned tomatoes, basil, and stock in a large soup pot.
Bring to a boil and simmer the soup for about 30 minutes.
Blend the soup until smooth.
Add in the cream, if using.
Serve warm with grilled cheese and croutons.
Step One: Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Set aside a large baking sheet.
Step Two: On the baking sheet, toss the tomatoes, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Roast the vegetables in the preheated oven for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until the tomatoes have burst and the onions are lightly charred.
Step Three: When the vegetables are done roasting, transfer them to a large soup pot.
Step Four: Add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme, and stock. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then lower the heat to a simmer.
Step Five: Cover the pot loosely and simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes.
Step Six: After 30 to 40 minutes, remove the pot from heat. Uncover the soup and blend it until smooth using an immersion blender, food processor or blender, transferring it in batches. Transfer the blended soup back into the pot.
Step Seven: Return the soup to the pot and adjust the seasonings to your liking. Then, stir in the heavy cream or serve the cream alongside the soup and add as needed.
Tips for Making Tomato Soup
Use fresh, ripe tomatoes for the best flavor. For the ultimate flavor impact, use sun-ripened tomatoes from the garden or your local farmers market!
Lightly char the vegetables while roasting them. This provides an added boost of flavor in the final soup!
If you like a chunky soup, don’t over-blend the tomatoes and leave some of the soup with chunkier pieces. Sometimes I like to do half-blended, half-chunky mixed together.
For a better soup all around, it tastes better after it’s cooked for longer. Don’t be afraid to let your soup simmer longer to get a bigger flavor impact.
Variations
Make your soup vegan or vegetarian by substituting the chicken broth for vegetable broth and omitting the heavy cream.
If you enjoy cooking over the open fire, try fire-roasting your tomatoes before blending into the soup!
Add red bell pepper to the veggies for more flavor depth and thickness.
For a fall version, try adding carrots or pumpkin to the soup for a thicker, creamier base.
Serving Suggestions
I love enjoying a warm bowl of roasted tomato soup alongside a grilled cheese sandwich, or a piece of crusty bread with some homemade butter! Try baking up a loaf of my Crusty Dutch Oven Spelt Bread and making your own Fresh Homemade Butter to dip into your creamy tomato soup.
Storage Instructions
Store in airtight containers in the fridge for about 5 days.
To Freeze: Let the soup cool fully before freezing. Pour the soup into freezer safe containers or bags and seal, leaving enough headspace for expansion. Label and date the soup, then put into the freezer. The soup will last frozen for about 6 months. To reheat, let the soup thaw in the refrigerator fully. Then, heat over the stove or in a microwave.
Tools You’ll Need
Sharp Knife
Cutting Board
Immersion Blender (or a Food Processor or Blender)
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my soup too watery?
If you used canned tomatoes, be sure to drain the liquid first. You can also simmer with the lid off before blending to help evaporate some of the natural liquid from the tomatoes. Other problems can be not simmering for long enough, or using non-paste tomatoes like salad tomatoes or beefsteak tomatoes, which contain a lot more juice.
To Fix Watery Soup:
Make a slurry of cornstarch or flour with a small amount of water or broth until it forms a smooth paste-like substance. Whisk the slurry into the simmering soup.
Add a thickener such as tomato paste, instant potato flakes, or crushed croutons.
Add a dairy product like heavy cream, plain Greek yogurt, or sour cream. Add this slowly after cooking the soup and when the soup has been removed from heat.
Why is my tomato soup too acidic?
Tomato soup can become overly acidic if you use under-ripened tomatoes, unbalance the ingredients, or use reactive cookware such as cast iron or aluminum. Try using enamel-coated or stainless steel pots instead. To balance ingredients, try adding sugar, heavy cream, or even a pinch of baking soda can help balance the acidity.
Can I make this vegetarian or vegan?
Absolutely! Just swap out the chicken broth for vegetable broth, and use non-dairy cream or omit the cream entirely.
Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
This Roasted Tomato Basil Soup soup is a delicious easy weeknight dinner or healthy lunch with oven roasted tomatoes, onions, and garlic for a robust flavor. It’s thick and creamy, and I love how the delicious addition of fresh basil really makes this dish come to life with a burst of flavor.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs (1.4 kg) ripe plum tomatoes (about 14-18), cut into quarters\
- 2 medium yellow onions, sliced thinly
- 8 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
- 1 tbsp (18 g) kosher salt
- 1 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, with juices
- 4 cups (24 g) fresh basil leaves, whole
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 4 cups (960 ml) chicken or vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° F (204° C). Set aside a large baking sheet, ungreased.
- On the baking sheet, toss the tomatoes, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Roast the vegetables in the preheated oven for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until the tomatoes have burst and the onions are lightly charred.
- When the vegetables are done roasting, transfer them to a large soup pot with a lid.
- Add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme, and stock. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then lower the heat to a simmer.
- Cover the pot loosely and simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes.
- After 30 to 40 minutes, remove the pot from heat. Uncover the soup and blend it until smooth using an immersion blender, food processor or blender, transferring it in batches. Transfer the blended soup back into the pot.
- Return the soup to the pot and adjust the seasonings to your liking. Then, stir in the heavy cream or serve the cream alongside the soup and add as needed.
- Serve the soup warm alongside a grilled cheese sandwich.
Notes
- This soup can be stored in the fridge, covered, for about 5 to 6 days.
- To Freeze: Let the soup cool fully before freezing. Pour the soup into freezer safe containers or bags and seal, leaving enough headspace for expansion. Label and date the soup, then put into the freezer. The soup will last frozen for about 6 months. To reheat, let the soup thaw in the refrigerator fully. Then, heat over the stove or in a microwave.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
198Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
