The best homemade tomato soup recipe – this roasted tomato basil soup is easy to make with fresh tomatoes, irresistibly creamy & bursting with flavor. It’s a healthy and cozy way to warm up on cold winter days. Follow our step-by-step instructions & watch the video to learn how to make tomato soup from scratch!
In my opinion, tomato soup with grilled cheese is the ultimate comfort food. Chilly days make me want to grab a spoon and dive into a bowl of fresh, warm tomato soup – and this recipe is the best of the best!
This roasted tomato basil soup is easy to make with fresh tomatoes, irresistibly creamy & bursting with flavor. It’s a healthy and cozy way to warm up on cold winter days. It’s also a perfect recipe to use fresh garden tomatoes and basil during the late summer months.
Follow our step-by-step instructions & watch the video to learn how to make tomato soup from scratch!
Tomato Soup Recipe: Ingredients and Substitutions
As always, I recommend making this tomato basil soup recipe exactly as it’s written, however we’ll discuss the ingredients and possible substitutions.
- Tomatoes. Be sure to choose a vine-ripened, naturally sweet tomato variety for the best flavor.
- Onion. I prefer using sweet onions, however any variety works well in this tomato soup recipe.
- Garlic. Roasting the fresh garlic with the tomatoes brings out the flavor. You can used minced garlic if necessary.
- Olive Oil. Any neutral oil works well, my second and third choices would be avocado oil and canola oil.
- Fresh Basil. This can be omitted but I do not recommend leaving it out!
- Salted Butter. Unsalted butter can be used instead of salted butter.
- All-purpose flour. To make this creamy tomato soup gluten-free, use an all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Granulated sugar. brown sugar or honey can be used instead of white sugar, if desired.
- Vegetable broth. Chicken broth is a great substitute for vegetable broth.
- Heavy cream. This is optional, but recommended. The cream cuts the acidity of the tomatoes and makes this tomato soup recipe extra-delicious. Whole milk or half and half are great substitutes.
Homemade Tomato Soup
How to make tomato soup
This homemade tomato soup recipe is very easy to make! As always, we’ll walk through how to make tomato soup step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video.
Roast tomatoes, onion & garlic
Being making this easy tomato soup by combining tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a large bowl. Toss the ingredients with olive oil, salt and pepper and stir until evenly distributed.
Next, spread the tomato mixture onto a baking sheet in a single layer and roast for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the tomatoes from the oven, stir, and roast for an additional 15 minutes, broiling during the last 3 minutes so that some of the tomatoes get lightly charred.
Blend tomato mixture
One the tomatoes, onion and garlic are roasted, add the mixture to the container of a high-powered blender (Vitamix), making sure to scrape all the contents from the baking sheet into the blender. Add fresh basil and blend the mixture on high speed until smooth (about 50 seconds).
Make a roux
My favorite way to thicken soups, stews, gravy, etc. is by making a roux, which is how we do it in this tomato soup recipe. Begin by melting the butter over medium-high heat in a large pot.
Then, add flour to the melted butter and whisk to combine. Cook until butter and flour mixture is golden brown (30-60 seconds).
Add broth & sugar
Once the roux is ready, add the broth and sugar to the pot and whisk to combine.
Add blended tomato mixture
Next, add the blended mixture to the pot and whisk to combine. If desired (for a creamier soup) add ¼ to ½ cup heavy cream. Cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, taste and adjust salt and pepper as desired.
Serve
Once the soup is ready, serve it warm with your favorite bread and toppings. Here are some suggestions:
- Bread. dip pieces of crusty no-knead bread or pretzel bread into the tomato basil soup.
- Make homemade croutons or cornbread croutons and toss some into the homemade tomato soup before digging in.
- Use this homemade whole wheat bread to make a delicious grilled cheese to dip into the roasted tomato soup.
- These homemade dinner rolls are a great companion to this creamy tomato soup.
- Add a swirl of cream, a dash of freshly chopped basil or a spoonful of parmesan cheese to the top!
Store
Store any leftover roasted tomato soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
How to freeze tomato soup
To freeze, let the soup cool to room temperature. Then, transfer it to freezer-friendly containers and freeze for up to 2 months. I recommend freezing it in individually-sized portions or at least in portions that you’d eat in a sitting as a family.
Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in a pot on the stove over medium-low heat.
FAQs about tomato soup
What can I add to tomato soup to make it taste better?
If you make this recipe I promise this soup will taste amazing. You can add a pinch of sugar, fresh herbs (like the basil in this recipe, additional heavy cream, salt and pepper to adjust it to your liking.
Do you need to peel tomatoes for soup?
You do not need to peel tomatoes, especially because the tomato mixture is blended until it’s smooth.
How do you thicken tomato soup?
The roux thickens this recipe. However, you can thicken tomato soup in a few ways:
1) Cook it uncovered until some of the moisture cooks off and it thickens.
2) Add a combination of 1 TBS water and 1 TBS flour or cornstarch and cook uncovered.
3) Add 1 to 2 TBS of tomato paste and cook until thickened.
How do you make tomato soup less acidic?
Full-fat dairy like cream or half and half helps reduce the acidity of tomato soup.
Can you freeze tomato soup?
To freeze, let the soup cool to room temperature. Then, transfer it to freezer-friendly containers and freeze for up to 2 months. I recommend freezing it in individually-sized portions or at least in portions that you’d eat in a sitting as a family.
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