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This Tomato Soup is simply the BEST- just read the reviews! Make it with fresh tomatoes or canned tomatoes, a nourishing meal in under 30 minutes. Cozy and comforting, vegan-adaptable. Video. Plus 25 Cozy Vegetarian Soup Recipes.
The soul has been given its own ears to hear things the mind does not understand.
Rumi
For the last month, this Tomato Soup has become a weekly occurrence at our home. I’ve been making jars of it to give away to busy friends and serving it up as dinner with homemade sourdough bread (or sourdough croutons) and Arugula Almond Pesto. Even though it’s just soup, it feels like a nourishing treat. Cozy, homey, and comforting, any time of year.
Homemade Tomato Soup | Video
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Tomato Soup!
- Fast and Easy– Whip it up in about 30 minutes with simple ingredients.
- Totally Flexible– It can be made with fresh tomatoes like we are using right now, or with canned Roma tomatoes in winter when fresh tomatoes are long gone. Add bell peppers, or carrots for sweetness.
- Completely Adaptable– It can easily be made vegan!
- Perfectly creamy! The soup is perfectly creamy, not overly, just enough!
Tomato Soup Ingredient Notes
- Ghee– We love the flavor this gives, but butter or olive oil work great too.
- Carrot– This adds sweetness and body to the soup. You can also replace it with bell pepper, or even better- add both!
- Tomatoes– Fresh tomatoes really up-level the soup but canned tomatoes work too! San Marzano are our favorite choice for tomato soup.
- Broth– We keep it easy with bullion cubes veggie bouillon paste but ready-made broth works too! Especially this flavorful homemade Vegetable Broth.
- Cream– or half & half, and vegans use cashews for dairy-free version- still so rich and delicious!
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to Make homemade Tomato Soup
Step One– Saute onion and carrots in a heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven, stir occasionally. Add a red bell pepper if you like!
Step Two– Add fresh tomatoes (or canned tomatoes) veggie broth or chicken broth, seasonings, pepper and salt.
Simmer with the broth, covered, until the tomatoes break down, about 10-15 minutes.
Step Three– Add fresh basil and blend. Using an immersion blender makes this especially quick and easy.
Step Four– Then add heavy cream or half and half. (Or, for a vegan option, add raw cashews to the simmering tomatoes to soften before blending.)
What To Serve With Tomato Soup
Top the tomato soup with parmesan cheese, a swirl of pesto, or add croutons if you like.
- Easy Sourdough Bread
- Our Favorite Homemade Cornbread
- Soft Sourdough Rolls
- Rosemary Olive Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Biscuits
- Cheddar Scones with Caramelized Onions
Tomato Soup FAQS
Use fresh ripe tomatoes if possible, but canned tomatoes work too – if using canned, use San Marzano tomatoes for the best flavor- a fast, easy pantry meal! Using fresh tomatoes when they are in season- elevates, and makes the BEST tomato soup.
The easiest, healthiest, and tastiest way to thicken tomato soup is to add carrots to the soup. Not only will they thicken the soup, but they will also add a lovely sweetness.
Yes it does! Best to leave out the dairy and add it in after reheating. it can be frozen in mason jars leaving an inch of headroom for expansion.
To make vegan tomato soup, simmer cashews in the soup before blending. It will whip up creamy and delicious!
What our readers are saying!
Veronica: This is the best tomato soup I’ve ever had. Love it! I’ll keep the recipe for sure. Thank You
Melanie: Made this for dinner. Excellent. I used carrots, celery and red bell pepper in it. I doubled the recipe. I’ll freeze some and use some in a creamy Parmesan pasta sauce.
Danielle: Absolutely the best tomato soup!
More Recipes You May Enjoy
- Arugula Almond Pesto
- Roasted Tomato Soup with Halloumi Croutons
- Mediterranean Split Pea Soup
- Potato Leek Soup
- Simple Cabbage Soup
- Glowing Carrot Soup
- Simple Celery Soup
- Our 25 Most Popular Vegetarian Soups!
Enjoy this Tomato Soup. Make it for a friend, or do something kind with it this week!
xoxo
Love this recipe? Please let us know in the comments and leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below the recipe card.
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Tomato Soup
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4–5 cups 1x
- Category: soup, vegan,
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Homemade Tomato Soup made with fresh or canned tomatoes, in under 30 minutes. Creamy, easy and delicious! Vegan-adaptable (see notes)!
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, ghee, or butter (the ghee elevates!)
- 1 extra-large onion, diced
- 1 cup carrots, thinly sliced (or one red bell pepper) or use both-the best!!)
- 2 lbs fresh tomatoes (or one, 28-ounce can of San Marzano Tomatoes)
- 1 cup water plus 1-2 bouillon cubes (chicken or veggie)
- 2 tablespoons sugar, honey or maple syrup (or sugar alternative)
- 1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 10–15 basil leaves
- pinch cayenne (optional, but good)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half (or sub-cashews-see notes)
- 1–2 tablespoons sour cream- optional!
Optional toppings:
- Add chopped tomatoes for more texture.
- Add a few basil ribbons
- Arugula almond pesto
- Sourdough croutons!
- parmesan cheese, pecorino or try Vegan Cheesy Sprinkle!
Instructions
- Heat butter in a heavy bottom pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, and saute until softened about 3-4 minutes. Add the carrots, lower heat to medium, saute 3-4 minutes more until onions are golden and fragrant.
- Add the tomatoes, water, bouillon cubes, honey or sugar, salt and pepper. (If making this vegan, add cashews now-see notes.) Stir, increase heat and bring to a simmer, cover, then lower heat to low, so it’s gently simmering. Simmer 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down and carrots are tender. Remove from heat.
- Using an immersion blender, blend the soup adding the basil leaves. Or you can blend in a blender.
- Return it to the pot. Stir in the cream.
- Taste and adjust salt and sugar. Add a little pinch of cayenne.
- Whisk in the sour cream if you like.
- Serve in bowls with basil ribbons, arugula almond pesto, croutons, pecorino, or fresh little tomatoes (halved).
Notes
If making this vegan, add 1/3-1/2 cup raw cashews to simmering tomatoes to soften before blending. You will need to blend the soup a little longer.
To use broth or stock instead of bouillon cubes- feel free, but you will need to increase the salt to taste.
Feel free to add: garlic or celery when you add the carrots.
STORE: Soup will last 4 days in the fridge or freeze for winter in mason jars with 1-inch headroom (for expansion).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 284
- Sugar: 21 g
- Sodium: 758.7 mg
- Fat: 18.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 5.1 g
- Protein: 4.4 g
- Cholesterol: 12.4 mg
Keywords: tomato soup, tomato soup recipe, best tomato soup, best tomato soup recipe, easy tomato soup, vegan tomato soup, creamy tomato soup, best tomato soup, tomato basil soup
Made it today. Taste fantastic!
★★★★★
Great to hear!
We grow our own tomatoes and always have excess; this recipe is even better than the old Campbell soup and there is nothing to match, it has now become a staple of our comfort food throughout the season and into winter. It freezes well. Thank you for sharing it.
★★★★★
Wonderful to hear Gill. I bet it is truly amazing with your garden fresh tomatoes!
So yummy! I used the carrots, red pepper and cashew option. Wish I doubled the recipe to have leftovers.
★★★★★
So happy you enjoyed this!
The soup was tasty and easy to make. Used cashew nuts to thicken as suggested. Skipped honey as I did not have that much tomatoes on hand. Therefore soup was not acidic which required honey to be added. Used paprika instead of cayenne.
★★★★★
I’m so happy you enjoyed this!
This is the best tomato soup I have ever tasted in my life. One of the top recipes on the site!
Awwww! Thanks so much Cassie!
I used cashew yogurt in place of the heavy cream (about 1/4 cup) since I did not have cashews on hand, and it is amazing! Added some garlic and yellow bell pepper too. YUM!
★★★★★
Perfect Paula!
Excellent soup.
★★★★★
Thanks Sandra!
This was the best tomato soup! We used an orange pepper and it was fantastic.
★★★★★
Yum, love that!
Made this for Christmas eve dinner. Everyone loved it. I’ve been looking for a good tomato soup for a long time. This is it! not too acidic. Very creamy. I’m making it again today.
Thanks Anne!
Haven’t made this yet but it looks super good! Just had one question, where does the protein come from? Looking at the ingredients, I can’t figure it out
Thanks for catching that. Had the wrong recipe in the nutrient calculator- all fixed now. 🙂
Yum! I did this with cashews instead of milk. What a delicious way to add creaminess without the dairy. Blended it all in my Vitamix at the end with a touch of extra basil. The soup was a big hit! Very filling, too👌
★★★★★
Perfect Rachelle, glad all enjoyed!
Love this soup! Comes together easily and quick and oh so tasty! Wonderful with grilled cheese for an easy, warm and cozy supper by the fire! Yet another winner!
★★★★★
Thanks Karen- we love this one too. 😉
So yummy in my tummy hahaha! Hubby loved the soup so much he begged me to make them again!
★★★★★
Great to hear Alex!
Superb! My new go to recipe!
Thanks Lynda!
Another outstanding recipe – quick, easy, and extremely tasty!
I added 1 large red bell pepper and a smashed clove of garlic to the recipe.
★★★★★
Thanks Gab, perfect. I love adding both the carrot and the bell pepper- really elevates!
Excellent!! I’ve tried so many recipes and have been disappointed. This one was perfect. I added a jalapeño to the 3rd batch but that’s because I have oodles of those to go with my tomatoes! Five stars!!
★★★★★
Yum Roberta- love the addition of jalapeno!
I read an Amish cookbook that used a little baking soda – its a base to neutralize some of the acidity. And someone mentioned canning – if its very think (as mine was) you may need to pressure can it. But dont neutralize it and try to can it. You need the acidity for safety.
I did the version with cashews (1/2 cup), carrots, red bell pepper, celery, onion and honey. This is the best tomato soup ever and I have tried several. Mind blowingly delicious. Thank you so much for your recipes!!!
★★★★★
Awesome Ellimay! Glad to hear it. 😉
Hey there, this looks delicious! I have a lot of tomatoes so I’m wondering if I could can this soup if I leave out the cream? I would add it when heating to serve.
Hi Stephanie- great question and honestly, I’m not an expert at canning, so I don’t know. Can anyone else answer this?
I just made this tonight. I tasted it before and after the cream. It was good both ways. I prefer it without.
★★★★★