Tomato Soup

My velvety smooth tomato soup recipe has an intense tomato flavor that's enhanced with a common pantry staple. This soup spends just 30 minutes on the stove, making it ideal for weeknight dinners or snow day lunches.

Recipe includes a how-to video!

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings servings, approximately 1 cup per serving

Calories 149kcal

Author Sam Merritt

Equipment

Large non-reactive soup pot (such as stainless steel) or enameled Dutch oven (do not use non-enameled cast iron, which will react with the tomatoes and make the soup taste metallic)
Immersion blender (or regular blender)

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups sweet or yellow onion diced (about 2 medium-sized onions) (400g)
1 ½ Tablespoons minced garlic about 5 cloves (10g)
1 ½ Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 28 oz cans whole peeled tomatoes I like to use Cento or other brands of San Marzano when I can find them (two 793g cans)
2 cups chicken broth (473ml)
¼ cup finely sliced basil
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
⅓ cup heavy cream (80ml)
¼ teaspoon baking soda
Shredded or grated parmesan cheese for topping

Instructions

Place butter in a large pot over medium heat and cook until melted.
Add diced onion and cook until translucent.
Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
Sprinkle flour into the pot and use a spatula to stir until no lumps remain. Continue to cook another 30-60 seconds.
Add tomatoes and their juices, crushing and smashing them with your spatulas and scraping the bottom of the pot as you add them until no large pieces remain.
Stir in chicken broth, basil, sugar, salt and black pepper and stir well.
Bring soup to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes to allow the flavors to develop.
After simmering, use an immersion blender to puree the soup until completely smooth (alternatively, puree the soup in batches using a traditional blender and then return to the pot).
Stir in cream and baking soda, stirring until smooth, cohesive in color, and not foamy. Taste-test and add salt and pepper as needed.
Portion into bowls and serve topped with grated parmesan cheese. This soup is excellent for dipping grilled cheese or just served with a side salad and some crusty artisan bread!

Video

Notes

Tomatoes

This recipe was specifically written for canned whole tomatoes, as home-grown or fresh tomatoes simply (and perhaps counter-intuitively) do not guarantee the same flavor and results (you can see my post for more information on this).

Heavy cream

Heavy cream, whipping cream, double cream, or heavy whipping cream will work well in this recipe. I don’t recommend using whole milk or anything with less fat as it could cause the soup to curdle. While I have not tried this recipe with full-fat coconut milk, I suspect it could work as a non-dairy alternative.

Baking soda

I found that the tomato flavor was too acidic even with the granulated sugar and cream to help balance the flavor. A tiny pinch of baking soda works wonders to mellow the taste without diminishing the distinct tomato flavor.

Storing

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. This recipe also freezes well and will keep frozen for several months.

Nutrition