This tomato basil soup recipe is so easy to make! In under 30 minutes, you’ve got a creamy, tangy puree with a rich herby flavor.
What’s more classic than tomato basil soup? It’s cozy and bright, the perfect accompaniment to a grilled cheese or crusty bread. We created this recipe to use up an overabundance of basil from our bushy basil plant. It’s easy to make, but tastes like much more than the sum of its parts: tangy and garlicky, with an herby basil finish. Here’s how to make it, and a few more spins on tomato soup!
Ingredients for tomato basil soup
This tomato basil soup recipe is the definition of a classic soup: chop, sauté, simmer, and blend! We created it as a way to use some of our garden basil (see How to Grow Basil if you’re looking to grow your own!). Like most tomato soups, it uses canned tomatoes. The best part: it takes under 30 minutes to make! The ingredients for this tomato basil soup are:
- Canned fire roasted tomatoes (see below)
- Onion
- Red bell pepper
- Garlic
- Fresh basil
- White wine vinegar
- Veggie broth
- Olive oil
Flavor secret: fire roasted canned tomatoes
Fire roasted tomatoes are key to the flavor in this tomato basil soup recipe. This type of tomatoes is roasted over an open flame before canning, which makes the flavor taste sweet and tangy right out of the can. This makes it possible to simmer the soup for less time than a plain canned tomato, which can taste bitter.
Where to find fire roasted tomatoes? They should be available at your local grocery store, offered by several brands. If you can’t find them, use the best quality tomatoes you can find (San Marzanos are another flavorful variety). After simmering, taste and add a teaspoon or so of sugar if the flavor tastes bitter or flat.
Tips for tomato basil soup
There’s not much to making this tomato basil soup! It’s quick and simple, and uses mostly pantry ingredients (besides the fresh herb, of course!). Here are a few pointers to keep in mind:
- Use fire roasted tomatoes. This variety tastes sweeter out of the can than the typical tomato, so it requires less simmering time. Can’t find fire roasted? Use the best quality tomatoes you can find. Taste and if the flavors need more developing, you can simmer a little longer.
- If you use an immersion blender, be careful! An immersion or stick blender let you leave the soup in the pan and blend it. But watch out: you can end up with red spatters everywhere! Be careful because the soup can spit. Or, carefully transfer the soup to a standard blender using a ladle.
- Make it a creamy soup if desired. Stir in a bit of heavy cream at the end to make a lusciously creamy puree. For vegan, use cashew cream.
How to serve it
Tomato basil soup needs a great pairing to make a filling meal! It’s full of vegetables and nutrients, but it’s not filling enough on its own to function as a meal since it doesn’t have much protein. Here are a few ideas on what to serve with tomato soup:
- Serve with crusty bread and cheese. Try a good no knead artisan bread or sourdough.
- Serve with grilled cheese. A classic combo! Try gourmet grilled cheese, oven baked grilled cheese, or avocado grilled cheese.
- Add a quesadilla. Try this easy quesadilla.
- Serve with grilled cheese dippers! These pesto grilled cheese dippers are a family favorite.
- Add a tuna melt or Swiss melt. This tuna melt or Swiss melt would be a hearty accessory to this soup.
Tomato soup variations
This tomato basil soup is the most classic of our tomato soup recipes. But if you want to try something a little fancier, here are a few other tomato soup variations we love:
- Classic Tomato Soup: There’s nothing more homey than a big pot bubbling on the stove with its bright garlicky aroma.
- Tomato Artichoke Soup: Our “famous” tomato artichoke soup is modeled after the famous soup at our local neighborhood restaurant, Cafe Patachou.
- Tomato Basil Gnocchi Soup: Imagine tomato basil soup with doughy gnocchi inside! It takes just 30 minutes and features delightful pasta dough balls.
- Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup: Here’s our favorite creamy vegan tomato soup: the creaminess comes from blending it with cashews into a tangy puree.
This tomato basil soup recipe is…
Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, refined sugar free, and naturally sweet.
Print
Tomato Basil Soup
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This tomato basil soup recipe is so easy to make! In under 30 minutes, you’ve got a creamy, tangy puree with a rich herby flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 cup basil leaves, loosely packed, plus more for garnish
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 28-ounce can fire roasted crushed tomatoes* (with basil, if available)
- 1 quart vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Optional: 2 tablespoons to ¼ cup heavy cream (or cashew cream)
- To garnish: Olive oil, Homemade Croutons (optional)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and the bell pepper. Mince the garlic. Tear the basil leaves into large pieces.
- In a medium pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and red pepper and sauté for about 5 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the white wine vinegar and cook until evaporated.
- Add tomatoes, vegetable broth and salt and bring to a steady simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add the basil and use an immersion blender to puree the soup until creamy (or, transfer it to a standard blender and blend). If desired, stir in the cream.
- Serve immediately, garnished with a drizzle of olive oil or cream and chopped or thinly sliced basil. Leftovers store refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for 3 months.
Notes
*If you can’t find fire roasted tomatoes, use the best quality tomatoes you can find (San Marzanos are also a flavorful variety). After simmering, taste and add a teaspoon or so of sugar if the flavor tastes bitter or flat.
- Category: Soup
- Method: Blended
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegan
Keywords: Tomato Basil Soup, Tomato Basil Soup Recipe
I prepped a batch of this soup to have on hand for lunches this week and OH MY WORD it’s so good! I added plain Greek yogurt to make it creamy (I eyeballed it — maybe 1/2 cup?) and subsequently needed to add extra salt to make up for the addition. I’m so impressed with how easy this recipe was to make, yet how delish it is!
-Claire
:)
Glad you loved it!
This turned out amazing! I didn’t have fire roasted tomatoes so I added flame roasted red peppers and some of its liquid. Will definitely be making this again. I also followed your homemade veggie stock recipe and made that ahead of time. 5 stars for both!
Ooo what a great idea on roasted peppers! That sounds delicious. So glad you enjoyed!
Your Tomato Basil Soup is easy and awesome. The resident culinary supervisor (wife) approves. You should witness her boiling water.
I am going to couple this with your Smoked Gouda/cheddar Mayo apricot jam grilled cheese.
Thank you!
Banjo Bob
★★★★★
Yum! Enjoy :)
What does the 1X,2X,3X mean. I thought it meant servings but this recipe says 1X but calls for a 28oz can tomatoes and a quart of broth so that can’t be just one serving.
You can click those buttons to multiply the ingredients in case you want to make a larger batch. 1x is the default.
One of the nicest soups ever! Sometimes tomato soup can be quite boring but this was so yummy, had it for lunch and dinner for 2 days in a row haha!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed! :)