Secret Ingredient Tomato Basil Soup
Enjoy a creamy, luxurious tomato basil soup without the guilt! There is no cream, sugar, or any unnecessary additives in my Tomato Basil Soup! Plus, the secret ingredient makes this soup so so good!
What you WON’T find in this homemade tomato soup is a bunch of cream or sugar.
I haven’t been able to get this creamy, luxurious, sweet, and comforting soup out of my mind for weeks. Tomatoes are still hanging around my farmers market, and I’m taking advantage! I can’t wait to make tons of salads, soups, and other goodies with them before we go into the deep freeze of winter.
If you’ve been following LSJ since the beginning, you know I’ve done a tomato basil bisque in the past. My ashamed self is admitting to you that I had to put cream in it to make it taste as good as it did last time. In my defense, I did make that soup when the tomatoes weren’t quite at their best. Which meant less natural flavor and that means I needed extra herbs to help make the tomato flavor a little noticeable. But never, ever, ever again.
I can’t wait to make a big batch of this every week to have on hand for lunches and midday snacks. Yes, tomato soup is perfect with a little bit of grilled cheese when you need a little something to nibble on. Not to mention that it’s exactly what you need if you’ve caught the early fall sniffles.
You will undoubtedly sleep like a 5-month-old baby if you’ve got a belly full of this soup in you.
What makes my secret ingredient tomato basil soup so unique?
One thing that I forgot to mention is that not only is there a secret ingredient in my tomato basil soup, there is also a secret method. The thing about this soup is that the longer you roast the tomatoes, the more sinfully delicious the pot of soup will be. Take your time, enjoy the process. Massage those tomatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic with some olive oil and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper and pop them in the oven on a low heat setting for one hour. The slow baking process helps to caramelize the veggies a bit on the outside and develops more flavor in the tomatoes and brings out its natural sweetness. They’re wrinkle and cute and loaded with so much flavor when you pull that tray out of the oven. Bonus: your house is gonna smell like a Tuscan tomato field! There’s also zero sugar in my tomato basil soup. Only the natural sweetness from the slow roasting process and the carrots that are going into this soup.
Now, go. Use that hour to its full advantage. Me? –>I popped in a quick Gillian Michaels workout DVD that I hadn’t done in ages and within 10 minutes I was screaming bloody murder because I couldn’t feel any of my limbs. I spent the following 50 minutes cursing Gillian under my breath and vowing to use this DVD sparingly. Homegirl. I’m sure you’ve helped a lot of people, but your beginners level DVD is not for BEGINNERS.
So what’s so secret about secret ingredient tomato basil soup?
The secret to making delicious tomato basil soup or even minestrone is simple. It’s something you’ve already had. It’s something that goes hand in hand when you think of tomatoes and cheese
And..
The Secret Ingredient is…
That super concentrated flavor of basil pesto makes this tomato basil soup NEXT LEVEL STUFF. The pine nuts from the pesto add such nice depth and creaminess that you’ll forget about adding that heavy cream or half and half in and opt for this more flavorful/ healthier option instead.
The parmesan in the pesto also adds just the right amount of cheesiness to the soup without overpowering it.
This tomato basil soup is exactly what you need to cure that cold that’s starting to come on from the weather changing so rapidly. And it’s perfect for the fall! Imagine a chilly evening complete with a warm blankie, comforting tomato basil soup, and a grilled cheese sandwich to dip, dunk and munch on. For the colder months, the grilled cheese is a MUST. For summer, I served this soup with cheesy toasts. It’s just a bit of provolone on a slice of baguette with a pinch of salt, garlic powder, and a bit of Italian seasoning.
So simple and SO YUMMY.
What else do you need to make secret ingredient tomato basil soup?
The ingredient list is short, but the flavors are huge!
- tomatoes (lots of them!)
- onions
- carrots
- garlic
- olive oil
- stock (be it vegetable or chicken)
- balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper
How to make secret ingredient tomato basil soup?
The first step in making the best tomato basil soup recipe is roasting the tomatoes, onions, carrots, and garlic. Once you’ve done that, it’s as simple as adding the ingredients to a blender and blending them with some of your stock until it’s smooth. Keep in mind that if you’ve got a powerful blender like a Vitamix (affiliate link) or a Blendtec (affiliate link), it’ll blend your soup up nicely! If you have a traditional blender, it may take a little longer so you may want to do it in several batches. Once blended, you’ll add all the remaining ingredients to the soup pot and then bring it to a full simmer before serving.
This process can be even simpler if you’ve got an immersion stick blender (affiliate link.) I made this purchase a few years ago, and it has made life so much simpler. If you’ve got one too, you can add the roasted veggies right into the stock pot along with all the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Then let it heat all the way through, and you’re ready to serve.
What if I follow a vegan diet, can I still make this tomato basil soup?
If you’re living a dairy-free or vegan lifestyle, you can still make this soup! There are tons of recipes on the internet for vegan pesto (where the parmesan is replaced with a hint of nutritional yeast), and most health food stores even sell vegan pesto! Just make that simple swap, and you’re good to go.
And that’s it!
Just ten simple ingredients in my from-scratch tomato basil soup recipe. So many of you have already made and loved this recipe and –if you decide to give it a go too, I’d love to hear your thoughts! 🙂
ORIGINAL RECIPE POSTED Aug. 10, 2015. UPDATED ON Oct. 28, 2018, WITH NEW PICTURES AND EASIER DIRECTIONS.
Secret Ingredient Tomato Basil Soup
Enjoy a creamy, luxurious tomato basil soup without the guilt! There is no cream, sugar, or any unnecessary additives in my Tomato Basil Soup! Plus, the secret ingredient makes this soup so so good!
Ingredients:
- 3 lbs. tomatoes, (2 lbs. Roma, cut in half + 1lb. whole cherry, etc.)
- 1 medium onion, cut into chunks
- 6-10 garlic cloves
- 3 large carrots, peeled + cut in half
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 4 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ¼-½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2-4 tablespoons basil pesto
Directions:
- ROAST: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375ºF. Place the tomatoes, onions, garlic, and carrots on one large baking sheet. It’s okay if some of the ingredients are overlapping. Drizzle the olive oil along with a generous pinch of salt and pepper and give it a good toss so it’s all evenly seasoned. Place the baking tray in the oven and allow the ingredients to bake for 1 hour. Check on the ingredients around 30 minutes and give it a toss as needed.
- BLEND: Transfer the ingredients along with any juices from the baking tray to a blender and blend the veggies until they are completely smooth. If you’ve got a super powerful blender it will go in one batch and be super quick. If you’ve got a regular blender, you may need to add a little broth to help it along. If you’ve got a hand blender, you can skip this step and add all the remaining ingredients into a large pot and just blend it all there.
- SOUP: Transfer the puree into a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chicken broth and allow the soup to heat all the way through, about 5-7 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and red pepper flakes. Add two tablespoons of the pesto and give the soup a taste. If desired, add more. I used 4 in total because I love a little extra punch of basil. Season with additional salt and pepp as desired. Serve with cheese toasts.
Notes:
- TO MAKE THE CHEESE TOASTS: On slices of baguette, place sliced provolone cheese, top with a sprinkle of salt, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Bake in a 400ºF oven for 4-5 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly!
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IS THIS A GOOD CHOICE FOR YOU?
*Please note: the nutritional facts calculated are an estimate based on the ingredients I’ve used. If you’d like a more accurate count, please calculate them using the ingredients/brands you’ve used to prepare the recipe. The nutritional information for this tomato basil soup are based on 8 servings.*
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Yummy taste it has! I made tomato basil soup yesterday. My husband liked it very much. Thanks for sharing this awesome soup recipe!
So delicious! I didn’t have any carrots so I used 2 cups of chicken broth for the right consistency. I thought I would have to add sugar but nope! It was so so good with the basil pesto. Never buying high sodium Campbell’s again. Thank you!
Can this be made a day or two ahead of time? Would love it as a starter for Thanksgiving. Thanks.
Yes, absolutely! The flavors actually develop further as the soup sits!
Made this for myself and my girlfriend last week….And I’m here to tell you…YOU HAVE NOT LIVED until you try this soup…It was absolutely UNBELIEVABLE…!! Especially since it has no heavy cream in it… super healthy and super yummy… I never would have guessed that the pesto makes that much of a difference, but it does… Definitely in my repeat recipe list…Thanks for the amazing recipe…
Made this recipe last night and it was a total hit with my toddler and husband! He requested it to be a weekly meal! Thank you for sharing, we love the pesto added to it!
What a delicious soup! I served it as a starter for my esteemed guests and everyone around the table complimented me on my exceptional culinary skills!😊 Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipies.
This is excellent! I added a squeeze of tomato paste and a tablespoon of sundried tomatoes in oil.
Totally awesome!
Making it for the third year, I think.This is by far the best tomato basil soup every. Using the fresh vegetables makes it so good. I also used my homemade pesto so that made it really special. Have shared recipe because I rave about it. Thank you so much.
Delicious!! I used vegetable broth and was so creamy even before adding the pesto…which definitely was a perfect addition to the flavor.
Delicious! We loved it and it was so simple to make! Thank you.
Just made this soup and it was amazing. My boyfriend went as far as to say it’s the best tomato soup he has ever had. And it’s even better that we get to enjoy it guilt free.
I added one red pepper, removing the skin after roasting.
So happy I stumbled upon this, it is definitely going to be one of our regular mid week dinners .
Thank you x
😍 loved this recipe!
Delicious..
I made this recipe and used a red pepper instead of carrots. I also substituted basil paste for pesto because of a family members nut allergy. It came out so delicious and it is now my go to tomato soup recipe. Super easy too!
Excellent soup and excellent bread! I would highly recommend.
Best tomatoe soup I have had without cream. Highly recommend. Easy but super flavorful. Great, great great!
The soup and cheese toast was so satisfying , it made a perfect evening meal. I used pumpkin as I did not have carrots. 👍🏼
This was amazing! Highly recommend! My friends and fiancé raved about it. We finished the pot in one sitting! So flavorful and felt less guilty given that there’s no cream or sugar. We enjoyed the soup with grilled cheese. We’ll definitelty be making this again!
Marzia,
My compliments on such a wonderful treat. My wife and I made this splendid soup for our guests this evening. It was a blind taste test but, based on the ingredients and preparation listing, I was positive it would be a wonderful new addition to our menu list. The preparation was simple and well described, I particularly liked he immersion blender used in the crock pot to cream the ingredients. Simply splendid.
Our guests were both very pleased with our menu choices and loved the soup. I will forward an e-mail to them for this recipe location in order that they may enjoy this at their home.
Again, my compliments on your efforts. Keep the interesting stuff coming!!!!!!!
This recipe looks amazing. I have been searching for a creamless tomato soup recipe. Just wondering if you have any recommendations on making the recipe using an instant pot. I would love to add it to my quick supper rotation. Thank you.
I’m about to make the soup but I’m confused. Are the veggies sliced before being roasted? Then are the seeds removed from the tomatoes before or after roasting or at all? Also, do I remove the skins from the tomatoes after roasting? I have an immersion stick blender I intend on using. Thanks in advance.
Hi there! The preparation for each of the veggies is written in the ingredients section, you would do this prior to baking. I didn’t remove the seeds from the tomatoes because all of it blends up in the end, but you’re welcome to if you’d like! Didn’t remove the skins either, it blended up just fine with my stick blender, but again, you are welcome to remove them prior to blending to your preference! Enjoy! 🙂
Could i use a food processor instead of a blender?
This soup is really delicious. I made it with vegetable broth so that three of us could eat it and made cheese toasts with shredded old cheddar on sourdough rye and it was a hit at dinner. Thanks for a great recipe!
I had been looking for a great tomato soup for a long time. And this is it. Made this soup a year ago and it has been my favorite ever since. My whole family loves it. Roasting really brings out all the flavors. Highly recommend.
I made this and served it with grilled cheese sandwich. It was SO delicious. The soup is just as good and flavorful as that at La Madeleine. I left out the red pepper flakes. I made it gluten free but be careful of jarred pesto; some brands have wheat in them. Must read label, my husband is celiac.
I love this recipe! I left it kind of chunky and I admit that I went a little heavier on the basil pesto because why not? I used a variety of fresh tomatos from the garden and I also chopped a handful of fresh basil and added it at the end. Roasting the ingredients really makes it so much better. Thank you! This is my new go to for incredible tomato basil soup.
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Omg it turned out great but I didn’t add the red pepper flakes cause it’s a bit spicy from the black pepper
Outstanding soup! So much better than that canned junk!
Such a good recipe!! I love the creaminess. It has so much flavor. I just added bell pepper and it tasted awesome 🙂
I made this soup tonight. Turned out great, and had a deep tomato flavor! Since it’s February and Roma tomatoes are not in season, I used good quality canned Roma tomatoes from Italy, along with a pint of fresh cherry tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes always seem to be good, even in the winter. I used a little extra roasted onion and roasted garlic. I’ll be making this again.
Can you use a good quality canned tomato to make this soup, like San Marzano tomatoes?
You probably could, but i’m not 100% on that one. Just worried the roasting time may vary for a canned tomato vs. the fresh. If you decide to try it, I’d love to hear how it went!
This soup sounds amazing and I plan to make it as soon as tomatoes are in season again. One question, you mentioned parmesan cheese adds just the right amount of cheesiness o the soup without overpowering it. However, parmesan cheese is not in the ingredient list. Do you add parmesan cheese to the soup?
Sorry – I should’ve been more clear! I didn’t add any additional parm into the soup, I was just referring to the parm that’s already in the pesto. 🙂
Love this soup!! Made it for a large group and everyone loved it.
Where it says add cupfuls of vegetable broth, does that mean vegetable stock?
Yes, vegetable stock is fine for this recipe too!
Can i freeze this soup? Just 2 of us!
We’ve never had enough left to test it, unfortunately! But I do think it should be okay to freeze.
will this soup freeze
Can you tell me how many servings this makes? Considering making it for a group of friends coming over and need to know how many batches to make (and how much to buy). Thanks – it sounds delicious.
6-8 servings, in this recipe. You can always find this information on the recipe card, just above the title.
I’m a total beginner and I never cook, but I saw this recipe and had to try it. It’s amazing! So easy to make without any experience, can’t believe how nice it tastes. The pesto is an inspired addition. Thank you!
This was great, and very easy. Perfect for our first really cool day here in Texas!
WOULD AN IMMERSION HAND BLENDER BE OK?
Absolutely!
Has anyone tried freezing this soup?
Yes! I made a huge batch based on this recipe and froze it in smaller tupperwares. I would just reheat them on the stove for either soup (my spicy version) or spaghetti sauce and it was fantastic. I only confused the spicy and not spicy a few times lol. I made enough that it lasted about a year and it was still delicious.
Oh and I didn’t add the broth until I thawed it and decided I wanted soup instead of sauce 🙂
Love this soup and the alternative for making it thick and creamy! I even added a green bell pepper from my garden and it’s delicious.
I am anxious to try this soup as it sounds awesome. I have a question though. I want to use my homegrown tomatoes, but they are not grape nor plum tomatoes, but just slicing type tomatoes – Early Girl and Champion variety. Would they work OK for this soup?
Unfortunately, I’m not too familiar with those types of tomatoes. The flavor may be a little different but I can’t imagine it would be bad 🙂
Hi Mary.
You could make this with slicing tomatoes, but you would need more than 3 pounds because they are not nearly asfoeshy as Romas. I think I’d try increasing it to 4.5 lbs, and seed about half to two-thirds of them before roasting because they are so juicy.
Fabulous! Just made it … can’t wait to serve it for dinner with toasted garlic bread!
The soup is very tasty and has wonderful texture but I did not acquire the same bright red color as your pictures. Where did I go wrong? It came out a organgy squash color. I used the same ingredients listed. Help?
Hi Lisa! Glad to hear you enjoyed this soup. As far as the color is considered, it could be the tomatoes. I used them while they were in peak season and so mine were quite red to begin with. Keep in mind the pictures are also enhanced a bit so the soup does appear slightly more red than it would in person. If the color is important to you, you may want to add a couple drops of red food coloring to enhance the color a bit. Hope that helps!
I love tomato basil soup and this is the best I’ve ever had. I did the recipe as stated and did not strain it. All I can say is yum yum yum.
My family loves this recipe. I prepared it for the first time nearly a year ago, and my children actually cheer whenever they find out that I’m making it for lunch or dinner. I made 2 batches last week, and everyone was still looking for more after it was gone. It truly is delicious, and healthy too. Thank you so much!
I never leave comments after trying a recipe I have found online. This one was so worthy of a comment. My family loved it very much and asked for me to save this recipe! Molto bene! Grazie, what a dish!
I used this recipe as a base for both crab and lobster bisque and it was absolutely delicious. I added fresh basil and some cream for richness, and the family said not to change a thing. Thank You
Hi Marzia,
Can I just say this soup is AMAZING!!! I make this all the time even on a hot Xmas day here in Australia ? I actually use this soup as my pasta sauce most of the time & served with my favourite pasta.
My husband could smell the tomatoes roasting in oven and said its his favourite!
Merry Xmas from hot Sydney Australia ?
I used your recipe as a base to follow, switching a few things up, which is my norm! I made basil butter a couple of months ago, so I used 4-6 pats of butter for my basil flavor, along with tomatoes I’d frozen earlier, too. It turned out fabulous, a real keeper! We added our own fresh parmesan on top as some of my family members do not eat cheese. (The carrots, onions, garlic & basil were all “homegrown” too!) I know this will be a repeat performer in my house!
Holy cow, is this good. My picky eater took one look and said, “why is it chunky?” Little stinker. So I put her bowl back in the blender and blended it as fine as I could. THEN she was happy as a clam! This was the perfect Sunday-after-church lunch!
Haha! Quick thinking! Glad you made it work for everyone! 🙂
Is it possible to make it with fresh basil instead of pesto?
You certainly can if you’d like Terri, but as pesto is the ‘secret’ ingredient I wouldn’t leave it out!
I just wanted to thank you for this delicious recipe. I made it last night for my family, and it was a huge success. Everyone wants me to make it again. I love how creamy it is without any actual cream in it. Plus it’s so full of healthy ingredients. It really is a wonderful recipe. Thank you!
I made this last night. I was trying to use up all the veggies in the fridge so I added some bits of green and yellow pepper. I’ll definitely be repeating this. Thank you!
Are you sure that the tomatoes and veggies cook at 375? they seem to be quite mushy after 1/2 hour.
Yup! Just made another batch a few days ago, it’s 375ºF for 1 hour total. It’s fine if they’re mushy, you’re going to blend them all in a blender once done.
Can u can this soup when tomato’s are in season.
Wow! It’s looking so delicious and yummy. I have made tomato soup with added cream and some sugar. I am very glad that I found this recipe from your website. I just tried it at my home. It is amazing.
This is an excellent recipe! I used Barilla brand pesto – the max of 3 tablespoons. Since I was serving it for a valentine themed dinner, I cut out heart shaped pastry from puff pastry sheets, brushed with egg white and topped with Parmesan cheese for a garnish. Thank you for sharing such a great recipe!
Made this tonight and it came out amazing! Thanks for sharing!
Wow- great soup! I used vegetable broth and it tasted amazing. I suggest adding the red pepper flakes gradually to your liking. Spices it up quickly! Ten stars ????????????????????????
I have made the tomato soup with cream and it turned out disgusting. Now i”m so glad that I found this recipe because I just tried it and it came out tasting amazing!
You scared me for a second, LaQuan! I thought you meant that you didn’t like this soup! Glad to hear that this was the one you liked! 🙂 Thanks for commenting!
Wow! This soup is AMAZING! I even bought some half and half to sneak in, but it is so creamy and delicious, I didn’t need it. I put the recipe in the nutrition calculator and was delighted to see that it is 122 cal per serving for 8. Thanks so much for sharing!
Yay! Glad you found the soup to be creamy enough. Thanks for sharing the calories as i’m sure others will find it helpful as well! 🙂
Do you recommend leaving the skins on the plum tomotoes after they have been roasted but before going into the blender? I am guessing my vitamix can handle the skins, but they also come off so easily that I wonder if it doesn’t make sense to pull them off?
Though you could definitely leave the skin on and let the vitamix handle it, peeling it off is just fine too! Either will give you a smooth soup. Peeling them off does save you the step of running it through a strainer though!
Love Jillian, love tomato basil soup, love pesto (oh and love your blog). Love all around here 🙂