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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 fresh 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, cheesy croutons, or a hunk of no knead crusty bread 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. And it’s perfect to meal prep and keep in the refrigerator for weekday lunches.
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!
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 Roma tomatoes, the more delicious the pot of soup will be. Take your time, enjoy the process. Massage those tomatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic with some olive oil. Then generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. Pop them in the oven on a low heat setting for one hour. The slow baking process helps to caramelize the veggies on the outside. All while developing 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.
So what’s so secret ingredient?
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… BASIL PESTO!
That super concentrated flavor of basil pesto makes this tomato basil soup NEXT LEVEL STUFF. The pine nuts and parmesan cheese from the pesto add such nice depth and creaminess. 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. 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. Season with a pinch of salt, garlic powder, and a bit of Italian seasoning.
So simple and SO YUMMY.
Ingredients to make Tomato Basil Soup
The ingredient list is short, but the flavors are huge!
- Tomatoes (lots of them!)
- Onions
- Carrots
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- Basil Pesto homemade or store-bought
- Vegetable broth or Chicken Broth
- Balsamic vinegar
- Kosher salt and pepper
How to make secret ingredient tomato basil soup
- The first step in making the best homemade tomato basil soup recipe is roasting the Roma or plum tomatoes, onions, carrots, and garlic on a large baking sheet with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.
- 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 or a Blendtec, it’ll puree 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 blender. 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 dutch oven pot along with all the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Then let it heat all the way through over medium low heat, 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. Garnish with fresh basil leaves and you’re ready to serve. 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! 🙂
Secret Ingredient Tomato Basil Soup
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 homemade basil pesto or store-bought
Instructions
- 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
- Vegan: If you follow a vegan diet, you’ll want to replace the pesto with vegan basil pesto. You can make your own or use a store-bought pesto for this!
- To make cheesy 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!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
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.
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.
Would it be 8 servings if I put them in 16 ounce cups? or 4?
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!