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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!
Really looks like a great recipe! I have two cans of fire roasted tomatoes in my pantry and am wondering if they would work with this recipe. I could roast the other ingredients. What do you recommend?
This is lovely, had lots of tomatoes to use up( home grown) can’t think of a more delicious way to use them Loved by the whole family. Thanks for the recipe!
How many serving did this make and how much was your serving?
Do you strain the seeds?
Hi Nancy! I didn’t because when you blend the soup, they breakdown anyway. However, you can remove them if you prefer!
How long does this soup last in the fridge?
Hi Julie! About 4-5 days!
I have been making this for a couple of years now. It’s sooooo good! I made double batches and froze it with great success. Could I safely can this by adding lemon juice to each jar!
Hi there! I’m so glad you’ve made this soup for years! Unfortunately, I’m not very familiar with canning homemade soups, so I can’t say with certainty if it’s safe to can. I would love to hear how it went if you decide to try it!
Raise your hand to receive this virtual Hi5 because hunny it is seriously scrumptious. I most definitely recommend everyone to give it a try. Bon Appetit.
So happy to hear you enjoyed it, Jackie! Appreciate you circling back to leave a review 🙂
this recipe looks delicious. I’ll make it.thanks
What if we don’t have balsamic vinegar ?
I used red wine vinegar and it turned out great.
Hello! This looks so delicious and will come in handy for the 17 tomato plants we planted this year.
Have you tried freezing this recipe before?
Thank you!
You know, we’ve never had any leftover to freeze! But my best guess is that it should hold up just fine! I would reheat it on a stove just so that if there is extra moisture, it’ll have a chance to evaporate as it heats through. Hope you love the soup, Katie!
I regularly freeze this soup and it always reheats beautifully!
OH.
MY.
GOSH.
Is this good soup! I made it for my library’s annual Soup & Bread event. It was a big hit. And so easy to make.
I will make this again and again.
So glad to hear that, Linda! Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment 🙂
Ok let me start by saying I LOVE THIS RECIPE! However, I don’t eat it as a soup. I cut the chicken stock in half and eat it over pasta! I love the roasted flavor of this sauce/soup.
My BF and I serve it over penne topped with grilled Italian sweet sausage.
A delicious comfort meal!!
Loved this recipe! So simple and the soup is delicious and creamy – you’d never guess it has no dairy in it. And – love love love the little extra kick from the red pepper flakes.
The summary recipe on Pinterest doesn’t show tomatoes!
Thanks for letting me know, Jim. Pinterest pulls information themselves and I don’t have a way to fix that, unfortunately.
Hi! I am wanting to try this recipe today! It looks delicious! I forgot fresh garlic at the store, but do have minced garlic in the jar. Would it be okay if I used that instead? If so, do I roast it with the veggies like you do when they are whole cloves?
Hi Anesha! You can use minced garlic in a jar if you’re in a pinch, but I wouldn’t roast it with the veggies. It’ll end up burning in that extended cooking time because it’s so finely chopped. Instead, you can just add it all to the soup pot when you add the veggies, before blending. 🙂
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!