Best Tomato Soup Recipe

Name: Best Homemade Tomato Soup Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 3 pounds tomatoes, (fresh, cut into 2” pieces); ½ onion (diced (1 cup)); 5 cloves garlic (peeled and chopped); 2 Tablespoons olive oil; ½ teaspoon fine sea salt; ¼ freshly ground black pepper; ¼ cup fresh basil; 2 Tablespoons salted butter; 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar; 1 quart vegetable broth; Optional: ¼ to ½ cup heavy cream.

By Laura

Posted Feb 19, 2021, Updated Jul 10, 2024

5 from 234 votes

201 Comments

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The best homemade tomato soup recipe – this roasted tomato basil soup is easy to make with fresh tomatoes, irresistibly creamy & bursting with flavor. It’s a healthy and cozy way to warm up on cold winter days. Follow our step-by-step instructions & watch the video to learn how to make tomato soup from scratch!

a bowl of Homemade Tomato Soup with grilled cheese on the side

In my opinion, tomato soup with grilled cheese is the ultimate comfort food. Chilly days make me want to grab a spoon and dive into a bowl of fresh, warm tomato soup – and this recipe is the best of the best!

This roasted tomato basil soup is easy to make with fresh tomatoes, irresistibly creamy & bursting with flavor. It’s a healthy and cozy way to warm up on cold winter days. It’s also a perfect recipe to use fresh garden tomatoes and basil during the late summer months.

Follow our step-by-step instructions & watch the video to learn how to make tomato soup from scratch.

bowl of Homemade Tomato Soup with grilled cheese pieces inside

Tomato Soup Recipe: Ingredients and Substitutions

As always, I recommend making this tomato basil soup recipe exactly as it’s written, however we’ll discuss the ingredients and possible substitutions.

overhead photo of the labeled ingredients in this Homemade Tomato Soup Recipe

Tomatoes. Choose a vine-ripened, naturally sweet tomato variety for the best flavor.
Onion. a sweet yellow or white onion are the best choices.
Garlic. jarred minced garlic can be used in place of freshly chopped.
Olive Oil. Any neutral oil works well, my second and third choices would be avocado oil and canola oil.
Fresh Basil. This can be omitted but I do not recommend it.
Salted Butter. Unsalted butter works well.
All-purpose flour. To make this creamy tomato soup gluten-free, use an all-purpose gluten-free flour.
Granulated sugar. brown sugar or honey are good substitutes.
Vegetable broth. Chicken broth is a great substitute for vegetable broth.
Heavy cream. This is optional, but recommended. The cream cuts the acidity of the tomatoes and makes this tomato soup recipe delicious. Whole milk or half and half are great substitutes.

How to Make Tomato Soup

This homemade tomato soup recipe is very easy to make. As always, we’ll walk through how to make tomato soup step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video.

Being making this easy tomato soup by combining tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a large bowl. Toss the ingredients with olive oil, salt and pepper and stir until evenly distributed.

two overhead photos showing How to Make Tomato Soup

Next, spread the tomato mixture onto a baking sheet in a single layer and roast for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the tomatoes from the oven, stir, and roast for an additional 15 minutes, broiling during the last 3 minutes so that some of the tomatoes get lightly charred.

One the tomatoes, onion and garlic are roasted, add the mixture to the container of a high-powered blender (Vitamix), making sure to scrape all the contents from the baking sheet into the blender. Add fresh basil and blend the mixture on high speed until smooth (about 50 seconds).

Make a Roux

My favorite way to thicken soups, stews, gravy, etc. is by making a roux, which is how we do it in this tomato soup recipe. Begin by melting the butter over medium-high heat in a large pot.

Then, add flour to the melted butter and whisk to combine. Cook until butter and flour mixture is golden brown (30-60 seconds).

Once the roux is ready, add the broth and sugar to the pot and whisk to combine.

Next, add the blended mixture to the pot and whisk to combine. If desired (for a creamier soup) add ¼ to ½ cup heavy cream. Cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, taste and adjust salt and pepper as desired.

Serve

Once the soup is ready, serve it warm with your favorite bread and toppings, and definitely make this grilled cheese sandwich! Here are some suggestions:

Bread. dip pieces of crusty no-knead bread or pretzel bread into the tomato basil soup.
Make homemade croutons or cornbread croutons and serve on top of the soup.
Use this homemade whole wheat bread to make a delicious grilled cheese sandwich to dip into the roasted tomato soup.
These homemade dinner rolls are a great companion to this creamy tomato soup.
Add a swirl of cream, a dash of freshly chopped basil or a spoonful of parmesan cheese to the top!
Have a “soup night” and make some of these soup recipes as well: potato soup (seriously the best), chicken noodle soup, sweet potato soup and butternut squash soup.

a bowl of Homemade Tomato Soup with grilled cheese cut up in the soup

Store

Store any leftover roasted tomato soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.

How to Freeze Tomato Soup

To freeze, let the soup cool to room temperature. Then, transfer it to freezer-friendly containers and freeze for up to 2 months. I recommend freezing it in individually-sized portions or at least in portions that you’d eat in a sitting as a family.

Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in a pot on the stove over medium-low heat.

front photo of a bowl of Homemade Tomato Soup

Tomato Soup Recipe FAQs

What can I add to tomato soup to make it taste better?

If you make this recipe I promise this soup will taste amazing. You can add a pinch of sugar, fresh herbs (like the basil in this recipe, additional heavy cream, salt and pepper to adjust it to your liking.

Do you need to peel tomatoes for soup?

You do not need to peel tomatoes, especially because the tomato mixture is blended until it’s smooth.

How do you thicken tomato soup?

The roux thickens this recipe. However, you can thicken tomato soup in a few ways:
1) Cook it uncovered until some of the moisture cooks off and it thickens.
2) Add a combination of 1 TBS water and 1 TBS flour or cornstarch and cook uncovered.
3) Add 1 to 2 TBS of tomato paste and cook until thickened.

How do you make tomato soup less acidic?

Full-fat dairy like cream or half and half helps reduce the acidity of tomato soup.

Can you freeze tomato soup?

overhead photo of grilled cheese being dipped into a bowl of Homemade Tomato Soup

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