The BEST tomato soup recipe! It's rich, flavorful, and made with pantry ingredients. Pair it with a grilled cheese for a delicious, comforting meal!
Homemade tomato soup is like a hug in a bowl, which, when the weather is as gray as it has been here lately, is exactly what I need.
This tomato soup recipe is a cold weather staple in our house. It couldn’t be simpler to make, and the ingredients are largely pantry basics that I always keep on hand. But more importantly, this tomato soup is creamy, comforting, and full of rich flavor. The tomatoes make it tangy, balsamic vinegar adds sweetness, and red pepper flakes give it a warming kick of heat. You could serve it on its own, topped with a swirl of olive oil, black pepper, and fresh basil leaves…or you could pair it with a grilled cheese sandwich. If you’re craving cozy comfort food as much as I have been recently, I definitely vote for the latter.
Tomato Soup Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this homemade tomato soup recipe:
- Tomatoes, of course! Canned diced tomatoes, to be exact. If you’d prefer to make a tomato soup recipe that calls for fresh tomatoes, check out this tomato basil soup recipe instead.
- Olive oil and butter – They create the soup’s rich base. To make this recipe dairy-free, feel free to use additional olive oil instead of the butter.
- Carrots, onion, and garlic – These aromatic veggies give the soup savory depth of flavor.
- Balsamic vinegar – It adds sweetness and tang.
- Vegetable broth – Use store-bought, or make your own. Water works here too!
- Full-fat coconut milk or heavy cream – Honestly, both are fantastic! They make the soup equally creamy. If you go the dairy-free route, I promise, you won’t taste the coconut one bit!
- Dried thyme – For warm, earthy flavor.
- Red pepper flakes – For heat.
- Fresh basil leaves – You can’t beat the combination of tomatoes and basil! I shower the basil over the soup to add bursts of fresh flavor.
- And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Tomato Soup
This homemade tomato soup recipe is so simple to make! Here’s how it goes:
First, sauté the veggies. Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, and add the olive oil. Add the onion, carrots, garlic, and a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies soften, about 8 minutes.
Stir in the vinegar.
Next, add the remaining ingredients and simmer. Add the canned tomatoes, water, coconut milk or heavy cream, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt, and several grinds of pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
Then, blend part of the soup. This step makes it sooo creamy! Scoop 4 cups of the soup out of the pot and set aside. Transfer the remaining soup to a blender, and blend until smooth. If you like, you could use an immersion blender for this step, though I prefer the smoother texture I get when I use my upright blender. Return the pureed soup to the pot, along with the 4 cups of chunky soup. Stir to combine.
Finally, season to taste and serve. That’s it!
Homemade Tomato Soup Serving Suggestions
When you’re ready to eat, top your bowl with a swirl of olive oil, a drizzle of coconut milk or heavy cream, lots of fresh black pepper, and fresh basil. Enjoy the soup with a side of crusty bread, or top it with homemade croutons for crunch. And of course, you can’t beat pairing it with a grilled cheese sandwich.
Want something lighter on the side? A cup of this tomato soup is delicious with a simple green salad, my kale Caesar salad, or a classic Caesar salad.
Leftovers keep well for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. For longer storage, freeze the tomato soup for up to 3 months!
More Favorite Soup Recipes
If you love this tomato soup recipe, try one of these homemade soups next:
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Minestrone Soup
- Tortellini Soup
- Best Lentil Soup
- Cabbage Soup
- Many-Veggie Vegetable Soup
- Or any of these 35 Best Soup Recipes!
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, or an additional 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 (28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
- 3 cups water or vegetable broth
- 1⅓ cups full-fat coconut milk or heavy cream, plus more for drizzling
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh basil leaves, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, garlic, and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until softened.
- Stir in the vinegar, then add the tomatoes, water, coconut milk, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt, and several grinds of pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.
- Scoop 4 cups of the soup out of the pot and set aside. Transfer the remaining soup to a blender. Puree until smooth. Return the pureed soup to the pot with the reserved 4 cups of chunky soup. Stir to combine and season to taste.
- Ladle into bowls and serve with a drizzle of coconut milk, a drizzle of olive oil, freshly ground black pepper, and fresh basil leaves for garnish.
I made this last night and I have to commend you for how DELICIOUS it was. I loved it so much! Very easy to follow and I feel it would be a great soup for anyone who think they “cannot cook.” I did opt for heavy cream over coconut milk, but would love to try it with that.
I paired it with a sourdough grilled cheese with pepper Colby jack. I just wanted to share how much I loved this one. Printed it and added to my favorite recipes.
Thank you,
Eddie 🙂
Hi Eddie, I’m so glad you loved it!
I made this while I was incredibly sick and I really think it helped me recover quicker. Also It wasn’t hard to make for someone who is not very knowledgeable about cooking.
I forgot to mention that I used trader joes vegan alternative for heavy whipping cream and I could not taste the difference
Hi Amaya, I’m so glad you’re feeling better and that you loved the soup! Great to know the vegan cream alternative worked well here.
Hello, just curious if you’ve ever subbed greek yogurt or cannelloni beans for the heavy cream? Trying to add some protein and take some fat out of the recipe for a specific nutritional need and curious if you think that will ruin the taste or if you’ve tried and if so how much of each you think would sub for the cream you recommend? Thx!
Hi LJ, we haven’t tried this sub in this particular recipe, but we’ve used blended beans for creaminess in many other soups. I think it would work here! I would start by adding 1 cup cannellini beans to the blender when you blend some of the soup. You could potentially use more, but I’d start there so that the soup doesn’t get too thick. Hope this helps!
What brand of canned tomatoes do you use? I’ve found they vary greatly n taste and composition.
Hi Nola, we typically use 365 organic or Muir Glen.
Just made it, everyone loved it!!!!!
Hi Misael, I’m so glad you loved the soup!
This was amazing. Glad I followed the recipe as is.
Hi Amy, I’m so glad you loved the soup!
Best tomato soup I’ve made, huge hit with family, paired well with garlic toast and also grilled cheese sandwich. Fabulous
I’m so glad you loved it!
I made this last night and was delighted! I used roughly 3/4 C half-n-half instead of the recipe’s coconut milk, and 2 golf ball sized frozen pesto balls instead of basil (just using what I had). It was delicious with a bit of feta & crackers (will make croutons next time though). I also added about a tablespoon of sugar. May leave out the Balsamic next time. Not sure I liked that flavor profile, but I managed to cover it up. thanks for the recipe!
I would like to see full nutritional values for your recipes. On a very strick diet and won’t make unless I have that information, hopefully it will be included in the future and see an update to you recipes. They sound delicious.
This soup is delicious! I subbed the coconut milk with zero fat Greek yogurt and emulsified the whole pot. Basil and all. Family loved it!
I’m so glad it was a hit!
This is my favorite tomato soup recipe! I’ve made it about 4x and always used heavy cream, but this last time used coconut milk to lighten it up and I honestly didn’t see a difference in richness and flavor. I recommend it to everyone!
Hi Megan, I’m so glad you loved it!
I am super picky about tomato soup and this recipe is a keeper. Any thoughts on freezing leftovers?
This is my favorite go to, tomato soup. I follow the directions except that I use an immersion blender in the end. Grilled cheese dips nicely 😊
I’m so glad you loved it!
Can you tell me if the canned tomatoes are 28 oz each or a total of 28 oz?
2 cans 28oz each. Just made it.. delish!
Hi Marilyn, 2 28-ounce cans
Excellent soup, delicious! It made it into my recipe file. Can’t wait to make it again.
Hi. Love your recipes but being health conscious, do you ever post nutrition info including calories? Am I missing something?
Thank you for these great recipes.
Hi Cheryl, I’m sorry, we don’t post nutrition facts (I like to focus on the quality of ingredients not on the #’s) but you can plug the ingredients into a site like my fitness pal.
Was disappointed in the flavor. It was the addition of the balsamic vinegar. I used heavy cream instead of the coconut milk, which might have tempered the acidity/vinegar taste. Added butter & sugar to try & balance, which helped. Will do it again, w/o the balsamic.
I am confused. Sorry but Is the the two cans of tomatoes 28 ounce each so over all 56 ounces of canned tomatoes it is 2 tomato cans 14 ounces each so overall 28 ounces of canned tomatoes?
Hi Yael, you’ll need 2 28-ounce cans of tomatoes, 56 ounces total.
I used the recipe for inspiration, made a bunch of changes to clean out the pantry, still delicious.
1 can 15oz of fire roasted tomatoes
1 can 6 oz tomato paste
2 celery stalks sauteed with onions and carrots
1 Tbs of veggie Better than Bouillon
1 can hatch chiles 4 oz
Water- about 5 cups
Thyme, basil, garlic as per recipe
Blended it all up in blender.
Hi Deborah, so glad you loved the soup!
Your modifications sound great, especially after seeing comments about coconut milk. Did you add anything creamy? I might try your suggestion.
Hello loveandlemons,
For tomato soup, I didn’t add anything creamy…just the blended the ingredients, plus salt, pepper. I don’t like creamy milks in soups, and without the milks, it’s easier to reheat and freeze, imo. Even potato leek soup or corn chowder are delicious without any milk. I like your recipes, they get my creative cooking juices flowing. thank you,
deborah
Wasn’t keen on the coconut milk. Could definitely taste it in the final product.
I used fresh tomatoes because I needed to use up end of season crop… I also wanted a smoother consistency so strained it before serving….
Flavor….just okay. I think I’ll try it again with dairy cream next time….
I’m going to make this. Can I just use an immersion blender for a few seconds?
Yes, you can use an immersion blender until it’s pureed.