This Easy Tomato Soup recipe is creamy, simple to make and an all-time favorite recipe. It’s the perfect soup recipe at any time of the year.
Homemade Tomato Soup serves four and costs about $5.55 to make. That’s just $1.39 per serving.
Serve this soup in these Bread Bowls made from frozen dough alongside this Italian Salad for a complete meal.
I love soup, no matter the season. I love it so much because soup is usually reasonably easy to make, uses pantry ingredients, and leftovers typically taste better the next day!
This Classic Tomato Basil Soup recipe is no exception; it is rich, creamy, and G-O-O-D! It’s a family favorite around my house, especially when I serve it with my Monterey Grilled Cheese! That is some serious comfort food right there.
Homemade Tomato Basil Soup is a healthy and hearty meal that tastes better than any canned or premade soup you can buy and is super easy to make. You will have a bowl of deliciousness in front of you in less than one hour!
Ingredients and Cost
Per Serving Cost: $1.39
Recipe Cost: $5.55
- 2 (28-ounce cans) crushed tomatoes – $3.28
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth – $0.36
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter – $0.30
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped – $0.62
- 1 bay leaf – $0.03
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour – $0.04
- 1 teaspoon light brown sugar – $0.01
- Salt and pepper – $0.03
- 3/4 cup heavy cream – $0.88
NOTE: The recipe prices are calculated by using grocery store websites. The actual cost of the recipe will vary depending on what ingredients you already have.
Instructions
- First, cook the onions in butter until the onions are softened.
- Add the flour to the onions and butter to make a paste. Continue to cook until the paste darkens, about 1-2 minutes.
- Slowly whisk in chicken broth. Then whisk in crushed tomatoes, baking soda, salt, bay leaf, and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened.
- Discard the bay leaf and puree the soup in batches.
- Return the soup to the pot and add the cream. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with basil and Parmesan cheese (both optional). Serve.
Recipe Variations
- I love serving this with a grilled cheese sandwich or a grilled cheese sandwich that I cut into cubes like you see in the pictures in this post.
- My homemade croutons would be delicious on top of this soup.
- You can also serve this soup on its own or with some basil leaves and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- This soup will serve six if you’re serving it with something else like salad or grilled cheese.
Storage Tips
SERVE: You can leave this soup out for about two hours before it needs to be refrigerated.
STORE: Soup can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
FREEZE: Once the tomato soup is cooled, place it in a freezer-safe container and freeze for 1-2 months.
REHEAT: Thaw at room temperature for 3-4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Then, Place the soup in a saucepan and heat on medium-high heat until heated though.
Cook’s Tools:
Recipe FAQ’s
This soup is fantastic on its own, but there are a few things that you can do to boost the soup’s flavor even more.
Add a spoonful of pesto for a nice punch of flavor. Also, a sprinkle to mozzarella cheese would complement the pesto nicely.
Stir in some fresh herbs. While my recipe calls for basil, don’t stop there! There are a lot of other fresh herbs that would compliment this soup nicely like chives, parsley, thyme, and rosemary.
Tomato Basil Soup is a healthy choice. It is a low-calorie meal and low-fat meal: the soup has 347 calories and 38 carbs.
Bisque is known for being made with some shellfish, such as lobster or crab. Bisque is also traditionally made with cream, while tomato soup has a base of chicken stock.
My homemade croutons would be delicious on top of this soup. You can also serve this Lemon Chicken with Potatoes and Artichokes alongside this soup.
Dipping some of these Garlic Cheese Breadsticks into the soup is a little bit of Heaven, in my opinion! Or serve it just before eating this Skinnier Tuscan Garlic Chicken.
More Soup Recipes:
- Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Taco Soup
- Crock-Pot Tuscan White Bean Soup
- Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
- Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Italian Wedding Soup
- Chicken Barley Soup
- Polish Beet Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup
- Low Carb Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheese Soup
Easy Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Salt and pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
- ¾ cup heavy cream
GARNISHES:
- fresh chopped basil
- grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour cook, stirring frequently, until paste begins to darken, 1-2 minutes.
- Slowly whisk in chicken broth. Then, stir in crushed tomatoes, baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, bay leaf, and brown sugar and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Discard bay leaf, and puree soup in batches to desired consistency. Return pureed soup to the pot and stir in cream. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with garnishes (optional).
Noelle says
Yum! I love making soup and it’s almost that time of year again! Love this, thanks for sharing 🙂
Taryn says
Great tomato soup. We really enjoyed it.
Barrie says
I love how easy this recipe is! I love the addition of brown sugar to cut down the acidity.
Mya Murphy says
I’m not huge on tomato soup.. unless it’s creamy. I’m leaving a 3 stars rating, but this is based just on my taste.
Antoinette M says
Nice recipe. I love tomato soup!
Michelle J. says
I think I’d substitute our garden tomatoes for the canned. We have a lot right now.
Rika says
I love how easy it is to make. It’s healthy and budget-friendly too.
Jacqueline Meldrum says
I made a similar soup so I know just how good this is. I am.wondering what the baking soda is for?
Jillian says
Hi Jacqueline, great question! Sometimes I find that canned tomatoes have a bit of a metallic taste to them. The baking soda helps to neutralize the acidity of the tomatoes.
Tara says
Such a flavorful and comforting soup! Those flavors sound amazing. I love the idea of serving it in a bread bowl. Yum!
Beth says
I love how easy and very tasty this tomato soup is! So much better than store bought and paired perfectly with our grilled cheese! My kids are begging to have this again. Can’t wait to make this throughout fall!
Sara Welch says
I love soup season for recipes just like this one! So creamy and bold; easily, a new favorite soup recipe!