This Creamy Tomato Soup is easy, comforting, and has a rich flavor profile. Watch the easy video tutorial and you’ll be craving a bowl of tomato soup paired with a gooey Grilled Cheese Sandwich.
You can make this tomato soup creamy or chunky if you prefer, but we love creamy soup recipes from Creamy Sweet Potato Soup to our velvety Carrot Soup and definitely Creamy Potato Soup.
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My husband never loved tomato soup until he tried this Creamy Tomato Soup. The addition of parmesan and just 1/2 cup of cream makes it so satisfying. It’s also a quick and easy 30-minute soup that keeps well in the fridge. We love it all year round and whip up a batch any time we are craving Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.
Tomato Soup Video Tutorial
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Ingredients for Tomato Basil Soup
Since this is a tomato-based soup, it is important to offset the acidity with some key ingredients. We use a combination of cream, parmesan, and a little sugar to balance the soup.
- Butter – use unsalted butter to sautee onions
- Yellow onion – it seems like a ton of onion but it dissapears into the soup adding a balanced sweetness
- Garlic – you’ll need 1 Tbsp minced from about 3 cloves
- Crushed tomatoes – with their juice, preferably San Marzano tomatoes
- Chicken stock – for the best flavor use homemade chicken broth
- Basil – chop and add 1/4 cup fresh basil, plus more to serve. Basil leaves are easily bruised so chop by stacking a bunch of leaves then roll them into a log and cut into thin strips.
- Sugar – It’s just 1 Tbsp, but necessary to combat the tomato acidity.
- Black pepper – start with 1/2 tsp and add more to taste
- Whipping cream – adds a creaminess to the soup and offsets acidity.
- Parmesan cheese – adds saltiness to the soup and balances acidity. Adding parmesan adds enough salt and I usually don’t add more.
How to Make Tomato Soup
- Saute Aromatics – heat a non-reactive pot over medium heat. Melt in 4 Tbsp butter then sautee onions until softened and golden (10-12 min). Add minced garlic and saute another minute.
- Make the tomato soup base – stir in two 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes with their juice, your chicken stock, chopped basil, sugar and black pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, partially cover and simmer 10 minutes.
- Blend if desired – use an immersion blender in the pot or blend in batches using a blender (be careful not to overfill the blender with hot liquid) and return soup to the pot.
- Add cream and parmesan – stir in the heavy cream and shredded parmesan. Return to a simmer and season to taste if needed.
- Serve – ladle into warm bowls and garnish with more parmesan and basil.
Pro Tip: If you prefer a chunky soup with bits of tomato (like our Broccoli Cheese Soup), you can skip the blending step and proceed with adding cream and parmesan then season to taste.
Important: Use a Non-Reactive Pot
Since this soup is tomato-based it is important to use a non-reactive pot. Avoid aluminum, cast iron, and copper which are all made of metals that can react with tomatoes and make the soup taste metallic.
Non-reactive pots that work well include: Stainless steel, enamel-coated cast iron, ceramic, and glass. We used our 5 1/2 Qt enamel-coated dutch oven pot.
Common Questions
You can use canned whole peeled tomatoes, but crush them by pulsing in a food processor before adding to the pot. Be sure to season to taste if substituting.
You can substitute the fresh basil with about 1 Tbsp of dried basil for the soup. I suggest adding dried basil when you add the crushed tomatoes to give them a chance to soften. Dried herbs work great in soups, but should not be used for garnish.
You’ll need to make your own crushed tomatoes which can be a time-consuming process. We find it is much simpler to buy crushed tomatoes.
We love chicken bone broth because it has a great depth of flavor, but you can substitute it with vegetable broth to keep this a vegetarian soup.
Make sure you aren’t using a reactive pot (see above) and add more sugar and cream to taste to balance the acidity.
How to Serve Tomato Soup
- Grilled Cheese – tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches are the perfect match (try dipping the sandwich into the soup).
- Parmesan – add shredded parmesan while the soup is hot so it melts over the top.
- Fresh Basil – sprinkle the top with thinly sliced basil.
- Croutons – sprinkle crunchy croutons over the soup.
- Toast – simple toasted bread or crostini (like we made for Bruschetta) are great for dunking into the soup.
More Comforting Soups
If you love this Tomato Soup, then you won’t want to miss these cozy soup recipes from our easy Chicken Noodle Soup to luxurious Beef Stew. There’s something here for everyone.
Creamy Tomato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 yellow onions, (3 cups finely chopped)
- 3 garlic cloves, (1 Tbsp minced)
- 56 oz crushed tomatoes, (two, 28-oz cans) with their juice, preferably San Marzano
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, plus more to serve
- 1 Tbsp sugar, or added to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, or to taste
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, or to taste to combat acidity
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus more to serve
Instructions
- Heat a nonreactive pot or enameled dutch oven over medium heat. Add butter then add chopped onions. Sauté 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden. Add minced garlic and sauté 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add crushed tomatoes with their juice, chicken stock, chopped basil, sugar (or add sugar to taste), and black pepper. Stir together and bring to a boil then reduce heat, partially cover with lid and simmer for 10 minutes.
- You can leave your soup with a chunky consistency, but if you like a blended/creamy soup, use an immersion blender to blend the soup in the pot to desired consistency or transfer to a blender in batches and blend until smooth (being careful not to over-fill the blender with hot liquid and pulse a few times initially to get it started), then return blended soup to the pot over medium heat.
- Add 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese and return to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed and turn off the heat.*
- Ladle into warm bowls and top with more parmesan and chopped fresh basil.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
I was very happy with my first try with of this recipe. On first taste, I thought it had a slight metallic taste. I added a bit more sugar, and that helped. I used basil paste from a tube. Next time I’ll
use fresh. I plan to make it with ham and cheese sliders for my quilting group when they come over next month.
Hi Kim! I bet it will be amazing with that sliders.
Pretty tasty Definitely needed more herbs & salt. I used an entire can of coconut milk too. This will serve at least 8 people! I’d say 12. Will be freezing for leftovers.
could you can this minus the cream till the day you have it?
Hi Debbie! Yes, you can hold the cream and add it later when you reheat to serve it.
Incredibly delicious soup!!! I used my own garden tomatoes, chopped them up and stewed them. I blended everything in the Vitamix but since I didn’t have cream, I used a few tablespoons of whole milk powder (and added a half cup of water) when I blended it. With some shredded Asiago cheese blended in, it truly tastes gourmet!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Kirstin!