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.
This tomato soup recipe is the nicest i have ever tasted . Thank you so much
You’re so very welcome, Veronica! I’m happy to hear you loved it.
I’ve been looking for a simple tomato soup recipe that uses canned tomatoes and here it is! Haven’t actually tried it yet but I’ve been cooking for almost 60 years, organic and from scratch (we start ’em young in my family,) and can tell this will be delicious.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and talent with us!
I love the recipe for this soup! It looks very good, and easy to prepare.
VERY good recipe! I absolutely love tomato soup, but it is usually so much work to make, with peeling and roasting tomatoes, etc. This one made it so easy! I dropped the cream down to to 1/4 cup and bumped up the parm to 1/2 cup. I also subbed Monkfruit instead of sugar, and dropped down to 1 tsp (I prefer my tom soup REALLY tomatoe-y, so it was perfect).
Will absolutely be making this again!!!
I too will never buy canned tomato soup again. This recipe makes the best ever tomato soup, and is super busy.
Make this soup all the time. My friends and family request it often.
So happy to hear that, Trish!
Make this soup all the time. My friends and family request it offen.
That’s so awesome to hear, Trish! I’m so glad this recipe is loved!
Delicious!!
My comment is as simple as lovely soup. Go ahead, try and enjoy.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Samantha!
I made this soup tonight. It is a delicious basic recipe which I appreciated because I have never made homemade cream of tomato soup. Because I am genetically programmed to not follow a recipe to the T (my mom taught me to cook), I did add some chopped carrots that I sauteed with the onion to add some sweetness and more nutrition. I added an addition 1/4 cup of heavy cream to reduce the tartness and that perfect. I will definitely make this recipe again and doubt I will by store bought again since this is so delicious and easy. Thank you Natasha. 🙂
It’s a rich and creamy tomato 🍅 soup.
I have never liked tomato soup but on a recent trip to Iceland my husband had a delicious bowl of tomato soup. As soon as we returned home I went in search of a recipe for tomato soup. So, so thankful this was the first one I came across. It is every bit as delicious as the soup we had in Iceland. I have made it several times as written. Thank you Natasha for another great recipe.
This looks delicious! If I want to freeze the soup for later, should I add the cream now or when I’m reheating? Thank you
You can add the cream later if you’re planning on freezing it.
Easy and good, can’t wait for the leftovers today!
I put a little extra garlic in, because well, I like garlic. I also had 6 or 8 Campari tomatoes left from another dish. I quartered them and added them with the crushed tomatoes. I did use an immersion blender to smooth everything out after letting it simmer.
Note – be *very* careful with an immersion blender in simmering/hot liquid!
Can I leave the basil out for just a tomato flavored soup?
Hi Ginger. Sure, you could leave it out if you prefer.
Haven’t tried it yet, but it looks great wondering if I can cook in the crockpot after I sauté the onions and garlic
Hi Cindy, I have not tried that to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Can I transfer to a crockpot after sautéing the onions and garlic?
Hi Cindy! I have not tested this recipe in a crock pot to provide those instructions. I searched through the comments below and did not see any feedback from any of my viewers regarding this. I assume it could work, but you’d have to experiment with it.
Love this soup. So easy to make and it’s delicious
I rarely ever write reviews, but wow! I’ve never made tomato soup before and decided to give it a try. Didn’t even know where to start and thought to check Natasha’s Kitchen to see if she has a recipe one. As I was reading the ingredient list, I was thought 2 onions was going to be a lot, but continued to follow this recipe with how it was written out & was very pleased with the end results . This was such an easy recipe to follow & so delicious. I kept going back for seconds and thirds even hours after I made it & it kept tasting better each time?! Like, how. Definitely give it a try and see for yourself!
We paired it with Natasha’s grilled cheese sandwich and were extremely impressed with both recipes. Thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Angela! I’m so glad to hear you loved it. I appreciate you taking the time to leave a review.
Use heirloom tomatoes and roast in the oven with onions and garlic. Really makes a difference.
Hi Julia, you’re describing the roasted tomato soup in my Cookbook – it’s delicious!
Perfect soup to go with a grilled cheese sandwich made with homemade bread. The only change I made was I left the sugar out; felt it didn’t need it. I will definitely be making a large batch and canning it without the heavy cream and then when we want tomato soup we can just open a jar and add the heavy cream then.