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
Filed Under
Can I use vegetable broth instead of chicken?
Hi Janice! You can, but chicken broth has a deeper, more savory flavor compared to vegetable broth, which tends to be lighter and sometimes slightly sweeter.
Super easy to make and tastes delicious!
Looks great. I would skip the sugar, especially for Keto diet. I also add cilantro – quite a bit of it – for additional great flavor.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Ellen.
So, I’m going to be one of “those people” and say I subbed some things. So, I didnt have fresh basil and used a tbsp dried and instead of heavy cream I used Embe coconut milk. Absolutely delicious! I probably should blend it a bit longer in the future but either way 🤤
Great recipe. I used my homemade canned stewed tomatoes (that already had onions, garlic, celery, etc. in them). Added homemade chicken broth and the rest of the ingredients, and used half and half instead of cream. I did a bit of immersion blender before adding the half and half and Parmesan. Served it with grilled cheese on homemade sourdough bread. A very comforting meal!
I’ve always hated tomato soup and would avoid it everywhere until
my fiancé asked me to make one after craving it for a while, so I made it according to your recipe. And I would like to say, I officially became a tomato soup lover! this is amazing the first taste was out of this world! I’ve made this soup at least 6 times already since! wonderful! amazing recipe! thank you!
That’s amazing, Valeria! I’m so happy that this soup won you over.
I have made this soup multiple times. I have a large family. This I a hit every time. Thanks so much for doing what you do.
I’m so happy to hear that, Cindy!
I tried it and it was the best I love tomato soup
I 1/2 everything and it came out perfect, I had it with BAKED grilled cheese (i like grated cheddar) , baked and flipped once while cooking makes superior crunchy grilled cheese perfect for tomato soup
I’m making this easy and delicious recipe for the third time today. Grilled cheese on sourdough bread and this soup….heaven! Thank you
Love grilled cheese using sourdough! Enjoy!
After adding the cream can I freeze this soup?
Hi George, You can make this ahead and freeze it but first make sure that you have allowed it the cool down before freezing. Store the soup in an airtight container, label and freeze. You can freeze it for a maximum of 3 months. Note, it’s better to freeze it before adding the cream. Cream can sometimes separate or curdle after freezing and reheating. If you freeze the soup without the cream, you can add it after reheating.
This soup is so easy to make and it’s so delicious,! Thanks Natasha
You’re very welcome, Judith.
Creamy, simple, and great! Incredible Recipe!
This soup was just okay. I used crushed tomatoes which don’t come with juices – not sure if the recipe actually calls for diced tomatoes instead. The soup was too tangy even after adding cream and I didn’t want to keep adding additional cream and sugar since it makes it less healthy. Wouldn’t make this one again but I love many of your other recipes!
Hi Chloe, it may have been due to your substitution and not all brands are created equal – some tomato cans are quite acidic which is why I recommend combatting that with cream and sugar at the end.
I have added a pinch or two of baking soda to tomato soup and it helps when it’s too acidic. I heard about that trick on a recipe for enchilada sauce.
Yes I ran into that confusion as well. Crushed tomatoes are the consistency of some spaghetti sauces, so there wasn’t any “juice” like if I used diced tomatoes or something. I do wonder if you tried a different brand if it would be less acidic. Mine was pretty good!
This is the best canned soup recipe. I make this quite often with grilled cheese sandwiches during the winter. It’s a Great! We love it❤️
Best recipe for tomato soup that uses canned tomatoes. It was so delicious that I could have skipped the cream (though I didn’t!). My new favorite tomato soup.
It was so good! I used 1 can of crushed tomatoes and 2 small cans of diced tomatoes seasoned with basil, garlic and oregano. Because I blended it all once done, the texture was smooth and creamy. We ate it for 2 days and in the 3rd day we boiled some noodles, sautéed some spinach and mixed it all together to make a spinach tomato pasta. I’ll definitely be making this again.
My wife and I both agreed the flavor was delicious. Since I cook it was quick and easy to prepare. Fantastic with grilled cheese and found it freezes great without losing flavor or texture. Thank you for sharing a quick, simple and delicious recipe.
Super easy and delicious. I used my immersion blender, but would like it even smoother. I’ll use my big blender when it cools. I used dried basil which worked fine. My husband who doesn’t like tomato soup tasted it and said, “I’d eat that.” Ha! High praise, indeed. Thanks for the great recipe!
This tomato soup was incredible. Paired with grilled cheese sandwiches on a cold day. I froze leftovers in 1 cup portions and they reheated well with no negative texture/taste issues.