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 chicken broth in place of chicken stock?
Hi Joy, yes, that will work!
can I blend the tomatoes before I add them to the dutch oven? I don’t have an immersion blender, just a small bullet blender for smoothies, and transferring after cooking seems like a lot more work. Will it affect the way it cooks?
Hi Hannah. That would be fine.
I made a roux with 1/4 c. flour and 1 c chicken brother and then added 2 c 2% milk plus the 1/2 c cream. I also added 1 T brown sugar. It was a sweet tomato soup–just like I wanted it to be.
Scrumptious! I made this for me and my partner on a cold day, and we had if with quesadillas. It was a warm and filling meal. I mostly followed the recipe but used veggie broth instead of chicken stock, and nutritional yeast instead of parmesan (we are vegetarian). I also added a bit of oregano and thyme. It was still delicious!
So glad you enjoyed it using veggie broth!
We never use half-&-half or cream so could I substitute a bit of greek yogurt instead?
Hi Christina, while I haven’t tried it, one of my readers mentioned they used greek yogurt.
I followed directions and went out to buy a Dutch Oven. It made all the difference. This was the best Tomato Soup I’ve ever had. I’m not sure I will ever be able to have canned soup ever again.
That’s so great to hear, Amber!
Very simple to pull together. I used RoTel tomatoes with Hatch Green Chile. Also added double concentrate tomato paste to sautéed onions. Easy way to add a Southwestern flavor. Especially because I live in New Mexico and usually have RoTel rather than plain crushed tomatoes.
Thank you for sharing that with us! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Simple, easy, and absolutely delicious! I’ve made it twice in less than a month 😊
Absolutely delicious! I’m usually not a fan of tomato-based dishes, but I wanted to use up the abundance of fresh basil from my garden—Texas has had such a wonderfully warm December this year (2025) that I still have tons of it. Fresh basil is a must; dried just wouldn’t compare. I followed the recipe as written, with the exception of using half-and-half instead of cream since that’s what I had on hand, and I scaled it down to two servings as I was cooking just for myself. This is definitely going into my regular rotation. Thanks for sharing!
That’s wonderful! I would always use fresh ingredients if I can – it really makes a huge difference! I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Hi can I make this weekend, freeze and serve on Christmas? Will it taste as good? How long does it last. Hoping to make Sunday and serve Thursday.
Hi Courtney, this stores well in the fridge. We’ve kept this in the refrigerator for about 3 days or so. Soups with cream generally don’t freeze well. I haven’t tested freezing this myself, but one of my readers has frozen it without the cream, and then adds the cream when reheating and serving.
Fabulous recipe, Natasha!!!! Im laid up with the flu and this is sooooo comforting!!!!! I love that it came together so easily. Thank you so much for sharing!
I hope you feel better soon! I’m glad this recipe brought some comfort to you.
If I don’t have fresh basil, how much dried basil can I use from the spice rack.
Hi! This is also stated in the recipe: 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.
I noticed that when I added the cream, it created little white dots. I assume this is the cream curdling? Is there a way to avoid this?
Hi Calvin! That’s correct, this can happen from having the heat too high or overheating the cream. Make sure it’s reduced to lower/medium heat (not boiling) when you add your cream, then turn it off.
Instead of crushed tomatoes, I used organic tomato purée. I puréed the onion and garlic and added to the tomato/chicken stock for a smooth soup. Unfortunately, I did not have fresh basil, dried worked out just as well.
I plan on bringing this soup to an upcoming soup party. Do you think I could make it the day before and then reheat in a crockpot the following day? Thank you!
Hi Nancy! Yes, it reheats well. If you’d like, keep the cream out and add towards the end of reheating prior to serving. That way it reduces the chances of curdling.
Can I use basil paste instead of fresh basil? Also taking to a soup party tomorrow like a recent commenter.
Hi Victoria! I think that can work fine, you may just have to add it to taste because I don’t know exactly how to substitute the quantity.
great recipe! i’ve made this 2 times now and the flavour is amazing me and my family love it definitely worth checking out!!
I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed our Tomato Soup Recipe!
I’m excited to try this! I’m wondering if it freezes well?
Hey Angela, I haven’t tested freezing this myself, but one of my readers has frozen it without the cream, and then adds the cream when reheating and serving. But, we’ve kept this in the refrigerator for about 3 days or so.
How long does this stay in the fridge? May I freeze it?
Hi Annie, this stores well in the fridge. We’ve kept this in the refrigerator for about 3 days or so. Soups with cream generally don’t freeze well. I haven’t tested freezing this myself, but one of my readers has frozen it without the cream, and then adds the cream when reheating and serving.
Turned out fantastic! I used high quality vegetable broth to make it vegetarian. I also skipped the basil because I don’t like basil in my tomato soup. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly and it’s delicious. 45 minutes is probably a more accurate estimate, especially if you are going to blend it (which you definitely should, in my opinion). I’m not a slow cook and that’s probably how long it took me.
Best tomato soup recipe ever! Add those grilled cheese sandwiches and it’s pure comfort food! Thank you!
This tomato soup is a must, I’m so happy you loved it, Mary.
Made this soup with the grilled cheese!!!! LOVE IT!!!