Looking for more easy, warm, comforting soups right now? Check out my popular posts for Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, Southwest Corn Chowder, and Vegetable Soup. When you think tomato soup, do you picture opening up an aluminum can with that white-and-red label, adding a can of water, and microwaving for a couple minutes? While that’s the soup I grew up on too, let me tell you boy is tomato soup much, much, much tastier when you make it from scratch. The secret? Ironically it’s canned tomatoes! Well, and a few other key ingredients of course. Plus, a lot of love. You have to give what you’re cooking some love for it to taste its best, and after you make this once, you’ll have nothing but love for it I assure you!
Why This Recipe Works
Canned tomatoes — While you can use fresh tomatoes, for simplicity’s sake, I just use a can of tomato sauce and a can of fire-roasted tomatoes as the bulk of the tomatoey goodness. It works great and the more high-quality the tomatoes, the better your soup will be so choose wisely. Basil — While you certainly can make this tomato basil soup without the basil, it’s just not nearly as good. It’s slightly sweet, kind of peppery, and a bit minty at times, and always pairs so well with tomatoes of any kind. Pantry staples — Did I mention you use canned tomatoes, store-bought broth, and pre-made tortellini (optional) for this soup? Those plus few other kitchen staples are all you need to whip this up tonight. Leftovers — This recipe makes enough for 6 average-size bowls of soup and if you don’t eat it all, it totally keeps for up to 5 days in the fridge or for 3 months in the freezer. Just thaw in the fridge and reheat (I prefer to reheat soup on the stovetop, but the microwave works too!)
Here’s How You Make It
What Foods Taste Good with Basil?
I love basil and tomatoes together. Below are a few recipes incorporating the two plus some other ways to enjoy basil.
Another variety of tomato basil soup I love to make is this Tomato Basil Orzo soup. In a surprising twist, this Thai Blackberry Basil Chicken was one of the best recipes I ever threw together in 20 minutes flat. Add some caprese action to the top of this Grilled Chicken Margherita. Blend up a batch of Pesto with a cup of basil and some other ingredients and use on everything. Brighten up an ordinary Caprese Salad with basil, salmon, and lentils.
Expert Tips
If you’re going to use an immersion blender to blend up this tomato basil soup recipe, that’s totally fine. However, I have found that using a sand blender makes the soup soup-er smooth (see what I did there?). For a cheesier tomato basil soup, you can stir in ½ a cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese in addition to more cream. Make sure you grate the parm yourself, it melts into the soup the best this way! I would be remiss if I didn’t leave you with some ideas for what to make with this tomato basil soup. Of course, a grilled cheese is my #1 choice with all things tomato soup, but you could also make some cheesy garlic bread, rolls, or breadsticks on the side as well.
More Tasty Soup Recipes
Southwest Corn Chowder Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Slow Cooker Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup Sausage and Vegetable Soup Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup
Did you make this Tomato Basil Soup recipe? YAY! Please rate the recipe below!
