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Enjoy a creamy, luxurious tomato basil soup without the guilt! There is no cream, sugar, or any unnecessary additives in my Tomato Basil Soup! Plus, the secret ingredient makes this soup so so good!
What you WON’T find in this homemade tomato soup is a bunch of cream or sugar.
I haven’t been able to get this creamy, luxurious, sweet, and comforting soup out of my mind for weeks. Tomatoes are still hanging around my farmers market, and I’m taking advantage! I can’t wait to make tons of salads, soups, and other goodies with them before we go into the deep freeze of winter.
If you’ve been following LSJ since the beginning, you know I’ve done a tomato basil bisque in the past. My ashamed self is admitting to you that I had to put cream in it to make it taste as good as it did last time. In my defense, I did make that soup when the fresh tomatoes weren’t quite at their best. Which meant less natural flavor and that means I needed extra herbs to help make the tomato flavor a little noticeable. But never, ever, ever again.
I can’t wait to make a big batch of this every week to have on hand for lunches and midday snacks. Yes, tomato soup is perfect with a little bit of grilled cheese, cheesy croutons, or a hunk of no knead crusty bread when you need a little something to nibble on. Not to mention that it’s exactly what you need if you’ve caught the early fall sniffles.
You will undoubtedly sleep like a 5-month-old baby if you’ve got a belly full of this soup in you. And it’s perfect to meal prep and keep in the refrigerator for weekday lunches.
My family loves this recipe. I prepared it for the first time nearly a year ago, and my children actually cheer whenever they find out that I’m making it for lunch or dinner. I made 2 batches last week, and everyone was still looking for more after it was gone. It truly is delicious, and healthy too. Thank you so much!
What makes my secret ingredient tomato basil soup so unique?
One thing that I forgot to mention is that not only is there a secret ingredient in my tomato basil soup, there is also a secret method.
The thing about this soup is that the longer you roast the Roma tomatoes, the more delicious the pot of soup will be. Take your time, enjoy the process. Massage those tomatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic with some olive oil. Then generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. Pop them in the oven on a low heat setting for one hour. The slow baking process helps to caramelize the veggies on the outside. All while developing more flavor in the tomatoes and brings out its natural sweetness. They’re wrinkle and cute and loaded with so much flavor when you pull that tray out of the oven. Bonus: your house is gonna smell like a Tuscan tomato field! There’s also zero sugar in my tomato basil soup. Only the natural sweetness from the slow roasting process and the carrots that are going into this soup.
So what’s so secret ingredient?
The secret to making delicious tomato basil soup or even minestrone is simple. It’s something you’ve already had. It’s something that goes hand in hand when you think of tomatoes and cheese
And..
The Secret Ingredient is… BASIL PESTO!
That super concentrated flavor of basil pesto makes this tomato basil soup NEXT LEVEL STUFF. The pine nuts and parmesan cheese from the pesto add such nice depth and creaminess. You’ll forget about adding that heavy cream or half and half in and opt for this more flavorful/ healthier option instead.
The parmesan in the pesto also adds just the right amount of cheesiness to the soup without overpowering it.
This tomato basil soup is exactly what you need to cure that cold. And it’s perfect for the fall! Imagine a chilly evening complete with a warm blankie, comforting tomato basil soup, and a grilled cheese sandwich to dip, dunk and munch on. For the colder months, the grilled cheese is a MUST. For summer, I served this soup with cheesy toasts. It’s just a bit of provolone on a slice of baguette. Season with a pinch of salt, garlic powder, and a bit of Italian seasoning.
So simple and SO YUMMY.
Ingredients to make Tomato Basil Soup
The ingredient list is short, but the flavors are huge!
- Tomatoes (lots of them!)
- Onions
- Carrots
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- Basil Pesto homemade or store-bought
- Vegetable broth or Chicken Broth
- Balsamic vinegar
- Kosher salt and pepper
How to make secret ingredient tomato basil soup
- The first step in making the best homemade tomato basil soup recipe is roasting the Roma or plum tomatoes, onions, carrots, and garlic on a large baking sheet with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.
- Once you’ve done that, it’s as simple as adding the ingredients to a blender and blending them with some of your stock until it’s smooth. Keep in mind that if you’ve got a powerful blender like a Vitamix or a Blendtec, it’ll puree your soup up nicely! If you have a traditional blender, it may take a little longer so you may want to do it in several batches.
- Once blended, you’ll add all the remaining ingredients to the soup pot and then bring it to a full simmer before serving.
This process can be even simpler if you’ve got an immersion blender. I made this purchase a few years ago, and it has made life so much simpler. If you’ve got one too, you can add the roasted veggies right into the dutch oven pot along with all the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Then let it heat all the way through over medium low heat, and you’re ready to serve.
What if I follow a vegan diet, can I still make this tomato basil soup?
If you’re living a dairy-free or vegan lifestyle, you can still make this soup! There are tons of recipes on the internet for vegan pesto (where the parmesan is replaced with a hint of nutritional yeast), and most health food stores even sell vegan pesto! Just make that simple swap, and you’re good to go.
And that’s it!
Just ten simple ingredients in my from-scratch tomato basil soup recipe. Garnish with fresh basil leaves and you’re ready to serve. So many of you have already made and loved this recipe and –if you decide to give it a go too, I’d love to hear your thoughts! 🙂
Secret Ingredient Tomato Basil Soup
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. tomatoes 2 lbs. Roma, cut in half + 1lb. whole cherry, etc.
- 1 medium onion cut into chunks
- 6-10 garlic cloves
- 3 large carrots peeled + cut in half
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 4 cups vegetable stock or chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ¼-½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2-4 tablespoons homemade basil pesto or store-bought
Instructions
- ROAST: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375ºF. Place the tomatoes, onions, garlic, and carrots on one large baking sheet. It’s okay if some of the ingredients are overlapping. Drizzle the olive oil along with a generous pinch of salt and pepper and give it a good toss so it’s all evenly seasoned. Place the baking tray in the oven and allow the ingredients to bake for 1 hour. Check on the ingredients around 30 minutes and give it a toss as needed.
- BLEND: Transfer the ingredients along with any juices from the baking tray to a blender and blend the veggies until they are completely smooth. If you’ve got a super powerful blender it will go in one batch and be super quick. If you’ve got a regular blender, you may need to add a little broth to help it along. If you’ve got a hand blender, you can skip this step and add all the remaining ingredients into a large pot and just blend it all there.
- SOUP: Transfer the puree into a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chicken broth and allow the soup to heat all the way through, about 5-7 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and red pepper flakes. Add two tablespoons of the pesto and give the soup a taste. If desired, add more. I used 4 in total because I love a little extra punch of basil. Season with additional salt and pepp as desired. Serve with cheese toasts.
Notes
- Vegan: If you follow a vegan diet, you’ll want to replace the pesto with vegan basil pesto. You can make your own or use a store-bought pesto for this!
- To make cheesy toasts: On slices of baguette, place sliced provolone cheese, top with a sprinkle of salt, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Bake in a 400ºF oven for 4-5 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
What a delicious soup! I served it as a starter for my esteemed guests and everyone around the table complimented me on my exceptional culinary skills!? Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipies.
This is excellent! I added a squeeze of tomato paste and a tablespoon of sundried tomatoes in oil.
Totally awesome!
Making it for the third year, I think.This is by far the best tomato basil soup every. Using the fresh vegetables makes it so good. I also used my homemade pesto so that made it really special. Have shared recipe because I rave about it. Thank you so much.
Delicious!! I used vegetable broth and was so creamy even before adding the pesto…which definitely was a perfect addition to the flavor.
Delicious! We loved it and it was so simple to make! Thank you.
Just made this soup and it was amazing. My boyfriend went as far as to say it’s the best tomato soup he has ever had. And it’s even better that we get to enjoy it guilt free.
I added one red pepper, removing the skin after roasting.
So happy I stumbled upon this, it is definitely going to be one of our regular mid week dinners .
Thank you x
? loved this recipe!
Delicious..
I made this recipe and used a red pepper instead of carrots. I also substituted basil paste for pesto because of a family members nut allergy. It came out so delicious and it is now my go to tomato soup recipe. Super easy too!
Excellent soup and excellent bread! I would highly recommend.
Best tomatoe soup I have had without cream. Highly recommend. Easy but super flavorful. Great, great great!
The soup and cheese toast was so satisfying , it made a perfect evening meal. I used pumpkin as I did not have carrots. ??
This was amazing! Highly recommend! My friends and fiancé raved about it. We finished the pot in one sitting! So flavorful and felt less guilty given that there’s no cream or sugar. We enjoyed the soup with grilled cheese. We’ll definitelty be making this again!
Marzia,
My compliments on such a wonderful treat. My wife and I made this splendid soup for our guests this evening. It was a blind taste test but, based on the ingredients and preparation listing, I was positive it would be a wonderful new addition to our menu list. The preparation was simple and well described, I particularly liked he immersion blender used in the crock pot to cream the ingredients. Simply splendid.
Our guests were both very pleased with our menu choices and loved the soup. I will forward an e-mail to them for this recipe location in order that they may enjoy this at their home.
Again, my compliments on your efforts. Keep the interesting stuff coming!!!!!!!
This recipe looks amazing. I have been searching for a creamless tomato soup recipe. Just wondering if you have any recommendations on making the recipe using an instant pot. I would love to add it to my quick supper rotation. Thank you.
I’m about to make the soup but I’m confused. Are the veggies sliced before being roasted? Then are the seeds removed from the tomatoes before or after roasting or at all? Also, do I remove the skins from the tomatoes after roasting? I have an immersion stick blender I intend on using. Thanks in advance.
Hi there! The preparation for each of the veggies is written in the ingredients section, you would do this prior to baking. I didn’t remove the seeds from the tomatoes because all of it blends up in the end, but you’re welcome to if you’d like! Didn’t remove the skins either, it blended up just fine with my stick blender, but again, you are welcome to remove them prior to blending to your preference! Enjoy! 🙂
Could i use a food processor instead of a blender?
This soup is really delicious. I made it with vegetable broth so that three of us could eat it and made cheese toasts with shredded old cheddar on sourdough rye and it was a hit at dinner. Thanks for a great recipe!
I had been looking for a great tomato soup for a long time. And this is it. Made this soup a year ago and it has been my favorite ever since. My whole family loves it. Roasting really brings out all the flavors. Highly recommend.
I made this and served it with grilled cheese sandwich. It was SO delicious. The soup is just as good and flavorful as that at La Madeleine. I left out the red pepper flakes. I made it gluten free but be careful of jarred pesto; some brands have wheat in them. Must read label, my husband is celiac.