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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!
Another home run, Marzia!! Made this for the 1st time, doubled the recipe, and shared with my entire family, who ranted and raved about it AND the cheesy bread! It fed 15 people and I can’t wait to make it again tomorrow before the big cold snap hits again tomorrow night!! You have THE BEST recipes and you are my #1 “go-to” when looking for something delicious to make!
Hi Linda! Love that you shared this with the whole family! Thanks for circling back to leave and a review and stay warm!
Amazing!! Love how easy but flavourful this is ❤️ We left the tomato skins on and our immersion blender handled it perfectly, didn’t strain it so it was a bit textured but in a good way. Four tbsp of pesto was key. Thanks Marzia!!
Tasty, simple, lovely, overall delicious.
Thank you!
So delicious! I’m a huge tomato soup fan and have tried so many recipes over the years, and this is by far the best. I keep a jar of pesto in the pantry at all times now as this has become a family favourite.
I’ve used different kinds of tomatoes to use what’s in season and all have worked well. The vinegar gives it the perfect balance without even knowing it’s there. Don’t skimp on the garlic – roasting the garlic adds so much flavour.
This is the BEST comfort food – a grilled cheese sandwich served with a bowl of this soup.
This is very yummy!
I make this so often. It’s absolutely mouth-watering. My personal tweaks to the recipe are to add a roasted red pepper to help with the colour when tomatoes are out of season and to stir in some shredded parmesan right at the end.
I made a triple batch for my “soup club” at work that had 8 members because I wanted to bring the leftovers home to serve the family for supper. People were approaching me all day long and commenting on how delicious it was – even non-club members were saying they heard it was amazing. At the end of the day, I went to get my crockpot and it was empty! I think the non-club members may have snuck a bowl as well!
Hi Mindy! Love that you added your own twist with the roasted red pepper! And so glad to hear it was such a hit for you 🙂
I usually deviate from recipes and add my own twist. However, this time I followed exactly and LOVED it! It was a hit with my family. My wife was skeptical that it wouldn’t be creamy so I reserved the option to include a little cream. No need! This is a keeper and I will make it again! We already had the pesto in the freezer.
This recipe has been in my arsenal for several years. I finally had to print it out instead of trying to read it on my teeny phone screen! I cannot tell you how much I love this soup. The only thing I changed was to roast the veggies for an hour on 350 because my oven seems too hot at 375 (last time I made this I actually burned the veggies), and it came out spectacularly.
My 8 year old daughter and I just made this soup together – it is soooo good! Highly recommend 🙂 Ours came out on the sweet side (maybe the carrots were too big), so I added a squeeze of lemon to brighten it and it was perfect. This will be going into regular rotation! Thank you for the fabulous recipe!
This was the best tomato soup I’ve ever made! Incredible flavor!!!!
Oh my gosh, I cannot wait to make this! The only thing missing on my household right now are the carrots! Definitely making this, this week! Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
I love your recipes! But I am stupid allergic to nuts (including pine nuts) – could i use extra parmesan in the pesto? Or would I add cream? This recipe looks amazing!
Hi Ann! Yes, you can just up the amount of Parmesan in the pesto in place of nuts and use that!
so delicious. loved the taste. Thanks a lot
Marzia thanks so much for this recipe. I followed your recipe and made a few adjustments for a vegan nut free version. Your recipe was the baseline for a great tasting delicious soup that I will serve for years. Delish!!!
Some adjustments I made were that I left the red pepper flakes out as I have some heat sensitive eaters, and I used chicken bone broth instead of stock as it also added to the creaminess without cream or dairy. The pesto I made was nut free and vegan and it added an amazing depth of flavor that shocked me.
This soup is delicious and so easy to make. It is a definite keeper.
Fab recipe. Took it to the next level again by adding a red pepper to the roasting tray. Can’t believe something so delicious is also so healthy! Thank you 🙂
I made this soup today, and it came out well and delicious. My only problem is that my blender seems unable to puree well, it leaves tiny chunks of carrots which is annoying. I wonder maybe next time, I would cut the carrots in smaller pieces, or use cauliflower instead.
Thank you for this recipe. I rarely comment on recipes I use but this soup if just SO easy and SO, SO, SO tasty!
Have made it three times now and it never fails to charm my tastebuds!
The roasting makes the skin and pips soft enough to be completely blitzed when you blend the soup.
It freezes really well.
I have to say that I can only get six portions out of the recipe because I like a big helping of this deliciousness!
This is my FAVORITE Tomato Basil Soup recipe!! Delicious, clean, creamy, and easy to make! I make it every year on the first hold front! I like to mix it up too! Sometimes I out tortellinis in it, sometimes Asiago cheese croutons! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
I’m so glad to hear it is one that you enjoy and make yearly, Molly! Appreciate you taking time to leave a review 🙂
This is soooo delicious. I just made my last batch for the season. It’s a perfect way to use up all those tomatoes from the garden. It freezes perfectly as well.