This Tomato Basil Soup is loaded with fresh tomatoes and basil, cream, parmesan, and more! This cozy soup is hearty, yet light and perfect next to your favorite grilled cheese.
Give me a bowl of this tomato basil soup, a perfectly crispy, yet gooey grilled cheese, and I.AM.SET. In high school this was my absolute favorite lunch to come home to.
Some things never change!
Ingredients
This simple ingredient list allow the fresh tomato and fresh basil flavors to really shine!
- Unsalted Butter – used for cooking the onion with the spices. Provides a rich, buttery base for the soup.
- Yellow Onion – adds a touch of caramel-y sweetness.
- Garlic – gives that subtle nutty flavor.
- Salt, Pepper, and Italian Seasoning – a simple seasoning blend that pairs beautifully with the fresh tomatoes and basil.
- Fresh Tomatoes – the star of our tomato basil soup. Use in-season tomatoes, if possible, because they’re juicier and sweeter. Use whatever variety you like — I prefer roma tomatoes.
- Tomato Juice, White Wine and Chicken Broth – create the broth for our soup. The tomato juice adds extra tomato flavor, the wine adds sweetness, and the chicken broth adds savoriness.
- Brown Sugar – adds a rich, molasses sweetness and cuts the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Fresh Basil – the other shining star of our soup! Fresh basil adds a sweet, earthy flavor that pairs so well with fresh, juicy tomatoes.
- Heavy Whipping Cream – blended into the soup to make it extra creamy.
- Parmesan Cheese – provides a rich, cheesy, salty flavor and also helps to cut the acidity of the tomatoes.
How to make
This fresh tomato soup comes together in less than an hour. Don’t forget the grilled cheese for dunking!
- Melt butter in a large stockpot then add in onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning and cook.
- Stir in tomatoes, juice, wine, broth, and brown sugar then simmer for 30 minutes.
- Transfer mixture to a blender and blend with fresh basil, cream, and parmesan until creamy.
- Pour back into stockpot and heat again if necessary then serve and enjoy!
What tomatoes to use
You can use whatever variety of tomatoes you like, but I use Roma tomatoes for this recipe. They have a rich, sweet flavor and a lower water content compared to other varieties of tomato—which is perfect for a thick and creamy soup!
Whatever tomato you choose, the ripest, reddest, freshest tomatoes will have the best flavor and texture.
Should you skin the tomatoes?
Removing the skin on tomatoes is not necessary, because we’re blending the soup in a high powered blender — the skin blends right in with the other ingredients.
Can you use canned tomatoes?
I don’t recommend it for this recipe. The fresh Roma tomatoes used in today’s recipe create just the right flavor and consistency! If you’re looking for a tomato soup with canned tomatoes, I recommend checking out my roasted tomato soup recipe!
Can you use dried basil?
You can, but I’d recommend sticking with fresh basil for the, well, freshest flavor! If you’d like to replace the 3/4 cups of fresh with dried, you’ll need 1/4 cup dried basil. You can also check out my roasted tomato soup, which already uses dried basil.
Variations
This soup is delicious as-is but if you like it extra spicy or have any dietary needs, here are some other options!
- Spice it up. Heat things up with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
- Make it vegetarian. Swap the chicken broth for veggie broth.
- Make it vegan. Replace the butter with oil, chicken broth with veggie broth, heavy cream with full-fat coconut milk, and parmesan with nutritional yeast.
What to serve with tomato basil soup
I love serving up this flavorful and creamy tomato basil soup with a sandwich and salad.
- Caprese Grilled Cheese or your favorite grilled cheese!
- Pear, Blue Cheese, Candied Pecan Salad
How to store
Leftover soup will last in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
To reheat, thaw in the fridge if frozen then microwave or heat on the stove until warmed through!
– Jennifer
Tomato Basil Soup
Equipment for this recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ½ yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt plus more to taste (I did 1 teaspoon)
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 pound fresh tomatoes diced (about 5 roma tomatoes)
- 3 cups tomato juice
- ½ cup white wine
- ½ cup broth chicken or vegetable
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¾ cups fresh basil about 25 leaves
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup finely parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Melt butter over medium heat in a large stockpot.
- Add in onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
- Stir in tomatoes, juice, wine, broth, and brown sugar.
- Bring to a simmer.
- Lower heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Carefully transfer to a high powered blender and blend with basil, cream, and parmesan.
- Pour back into the stockpot, taste and re-season, if necessary, then heat through and serve!
- Take 5 seconds to either rate this recipe below and/or PIN it. We greatly appreciate it!
People Also Viewed
Nutrition Information
*Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.
Kayla
Jennifer @ Show Me the Yummy
Anonymous
Dee
Jennifer @ Show Me the Yummy