This easy Creamy Tomato Soup recipe is the perfect flavorful fresh tomato soup ever. It freezes and reheats very well and is easily vegan or vegetarian. Ready in just 35 minutes!
OMG Fall is upon us, friends!
That means we are super close to Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Sunday football, and SOUPS!
Seriously though...is there anything better than fresh creamy tomato soup on a cold day?
Tomato soup is SUCH a comfort food for me. I'm sure it can't be as good as my memories serve, but just a simple can of Campbell's tomato soup used to be a favorite treat when I was growing up.
Especially as Fall starts, I find myself longing for those cherished bowls of tomato soup accompanied by a hot grilled cheese sandwich.
So, let's make some homemade creamy tomato soup. Whose with me?
Guys. THIS delicious cream of tomato soup recipe is my everything right now. Oh. My. Goodness. LOVE.
In This Post You'll Find:
Just how good is this healthy tomato soup?
It is so good that I have already converted two "I don't really like tomato soup" believers (one, of course, being Dustin) into "I'll have a second bowl of that" fans.
And, really, is there a better testament to how good a recipe is?
Dustin actually requests this soup now.
How To Make Creamy Tomato Soup
The trick, I've found, is to use good, fresh tomatoes on the vine and good quality ingredients.
Duh, right?
Starting with fresh tomatoes and taking the little bit of time to cook them down and release their flavors makes a BIG difference. You'll be shocked at how flavorful some tomatoes and a few veggies can be when stewed together in a pot for about 20 minutes. Seriously.
I've found I don't need to worry about fire roasted tomatoes since the soup is already so flavorful as it Is, but you're free to go to the additional step if you wish. Since I'm all about being easy, I also don't worry about removing the peels from the tomatoes. If you prefer peeled tomatoes, you can always remove them yourself, but since we'll be blending everything up, there's really no need. Plus -- the tomato peels add extra nutriense and give the soup some bulk.
Then, once all the fresh vegetables and herbs (tomatoes, red onion, carrot, garlic, and basil) are nice and tender, you blend them all up into a puree of liquid gold, otherwise known as this cream of fresh tomato soup recipe we've got right here. So yum.
If you happen to have an immersion blender to make the blending even easier, then life is all the better. If you don't a kitchen blender will do the trick, but will need to be pureed in batches.
Oh -- and you're gonna want to have some fresh basil on hand because it's absolutely the perfect garnish for this creamy tomato soup.
How To Make Tomato Soup Vegan or Vegetarian
A lot of tomato soups, even though the main star is the tomato, contain either chicken broth or cream, making them neither vegetarian nor vegan. However, it is very easy to convert most tomato soup recipes to be non-dairy by subbing the chicken broth for vegetable broth. To go even further and make vegan tomato soup, you can replace the heavy cream with almond milk or full-fat coconut milk for an even creamier alternative (or any nut or non-dairy milk of your choice).
Can You Freeze Tomato Soup?
Wondering if you can freeze your homemade tomato soup? Great news. This cream of tomato soup freezes absolutely perfectly. I freeze it all the time and you'd never even know. To freeze it, I like to pre-portion it out into either quart size or gallon size freezer safe bags or freezer safe containers. Then, just grab it and let it thaw in the fridge overnight. To be safe, if you're using the bag method, place the soup bag in a large bowl just in case it leaks. To thaw more quickly, you can place the bag in a bowl of cold water and then place in the fridge (just make sure there are no holes in your soup bag!).
This specific tomato soup with almond milk is easy to freeze because there is no cream that will separate while frozen. So yay. If you've decided to add cream to this recipe and you want to freeze it, just leave it out of the recipe and add once you're ready to cook it to avoid any separating.
This tomato soup will easily freeze well for a good 3-4 months and many have said even 6 months. Make sure to let the soup completely cool before placing it into the freezer so it doesn't raise the temperature too much in your freezer.
Cream Of Tomato Soup Recipe
More Healthy Soup Recipes
If you want more great fall soups I have a ton. Check them out below...
Creamy Tomato Soup Recipe
Equipment
- Stock Pot or Large Deep Skillet
*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 vine-ripened tomatoes, diced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 8 fresh basil leaves
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth* (or vegetable broth if vegan/vegetarian)
- 2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- ¾ cup canned full-fat coconut milk can sub for unsweetened almond milk*
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large, deep stock pot over medium heat.
- Add the onion and carrots and saute for 8-10 minutes, until tender.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, chicken stock, salt, and pepper and stir well.
- Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, until the tomatoes are very tender.
- Either using a blender (in batches), food processor, or an immersion blender, blend until pureed.
- Return to the pot, if applicable, and then add the almond milk or cream and stir to combine.
- Season to taste with any additional salt and/or pepper.
John
Kids loved it.
Carrie N
Such a wonderful soup and so easy to make. It will be a staple in our home. Thank you for sharing!
shaz
UM...YUMMM. I used this as a base but used cashew cream (raw cashews soaked 4-8 hrs, drain, rinse, puree with 1-2 C water) it has the mouth feel of cream...then I added shredded chicken and cooked orzo pasta. Its a new kid favorite! THANK YOU
Michelle
How does the taste compare using almond milk vs milk vs half and half?
Lacey Baier
It's actually not very noticeable. Using anything with cream will make it slightly creamier, but not significantly so.
Lawrence Colin
Do I need to peel the tomatoes before dicing them?
Michelle
I always peel my tomatoes because I don't like the chewy bits of skin in my soup. Blanch your tomatoes in hot water for 10 seconds or so (cross-slit the bottom of the tomato), then move to icy water, skin will fall right off.
ALSO, tomato soup gets a SUPER boost by adding a couple Tablespoons of butter. Butter and tomatoes are the best combo. I add butter to all my tomato-based sauces/soups, etc.
sarah
when do you add the butter...while cooking or when you add the cream?
Lacey Baier
I don't and I don't mind the little bit of added texture. Once it'd blended, you really can't tell, in my opinion.
Malin Andersson
Hello Lacey! Last Sunday I have made the tomato soup for my son. My son likes tomato soup very much. It was made so delicious without being too heavy and perfect with a milk and cream.
Lacey Baier
Perfect! I'm so glad you and your son enjoy this recipe. It's one of my all time favorite soups and I love sharing it with people 🙂
Mikkel Magnuson
Hi Lacey! I made this soup this week for my daughter, We both love it. It's so delicious without being too heavy and perfect with a almond milk and cream . It was very easy and quick and we'll be making this again and again. Thanks for sharing with us such easy and delicious recipes.
Lacey Baier
Yay! So glad you both enjoyed this recipe. Yes, it's one of our favorites and is so full of flavor and depth, despite how simple it really is to assemble. Thanks so much for sharing how it went 🙂
Annie McPhee
Can you clarify how much sugar? You mentioned sugar in the instructions but I didn't see it on the ingredient list. I picked a bunch of tomatoes out of my garden yesterday to make this. I'll guess on the sugar, but if you have an actual amount that would be great.
I made your croutons yesterday and put them on salad, it was yummy. I needed to find more things to put them on so I decided on your tomato soup.
Lacey Baier
I'm so sorry, Annie! I recently updated the recipe to exclude the sugar and must have forgotten to remove it from the instructions. I will go fix that now. It was just a tsp. of granulated sugar and I felt it actually didn't really need it.
LOVE those croutons on the tomato soup. Good choice! 🙂
Annie McPhee
I made it without the sugar too. Great minds think alike. I have got tell you, I cook a lot, and that combination of the tomato soup and those croutons was one of the best things I ever made.
I was cooking a small pot of black bean chili at the same time and all I could smell was the tomato and basil that I clipped from my garden right before I threw it in the pot. Couldn't even smell the chili. Half the time my house smells like a Mexican restaurant but today it was like an Italian one.
I subscribed to your site yesterday when I happened upon it after Googling crouton recipes since I had leftover cracked wheat sour dough and nothing to do with it.
Lacey Baier
Oh, that is so cool to hear, Annie! The first time I made that tomato soup I actually added the croutons to it and it was one of the best things I've ever tasted as well - so def along the same thinking 😉
I'm glad the sugar error didn't trip you up - thanks for letting me know how it turned out! 🙂
Leland
I sub 2-28 oz. plus 1-15 oz. diced canned tomotos for fresh when out of season...still great!
Lacey Baier
Very good to know! 😉
Viki
How many servings does this make? Thanks
Lacey Baier
Viki, it makes about 6-8 servings 🙂
tonieh
Any substitutions for heavy cream aside from coconut milk? I would like to make this dairy free. Thanks!
Lacey Baier
Almond milk! 🙂
Lois
Yes, what a great recipe. I have my garden tomatoes of all variety simmering. Homemade soup is the best. Thanks for sharing.
Lacey Baier
Yay! You're so welcome 🙂
Yvonne
I'm preparing the recipe again today for lunch , I freeze the tomatoes after I prepare in the oven at harvest time. Then in the winter we prepare this recipe again and again. (est 10 times so far)
Holly
How do you prepare tomatoes in the oven for freezing?
Shilpa
Thanks for this recipe, my family loved it!
Lacey Baier
You're so very welcome!
Megan Creveling
Your recipes are inspiring! Im so happy i stumbled upon your site because ive nearly bookmarked every recipe! Thank You for sharing and keep up the good work.
sincerely.
Lacey Baier
Thank you so very much, Megan! Enjoy! (And, Welcome!)