Move over canned soup - once you’ve made tomato soup from scratch you’ll never want to go back! This recipe calls for roasting or caramelizing all of the vegetables for that perfect savory flavor. This soup is great on it’s own or paired with your favorite sandwich or crackers.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour (includes roasting and cooling)
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 8 1-cup servings
Ingredients
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 lbs. fresh tomatoes (Roma is typically the kind of tomato used for soup; I recommend either all Roma or what I like to do since I love the flavor of cherry tomatoes is 2 lbs. Roma, 1 lb. cherry tomatoes)
1 red bell pepper
1 bulb of garlic (8-10 cloves)
1/2 of a medium sized yellow onion
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1 cup of fresh basil (loosely packed, about a handful)
1 cup of chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)
Additional basil sprigs for garnish
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 400 °F. Prep your ingredients by cutting all of your Roma tomatoes in half lengthwise, cutting the red pepper into quarters, thinly slice the onion and peel the individual garlic cloves. If using the cherry tomatoes as well, leave those whole. In a 9”x13” baking dish or on a baking sheet, arrange the tomatoes and red bell pepper and season with a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper. In a small crock or an over safe glass baking dish, add all of the garlic cloves and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Place the tomato and pepper pan as well as the garlic crock in the oven; roast the garlic for 10-12 minutes and roast the pan of tomatoes and peppers for an additional 25 minutes so about 35 minutes total.
While the vegetables are roasting, add the two tablespoons of butter to a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Heat over medium-low for a minute, then turn down to low and add the sliced onion. Slightly caramelize the onions by sautéing them on low heat for 6-8 minutes until translucent and they’ve started to brown. It’s important to do this on very low heat so they caramelize but not burn!
Once the vegetables in the oven are done roasting and the onions have carmelized, let them all cool for about half an hour. Since I use a blender to smooth out the soup, it’s important to make sure the vegetables have cooled as it’s dangerous to blend hot food; it creates pressure inside the blender. If you’d rather use an immersion blender, feel free to skip the cooling period.
Once the vegetables have cooled a bit, put the tomatoes, red pepper, garlic, onion, the juices from the roasting pan and the handful of basil into a blender and blend until smooth.
Add the mixture in the blender back to the soup pot or Dutch oven then add the salt, pepper, and broth. Bring up to a boil on medium heat and stir for a few minutes to ensure everything is well mixed and the soup is heated through. Turn off the heat, add the cream and give it another stir.
Serve in a soup bowl, top with a bit more cracked black pepper and a basil sprig, and enjoy!
Tips & Tricks
I like to caramelize the onions on the stovetop and roast the garlic outside of the bulb, but if you’d like an even more efficient approach, feel free to add the onion slices and garlic bulb to the roasting pan with the tomatoes and peppers! Just make sure you cut the bulb in half to be able to cover the cloves in the oil, salt and pepper seasoning, and be careful when you take them out of the bulb as the skin will be hot. I would also cut the onion into thicker slices or in quarters so it doesn’t burn.
If you’d like a vegetarian friendly version of the soup you can use vegetable broth or stock; I prefer to use Kettle & Fire chicken bone broth for extra flavor and health benefits. The heavy cream is also optional if you need a dairy free option!
If you are a tomato soup & grilled cheese fan- check out my sourdough recipe and take this dinner up a notch with a grilled cheese on the side, made with homemade sourdough!
Nutrition Facts (per 1 cup serving)
Estimates. Will vary based on ingredients and serving size
Calories: ~130 kcal
Protein: ~2.5 g
Total Fat: ~9 g
Carbohydrates: ~11 g