My Creamy Tomato Basil Soup recipe is like a comforting warm fleece blanket on a cold winter's night. With a splash (or two!) of cream, you can customize this recipe to suit your taste. This is a must-make recipe and it's super quick, too!
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With all the freezing cold weather and loads of snow keeping us cooped up in the house, I've been making a lot of soups lately. This Creamy Tomato Basil Soup is just about the best comfort food around.
Growing up, I wouldn't touch tomato soup but these days, I'll settle down to a big bowl of this soup no problem!
🧂 Ingredients
- Butter
- Olive Oil
- Onion
- Fresh Garlic
- Carrots
- Canned Diced Tomatoes
- Chicken Stock
- Dried Basil
- Sugar
- Cream
This is meant to be a brief overview of our easy tomato soup recipe. For step-by-step instructions and a full printable recipe card with ingredients, please scroll down to the teal box below or Jump to Recipe.
🔪Instructions
- Cook the diced vegetables in the butter and olive oil until the onions are tender.
- Season with salt and pepper and dried basil.
- Add the diced tomatoes, sugar and chicken stock.
- Cover and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer.
- Using a hand blender, carefully puree the soup.
- Add the cream just before serving.
- Garnish with fresh Parmesan cheese and croutons.
I love how quickly this soup can come together for dinner. I first made it on a snowy Sunday afternoon, but it can easily be made on any weeknight since it only needs to simmer for a little while.
Equipment
EquipmentAs an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Be sure to check out my Juggling Act Mama Storefront on Amazon where you'll find all kinds of great products to make your life easier! Thanks so much for being a part of Juggling Act Mama ❤
- Measuring Spoons
- Dry Measuring Cups
- Liquid Measuring Cup
- Cutting Board
- Santoku Knife
- Large stock pot
- Immersion Blender
How Much Cream Should I Use?
The amount of cream in this recipe is left out on purpose! That's because it's completely up to you how much you want to put in. Anywhere from a splash to a half cup will add a nice amount of creaminess to the tomato basil soup. The cream, like the sugar, also helps to cut the acidity of the tomatoes.
Why Should I Use Dried Basil Instead of Fresh?
I am using dried basil in this recipe because that's what I had on hand at the time. Basil is not an herb that looks pretty when it is heated - it just turns black! So for these reasons, I am sticking with dried basil. You could substitute some of the fresh basil just before you puree the soup mixture, but I would not garnish the soup with it.
How Do You Thicken Homemade Soup?
In this recipe, the pureed vegetables, along with the cream, help make the soup thicker. If you wish to omit the cream, you could also add a couple of tablespoons of flour with water until it is smooth to make a slurry. Add it to the pot and mix it in well.
The homemade tomato basil soup is pretty amazing by itself, but when you add the homemade garlic croutons, it's a total home run! Serve with my Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad for the perfect soup and salad night.
What Else is Good to Eat with Tomato Basil Soup?
- These homemade garlic basil croutons are awesome, of course! You can make these croutons ahead if you prefer and store them in an airtight container. It's a good way to use up stale bread.
- Our Garlic and Herb Cheese Bombs would also make a yummy addition to this meal.
- Grilled cheese and tomato soup always go together! For a more grown up version that compliments the basil, try this Pesto Grilled Cheese recipe from Baking Mischief.
- Top the tomato basil soup with Cheesy Tater Tots. It's a delicious alternative to croutons!
Make-Ahead and Freezer Tips
Tomato Basil Soup makes an awesome make-ahead or freezer meal. If that's your goal do NOT add the cream until you are ready to serve. It's not necessarily bad, it's just not as good if you know what I mean.
- Let the soup cool completely.
- Pour your soup into containers (I love using these containers with tight lids for freezing soups.
- Put the lids on tight.
- Mark the contents and date with a marker and slide it into the refrigerator or freezer.
This will keep for about 3-4 days in the refrigerator, or up to about 4 months in the freezer.
Pro Tip: Use a wide mouth funnel to ladle the soup into the containers without making a mess!
😋 Similar Recipes
You can find loads more Delicious Soup Recipes right here on Juggling Act Mama, for example:
- Easy Lasagna Soup - all of your favorite ingredients from lasagna in a quick and easy soup.
- Instant Pot Beef Stew - this beef stew comes together quickly thanks to the Instant Pot, but you don't miss out on any of the delicious flavor you get from cooking it low and slow.
- Italian Style Chicken Sausage Soup - a hearty and filling soup.
- Turkey Chili Recipe - perfect for game day parties!
📋 Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
Not ready to make this delicious tomato soup yet? Don’t forget to pin the recipe for later.
When you do make it, please comment and leave me a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. It totally makes my day!
Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Equipment
- Large stock pot
- Immersion Blender
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 large clove garlic minced
- 2 large carrots diced
- 29 oz cans diced tomatoes 2 14.5 oz cans
- 32 oz chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 4 tablespoons sugar to taste
- cream
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Over medium heat, combine the butter and olive oil. Add the onion, carrots and garlic and season with salt, pepper and the dried basil. Cook until the onions are tender. (It's ok if the carrots are not completely tender).
- Add the diced tomatoes, chicken stock and sugar. Stir to combine.
- Cover and turn the heat to high. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Puree the soup using an immersion blender. Add the cream just before serving.
- Garnish with garlic basil croutons and Parmesan cheese.
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Naturally nicole says
Great blog, loving the recipes! Stopping by from Tater Tots and Jello Link Party 🙂
April G says
Yum! I had planned on making soups over the winter, but did not get to any. I still want to. Pinning. Thanks for linking up with Turn it Up Tuesday.
Ang Paris says
Thank you April! It's really so delicious! Love your link party, and it was so awesome of Cindy to pick me as her favorite 🙂
Krysta @ KrystaSteen.com says
Thanks for sharing on Tips & Tricks- this looks so good!! Hope you come back again this week! 🙂