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A creamy and comforting tomato basil soup that is perfect for dipping crusty bread. This recipe uses fresh tomatoes that are roasted to enhance their natural sweetness.
Tomato Basil Soup At A Glance
- ⏱ Ready In: 50 minutes to 3 hours 20 minutes (depending on roasting method)
- 🍽 Serves: 4
- 🌱 Diet: Vegetarian, Gluten-Free
- 💪 Nutrition Highlights: Rich in vitamin C and lycopene from roasted tomatoes
- 🥕 Main Ingredients: Tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, cream, butter
- 🔥 Flavor Profile: Rich, silky, gently sweet with a fresh basil finish
- 🧊 Meal-Prep Friendly: Keeps 5 days in the fridge, freezes beautifully (without cream)
- Best Served With: Crusty bread or a grilled cheese sandwich
Many homemade tomato soup recipes use canned tomatoes, but this recipe starts with fresh tomatoes that are roasted to intensify their flavor.
Roasting the tomatoes first enhances their natural sweetness and depth of flavor, resulting in a soup that canned tomatoes can’t replicate. Blended with fresh basil, cream, and butter, the soup becomes velvety smooth and delicious.
This recipe is versatile – you can make it quickly in under an hour or slow cook it for a few hours for a richer flavor. Serve it with good bread or a grilled cheese sandwich for a satisfying meal.
👩🍳 More soup recipes you might like:
→ Tomato Florentine soup
→ Creamy sausage tortellini soup
→ Roasted tomato soup with creamy mascarpone
→ Leek and potato soup
→ Chicken and white bean soup
What You’ll Need
Here is what you’ll need for this tomato basil soup recipe. Find the full measurements in the recipe card below.
Roasted tomatoes
- Ripe tomatoes — the star of the show, roasting concentrates their sweetness and deepens the flavor
- Onion and garlic — roasted alongside the tomatoes for a mellow, sweet base note (the garlic goes in unpeeled so it doesn’t burn)
- Olive oil, salt, pepper — for roasting
- A touch of sugar — optional, helps balance out any acidity in the tomatoes
- Fresh thyme or oregano — adds a subtle herbal note while roasting
Soup base
- Vegetable or chicken stock — use vegetable stock to keep this fully vegetarian
- Tomato paste — deepens the tomato flavor
- Heavy cream — for that silky, rich finish; use light for lower calories
- Fresh basil — added right at the end so it stays bright and fragrant
- Butter — optional, but adds a lovely glossy finish
How To Make Tomato Basil Soup
Find the full recipe and nutritional information below. Here are some handy step-by-step photos for how to make this roasted tomato and basil soup.
- Preheat your oven — 300°F if you’re doing the slow roast, or crank it up to 400–425°F for the quicker method.
- Halve the tomatoes and place them cut-side up on a large baking tray with the quartered onion and unpeeled garlic cloves.
- Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, pepper, and sugar if using, and scatter over the herbs.
- Roast for 30–45 minutes at 400–425°F for bright, juicy tomatoes, or 2–3 hours at 275–325°F for a deeper, jammier flavor.
- Once roasted, squeeze the garlic out of its skins and discard any tough herb stems.
- Tip everything — tomatoes, onion, garlic, and all those roasting juices — into a large pot.
- Stir in the stock and tomato paste, then bring to a gentle simmer for 20–30 minutes to let the flavors meld.
- Add the fresh basil and simmer for just 2 minutes to infuse without losing that bright green color.
- Blend until completely smooth with an immersion blender (or in batches in a regular blender). Pass through a fine mesh sieve if you want it extra silky.
- Return to low heat and stir in the cream and butter until glossy and smooth.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning, then serve.
Recipe Tips
- Pick your roasting method based on time and mood. Hot and fast (400–425°F, 30–45 minutes) gives you bright, juicy tomatoes with a bit of caramelization. Low and slow (275–325°F, 2–3 hours) concentrates the sugars into something richer and more complex. Both are worth trying.
- Always roast the garlic in its skin. It roasts sweet and mellow instead of sharp, and squeezing the cloves out afterward takes seconds.
- Add the basil right before blending, not before. Two minutes of gentle heat is enough to infuse the flavor without turning it dull and losing that fresh green color.
- Hold the cream back if you’re freezing or storing a big batch. The soup base keeps better without it — stir cream into individual portions as you reheat instead.
- Reheat gently. A splash of stock or water helps loosen it back up if it’s thickened in the fridge.
Serving Suggestions
This tomato basil soup pairs perfectly with crusty bread for dipping or a grilled cheese sandwich on the side for a comforting meal. It can also be served as a starter before a main course like pasta bake or roast chicken.