Tomato Basil Soup
This is my favorite soup of all time. My homemade tomato basil soup recipe is super easy to make, takes only a few simple ingredients, and can be ready to eat within 30 minutes. It’s the perfect side dish at lunch with grilled cheese sandwiches or salad and a chunk of crusty french bread.
I am addicted to soup.
I love soup. It’s easy to make. It lasts 2-4 days for dinner. It tastes light and refreshing in my body. I feel healthy eating it. Finally, of course, it is DELICIOUS! You might have noticed by now my love-affair with soup (like my pinterest board of soup recipes or my own soup recipes). I hope you don’t mind.
This homemade tomato basil soup recipe is simple: only 6 ingredients! It’s also frugal and gives you 8 full servings of soup. It is also one of my Ultimate Favorite Soups of ALL Time. I am not the kind to lick bowls, but this soup is a rare exception to that rule. You will find me licking the bowl out as well as the soup pot because every drop is precious to me.
My husband and I like to make this a full meal by having a spinach salad with hard boiled eggs on top before eating the soup with a chunk of bread on the side. I think you will find that salad and this tomato basil soup go well together.
What I love: The fresh taste, the creamy texture, the fresh basil, the crusty bread dipped into the amazing soup…mmm…
Tomato Basil Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 cans (28 ounces each) organic crushed tomatoes (use fresh if you can: here’s how to make crushed tomatoes at home)
- 20 ounces of chicken broth (use homemade if possible)
- 18-ish fresh basil leaves, minced (use 2-4 tbsp. dried basil if necessary)
- 2 tsp. of organic white sugar (or natural sweetener of choice)
- 2 cups of heavy whipping cream *OR* half and half
- 6 tbsp. butter
- Optional spices such as: pepper, paprika, salt, etc.
Directions:
- In a large pot, bring the tomatoes and broth to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add basil and sugar. Let it simmer for 5-8 more minutes. Reduce heat to low, then stir in cream and butter (do not stop stirring as you add the cream to prevent curdling).
- Cook until butter is melted. Add spices of your choice. Taste and add more spices or cream if necessary.
- Enjoy with salad (optional) and bread (optional)!
Notes:
**Make sure to really mince the basil! The first time that I made this soup, I chopped into long strips, but while eating the soup, I kept wishing that the basil had been minced into smaller pieces.
**Make sure to let the sugar simmer into the soup for more than a few minutes. The sugar stops the tomatoes from tasting too acidic. The first time I made this, I made the mistake of adding the sugar and then adding the rest of the ingredients and then eating it. The first day, the soup was WAY too acidic tasting, and I didn’t want to eat it anymore. The next day, the soup had “settled” and it was amazing from then on. So if your soup is tasting too acidic, let it simmer some more and think about adding some more sugar.
**Some people freak out and email/comment about the fact that I have sugar in this recipe. If you don’t have an acidic taste to your soup, then don’t add sugar. Or try experimenting with another type of natural sweetener. I have personally found that tomatoes can be a bit too bitter/acidic tasting in this soup and that normal good-quality organic white cane sugar helps tone it down and smooth out the taste.
Now that you know how much I love soup, please feel free to leave a soup recipe in the comments! I love to try new soups!
Don’t forget to check out my other soup recipes:
Here is a trick I learned from a chef. Add some pineapple juice instead of sugar to the tomatoes and voila no more acidic taste.
Awesome tip! Thank you! I will try that the next time I make this soup!
Hi!! I made your stewed tomatoes recipe first and used over 20 tomatoes. It didn’t even make 28oz of stewed tomatoes so then I did half of the soup recipe and now it is sooo salty. Any suggestions on how I can kind of neutralize the salt?? I’m not sure where all the salt came from.. Maybe my butter??
This soup was a huge hit with the family. I used sugar and all. Thank you for sharing! It’s a keeper!
yay! Thank you! I’m glad you loved it!
Can I use regular white sugar?
Absolutely! That’s usually what I use. 🙂
Is there something else you can exchange the cream with? Thanks
You can use half and half instead. I usually use either, depending on what I have in the fridge.
Since we are in lockdown, I had only organic diced tomatoes in the pantry. So I made it and used my immersion blender at the end. Fantastic recipe. Thank you!
Yay! Glad you liked it!
It’s very thin, not sure what to do?
I have made this soup so many times, and I have NEVER had a thin soup texture! Are you sure you added everything? Try adding some more heavy cream or half and half and see if that helps.
Hi, is this freezer friendly? I live in my own and tend to need to freeze leftover portions
I have never frozen the leftovers, but you could try it and let me know if it works! 🙂
This works beautifully frozen. Just thawed and ate a batch I made last summer. Tastes just as good as the day we made it!
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed my recipe! Thank you for the feedback, I really appreciate it! (Also, it’s great to know that it can be frozen!)
I don’t have heavy cream or half and half. Can I use evaporated milk?
I do not know anything about evaporated milk. Very sorry. I’d say…try it and see what happens? Cooking is all about experimentation. 🙂
I am diabetic so I am just going to use my unsweetened almond milk I have never made this soup so I hope this works
Love this recipe I made it plant based and it was the best tomato soup I have ever had. I subbed veg broth, coconut sugar and oat milk. It is simple to make if an everyday lunch and so delicious. We have ours with grilled cheese.
Yay! So glad you liked it! 🙂
Made this soup for dinner tonight. Turned out grear. Fixed grilled cheddar and goat cheese sandwich with Dave’s grain bread.
Thanks for the recipe
Just made this last night. Super good! Thank you!
Made this today. Used tomatoes from my garden; they were small (mix of Ace &Romas), and I followed your stewed tomatoes recipe (used a yellow bell and added a jalapeño, both from my garden!). The result was a bit less than 28 ounces, so I combined that with a can of crushed tomatoes to make the equivalent of two 28 oz cans. Followed the soup recipe after that, reduced the butter & cream slightly and chopped the basil (also from my garden) super fine with the ulu my husband made in his shop. I love making things that are DELICIOUS from my little garden, and this fits the bill! YUM!! Thank you for a tasty recipe!
Can this be made in an insta-pot?
I honestly do not know. I don’t use instant pots for anything other than making bone broth and rice.
I have frozen tomato basil soup in single servings and it was great. Can put in frig overnight or place in warm water till starts to defrost or put in pan with small amount of water, stirring to prevent burning.
How many servings does it yield? I am looking for a recipe for my nephew’s wedding, which I will be catering.
I get 8 bowls of soup from it. If you count the ounces of the materials, it will give you the perfect estimation for how many “6oz” servings or “8oz” servings, etc. that you want.
Kristin again. I froze a couple containers of the soup. Eating it right now with a grilled cheese sandwich. Delightful! Freezes really well!
I absolutely love this soup, it’s one of my items in my normal rotation. Do you have all of the nutritional detail for this soup? I couldn’t find the serving size etc. and want to enter this into my food diary.
Yay! I’m so glad you like it! 🙂 I don’t have the nutritional info, but you can punch it into a calculator on a website via google. Here’s one you could try: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076 I’ll add that to my very long list of things to improve on my website in the future. 🙂
This is the best tomato soup! Thank you for a fabulous recipe!
Thank you! I appreciate the feedback. 🙂
Best Tomato Soup! I have made it several times. My husband, who doesn’t like tomato soup, loves this!
Yay! I am SO glad you love this soup! Thank you for the feedback. I really appreciate it!
I made this recipe and didn’t have fresh basil so I used homemade pesto. Just added to taste. I also added cheese tortellini. I used half and half. Very good !
Made this delicious soup to go with Sunday lunch today.
It was great! Everybody gave their praises!
Thank you.
Yay! Thank you for the positive feedback. I really appreciate it and I’m so glad you enjoyed my recipe!