Homemade Tomato Soup

Tomatoes, onion and garlic, roasted to perfection then turned into a beautiful soup that’s so easy to make.  One spoonful of this creamy, luscious soup and you’ll be a fan for life!

A couple of years ago I went on a quest to find a great tomato soup recipe.  This was a bit more of a task than I expected.  At this point, I can’t remember how many pots of soup I made and of course, I had my family taste each one.  Some were too bland, some were too spicy and some, well, were just awful.  I kinda felt like Goldilocks….searching for one that tasted “just right.”

Finally, my boys had had enough….”just make up your own recipe, for Pete’s sake!”  So, after a few more tries, I found just the right fit.  I have taken this soup to many luncheons and covered dish events and it always gets rave reviews. I put it in a crock pot to keep warm and away we go.  You may be thinking…tomato soup in summer?  Well, I like it chilled with a little dollop of sour cream and fresh basil.  You can also partially make the soup and freeze it for the cooler months.

More great soup recipes to try ~

• Slow Cooker Taco Soup
• Chicken & Cheese Tortellini Tuscan Soup
• Amazing Roasted Cabbage Soup
• Mushroom Soup with No Cream
• Beef & Bean Crock Pot Soup

The real key to this soup is the roasting.  Make sure that you caramelize the tomatoes, onions and garlic so that the intensity of their flavors come out. One more thing – No, you cannot use skim or 2% milk!  You are only using a cup and will lose the richness of the soup if you cut corners – just saying.  I most often make a double batch to use throughout the week for lunch and as an after school snack.

This post was originally posted in June, 201

Tomato Soup

Perfect for summer, winter, or freezing.

No ratings yet

Print Pin Rate

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings: 8

Author: Donya Mullins

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 lbs tomatoes - a blend of several different kinds work best. I use fresh, Roma, and grape tomatoes
• 1 medium to large red onion , sliced
• 6-8 cloves garlic , peeled
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 2 bay leaves , 3 if small
• 2 cups chicken stock
• pinch cayanne pepper
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup half and half
• fresh basil

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
• Wash and quarter the tomatoes. Take out seeds. If using cherry tomatoes, you can just leave them whole. 
• Put tomatoes, onion and garlic on baking sheet. 
• Drizzle with olive oil, coating well. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for approximately 30 minutes or until you see the tomatoes start to caramelize. 
• Remove from oven and place into a stock pot.
• Add the chicken stock, bay leaves, cayanne pepper and butter. 
• Bring to a boil and reduce the liquid by about 1/3. 
• Puree the soup until smooth using an immersion blender (the boat motor as the boys call it) or a blender.
• Add half and half and return to a low simmer. At this point -stop and taste! Adjust the salt and pepper. Serve with fresh basil - Enjoy!!

Notes

If you plan on making this soup for future use, cool and put into airtight containers for freezing. When ready to use, thaw the soup and pick up the recipe where you left off.

Shared with my friends at Weekend Potluck and Meal Plan Monday.