this post may contain affiliate links
A good tomato soup recipe is easy to come by but can vary in flavor and texture. To me, a tomato soup should be savory with a hint of sweet, have a smooth pureed texture and should be bright but not sour. The key to avoiding a sour flavor is to use canned San Marzano tomatoes over fresh tomatoes. You can always use fresh, but if they aren’t perfectly ripe, you’ll end up with a tasteless or sour soup.
To achieve that perfect texture, we add half & half and blend everything together with an immersion blender. You can always use a traditional blender, but the immersion blender is handheld and goes directly into the pot to blend everything. They make life much easier. At twenty bucks a pop, it’s definitely a small appliance worth investing in.
Contrary to many tomato soup recipes, this one does not utilize fresh basil. Fresh basil can be very hit or miss as far as flavor. Similar to cilantro, fresh basil can sometimes have a soapy taste. To avoid getting a bad batch altogether, this recipe calls for dried basil. It also has dried oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and sugar. The sugar is necessary to balance the acidity of the tomatoes. Don’t leave it out in fear of making a sweet tomato soup. That won’t happen. It creates a depth of flavor that balances not only the acidity but the savoriness of the soup. If you love Panera Bread’s tomato soup, then you’re going to love this tomato soup recipe.
While you’re here, check out my homemade chicken noodle soup recipe!
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp light olive oil
- 2 28 oz cans San Marzano tomatoes including the juice
- 1 c chicken stock
- 1 tbsp Better than Bouillon chicken base rounded
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 3/4 c half & half
Instructions
- Preheat olive oil just under medium heat in a large pot.
- Add diced onion and cook 5 minutes.
- Add minced garlic, season with a pinch of salt and cook 10 more minutes. Turn heat down if the garlic starts to brown.
- Add canned tomatoes, including all the juice from the cans.
- Add chicken stock, sugar, Better than Bouillon, and all the spices to the pot. Stir and allow the tomatoes to soften and cook down for 15 minutes uncovered.
- Smash the tomatoes with a wooden spoon once softened.
- Add half & half and stir.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. This should take about 5 minutes.
- Turn the heat to low, cover and simmer for one hour.
- Stir and serve warm.