Creamy Tomato Soup
This Creamy Tomato Soup is loaded with flavor. Made with fresh herbs, vegetables, tomatoes, vegetable broth and creamy half and half, it’s the perfect comforting and satisfying soup on a chilly day.
This creamy tomato soup is made with simple ingredients, including good quality canned tomatoes, and it has a pleasantly rich flavor. The perfect comforting and satisfying soup to make on a cold wintery day!
If you love thick hearty soups, you might like my tailgate chili, loaded potato soup, or broccoli cheddar soup recipes. If you love thin brothy soups, (my favorite when I’m sick), you might like my chicken noodle feel better soup or my tomato florentine soup.
Ingredients for this tomato soup
Tomatoes – The star of the show! You need good quality tomatoes and enough to make a rich flavorful soup.
Celery, Carrots, Onion & Garlic – These are sauteed and add lots of flavor to the soup.
Butter – Used to saute the vegetables and adds flavor.
Fresh Dill, Basil & Thyme – A mixture of fresh herbal flavors complements the flavor of this soup wonderfully.
Granulated Sugar – Granulated sugar helps balance the acidity in the tomatoes and helps enhance the flavor of the tomatoes. It’s not enough sugar to make the soup taste sweet.
Vegetable broth & bouillon – I use vegetable broth & bouillon for added flavor. However, you can use chicken broth & bouillon instead.
Half & Half – This adds richness to the tomato soup. For even more richness, you can use whipping cream if you prefer. For a lighter version, use 1/2 H & H and 1/2 milk.
All-Purpose Flour – Flour is used as a thickening agent.
How to make this tomato soup
Melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy soup pot or dutch oven. Add the onion, celery, and carrots and saute until tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the minced garlic and saute for about 2 more minutes, and remove from heat. Allow the mixture to cool for about 5 minutes.
Transfer it to a blender, and puree until it’s smooth with no lumps. Transfer the mixture back to the soup pot. Add the flour and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes, until the raw flour taste has time to cook out.
Add the tomato puree, vegetable broth, and bouillon cube to the pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the dill, basil, thyme, sugar, salt, pepper and half & half. Stir slowly to combine and bring just to a simmer and remove from heat. Do not bring back to a boil. Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper if desired.
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of tomatoes should I use for this recipe?
I prefer canned tomatoes. You can use them in any season, and they’re always ripe. I also prefer Red Gold tomatoes over other canned tomatoes. They have a taste that is very close to fresh picked, and they have fewer seeds than others I’ve tried.
Can I freeze this soup?
Unfortunately, soups that contain milk, cream or any dairy don’t freeze well. The dairy separates from the other ingredients and the soup becomes grainy-like in texture while frozen. You can prepare the soup up to the step of adding the dairy and stop. Transfer cooled soup to a freezer safe container, leaving about a 1-inch headspace. Freeze the soup and add the dairy once you thaw the soup. When you thaw soup, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, then heat it slowly over medium low heat, stirring constantly.
What to serve with this soup
This soup is great served with a classic grilled cheese sandwich. It also goes great with soft breadsticks, garlic bread, or no-knead dinner rolls.
How to store leftovers?
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Transfer to a saucepan and heat over medium low heat.
Tips for this recipe
- Feel free to use chicken broth and bouillon in place of vegetable if you prefer.
- If fresh tomatoes are in season, feel free to use them. If they aren’t in season, don’t use tomatoes from the produce section at the grocery store. Use good quality canned tomatoes. I like Red Gold crushed tomatoes. They come well ripened in the can with a fresh taste, very close to fresh.
- Always use a non-reactive soup pot when cooking with tomatoes, due to the acid in the tomatoes. Use an enamel coated pot such as a dutch oven or a stainless steel pot. If you use aluminum, copper or cast iron, the soup might have a metallic taste.
- If you want a soup that is totally silky smooth with no little bits of tomato, feel free to use an immersion blender to get a totally smooth silky texture. Do this after the soup is finished cooking and removed from the heat.
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Published in 2021 – Updated December 30, 2024
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Creamy Tomato Soup
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: American
Description
This creamy tomato soup is so rich and flavorful and easy to make. It’s a perfect soup on a cold day, and pairs great with a grilled cheese sandwich or your favorite bread.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 2 cups chopped yellow onion
- 2 cups diced celery
- 2 cups diced carrots
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic (from a jar is fine)
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 5 cups tomato puree or three 15 ounce cans crushed tomatoes pureed in a blender. You can also use fresh tomatoes that have been peeled, seeded, chopped and pureed.
- 1 32–ounce carton of vegetable broth, or 4 cups of fresh broth.
- 1 vegetable bouillon cube
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped or 3/4 tablespoon dried
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh basil, chopped or 3/4 teaspoon dried
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped or 3/4 teaspoon dried
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/2 cups half & half or heavy whipping cream
- Grated parmesan, optional
Instructions
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy soup pot or dutch oven. Add the onion, celery, and carrots and saute until tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the minced garlic and saute for about 2 more minutes, and remove from heat.
- Allow the cooked mixture to cool for about 5 minutes. Transfer it to a blender, and puree until it’s smooth with no lumps. Transfer the mixture back to the soup pot. Add the flour and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes, until the raw flour taste has time to cook out.
- Add the tomato puree, vegetable broth, and bouillon cube to the pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the dill, basil, thyme, sugar, salt, pepper and half & half. Stir slowly to combine and bring just to a simmer and remove from heat. Do not bring back to a boil. Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper if desired.
- Serve immediately. Serve with freshly grated parmesan on top if desired. This soup is great with a grilled cheese sandwich.
- Refrigerate leftover soup for up to 3 days. I suggest storing it in a glass container. This soup will stain a plastic container.