Tomato Soup Recipe
This is the BEST tomato soup recipe that you can make from scratch with canned or fresh tomatoes. You have full control over the thickness of this soup and it’s easy to make creamy if desired.
Be sure to serve this with my Buttermilk Biscuits or Cheddar Bay Biscuits!
Tomato Soup
I am so excited to share this Tomato Soup recipe with you. I have been trying off an on for a few years to get this recipe right, and the day has finally come. 😁
This recipe starts with onions and carrots that are caramelized in butter to bring out their natural sugars. They’re later blended into the broth and are a perfect way to offset the acidity from the tomatoes.
There are a few other somewhat surprising ingredients, such as mustard powder and white wine, that subtly round out the flavor palate in a way that is truly restaurant quality. (The white wine can be skipped if you don’t cook with wine.)
The consistency is not too thin, not too thick– and you have full control over it. The longer it simmers, the thicker it gets. The tomatoes aren’t overpowering but there’s no doubt that this is tomato soup either. You ready to make it?
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Caramelize onions and carrots in butter for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomato paste, garlic and seasonings and cook for 2 minutes. Add white wine and simmer for 3-4 minutes, until thickened and reduced by half.
Add diced tomatoes and chicken broth. Remove from heat and blend with an immersion blender or regular blender until smooth.
Return to heat and let it bubble gently for 30 minutes, uncovered. Stir occasionally. Once your desired thickness is obtained, stir in cream. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes if desired and serve!
Using Fresh Tomatoes
- 28 oz. of fresh tomatoes can be used in this recipe. You can even make these easy roasted tomatoes for this recipe!
- To remove the skins: Cut the fresh tomatoes in half and place cut-side-down on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil for just a few minutes, until you see the skins pucker up and loosen. Let cool enough to touch and the skins will slide right off!
What To Add To Tomato Soup
When it comes to enhancing the flavors of tomato soup, this recipe covers everything. (You won’t get this kind of flavor from a can!)
- Caramelized onions/carrots add a sweet component that offsets the acidity from the tomatoes, tomato paste, and mustard powder. The soup doesn’t taste sweet from it, it just rounds out the flavor.
- White wine is reduced and helps enhances the other flavors in this recipe, which include garlic, simple seasonings, chicken broth, and cream.
- Tortellini– Try my Tomato Tortellini Soup recipe, it’s delicious!
- Top this soup with Ranch Oyster Crackers for even more flavor!
Pro Tips
- Add the rind from a block of Parmesan, Romano, or Asiago cheese during the simmering process for an additional flavor boost!
- The wine adds a really nice flavor element to this soup but if you don’t cook with wine, you can use chicken broth instead.
- The cream is also optional but is another great offset to the tomatoes for just the right balance.
- Dijon mustard can be used if you don’t have mustard powder. You can’t taste it outright, but it helps enhance the other flavors.
- If you’re low on time, you don’t have to fully caramelize the onions and the carrots, but doing so really adds something extra!
- If you prefer chunks of tomato in your soup, add just the chicken broth at first and blend until smooth. Then add the tomatoes, and blend until your desired consistency is reached.
- This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 43!
Storage
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- Immersion Blender -I use this often for soups and sauces, it makes blending quick, easy, and clean.
- 4-Quart Dutch Oven– this is the perfect size for this soup. This one is high quality and you’ll have it forever. (I use one almost every time I cook!)
- Spice Rack– This is the one I have, it’s a snap to measure out your seasonings quickly and easily. (Big time saver.)
- Measuring Spoons– I have these magnetic ones which stay nice and organized in my utensil drawer.
- Garlic Twister– it’s much more flavorful to mince fresh garlic. This twister does it in seconds and is easy to clean and store.
- Soup Bowls –(I love these!)
- 16 oz. storage containers – I use these to store/freeze my soups. They have 8 oz. sizes as well. They’re stackable, leak proof, and dishwasher/microwave safe.
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Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Tomato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1/3 cup carrots, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 cup dry white wine, see notes
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
- ½ cup heavy cream
To Garnish
- Parmesan cheese
- Pinch red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Take out the cream to allow it to come down to room temperature while the soup cooks.
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots and stir to coat in the butter. Reduce to medium-low, cover and cook until the onions begin to caramelize, about 25 minutes. Lift the lid and stir every few minutes during cooking and reduce heat to low if vegetables begin to cook too rapidly.
- Add the garlic, Italian seasonings, basil, mustard powder, and tomato paste. Stir to combine and cook for 2 minutes over medium-low heat.
- Add the wine and increase heat to medium. Simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, 3-4 minutes. Use a silicone spatula to stir it as it cooks.
- Add the diced tomatoes and chicken broth and remove from heat. Use an immersion blender to blend until smooth, or carefully transfer to a blender.
- Return to the stove and bring to a gentle boil. Let it simmer and reduce for 30 minutes, uncovered. It will thicken and the flavors will concentrate more. Stir occasionally as it simmers.
- Turn heat off. Gradually stir in the cream and garnish with Parmesan and red pepper flakes if desired. Serve!
Notes
Pro Tips:
- Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay are my preferred wine choices to use in this recipe. The wine adds a really nice flavor element to this soup but if you don't cook with wine, you can use chicken broth instead.
- Add the rind from a block of Parmesan, Romano, or Asiago cheese during the simmering process for an additional flavor boost!
- The cream is also optional but is another great offset to the tomatoes for just the right balance.
- Dijon mustard can be used if you don't have mustard powder. You can't taste it outright, but it helps enhance the other flavors.
- If you're low on time, you don't have to fully caramelize the onions and the carrots, but doing so really adds something extra!
- If you prefer chunks of tomato in your soup, add just the chicken broth at first and blend until smooth. Then add the tomatoes, and blend until your desired consistency is reached.
- You can even make these easy roasted tomatoes for this recipe!
- Top this soup with Ranch Oyster Crackers for even more flavor.
- This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 43!
Hi! How can I make this crockpot friendly? I would love to leave this brewing before work and come back to a tomato soup for lunch! Thank you so much for your recipes, I’ve discovered your blog a few days ago and already enjoyed several of your recipes!
Hi Jes! Steps 1-5 are best done on the stove top as there is a certain amount of temperature regulation that needs to happen with caramelizing the onions/carrots and reducing the wine. But if you do those steps and blend the soup, you can then transfer it to the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8. The consistency will be thinner because there won’t be any evaporation which is what allows it to thicken up.
This soup looks delicious! How can I make this ok for a dialysis patient? I need to watch sodium and potassium intake with every meal I am not sure where I can cut down on the potassium and I have to assume if I use low salt chic broth, tomatoes and lower the cheese amount that will help w/ the salt intake.
Hi Ann Marie, I am not a medical expert and can’t provide medical advice. I agree that using low or no sodium broth and using less or no cheese will help control the sodium in this recipe.
The tomato sounds delicious. I have not tried it yet, but I give it 5 stars because I believe it will be. It sounds just like what I have been searching for.
Great, I hope that you love it Ellen, it’s a huge favorite of mine, it took a lot of time to perfect! 🙂
Hi! This soup really was SO DELICIOUS!! I always stay pretty consistent with my tomato soup, but occasionally enjoy trying different recipes. So when I came across yours, besides it not only sounding good, the end result was *chefs kiss*. The wine came through so nicely, and I think the caramelization of the onions was a great touch as well! Thanks so much for sharing!
Becca!! You made my day! I actually had some of this soup tonight from the freezer, and just loved it so much! It makes me feel so good that you love it as well! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this review!!
This soup is delicious and easy. I made it for my family and served it with grilled cheese sandwiches. They loved it! I highly recommend it!
I’m so happy to hear that Francine!❤️ Grilled cheese and tomato soup is the be combo ever! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
Hi, I was wondering if Vegetable broth could be substituted for the chicken broth. My daughter is Vegetarian. We’ve been looking for a good homemade tomato soup and this one sounds like it might be the one!
Hi Sue!! Yes I think that would be a fine substitution! I think you’ll be very pleased with this soup! ❤️
Do you have white wine recommendations? Sorry if I missed it.
My bad! Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay are my favorites for this! ❤️
Thank you! I’m literally making this now!! 😋🙏🏼
This is the best Tomato Soup! I just got an immersion blender as a birthday gift and I was so excited to use it in this recipe. I made a grilled cheese and cut it up into little square and dunked them into the soup. It was a great meal.
I’m so happy to hear that you loved the soup Ariel, having this with grilled cheese sounds absolutely amazing! Thank you so much for the review! -Stephanie
Delicious! My garden tomatoes are crazy right now so I made a double batch and this recipe was perfect. I made as written but wanted to add a different way to peel tomatoes if someone wants to try it out. Cut the fresh tomatoes in half and place cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil for just a few minutes – until you see the skins pucker up and loosen. Let cool enough to touch and the skins will slide right off! I fit all the tomatoes for a double recipe on one large sheet pan. Thank you again for a wonderful recipe!!
Suzanne! I am so happy that you enjoyed the soup, and REALLY appreciate the information that you provided on peeling the skins, that sounds so much easier than the method I’ve outlined in the blog post and I will be updating the post with that info, you’re the BEST! 🙂 THANK YOU!
This soup is outstanding! It’ll be even better on a cold winter day!! Highly recommend!
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it Mike! Soup is probably my favorite thing about winter😍! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!