Cream of Tomato Soup: Quick and Easy Fall Comfort Food
With fall and cooler weather comes the return of soup simmering on my stove. Too hot for summer dining, it is just the perfect, warming end to a crisp autumn day, and so soup begins to find its way back on our table once again.
I have been making this simple Cream of Tomato soup recipe for probably 3 years. Provided I remember to thaw a jar of stock earlier in the day, it makes for such a simple and easy dinner that is satisfying, kid-friendly and oh-so-comforting.
Cream of Tomato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes or substitute 2 pint jars or 1 quart jar of home canned tomatoes- it's not quite the same amount, but close enough
- 3-4 cups homemade chicken broth- depends how thick or thin you like your soup
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons Sucanat or Rapadura or 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 tablespoon chopped onion or 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1-2 tsp. dried basil
- Sea salt to taste I usually use around 1/2 to 1 tsp.
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream or coconut milk- see Dairy-Free Variation below
Instructions
- Put canned tomatoes in a blender and blend up either as smooth or as chunky as you like. Personally, my husband and I enjoy it a bit chunky but for the sake of our kids, I make it pretty smooth.
- Meanwhile, if using chopped onion start frying it in a large pot with the butter, until just softened. If using powdered onion, skip this step.
- Pour blended tomatoes, chicken broth, sweetener of choice, powdered onion (if no chopped onion) and baking soda into the pot. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.
- Add basil and salt and simmer another 5 minutes. Taste and add any additional sweetener or seasonings.
- Gently heat cream either in a double boiler (or a bowl set on top of a steaming pot), or simple in a regular saucepan (but then you need to watch it really carefully so you don't scorch it). Heating the cream prevents it from curdling when you add it to the hot soup. Ask me how I know.
This is absolutely delicious with grilled cheese sandwiches, or any type of bread or bun with butter. We often sprinkle a bit of shredded cheese on top as well, or serve it alongside a green salad or some fermented dill pickles. Yum.
Though it tastes better with sufficient time to simmer, I have occasionally made this with only 10-15 minutes of simmering. It still tasted just fine, and you can do this if you’re really short on time. This is a quick and simple dinner for us many nights, so I like that the recipe isn’t too finicky.
Dairy-Free Variation: For my dairy-free son, I use coconut milk in place of cream. I usually ladle out a bowl for him before I add the cream, and then I pour in a bit of coconut milk and it looks and tastes just fine! If your whole family is dairy-free, just substitute 1 cup coconut milk for the heavy cream. It’s still best to heat it a bit, but there isn’t the same risk of curdling as there is with dairy.
What are your favorite quick but comforting foods to make in the fall?
Thank you! I’m making this tonight. I have a few cups of homemade chicken broth left from yesterday’s dinner and I had no idea of what to do with it…now I do!
If I have forgotten to get my broth out to thaw earlier in the day, I put the jar of broth in a sauce pan with some cool water and bring it to a simmer and simmer until the broth is thawed. Your soup looks wonderful! I will have to give it a try!
@Meghan, Oh, neat idea with the broth. I just soak mine in a sink with some hot water for awhile, and that usually does the trick well enough.
Sounds like a good crock-pot idea as well. Thaw the stock overnight. Put everything in the crockpot in the morning and smell it all day. Yum. (Or, if you have your broth frozen in *gasp* ziploc bags, you could just tear off the bag and put the broth in frozen.)
@Christy @ pureMotherhood, I’ve never tried doing it that way, but I bet it would work!
i am so excited to try this- thank you!
I have a very similar recipe (Martha Stewart’s). We just did grilled cheese and tomato soup on Monday night 🙂 Her recipe is basically the same as yours, but reverse order: You saute onion in butter and add diced tomato and broth. Simmer together for 15 minutes. Put in blender and blend to desired consistency, adding s&p if desired. Then add cream and blend. I have never had curdling issues. Hands down the best tomato soup! I can’t believe I grew up on canned!
Holy Toledo! I just made this for lunch (though without the butter or cream – I didn’t feel it needed it) – it was AMAZING! I can’t believe how easy it was and how fantastic it tasted! I’m never going back to canned again!
@Joy, I know, canned loses it’s appeal quickly, doesn’t it? 🙂
Yummy! Thank you for sharing…I’ll give this one a go! 🙂 I’ve been experimenting with a variety of tomato soup recipes…we *love* tomato soup around here.
I appreciate your blog so much…thank you for all the great ideas and information.
Blessings,
Camille
@Camille, You’re so welcome, Camille. Hope you enjoy the soup!
one of my favorite foods to make in the fall/winter is soup. i make all kinds…vegetable, black bean, noodle (same as chicken, minus the chicken), potato and cheese, and peanut butter are some of my favorite types of soup. i cannot wait to try this one because my absolute most favorite sandwich is grilled cheese! and now that i’ve learned to make my own bread, i’m all set!
Oh my goodness, I’m in love with this website! I’ve been thinking about soup and this looks like this will hit the spot for all of the little (and big 🙂 tummies at our house, Thanks!
@Rachel, Welcome, Rachel! Hope you enjoy the soup! 🙂
Thank you! Another great idea for what to make with all my quarts of tomatoes. And I know what you mean about remembering to set out stock!
Do you think I could use whole milk instead of the cream?
@Cindy, Yes, you definitely could, it just wouldn’t be quite as rich/thick but it would still taste just fine!
Thank you for this! Since I decided not to use cans anymore (because of BPA concerns, especially with tomato products), tomato soup is harder to find. I can get it in a box, but I feel bad because it isn’t recyclable. This looks like an awesome alternative. Now I just need to find someone with some real home-canned tomatoes! 🙂
For a super smooth soup, what about using tomato juice, the kind you drink that comes in a glass jar? If you reduced it for a while…?
@Nikki Moore, I think that people do make it that way, I just haven’t tried personally. I might try an ingredient search on something like AllRecipes.com to find recipes using tomato juice, and you could just play around/alter them a bit if needed.
@Nikki Moore,
Nikki, just wanted to give you an idea of how you can reuse the soup boxes, since they can’t be recycled. I clean them out good and then put water in them. I freeze them and when I am ready for ice for the cooler, I pull it out cut off the packaging and there you have a nice block of ice. 🙂
mmmmmm…. I just made it!!! It is delicious!!!
I made this last night for dinner, and it was wonderful! So much better than campbell’s!! 🙂 For lunch today I threw some noodles into the soup and simmered for 10 minutes, and it was like homemade spaghetti-o’s… except delicious.
This looks scrumptious!
Can you explain the purpose of the baking soda?
I added this to my winter meals plans before I even made this because it sounded so good… and when I finally made it this week it was even better than I expected. My husband even loved it and devoured the leftovers – which is always the sign of a sure “hit”! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
I made this recipe tonight. I only had light cream on hand, and though I’m sure it would be even better with heavy cream, it was still wonderful! A couple of us have sore throats, and this soup was very soothing. It’s a great way to get some homemade chicken stock into the kids, as only my oldest will drink the broth straight.