Fresh tomato and basil soup uses garden-ripe tomatoes and fresh ingredients (no cans or pastes here)! It’s a quick and easy homemade tomato soup that’s perfect for using up those juicy summer tomatoes.
save this recipe!Step aside canned tomato soup; fresh tomato and basil soup is here! Homemade soup may sound complicated, but it’s incredibly easy to make.
You just need a handful of ingredients and some garden-ripe tomatoes to make creamy and dreamy soup. Enjoy it on its own or paired with this gouda grilled cheese sandwich.
Reader rating
“Love this recipe. Made the first batch as is. Had a few more veggies from the garden to use up so for batch 2 I added 1 cup each corn (cut off cob), green beans, and sliced okra. Made the soup as written and added extra veggies at the end and cooked an additional 20 minutes. Probably the best veggie soup I have had in a long time.” —Lisa
here’s what you’ll need to make homemade soup
Like most types of soup, the ingredients in this tomato basil soup recipe are customizable to whatever you have on hand!
- Fresh Tomatoes: We’re celebrating the deliciousness of sweet, ripe tomatoes by using only fresh tomatoes in this soup! Any variety will do (read more about tomato varieties here).
- Flavor Base: Onion and garlic are the flavor foundations of any good soup.
- Basil: While we love this classic pairing, you could also throw in rosemary, thyme, or oregano!
- Honey: To balance the sourness of tomatoes.
- Seasonings: Paprika, salt, and a bit of black pepper.
- Vegetable Broth: Use broth instead of water to infuse this tomato soup with even more flavor.
Sarah’s Tip
Feel free to mix and match spices. You can add oregano and thyme for a traditional French flare. Add cinnamon for fall flavors. Or, add truffle salt or parmesan cheese for umami notes.
here’s how to make it
Making this soup is so easy, and with just one pot, there aren’t many dishes to clean up!
- Cook the tomatoes: Add the onion and garlic, cooking until the onion softens and is fragrant. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and continue cooking, uncovered, until the tomatoes have mostly broken down, about 10 minutes.
- Blend it together: Add 1 cup of the broth and blend until smooth. Return the soup to the pot and add more broth, as needed, to reach a consistency to your liking.
- Flavor the soup: Stir in basil (stem and all), honey, and seasonings, cover, and cook for 5 more minutes. Give it a final taste and fish out the basil just before serving.
- Serve: Serve warm, optionally topped with croutons* and drizzled with heavy cream or Greek yogurt. You can also top your soup with crispy air fryer chickpeas or even truffle popcorn.
Variation of this Tomato Soup
- Creamy tomato soup: After blending the soup, rather than adding more broth to reach your desired consistency, add a splash of cream. Alternatively, whisk a dollop of cream cheese into the soup at the very end, just before serving.
- Tomato soup with carrots: Add the onion to the pot at the same time as the carrots, and then add a handful of chopped or shredded carrots.
- Spicy tomato soup: At the same time as you add the onion to the pot, add 1/2 of a finely chopped jalapeno.
- Basil Bomb: Drizzle a bit of basil oil onto each bowl of soup right before serving for maximum fancy factor!
Quick Tomato Soup (Fresh Tomatoes)
Ingredients
- 7 cups chopped tomato, about 1kg
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, 15 mL
- ½ cup chopped sweet onion, about ½ onion
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups vegetable broth, divided
- 1 large sprig fresh basil
- 1 tsp honey, 5 g
- ½ tsp each smoked paprika, salt, and pepper
Instructions
- Cook Tomatoes: Dice your tomatoes and set aside. Heat oil in a medium pot over medium/high heat. Add onion and garlic, cooking until onion softens and is fragrant. Stir in chopped tomatoes and continue cooking, uncovered, until tomatoes have mostly broken down, about 10 minutes.
- Blend: Add 1 cup of the broth then blend the mixture until smooth (using either a handheld immersion blender or by carefully transferring the mixture to a countertop blender). Return soup to the pot and add more broth, as needed, to reach a consistency to your liking.
- Flavor: Stir in basil, (stem and all) honey, and seasonings, cover, and cook for 5 more minutes. Fish out the basil before serving.
- Serve: Serve warm, optionally topped with croutons* and drizzled with cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
I find tomatoes need to be cooked longer. I didn’t like the taste of the honey in the soup. Otherwise good.