One of my favorite memories as a child, was having tomato soup and grilled cheese on a chilly/rainy day. Did my mom make tomato soup from scratch? Nope. It was from a can. Still loved it thought! It’s been years since I had this combo but now that I’ve created this Creamy Tomato Basil Soup, I think I’ll be enjoying this quite often.
My daughter used to always order tomato bisque at restaurants and frankly, I thought it was an interesting choice. I never saw soup as a meal but also didn’t like to order it as an appetizer because I would get full. She loved to get a bowl as a pre-meal munchie! That said, she asked me often to try and make a good tomato soup that she could eat at home. And 10 years later, I obliged! Lol.
To Roast or Not to Roast – That is the Question!
When I decided to make this Creamy Tomato Basil Soup, I wondered if I should roast the tomatoes or just boil them. I went with roasting! Roasting veggies always taste so much better to me. If you would rather boil the tomatoes, feel free. You can just follow the recipe from the ‘roasting point’, on. However, I would try the roasting method some time. It’s easy – you just let them do their thing in the oven. Personally, I think there is more flavor when they are roasted. It’s up to you but definitely give it a try.
This recipe is dairy free. I use canned full fat coconut milk. Promise – you don’t taste coconut. I guess if you’re hyper sensitive to coconut flavor, you could possibly detect it but no one in my family noticed it. Again, with any recipe …you can certainly switch it out for another creamy milk. Half & Half or heavy cream might be an option.
Grilled Cheese Companion + more
My husband paired the Creamy Tomato Basil Soup with a grilled cheese sandwich! (duh) We use Base Culture Paleo Bread and Kerrygold Cheese and he LOVED the combo. I won’t lie – he wished he had added in a few jalapenos to his sandwich but never-the-less, enjoyed it! He also added chorizo to the soup. He said he used to order it this way at a restaurant and trust me, it was good!
So while tomato soup is good on its own, there are ways we can “spruce it up”. I had a lot of soup on hand so eating it in various ways made it like a different meal. I even took it to work one day with some shredded chicken added to it.
If you like tomato soup, you will love this Creamy Tomato Basil Soup no matter what! It’s fun to spruce it up – but it’s delicious on its own!
Soup Lover???
Tomato soup may not be for everyone BUT if you do love soup, here’s a few other recipes I have here that you might like!
INSTANT POT CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
Which one do you think you’ll try? They are all good (IMO) but I know we all have our own preferences. Give me a holler if you make any one of these recipes or this Creamy Tomato Basil Soup! I’d love to hear what you think. Be sure to tag me on IG too 🙂
Happy slurping!! (Kidding …please don’t slurp)
Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
Ingredients
- 3 lbs roma tomatoes
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 32 oz chicken broth
- 1 can full fat coconut milk or cream
- (top, solidified milk only…not the
- water)
- 6 oz can tomato paste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- Sprinkle of pepper
- 6-10 leaves fresh basil, chopped
Instructions
- Roast the tomatoes first!
- Preheat oven to 425°. Lay tomatoes on baking sheet and lightly spray with olive or avocado oil. If you don’t have spray, brush on a light layer of oil to each tomato.
- Roast at 425° for 30 min, turning each tomato over 1/2 way through.
- In a large stock pot, warm 2 tbsp olive oil and add the onions. You don’t need the onions cut nicely, they will be blended up! Add the garlic & stir until onions are translucent.
- Pour in the chicken broth ….add the tomato paste, coconut cream, salt & pepper. Then add in the roasted tomatoes. Let all warm through together, melting down the coconut cream and tomato paste.
- You choose:
- You can now use an immersion blender and blend/mix it all up right in the stock pot OR add to a blender and blend it that way. Either way, be careful to blend slowly so it doesn’t splatter. It could also be hot – so make sure to be patient as you blend. If you’re using a traditional blender, you will probably have to do this is 2 or 3 batches as it all won’t fit in one-go.
- Once all is blended into a smooth, souplike consistency (add back into stock pot if you used a traditional blender), add in the chopped basil & stir.
- Serve with a little more cream if desired. Grab your favorite crackers and a big spoon and have at it!
