How classic is tomato soup and a grilled cheese? What we grew up on as kids has been severely upgraded with this homemade tomato basil soup- you’ll never go back to canned again.
I was just talking with a friend last week about soups (how grown up of us) and she suggested a tomato soup and I was like “wait, that and grilled cheese on homemade bread sounds like the best thing in the entire world”, and so, I went on a hunt to make the perfect soup to go with a grown-up grilled cheese- basically just adding bacon.
This tomato soup is so much easier than you think. Either a dutch oven or some kind of oven-safe baking dish will work perfectly for you to roast tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, and a red bell pepper. Lather these veggies up with some olive oil, salt, and pepper, and cover it while it roasts for about an hour.
Peel your garlic bulb and add all the roasted vegetables to a pot with a can of tomatoes and vegetable stock. Puree the mixture with either an immersion blender or a standard blender until it is a creamy consistency. Stir in some more spices to taste and some cream and you’ve got a big pot of tomato goodness.
IF you have to use a standard blender, be careful when blending the tomatoes. The heat from them will make it expand in the blender and if it is over 1/3-1/2 full, it will overflow with a very very hot purée.
I used a bread recipe from a blog named Hunger Thirst Play and made their Roasted Garlic Crusty Soup Bread and it was so incredibly easy, as far as homemade bread go. Then I made up a crispy grilled cheese with Colby jack, Munster, and crunchy bacon to dip in the soup and oooooooh it was SO worth the time I put into making it.
Savory Homemade Tomato Basil Soup
Equipment
- Large pot
- immersion blender, food processor, or blender
Ingredients
- 9 roma tomatoes
- 1 red bell pepper halved
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 yellow onion quartered
- 1 bulb garlic with the top cut off
- 28 oz canned San Marzano tomatoes can be whole or crushed
- 1 tbsp thyme minced fresh or dried
- 1 c fresh basil chopped, or 2-3 tbsp dried
- 2 c vegetable stock
- 1 c heavy cream can use 2% milk, half-n-half, etc
- 1 tbsp garlic powder additional at end for taste
- 1 tbsp onion powder additional at end for taste
- 1/2 tbsp crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375
- Place the tomatoes, onion, red bell pepper, half of the basil leaves, and garlic bulb on foil in a baking dish. Coat in olive oil and sprinkle with a liberal amount of salt and pepper. Cover and bake for 1 hour
- When the tomatoes are roasted, add them to a pot on the stove along with the onion, pepper, and peeled garlic. Add a can of tomatos and vegetable stock.
- Once the tomatoes and stock have cooked, use an immersion blender to completely puree the soup. If you do not have an immersion blender, a regular blender or food processor will work. Let the soup cool slightly and CAREFULLY pour all of it into a large bowl, and in 2-3 batches, puree in the food processor/blender and return the soup to the pot on the stove
- Add in the heavy cream or milk and season to taste with additional salt, pepper, garlic, red pepper, and onion powder
Notes
Keep this homemade tomato basil soup refrigerated for up to 5 days or freeze up to 6 months. If freezing in ziplock bags, lay them flat on a cookie sheet while they freeze so they are easily stored. If you are freezing it in a jar, leave the lid off of the jar for 12 hours or until completely frozen before sealing it tightly- putting the soup into a sealed jar and into the freezer will cause the jar to shatter.
