Tomato Basil Soup — Hearty yet HEALTHY, fast, easy, and loaded with great tomato-basil flavor!! The perfect soup to warm you up and keep you satisfied! Great for easy lunches and busy weeknights!!
Homemade Tomato Basil Soup Recipe
If you’re looking for an easy, hearty yet healthy soup to warm you up, that’ll help keep those January resolutions on track, and that’s ready in no time, this tomato basil soup recipe is perfect. I absolutely adore tomato soup and if there’s fresh basil, even better.
To add layers of flavor to the soup, there are also lightly caramelized sweet Vidalia onions, garlic, oregano, and for the secret weapon, two carrots. I love adding carrots to pureed soups because carrots add natural sweetness. In this case, they help balance the acidity of the tomatoes.
For a light creaminess, I finished the soup by adding Silk Light Original Almondmilk. Silk is rooted in providing delicious dairy-free products that inspire people to live a life grounded in positive choices that offer both taste and nutrition. Silk products are dairy-free, lactose-free, cholesterol-free, and free from artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives.
I’m a huge Silk fan and use it all the time in savory cooking applications like the soup, in baking, and for smoothies. (Did you see the Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread, Caramel Apple Muffins, Strawberry Coconut Piña Colada Smoothie, and Make-Ahead Smoothie Freezer Packs I made with it?)
You’d never guess this homeade tomato basil soup was vegan and gluten-free based on how satisfying it tastes!
What’s in Tomato Basil Soup?
For this easy tomato basil soup, you’ll need:
- Olive oil
- Carrots
- Vidalia onion
- Garlic
- Dried oregano
- Canned San Marzano tomatoes
- Water
- Fresh basil
- Kosher salt and pepper
- Sugar
- Bay leaves
- Cayenne pepper
- Silk Light Original Almond Milk
- Croutons (optional)
How to Make Tomato Basil Soup
To make this homemade tomato soup, you first need to cook the diced carrots and onion in an oiled Dutch oven until softened and lightly caramelized. Add the garlic and oregano and continue cooking just until fragrant, then add in the tomatoes, water (or veggie broth), fresh basil, salt and pepper.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then take it off the heat and carefully transfer the soup to a blender and blend until pureed. Return the pureed mixture to the Dutch oven and add the bay leaves. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes, then stir in the almond milk (this makes the soup creamy) and a pinch of sugar (to balance the acidity of the tomatoes).
Give your tomato basil soup a final taste, then remove the bay leaves and dish it up!
Can I Use Another Type of Milk in This Recipe?
Yes, you can use regular almond or cashew milk as well, or another non-dairy milk of your choice. Just make sure your milk is unsweetened, otherwise your tomato basil soup will be too sweet.
Can I Use Dried Basil Instead of Fresh?
No, you want to use fresh basil in this recipe. Fresh basil adds a nice pop of flavor and brightens up the canned tomatoes.
Can I Freeze Tomato Soup?
Yes, this soup freezes really well. Just let it cool to room temperature before ladling it into freezer-safe containers or baggies. When you’re ready to eat the frozen soup, reheat it in the microwave (if in a microwave-safe container) or let it thaw overnight in the fridge.
Tips for Making Tomato Basil Soup
Make sure to taste the soup at the end and don’t be afraid to add that (optional) pinch of cayenne, which helps to add flavor but doesn’t make the soup spicy. As always, add salt, pepper, and spices to taste.
I pureed the soup in my high speed blender because it gets it very smooth, but if you like more texture use an immersion blender or just pulse it in your regular blender.
Also note that when blending up the tomato basil soup you should stop every 10 to 15 seconds to let the steam out of your blender. If you don’t know if your blender is capable of blending hot liquids, I recommend waiting until the mixture has cooled down a bit.
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Easy 30-Minute Tomato Basil Soup
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large carrots, peeled and diced very small
- 1 large sweet vidalia onion, diced small
- 3 to 5 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- two 28-ounce cans San Marzano tomatoes, whole, peeled, do not drain; mine were not salted
- 1 ½ to 2 cups water or low-sodium vegetable broth
- about 3/4 cup fresh basil leaves, packed (about 2 big handfuls), plus more for garnishing
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste at the end
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 to 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, optional and to taste
- pinch cayenne pepper, optional and to taste
- ½ to 1 cup Silk Light Original Almondmilk, regular Silk Almondmilk or Unsweetened Cashewmilk may be substituted
- croutons, optional for garnishing
Instructions
- To a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add the oil, carrots, onions, and cook over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, or until vegetables have softened and are lightly caramelized; stir intermittently.
- Add the garlic, oregano, and cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant; stir frequently.
- Add the tomatoes, water or broth (for a thicker soup use 1 1/2 cups), basil, salt, pepper, stir to combine, bring to a boil (should only take a minute or two), and then shut off the heat.
- Transfer about half the mixture to the canister of a high-speed blender, cover, and blend on high power until smooth. Caution: Stop every 10 to 15 seconds to let the steam out. If you don’t know if your blender is capable of blending hot liquids, I recommend waiting until the mixture has cooled down a bit. If you have a Vita-Mix, it fits perfectly in 2 batches. Or, use an immersion blender.
- Pour the smooth mixture that’s in the blender into a large bowl and repeat with the remaining chunky mixture that’s in the stockpot.
- Transfer the smooth mixtures back into stockpot, add the bay leaves, and simmer over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes; stir intermittently.
- Taste the soup and optionally add granulated sugar (helps balance the acid of the tomatoes), cayenne pepper (does not make the soup spicy but gives it flavor), and more salt or pepper (I added 2 additional teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon additional pepper).
- Add the Almondmilk as desired (I added about 2/3 cup; add to taste based on desired soup consistency) and stir to combine.
- Recheck seasoning balance, remove bay leaves, ladle soup into bowls, optionally garnish with croutons and/or basil, and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Post is brought to you by Silk. The recipe, images, text, and opinions expressed are my own. @lovemysilk #SilkAlmondmilk #SilkNutmilk #tasteslikebetter
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.
great
Can you use regular 2% milk in this recipe??
yes
My sweet Mom requested tomato soup & grilled cheese for her birthday dinner. Y’all, this soup is BOMB! She was thrilled & our large crowd was practically licking their bowls of seconds. Paired so perfectly with havarti grilled cheese with Parmesan crusted sourdough. Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes & for making this birthday a memorable meal as well!
My sweet Mom requested tomato soup & grilled cheese for her birthday dinner. Y’all, this soup is BOMB! She was thrilled & our large crowd was practically licking their bowls of seconds. Paired so perfectly with havarti grilled cheese with Parmesan crusted sourdough. Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes & for making this birthday a memorable meal as well!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad this was a birthday hit for you mom!
Mmmm, I could just dive right into that bowl!!
Easy but so good. Especially with all the rain and chilly weather we’ve been having!
Tomato soup is Kailey’s jam, I love all of the ingredients in this recipe (and how fast it is). I recently tried the cashewmilk, it’s so good but I never thought of adding it to a savory dish!
It’s perfect here to keep things lighter and not as heavy as you know, heavy cream :) If K loves tomato soup, this one is an easy one!
This sounds and looks so good! I haven’t had tomato soup in years but have always enjoyed it. Adding basil in is such a bonus! Will definitely be trying this out.
The basil is such a nice touch! Hope you enjoy it!
This makes me want a grilled cheese!
Me too! It’s pouring rain in San Diego. Hope it’s dry up in Sac!
I love that you added Silk to this!! What a great way to make it creamy without all the calories! Also? Can I tell you something? Nathan, who hates tomatoes, tried tomato basil soup for the first time over the weekend and was shocked at how much he actually liked it. So yay! Now I can make this!
Oh that is awesome! I am glad he’s on board the tomato soup train now!
This soup is right up my street, love all the simple yet elegant flavors in this tomato basil soup, easy to make and ever so good, I need this right now to warm up, thanks for the recipe :)
As you said, simple flavors but oh so good! Enjoy :)
I’m going to make my grilled cheese verrrrrry happy with this hearty and beautifully vibrant soup!
I almost put some grilled cheese in the photos but yes your grilled cheese will be so happy dunked in this soup! :)
It is soup weather around here and tomato basil sounds wonderful! I love adding carrot to pureed soup for the same reason. I am so glad fresh herbs are available year around–they can really brighten things up in the kitchen!
Thank goodness for fresh herbs! They make winter seem more bearable! And glad you’re on board with the carrot trick too :)
Positively delicious soup!! We had spring weather yesterday and snow/ice today so this was perfect for a light but very satisfying lunch (Jon says it was great with his grilled cheese ). The fresh basil was so good too!
I heard from a friend that the Chicago area was nice and in the 50s yesterday so I’m sure your weather was great as well, yesterday. Too bad about the return to winter reality.
Glad you loved the soup and that it made for a great lunch! There is nothing better than dunking a grilled cheese into tomato soup :)