Roasted tomato basil soup is the perfect way to use those garden tomatoes or farmer's market bounty. Roasting the tomatoes brings out their natural sweetness and deepens the flavors. This homemade tomato soup feels and tastes gourmet, but it couldn't be easier to make!

Two bowls of roasted tomato basil soup and two tomatoes on a weathered table.

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Why You'll Love This Recipe:
Ingredient Notes:
How to make it, step by step
Helpful tips
Variations & optional add-ins
Serving suggestions
Some of my other favorite soup recipes
Recipe
Comments

Why You'll Love This Recipe:

Quick and easy: Once the tomatoes are roasted, it takes just 15 minutes to make this delicious roasted tomato soup recipe.
Healthy: Tomatoes are packed with nutrients like vitamin C, potassium, and antioxidants.
Freezer friendly: This easy tomato basil soup freezes beautifully, so you can enjoy this tasty comfort food and time of year. What could be better on a winter night that bowl of homemade tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich?
Delicious: Roasting tomatoes brings out their best flavor. Tomato soup fans will never want to buy canned soup again!

Two white bowls filled with roasted tomato basil soup on a table scattered with tomatoes.

Ingredient Notes:

To make the best tomato soup, you'll need the following ingredients:

Tomatoes: This recipe has just a few simple ingredients, so fresh ripe tomatoes are essential. Roma tomatoes (also called plum tomatoes) are my favorite for soup, but any tomatoes work. I have made this recipe with an assortment of tomatoes from the garden, even cherry tomatoes and grape tomatoes.
Canned Tomatoes: Canned tomatoes in combination with fresh roasted tomatoes give the soup a great texture and boost the tomato flavor. You can use whole, diced, or crushed tomatoes. San Marzano tomatoes are worth looking for.
Garlic: I use a whole head of garlic, roasted along with the tomatoes and onion. But you can use fewer cloves of garlic. Roasting garlic makes it creamy, mild and sweet, so I do recommend it. But you can also use garlic powder if you don't have fresh garlic cloves.
Onion: The onion is roasted with the tomatoes to make it soft and sweet and it gives the tomato soup a delicious flavor boost.
Olive Oil: Use a good quality olive oil.
Fresh Basil Leaves: Fragrant basil leaves are the star herb in this recipe. Since tomato season is also basil season,it shouldn't be hard to find in the grocery store or farmer's market, if not in your garden.
Vegetable Broth: Try to find low sodium or no sodium vegetable broth. You can use chicken stock instead.
Sea Salt and Black Pepper

All of the ingredients for making this recipe on a wooden board.

How to make it, step by step

Preheat oven to 400° Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise.
Toss tomatoes & quartered onions in olive oil and spread in a single layer over the baking sheet ( you may need two) Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Cut the top off of a head of garlic, drizzle with a little of the oil, and put it onto one of the baking sheets.

Fresh tomatoes, onions, and garlic on a baking sheet.

Roast everything for about 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and starting to turn golden brown.

Tomatoes, onion, and garlic on a baking sheet after roasting.

Put the vegetable stock, canned tomatoes, basil, and roasted tomatoes and onions, along with their juices, in a large pot or large Dutch oven.
Squeeze out the roasted garlic cloves into the soup pot.

All of the soup ingredients in a large pot.

Bring to a boil, over medium heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes
Use an immersion blender to puree hot soup right in the pot, or, transfer in batches to a blender or food processor, remembering to open the steam vent.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with more fresh basil.

A pot of soup being pureed with an immersion blender.

Helpful tips

Some tips to ensure your Homemade Roasted Tomato Basil Soup turns out perfectly every time:

Roasting Tomatoes: This is an extra step but takes little effort and it's absolutely worthwhile for the rich flavors it brings out.
Blending: My favorite way to puree soups is right in the pot using an immersion blender, which is super handy to have around the kitchen for all kinds of things. If you don't have one, you can use a blender or food processor. Transfer the soup to the blender (in batches, depending on the size of your blender). Allow the soup to cool somewhat first, and be sure to keep the lid vent open to allow steam to escape and prevent a soup explosion.
Consistancy: After blending you can thin the soup with more broth if it's too thick for you. And if you want a smoother soup, strain the soup though a colander or strainer.
Tomato Paste: If you don't have fresh garden tomatoes, you can still make this great recipe with grocery store tomatoes. However they are often not as ripe as they could be. A tip for maximizing their flavor is to stir some tomato paste into the soup along with the vegetable stock and canned tomatoes.
Storing the Soup: Roasted tomato soup is even better the next day. Cool the soup completely, and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep 4-5 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Freezing: Let the soup cool completely. Portion it into freezer-friendly airtight containers and store for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge.

Variations & optional add-ins

Here are a few ways to make this recipe your own:

Add spice: Add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne powder for a little hit of spice. Or roast a jalapeno along with the vegetables.
Sweetness: If your tomatoes are very acidic, add a little bit of sugar until you get the right amount of balance. The soup won't be sweet, but the sugar will balance the acidity of the tomatoes.
Cream: For a creamier version, stir in a little heavy cream, sour cream, of Greek yogurt. If you want to keep this a vegan tomato soup, use vegan yogurt or sour cream to get that creamy texture.
Cheese: Sprinkle bowls of soup with parmesan cheese or feta cheese.
Bacon: Cooked and crumbled bacon is a delicious addition to this already perfect soup.
Crunch: Top each bowl with toasted croutons, or try my spiced lemon roasted chickpeas to keep it gluten-free.

Serving suggestions

Of course, a gooey grilled cheese sandwich is the ultimate match for tomato soup, but you can also pair it with a salad, like this grilled halloumi salad, or Greek pasta salad. Try these amazing sausage stuffed mini peppers, or zucchini fritters along with your roasted tomato basil soup. Cornbread, naan bread, or Irish soda bread are all great choices, too.

Two white bowls of roasted tomato basil soup with wooden soup spoons.

Some of my other favorite soup recipes

Chicken Minestrone Soup
Sweet Potato Black Bean Soup
Beet Soup Recipe - Ukrainian Borscht
French Onion Soup With Lager
Red Cabbage Soup
Or browse all the Food Blog's soup recipes.

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a rating in the comments below and let us know how it turned out. Did you make any changes? We would love for you to share and your feedback is important! Thank you for visiting The Food Blog!

This recipe is adapted from The Food Network, Ina Garten.

Recipe

Comments

5 from 64 votes (40 ratings without comment)

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup