Homemade Tomato Soup Recipe
I'm sure if you made this tomato soup recipe with fresh Jersey tomatoes when they are in season and perfectly ripe it would taste better but sometimes you are craving a hot tomato soup when the weather is cold outside. In this case, I used canned tomatoes and still received rave reviews from family and friends.
There are many brands of canned tomatoes on the market these days so it is important to pick the one that has the best flavor to you. Look for whole, peeled tomatoes that are firm and aren't too salty or have that processed taste.
Classic tomato soup is very simple with some basic ingredients. I added two extra ingredients to this recipe to give it additional flavor and then added a puff pastry topping because I talked about it in a blog post, Tomato Soup with Pastry On Top and wanted to give it a try.
The additional ingredients were both added at the end and were cream and roasted peppers. You can experiment with your own variations using different herbs or dairy products including sour cream, Crème fraîche heavy cream or soft cheese.
Puff Pastry
You can make this soup more fancy with the addition of a pastry crust. Here's a recipe from my friend Chef Jennifer Field for making a pastry crust, but she also suggests trying the frozen ready-made puff pastry available at your supermarket.
I opted for the second option and it was a hit.
📖 Recipe
Tomato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil virgin
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 large white onion chopped finely
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 28 oz whole peeled plum tomatoes with juice
- sugar to taste
- red wine vinegar to taste
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
- salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
- ½ cup heavy cream optional
- 1 small jar roasted peppers
Instructions
- Start by heating a big soup pot over medium heat, add the butter and oil and then the chopped onion & garlic.
- When the onions are soft, add the chicken stock, tomatoes, sugar, a little red wine vinegar, thyme and salt & pepper.
- Raise the heat to medium-high and bring the soup to a simmer. Once at a simmer, lower the heat to low, cover the pot and cook for 45 minutes.
- When the soup is done, remove the thyme twigs and puree the soup. You can use a blender or food processor. I like using my hand blender. It works great, is easy to clean and I don't have to lug the big pot over to the food processor and inevitably spill some soup on the counter.
- I added the heavy cream and roasted peppers just before I pureed the soup but I guess you could add them 5 minutes before the soup is done. For me the peppers were a last minute addition that I wasn't planning from the start and it worked out great.
- After pureeing the soup, let it cool down before serving. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and serve.
jfield
A clarification, RG. The recipe I gave was for a pate brisee, not a puff pastry. You can approximate a fast or "blitz puff pastry" by using the brisee recipe, keeping the butter in much larger chunks, and then rolling it, folding it in half, rolling it and folding it about 4-6 times. This will give you a puffing effect, but it will not be the same as classic puff pastry (which isn't hard to make, just pretty time consuming).
At any rate, the tomato soup looks fantastic. If it weren't 87 degrees here in Florida, I would be sorely tempted to make it tonight:-)
Jan H.
Kudos for maintaining such a wonderful web blog. Your site happens to be not only knowledgeable but also very stimulating too. There are very few experts who are capable of write technical articles that creatively.
shawn kelly
This is perfect. I love tomatoes. Your blog really makes my day. You’re not just giving the recipe but the techniques that you learn from it and you also check some alternatives on how to improve the taste of the soup. Excellent!
Thanks Shawn - RG
Cooper Foster
I love all sorts of soup but my most favorite soup is none other chicken or beef soup.
Tighe
This is the perfect soup to make ahead and take with grilled cheese for lunch. Thanks so much! I've never even tried to make this on my own before, but it's pretty easy. I linked back for my readers to try it out, too.
Thanks Tighe, glad you enjoyed the soup. - RG