Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
A silky, velvety soup built on canned whole tomatoes, slowly softened onion and garlic, and a big handful of fresh basil. Blended smooth and finished with heavy cream, it takes about 80 minutes from start to bowl, most of it hands-off, using pantry staples.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 47 min
- Wait
- 5 min
- Total
- 1 hr 22 min
- Makes
- About 8 cups (1.9 liters), serving 6 at roughly 1⅓ cups each
Steps
Before you start
- Measure out the cream and let it sit on the counter while you cook so it doesn't cool the soup too much when added.
- Plan on about 80 minutes total: 15 minutes of chopping, roughly 45 minutes on the stove (including about 7 minutes for the pot to come to a boil), a 5-minute basil steep, and about 12 minutes of blending in batches.
- Never fill a blender more than half full with hot liquid, and always vent the lid, because steam can force the lid off. Expect to blend in 3 batches of about 2½ cups.
- Use canned whole peeled tomatoes with their juices (San Marzano style if you can) for the best flavor and sweetness.
Prep the vegetables
- Peel and chop the onion into ½-inch (1 cm) pieces, peel and finely chop the carrot, and peel and thinly slice the garlic.
- Pick the basil leaves from the stems, wash and dry them well, and set aside 6 to 8 small leaves for garnish.
- Open the tomato cans and measure out the cream.
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Ready when: Onion and carrot are in small, even pieces so they cook at the same rate.
Tip: Dry basil leaves chop and blend cleanly; wet leaves dilute the flavor.
Soften the aromatics
- Set a 5- to 6-quart heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat.
- Add the butter and olive oil.
- When the butter has melted and stops foaming, add the chopped onion, carrot, and 1 teaspoon salt.
- Stir to coat and cook, stirring every minute or so, for 8 to 10 minutes.
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Ready when: Onion is soft, translucent, and sweet-smelling with no browned edges.
Tip: If the onion starts to brown, lower the heat; browning makes the soup taste darker and less fresh.
Add garlic and paste
- Stir in the sliced garlic and tomato paste.
- Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, so the paste darkens slightly and coats the vegetables.
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Ready when: Paste turns brick red and the garlic smells fragrant but is not browned.
Tip: Garlic burns fast and turns bitter, so keep stirring.
Add tomatoes and broth
- Pour in both cans of tomatoes with their juices, then the broth and 1 teaspoon sugar.
- Crush the whole tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon.
- Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil, which takes about 7 minutes; stir once or twice while you wait.
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Ready when: Soup reaches a steady boil with bubbles breaking across the surface.
Tip: Stir from the bottom so the thick tomato paste doesn't scorch.
Simmer gently
- Reduce the heat to medium-low so the soup simmers gently, partially cover the pot, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
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Ready when: Soup has thickened slightly, the carrot pieces crush easily against the pot, and the color deepens to a rich red.
Tip: Partially covering stops splatters while still letting the soup reduce a little.
Steep the basil
- Remove the pot from the heat.
- Stir in the packed cup of basil leaves (not the garnish leaves), pushing them under the surface.
- Let steep for 5 minutes so the basil perfumes the soup without turning dark and bitter.
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Ready when: Basil is wilted and bright green and the kitchen smells strongly of basil.
Tip: Keep the garnish leaves aside so they stay fresh and green.
Blend in batches
- The soup is about 7½ cups, so plan on 3 batches of about 2½ cups each, filling a blender no more than half full.
- Stir the pot before each ladling so every batch gets some basil.
- Remove the center cap from the lid and cover the opening with a folded kitchen towel.
- Start on low, then increase to high and blend 45 to 60 seconds per batch.
- Pour each batch into a large bowl or clean pot.
- (Or use an immersion blender right in the pot for 2 to 3 minutes.)
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Ready when: Soup is completely smooth and glossy with no flecks of carrot or basil.
Tip: Hot liquid expands as it blends, so never seal the lid tightly.
Finish with cream
- Return the blended soup to the soup pot over low heat.
- Slowly stir in the room-temperature cream.
- Warm for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring, until steaming hot.
- Do not let it boil.
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Ready when: Soup is a uniform pale coral color and steaming, with small bubbles just at the edges.
Tip: Boiling after adding cream can cause it to separate.
Season and serve
- Taste and add salt, a few grinds of pepper, and, if the soup tastes sharp, up to another ½ teaspoon sugar.
- Ladle into warm bowls and top with the reserved small basil leaves and more pepper.
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Ready when: Soup tastes balanced: bright and tomatoey, gently sweet, and well seasoned.
Tip: Canned tomatoes vary in acidity, so always taste before adding more sugar.
Good to know
Tips
- Cooking the tomato paste briefly deepens the flavor and gives the soup a rounder, less raw tomato taste.
- Adding the basil off the heat keeps its flavor fresh and its color bright.
- For an extra-silky texture, pass the blended soup through a fine-mesh strainer.
- Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches or crusty bread for dipping.
Make ahead
"Make the soup through the blending step (before adding cream) up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate. Reheat gently, then stir in the cream and finish as written."
Storage & reheating
Room temperature: no more than 2 hours. Refrigerator: cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Freezer: freeze up to 3 months (best frozen before adding cream). Reheat on the stove over low heat, stirring often, until steaming hot; do not boil. Thin with a splash of broth or water if needed.
Substitutions
- heavy cream → full-fat canned coconut milk or half-and-half. Coconut milk adds a mild coconut flavor; half-and-half gives a lighter soup and is more likely to separate if boiled.
- fresh basil leaves → 2 teaspoons dried basil, added with the tomatoes. Dried basil is less vibrant; fresh leaves for garnish are still strongly recommended.
- low-sodium vegetable broth → low-sodium chicken broth or water. Chicken broth makes the soup non-vegetarian. Water makes it taste slightly less rounded; add a little extra salt.
- unsalted butter → 3 tablespoons (45 ml) additional olive oil. Makes the soup dairy-light and a bit less rich.
