Creamy Tomato Soup

Name: Creamy Tomato Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces; 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil; 2 medium (about 12 oz total) (340 g) yellow onion, peeled and chopped into ½-inch (1 cm) pieces; 4 large cloves (16 g) garlic cloves, minced; 2 tablespoons (32 g) tomato paste; 56 oz (two 28-oz cans) (1588 g) whole peeled tomatoes with their juice, undrained; 2 cups (480 ml) low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth; 1 teaspoon (4 g) granulated sugar, plus more to taste; 1 teaspoon (4 g) kosher salt, plus more to taste; black pepper, freshly ground, to taste; 1 cup, loosely packed (24 g) fresh basil leaves, plus small leaves for garnish; ¾ cup (180 ml) heavy cream, at room temperature or slightly warmed

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

A silky, velvety tomato soup built on canned whole tomatoes, slowly softened onion and garlic, and a finish of heavy cream and fresh basil. Ready in under an hour and perfect with grilled cheese.

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 35 min
Wait: 5 min
Total: 55 min
Makes: About 7 cups (1.7 L), 6 servings

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Ingredients

6 servings

4 tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
2 medium (about 12 oz total) (340 g) yellow onion, peeled and chopped into ½-inch (1 cm) pieces
4 large cloves (16 g) garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons (32 g) tomato paste
56 oz (two 28-oz cans) (1588 g) whole peeled tomatoes with their juice, undrained
2 cups (480 ml) low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon (4 g) granulated sugar, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon (4 g) kosher salt, plus more to taste
black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
1 cup, loosely packed (24 g) fresh basil leaves, plus small leaves for garnish
¾ cup (180 ml) heavy cream, at room temperature or slightly warmed

Equipment (5)

4–5 quart (4–5 L) heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven
Immersion blender, or countertop blender
Wooden spoon
Ladle
Microplane or sharp knife for the garlic

Steps

Before you start

Open the cans of tomatoes and measure out everything before you turn on the heat; the onion and garlic cook quickly once the pot is hot.
Use a heavy-bottomed 4–5 quart (4–5 L) pot so the onions soften without scorching.
Never fill a blender more than half full with hot soup. Work in batches, or use an immersion blender in the pot.
Taste at the end: canned tomatoes vary in acidity, so you may need a little more sugar or salt.

1
Soften the onions
- Set the pot over medium heat and add the butter and olive oil.
- When the butter has melted and stops foaming, add the chopped onions and ½ teaspoon of the salt.
- Cook, stirring every minute or so, for 8–10 minutes.
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Ready when: Onions are soft, translucent and just starting to turn pale gold at the edges, with no dark brown bits.
Tip: If the onions start to brown quickly, lower the heat; browned onions make the soup taste bitter rather than sweet.
2
Add garlic and paste
- Stir in the garlic and tomato paste.
- Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot so nothing sticks.
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Ready when: The paste darkens to a brick red and the garlic smells fragrant, not sharp.
Tip: Garlic burns fast; if it turns brown, it will taste acrid, so keep stirring.
3
Add tomatoes and broth
- Pour in both cans of tomatoes with their juice and the broth.
- Add the sugar and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt.
- Crush the whole tomatoes against the side of the pot with the wooden spoon.
- Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil.
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Ready when: Small bubbles break steadily across the whole surface.
4
Simmer the soup
- Reduce the heat to low so the soup simmers gently with small lazy bubbles.
- Partially cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Ready when: The soup has thickened slightly and smells sweet and rich, and the tomato pieces fall apart when pressed.
Tip: Partially covering prevents splatters while still letting the soup reduce a little.
5
Add the basil
- Remove the pot from the heat.
- Stir in the 1 cup of basil leaves and let them wilt in the hot soup for 2 minutes.
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Ready when: Basil leaves are dark green and completely wilted.
Tip: Adding basil off the heat keeps its flavor fresh instead of cooked and dull.
6
Blend until smooth
- Using an immersion blender, blend directly in the pot for 1–2 minutes, moving it around.
- Or ladle the soup into a blender, filling it no more than half full, vent the lid with a towel over the top, and blend each batch on low then high for 1 minute.
- Return to the pot.
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Ready when: The soup is completely smooth and velvety with no visible flecks of tomato skin or basil.
Tip: Hot soup expands in a sealed blender and can blow the lid off, so always vent the lid and hold it down with a towel.
7
Stir in the cream
- Set the pot over low heat.
- Slowly pour in the cream while stirring, and warm for 2–3 minutes without letting the soup boil.
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Ready when: The soup is a uniform pale orange-red and steaming hot, with no streaks of cream.
Tip: Boiling after adding cream can make the soup look slightly grainy, so keep it at a gentle steam.
8
Season and serve
- Taste the soup.
- Add black pepper, then more salt in ¼ teaspoon increments, or a pinch more sugar if it tastes sharp.
- Ladle into bowls and top with small basil leaves and a crack of pepper.
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Ready when: The soup tastes balanced: sweet, savory and rich, with no sharp acidity.
Tip: Season after the cream goes in, since cream mellows the flavor and changes how much salt you need.

Good to know

Tips

Tomato paste cooked until brick red adds deep, roasted flavor that makes canned tomatoes taste far richer.
If your tomatoes are very acidic, add sugar a pinch at a time rather than all at once; a small amount of butter stirred in at the end also softens the tang.
For an extra-silky texture, pass the blended soup through a fine-mesh strainer.
Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches, garlic croutons or crusty bread for dunking.

Make ahead

The soup base can be made through step 6 (before adding cream) up to 3 days ahead. Cool, refrigerate, then reheat gently and stir in the cream just before serving.

Storage & reheating

Room temperature: no more than 2 hours. Refrigerator: up to 4 days in an airtight container. Freezer: up to 3 months (best frozen before adding cream, though cream versions are fine with a good stir). Reheat gently over low heat, stirring, until steaming; add a splash of broth or water if too thick. Do not boil.

Substitutions

heavy cream → full-fat canned coconut milk or half-and-half. Coconut milk makes it dairy-free with a faint coconut flavor; half-and-half is lighter and less rich.
fresh basil leaves → 1 teaspoon dried basil or oregano. Add with the tomatoes in step 3 so the dried herb has time to soften.
low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth → water. The soup will taste a little less deep; add an extra ¼ teaspoon salt.
unsalted butter → extra olive oil. Use 3 tablespoons total for a dairy-free base; the soup will be less rich.