The Best Tomato Soup

Article by: Krissy Downey

Food Network Kitchen’s expertly tested recipe is easy and makes a smooth, velvety tomato soup that hits all the right notes. The recipe uses canned tomatoes, fresh herbs and classic vegetables to create a flavorful base, and the soup comes together in the blender with a touch of butter to create a rich texture. Grab your favorite grilled cheese sandwich and get ready to enjoy our perfect tomato soup recipe.

Key Ingredients in Our Easy Tomato Soup Recipe

Vegetables: We keep it simple with the classics: celery, onions and garlic. These create a fresh, and flavorful base to cut the acidity of the tomatoes.

Tomatoes: Canned tomatoes make this a year-round favorite.

Broth: Vegetable broth is the base of this soup, and it helps create a smooth texture when everything is mixed in the blender.

Herbs: Thyme leaves add tons of flavor and create a savoriness that is delicious with the tomatoes.

Butter: Butter helps make the soup velvety smooth when it blends together with the veggies and broth.

How to Make Tomato Soup Like a Pro

Use a non-reactive pot. Tomatoes are naturally very acidic, and, when cooked in reactive materials such as aluminum, cast iron or unlined copper, the acid reacts with the metal, creating a bitter or metallic taste. Stainless steel and enameled cast iron are ideal, non-reactive materials that are perfect for making tomato soup.

Season as you go. This is one of the most important rules in the kitchen, but it is particularly important when making any kind of soup. We want to create layers of flavor as the soup cooks, and seasoning as you go is the best way to do that. If you only salt at the end, the flavors will not have an opportunity to develop properly.

Finish with olive oil. A drizzle of olive oil adds a rich taste that helps balance the acidity of the tomatoes. It is the perfect finishing touch for your bowl of creamy tomato soup.

Can I Use Fresh Tomatoes?

Absolutely! Our tomato soup recipe uses canned tomatoes, so it is a perfect and easy choice at all times of year, but there are tons of wonderful tomato soup recipes that often use a variety of fresh tomatoes.

Can I Use Chicken Stock Instead of Vegetable Stock?

You can use chicken stock for a richer flavor, but we like the simplicity of the vegetable stock. It is a subtle base that really allows the tomato flavor to shine. Plus, we like that vegetable stock keeps this soup completely vegetarian.

What to Serve with Tomato Soup

The obvious choice here is a classic grilled cheese sandwich. Tomato soup and grilled cheese are the perfect duo, but there are some other wonderful options here. A crusty baguette or cheese-flavored crackers are also lovely, and we think a simple salad like a Caesar or arugula salad adds a nice fresh touch to a rich tomato soup.

Can I Freeze Tomato Soup?

Yes, and it is the perfect dish to make ahead and freeze so that a warm, comforting dinner is always right at your fingertips.