First soup of the season!
HEY FALL, I am officially ready for you now! I have my cozy bowl of hot soup to keep me warm during a chilly 50 degree day!
But of course, we’ve had gorgeous September weather lately. Highs of 75 to 80 degrees. I finally decide to embrace fall and our September turns out to be warmer than our August was. So backwards. Really, I’m not complaining – I will enjoy end of summer weather for as long as it decides to grace me with it’s presence. I love you summer!
All I want in life is for my pre planned blog recipes to line up with the weather outside. Is that too much to ask for?
Hi, my name is Emily, and I am obssessed with my seasonal foods matching all the feels of the weather.
The good news is that I popped this creamy tomato basil soup into the freezer to save for a real fall day when I need a hug from a bowl of soup.
Get it? Hug because it’s soup and warm and the best food for the soul. EVER!
You all loved my healing roasted tomato and red pepper soup I shared last fall. I mean, what’s not to love about fresh tomatoes and red peppers being roasted and then blended into tomato soup perfection? It’s pretty amazing and you should make it this fall.
BUT I so desperately was craving a tomato soup that could be made without roasting tomatoes in the oven. One that was super easy and took no time at all. That’s exactly what this 15 minute creamy tomato basil soup is!
The secret? Canned fire roasted tomatoes – fire roasted are key to get that rich tomato taste.
No, they are not fresh but hey, this soup is better than the canned stuff. BTW out of all the canned soups in the world I always found canned tomato soup to be the most disappointing. It’s always watery and flavorless. Anyone else agree?!
Not this tomato basil soup. It’s bursting with tomato roasted goodness + tomato paste for an extra deep tomato flavor, sauteed onions and garlic, lots of fresh basil! Who knew you could make a soup that tastes so good in only 15 minutes and only using 8 ingredients?!
Literally all you do to make this tomato basil soup is saute the onions in your soup pot with a little butter, then saute a bunch of garlic and that tomato paste. After that you blend the canned tomatoes along with your onion/garlic/tomato paste mixture, some raw cashews, and some fresh basil leaves until it’s nice and smooth. Then you pour that goodness back into the pot and heat it up.
That’s it! You barely even need to read the recipe below!
Okay so the creamy part of this tomato basil soup comes from raw cashews. They add a nice slight richness without any dairy or heavy cream Raw cashews, you are the best!
If you don’t have raw cashews on hand I’m suer you could leave the cashews out and the soup would still be really creamy and delicious, but I think they help make this soup extra special.
Tomato basil soup is thick and creamy, super tomato-y, garlicky, and bursting with fresh basil. This soup is really thick, I don’t even add any broth to it, it’s all tomato goodness and I love it. BUT if you prefer a thinner soup by all means add a little chicken or veggie broth.
I topped this tomato basil soup with some stove top croutons for crunch. They’re super easy to make, super delicious and do add a nice texture. I left a link to a crouton recipe below, however, they are totally optional. TBH if I was making this soup for a weeknight meal I probably wouldn’t bother with the croutons.
If I was really craving comfort food I would probably make a grilled cheese sandwich to dip in this soup. Highly recommended!
Tomato basil soup is perfect for when you are craving homemade soup but don’t want to put in all the effort of standing over a stew pot for 30 minutes – thank you, more please!
Happy cozy soup eating!
15 Minute Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 4 to 6 1x
- Category: Appetizer, Side, Entree, Soups
- Cuisine: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian, Dairy Free
Description
Tomato basil soup is thick, creamy, and bursting with tomato and basil flavor. It only requires 8 simple ingredients and 15 minutes to make. It’s the perfect fall/winter meal or side. So comforting and tasty!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter (or sub olive oil or vegan butter for vegans)
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 ounces tomato paste
- 3 15 ounce cans fire roasted tomatoes
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves (plus extra to garnish, if desired)
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- Salt and pepper to taste
- (optional) Stove top croutons for topping
Instructions
- Saute onions and garlic: Heat a medium pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions, saute for 3 minutes or until tender and translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
- Blend all ingredients: Transfer the onion and tomato paste mixture to a blender. Add the cans of roasted tomateos, basil leaves, and cashews. Blend on high until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Heat up: Transfer the soup back to the pot and heat on high, stirring constantly to prevent it from bubbling up at you. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with stove top croutons (optional) or julienne basil leaves on top. Leftovers will keep in fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to a month.
Notes
This tomato soup is super thick and creamy, that’s how I like it. If you want to thin it out then you can easily add a little vegetable or chicken broth as desired.
Although I haven’t tested this recipe without the raw cashews I am confident that you can omit them and still have similar results. If you don’t have cashews or don’t want to add them just leave them out. Let me know how it goes in the comments! 🙂
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