This creamy tomato basil soup recipe is a total copycat of my favorite soup at First Watch! Ready to serve in under 30 minutes and just perfect paired with a hot and melty classic grilled cheese sandwich...
Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
Growing up I hated tomato soup — like wouldn't touch it with my spoon tied to a 10-foot pole, HATED IT. Believe me, my dad tried on numerous occasions to serve it to me for lunch. I was always considered a "good eater," but it was one of the few foods that I steadfastly refused to eat.
Fast forward about 20 years to a first time random lunch with my hubby at First Watch. I decided to take a little taste of his cup of tomato basil soup, and I had a revelation...
It was never been tomato soup itself that I hated! It's that icky canned condensed blob of tomato-like substance that my dad always prepared that I despised.
Now? I'm a HUGE fan of tomato soup — or at least this version. As with so many of my other favorite restaurant recipes, I set out to recreate that lovely creamy tomato basil soup at home. After a few tries, I'm pretty sure I nailed it with this homemade creamy tomato basil soup recipe!
This copycat tomato basil soup has totally become my favorite comfort food. And surprisingly (or maybe not), it's actually also become a family favorite.
Best Tomato Basil Soup Recipe Ever
A few things that make this (in my opinion) the BEST tomato soup recipe ever (or at least the very best homemade tomato basil soup recipe)...
- It starts with canned whole tomatoes. Surprised? I love fresh tomatoes as much as the next person, but making tomato basil soup with canned canned San Marzano tomatoes gives you more consistency in flavor from batch to batch. It also makes this a super easy and convenient recipe to prepare year round.
Plus canned tomatoes actually rival fresh tomatoes when it comes to best flavor! Why? Because they're harvested and packed at the peak of ripeness and freshness. - The addition of tomato paste adds more depth of flavor. Adding a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste (not tomato sauce) really intensifies the tomato-y taste of this rich soup and balances out the acidity of the tomatoes, especially when you add it while sautéing the aromatics. It's my secret ingredient and really makes a huge difference!
- Fresh basil adds brightness. But if tomato and basil soup isn't your thing, feel free to switch it up. Rosemary, thyme, parsley, and chives are also fabulous choices. It's a great way to use up whatever fresh herbs you have on hand!
- There's just enough cream. While this IS a cream of tomato basil soup, we don't have to be super heavy handed with the cream. Using just ½ cup of heavy whipping cream is enough to add rich flavor and creamy texture to the soup without adding a ton of extra calories. I think it's the best of both worlds!
Sometimes I'll swap it for crème fraîche for a change of pace, and if you want to lighten this creamy tomato soup up a bit, you can totally just use milk.
How To Make Tomato Basil Soup
If you're a fan of easy recipes (and who isn't?!), you seriously won't believe just how simple this great tomato soup is to prepare. It *really* doesn't take much longer than heating up the canned stuff in a soup pot, which we've already established is decidedly NOT good stuff.
I promise you this tomato basil soup tastes a gazillion times better! And I'm hoping it becomes one of your favorite soup recipes, too.
Did I mention that this easy tomato soup can be ready to serve in under 30 minutes? It's true!! We're talking a mere 5 minutes of prep time, and then roughly 25 minutes of cook time.
- Saute: Start by sautéing onions in butter in a large pot over medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for about one minute, until starting to brown. Stir in the tomato paste and cook while stirring until it starts to brown.
- Deglaze: Pour in the chicken stock and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spatula or remove any caramelized brown bits.
- Simmer: Add both cans of tomatoes, including the juice, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Blend: Use an immersion blender to puree the soup right in the pot, or transfer the tomato mixture in batches to blender or food processor to process.
- Season: After mixture is pureed, add in basil and pulse a few times to incorporate. Then whisk in the heavy cream and season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
Pretty effortless, huh? At this point this cream of tomato soup is ready to serve. My favorite way to serve it is with a drizzle of olive oil, a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper, and occasionally, a good grating of Parmesan cheese.
If your personal preference is a spicier tomato soup, a sprinkling of red pepper flakes would be amazing, as well!
BTW, we love our tomato soup with a delicious ooey-gooey and melty grilled cheese sandwich on the side. Be sure to read after the recipe for my absolute all-time favorite kitchen hack for making grilled cheese sandwiches...
Souper Cubes 2-Cup Freezer Trays with Lids
If you like to freeze leftover soup for later, you NEED these sturdy silicone trays with lids!! These are the perfect size for freezing and reheating individual servings. AND they're easy to use and clean like a dream, with no residual odors!
Pureeing Hot Homemade Tomato Basil Soup
I'm not big on having a multitude of kitchen gadgets, but one that I can't live without is this immersion blender. It makes pureeing hot soup, like this homemade tomato soup, a total cinch, and it cleans up like a dream. If you're looking for a more budget-friendly option, I've heard this Cuisinart model is very good, as well.
If you don't have an immersion blender, you can always drag out your regular blender or food processor. Please, please, PLEASE, just make sure to let the soup cool slightly and puree in small batches with plenty of headspace in your blending container.
Hot liquids expand, and I'm hoping to save you all from spending hours cleaning tomato soup off of your walls, cabinets, ceiling, and every other possible kitchen surface — a lesson I learned the VERY hard way as a newlywed.
Now let's make some homemade tomato soup!!
Printable Recipe ↓
Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
Key Equipment
- cast iron Dutch oven
- corner wooden spoon
- immersion blender
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 medium onions - chopped (about 2 cups)
- 4 garlic cloves - coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt - plus extra for seasoning
- ½ cup fresh basil - roughly chopped
- ½ cup heavy cream
- freshly ground black pepper - to taste
Instructions
- In a cast iron Dutch oven, sauté the onions in butter over medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for about one minute, until starting to brown. Stir in tomato paste and cook while stirring until it starts to brown.
- Deglaze the pot by carefully pouring in half the chicken stock. Stir with a wooden spoon, making sure to scrape any browned bits up from the bottom of the pot.
- Add the remaining stock and both cans of tomatoes, including their juices, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup right in the pot. Or you can transfer the tomato mixture in batches to blender or food processor to process.
- After mixture is pureed, add in basil and pulse a few times to incorporate. Whisk in heavy cream. Season with additional kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Recipe Notes
Featured Products
What To Serve With Tomato Basil Soup?
Hot and fresh grilled cheese sandwiches are a no brainer pairing for this easy tomato basil soup.
Check out this brilliant baking sheet pan grilled cheese in the oven technique for making multiple grilled cheeses all at once in the oven while your soup is simmering away! SO EASY — you'll never make grilled cheese on your stovetop again...
Other good options are this homemade quick & easy garlic bread recipe and/or this Italian chopped salad.
Did you make this recipe?
I'd love to see how your creamy tomato basil soup turns out... Tag me @Unsophisticook on Instagram or use the hashtag #Unsophisticook so I can check it out. Enjoy!
Alexa Smith says
This is the best tomato soup I have ever made. I recommend it to everyone - must try!!
JoAnne says
Yum-o!! Needed a themed meal for my book club. Decided on grilled cheese and tomato soup (a meal mentioned in the book). I added a pinch of sugar to cut the acid - but just a touch. I think it gave it a little more depth. Had my hubby taste test. He gave it 2 enthusiast thumbs up. Can’t wait to serve at book club!
Tara Kuczykowski says
So happy you and your hubby loved it! What a fun theme for a book club night — hoping your members love it, too!!
Cris Puetz says
This was easy and yummy and tasted a lot like first watch. Love it!
Nancy Eisenhart says
This is the best tomato soup I have ever made, and it’s the only one I’ve ever made and it’s the only one I will ever make perfect.
Alice says
I used 1 jar of Newman’s Own Organic Marinara Sauce, (23.5oz) in place of 1 (28 oz) can of whole tomatoes. It made the soup just a little thicker for our family’s taste. I also used half and half instead of heavy cream.
Matt Wagner says
I used this recipe as my inspiration for my soup and it was AMAZING! I am sure if I did it exactly as written it might be even better! LOL
But I will make a batch to freeze as long as I have all of these fresh tomatoes at this time of year.
THANK YOU
Tara Kuczykowski says
So happy you loved it, Matt!
Susan T says
Thanks for this recipe! My husband and I both enjoyed it very much- usually I don’t eat tomato soup but this was the perfect soup for a rainy day.
Kara says
I have made this soup many times. It's easy, my kids love it, and it freezes really well. I don't even have a Dutch oven or immersion blender and it comes out amazing every time.
Andrea says
So I found out I have Covid for the first time! and I've lost most of my sense of taste and smell (it's only been a day). I couldn't think of anything that sounded good to eat and somehow came across this recipe. Even though I really couldn't taste much of the soup, and could only slightly taste the basil, the texture was lovely, and there was a savoury yet bright and pleasing flavor. It was super satisfying.
I made a good amount and plan on eating over the next couple of days and hope that it tastes better and better each day lol! Will def make it again when I can actually taste it ;)
Trex says
Forgot paste so trucked on. doubled cream and added an extra 4 tbl of butter. Amazing!
Trex says
I gotta tell you, I am in love with this soup. Would you be a real soup cook if you didn't tweak to your likings? Tweaked things but forgot the paste on first round. Everyone has also raved about it so idk! Thank you so much for helping bring joy to many people! I am giving quarts of this away to family and friends for Christmas. I'll update you soon!
Tara Kuczykowski says
So happy to hear how much you love it. What an awesome gift idea!!
E.Æ. says
I think this is missing 1tsp. red pepper flake and a sprinkle of parmesan! Otherwise, this is delicious. I subbed the heavy cream for filmjòlk (Swedish drinkable yogurt with 0g fat).
R.K, says
Dutch oven is unnecessary. Sauté the onions in a good sauté pan, de-glaze with either lemon juice or white wine.
Add the stock, and then the paste.
MaryAnn says
Tried it Big son and adult grandson loved it Me too
Leanna says
Is there a specific type of onion you recommend? Red, white, yellow?
Thanks!
Tara Kuczykowski says
Hey Leanna — I typically just use a regular yellow onion!
Mary DeVogel says
@Tara Kuczykowski,
Can I use crushed tomatoes to bypass the blender?
Tara Kuczykowski says
Hi Mary! You can certainly substitute crushed tomatoes for the whole peeled tomatoes. However, you will only achieve that silky smooth texture by using a regular or immersion blender.
Sharon Vigorito says
Hi Tara. I tried this recipe as my husband drools over First Watch tomato basil soup. The first time he said it was good, but something was missing. So, I tried again and added a little oregano and thyme. He still says something is missing. I found a copycat for Applebee’s that adds sugar. I’m going to try that next time. But, no mistake, it’s a great recipe and thank you for posting it.
Tara Kuczykowski says
Thanks for the feedback, Sharon! It's been a *very* long time since I've had First Watch's version, so I feel like I need to pick some up and compare them again now, LOL. Either way, I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
Tonia Fishman says
This recipe is simple and delicious!!! My kids & husband love it. It pairs well with the oven grilled cheese sandwiches too. Best tomato soup recipe EVER!!!!
Ashley says
We love this soup and make it often. Thanks so much for the great recipe!
wilhelmina says
This soup was the perfect thing to have for lunch on a dreary cold day yesterday. It came together in a snap and was SO delicious. Great recipe!
Elizabeth says
Nothing beats a good tomato and basil soup, unless it's a tomato and basil soup served with a grilled cheese sandwich! I'll have to try your oven method!
Patty says
This is seriously the best creamy tomato soup! This will definitely be on our table a few times a month!
Sapana says
This was seriously the best tomato soup! So easy and perfect.
Veena Azmanov says
This Creamy Tomato Basil soup is delicious. I can have it any day for Dinner. So easy to make too. Flavorful and yum!
Emily says
Nothing better than homemade tomato basil soup with a melty grilled cheese! Love this recipe!
Valentina says
The best creamy tomato soup recipe! Make this all the time for the family and they all love it!
Sara says
This is one of the best recipes and so so so easy!
Sara Welch says
Such a smooth and flavorful soup; it was perfect with our grilled cheese sandwiches last night!
Anna says
This soup is pure comfort food! Delicious!
Sarah says
Just found this recipe. Do you think one could pressure-can this? I LOVE my grandma's recipe for home-canned tomato soup concentrate (have to admit, this is what I grew up on, so I never had the experience of eating from-a-tin-can tomato soup...but it looks disgusting). I'm just looking for something else to try.
Tara @ Unsophisticook says
Hi Sarah! I'm not an expert in writing recipes for pressure canning — there's a lot of science that goes into them to prevent spoilage. My first inclination is to say no, though. I know from canning tomatoes previously that they need an acid, like lemon juice, to preserve them.
Freezing it works great though! I just recommend freezing it without the cream and stirring it in when you reheat it.
Erika @ The Hopeless Housewife says
We love tomato soup and this looks fantastic!
Kris says
Just made this soup!....I'm a terrible cook and it turned out perfect and so yummy!
Thanks so much!
Keturah says
REALLY YUMMY SOUP!!!!! MAde it this weekend and can't stop eating it. LOVE that it is easy and simple. ONLY FIVE STEPS!
Andrea hall says
I just made the soup and we love it. we made half the quantity since we just needed a small amount and we will be making it over and over. thanks for the simple and yummy recipe
Tara @ Unsophisticook says
Glad you liked it, Andrea! It's a family fave here too, and I love that it's an easy meal paired with a gooey grilled cheese sandwich.
Rick says
I hate tomato soup (mostly because of the texture too)! But I've only tried the ones from the supermarket so I hope your recipe will change my opinion about this dish.
Sharon says
Is this something you could freeze, with the heavy cream in it? I love Tomato Basil Soup, but I'm the only one here that does, so it would be so convient to freeze this in quart size bags! Thanks!
Tara @ Unsophisticook says
I haven't tried freezing it, Sharon, but the ratio of cream to tomato is low enough that I think it should work. If you find that it's grainy, you may want to just freeze it without the cream and stir a little in after you reheat it — and it's actually still pretty delicious without the cream!
Lisa says
I make a homemade tomato soup too but with it I make homemade parm. croutons too! Double yummy!
Yvonne says
This sounds wonderful I have to try it. I did not like tomato soup either growing up but, as I have gotten older my taste buds have changed and this sounds awesome. Thanks for taken the time to share with us.. I appreciate..
Cassie says
My soup kick is in full swing, I could live on it this time of year. Love this!
Angie says
Looks so comforting!
Miss @ Miss in the Kitchen says
Homemade tomato soup is the best, in fact it is rainy/snowy here today and I was thinking this would be perfect!
Elizabeth@ Food Ramblings says
LOVE! I didn't like tomato soup when I was younger either :)
Tara @ Unsophisticook says
Oh, I think homemade veggie stock would be a great substitute! I don't make my own stock nearly enough, and I really should.
Leah @ Whitefoot Blog says
I've always LOVED tomato soup - and now I'm trying to convince my tomato soup-hating boyfriend to try it again. This sounds perfect for a cold fall evening :)
Also, could you substitute the chicken stock for homemade vegetable stock?
Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch says
Tomato Basil Soup is perfect this time of year, but I'm with you - I detested the thought of it as a child. Now I can't get enough of it.