Homemade Tomato Soup is a classic soup recipe made with fresh ripe tomatoes and fresh herbs blended with a hint of cream.
The tomatoes are roasted with a hint of garlic to bring out the natural flavor and then blended to a creamy finish. Velvety rich, jam-packed with flavor, and easy to make!!
Homemade is Best
The best tomato soup recipe is simple and made with fresh ingredients just like this recipe.
This easy soup can be prepared in under an hour making it the perfect weeknight meal!
TOMATOES FOR SOUP
Any kind of tomatoes will work but of course use the ripest, reddest ones you can find as they’ll have the best (and sweetest) flavor. In a pinch you can use canned tomatoes, they won’t have the same flavor as roasted tomatoes but are still great. Use a portion of canned fire-roasted tomatoes for extra flavor.
The tomatoes are roasted along with a bit of red bell pepper. The red pepper adds a bit of sweetness to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes. Cooked carrots will also work (I add shredded carrots to marinara for sweetness too).
How Many Tomatoes in a Pound
Of course, this varies based on the variety of tomato but to give you a general idea here are the approximates. This recipe is forgiving so it is ok if there’s a little bit more or less.
1 lb of tomatoes is approximately (remember you need 3lbs for this recipe):
- 2 large tomatoes
- 3 medium tomatoes
- 4 Roma tomatoes
- 2 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
- 20 cherry tomatoes
How to Make Tomato Soup
- Place tomatoes and peppers on a pan with olive oil and seasonings. Roast until you see a bit of char.
- Bring broth to a boil and add roasted tomatoes.
- Blend using a hand blender until smooth & creamy.
Top with parmesan cheese or a drizzle of heavy cream if you prefer.
If Your Tomatoes Are Too Tart
This recipe calls for heavy cream which is optional. I don’t generally add the cream, however, sometimes tomatoes can be very tart (depending on the variety) so the addition of extra cream can help smooth out the flavor.
Other additions for a tart soup include a shredded carrot cooked with the mixture, pinch of sugar, a couple of pats of butter or some coconut milk (make sure it’s unsweetened).
We often eat tomato soup with a classic Grilled Cheese Sandwich for dipping or topped with croutons and parmesan cheese!
What to Eat with Tomato Soup:
A classic grilled cheese (or Grilled Cheese Roll-Ups) and tomato soup is definitely a favorite!
More Fresh Tomato Recipes
- Tomato Bisque
- Garden Fresh Bruschetta
- Fresh Tomato Salad
- Pico de Gallo
- Cucumber Tomato Salad
- Roasted Tomatoes
- Tomato Pie
Did you enjoy this Fresh Tomato Soup? Leave a rating and a comment below!
Ingredients
- 3 pounds ripe tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
- ½ onion diced
- ½ red bell pepper diced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and black pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons fresh herbs such as basil, parsley, oregano
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese for garnish, optional
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream optional
- thinly sliced fresh basil leaves for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Wash the tomatoes, or peel them if desired (see notes). Cut smaller apricot sized tomatoes in half and cut larger tomatoes into quarters or eighths.
- Place tomatoes, garlic, onion, bell pepper, olive oil, salt, pepper and dried herbs on a large rimmed baking sheet.
- Roast 25 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes. Turn oven to broil and broil 3-4 minutes or until some of the tomatoes get a little bit of char color on them.
- Bring chicken broth to a boil, add tomatoes, and fresh herbs. Using a blender or hand blender to blend the mixture until smooth and creamy. Add heavy cream if using.
- Top with parmesan cheese, croutons or a drizzle of heavy cream.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Soup
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This was my first homemade tomato soup and it was delicious!
I’ve never made a homemade tomato soup before and this one was amazing! I’ll be making this again!
I just finished making this deliciously amazing tomato soup this morning. I followed the directions 100% and it turned out amazing I did have to take the skins off of the tomatoes after cooking because for some reason this batch of tomatoes I grew in my garden had kind of tough skins on them. I figured my submersion blender wouldn’t be able to break them down good enough. Thank you so much for this recipe. Now I know what to do with all these tomatoes my garden is producing. I’ve tried giving them away but I think everyone is having an abundance of tomatoes this year Thank you again ❤
Definitely one of my favourite ways to use garden tomatoes too, Donna! So happy you are enjoying it.
How did you get the skins off without loosing flavor? I don’t want to boil them and I try pealing them but it was a mess!! We loved the soup but it was too chewy.
Here is a really easy way to peel tomatoes. You boil for just a few seconds, it doesn’t cook them and it doesn’t change the flavor.
Delicious and easy tomato soup recipe. Broiling the veggies adds a lovely flavor. I didn’t have quite enough ripe tomatoes, so subbed in a bit more red pepper and it still tasted amazing. I found I needed to add a bit more stock than the recipe called for so it was more soup-like and less like a puree. Another keeper recipe from your website. Thanks so much!
This is really yummy! All from my garden. The only thing is I had to put in blender and I purée it. Hand mixer didn’t do it. Also adding the cream was a major yummy touch. I didn’t have fresh herbs but will next time and it will be even better. We did not use croutons but did use Parmesan! Def making again!
Another winner. Great with croutons!
This homemade tomato is delicious! I made this for my family and they loved it as well. We did a classic pairing with grilled cheese. Thank you for this recipe.
Not only was this the best tomato soup I ever had but this month’s challenge came at the perfect time. I had lots of ripened tomatoes from the garden and didn’t know what to do with them all. So I made a large pot of the tomato soup and froze in containers to enjoy in the coming months. Thanks, Penny!
I love using this recipe for extra garden tomatoes! They add such a full flavor. So happy you enjoyed it Judi!
This was a fun and delicious cooking challenge recipe! I had a lot of tomatoes from my garden, so I got to use a large amount of them. This recipe was very easy to make and the soup tasted wonderful. Thanks for the recipe!
This was so easy and just wonderful! I have a roma tomato plant in a pot and had a lot of tomatoes ripen at once, so I found this recipe just in time!
Wonderfull recipe!! Was easy to read, took basic ingredients, and was SO GOOD!! It was a huge hit in my family, will make again. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thanks again for hosting these cooking challenges, I’m really enjoying them.
I had to use tomatoes from the supermarket for my soup, as my garden tomatoes still have a long way to go here in New Hampshire.
I modified the recipe slightly with the addition of a couple Fresno peppers in the roasting mix, as I like things a little more spicy. And I have an abundance of kale in my garden this year, so I added a generous handful of that in the finishing stage.
The soup was really tasty and I’ll definitely be making it again when my garden is ready to give up a few tomatoes.
Those sound like wonderful additions Roger! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I ended up roasting them for almost an hour, but my pans were probably too full and this gave them a little extra time to get yummy. I think next time I might strain the juice as I put it in the pot, to remove some of the seeds. I ran it thru the food processor and then put it in freezer bags to enjoy this fall. I left the dairy out until I thaw it later.
so good, very hands off, and a great way to use up the summer bounty! I did a double batch with almost 8 pounds of tomatoes.
Those are great tips Cary! Thank you for sharing.
Threw in a habanero from the garden… Spicy goodness!!!
Great recipe and healthy too! I didn’t have red pepper so I used carrots instead to add sweetness. I like my tomato soup creamy, so I also added about 3/4 C of cottage cheese and blended it in which also gave it extra protein. Will definitely make this again! Thanks!
I have an abundance of tomatoes, so I’m hoping to make this tonight. Could this be strained at some point to remove skins/seeds? My kids like really “smooth” soup (is that the right descriptor??), and I’m thinking this might be too chunky.
You can strain it before serving if you’d like, although I find it to be fairly smooth. Enjoy!
This recipe was absolutely fantastic! The flavour was so good and my whole family loved it. Will be adding to the soup rotation
I’ve been making this recipe for what seems like forever. It’s a family favorite, we absolutely love it. If I don’t have a red pepper, I will use a couple carrots. I add extra basil. I use a blender to get it really smooth and always use heavy cream. So delicious!
I plan to can this …. if I add the cream, can I still can it?
I have not tried canning this recipe so I can’t say for sure Christy. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
I canned some last year without the cream. Definitely a family favourite.
Hi Christy,
I am obviously not the recipe creator but wanted to let you know that it is generally considered by modern canning safety standards/recommendations to be unsafe to can dairy products. The heat from the canning process and the acid from the tomatoes might also cause it to curdle. I would leave out the cream until you are ready to heat and serve it. I would recommend using a tested tomato soup canning recipe (from Ball or your state extension office websites, for example), if you wish to can tomato soup, since there are low acid foods in this recipe (onion, bell pepper, etc.), or add additional acid to the recipe, such as lemon juice, if you wish to can tomato soup. If you have freezer space, I think this particular recipe would be great to freeze in batches before adding any milk or cream, and then add the cream when heating and you are ready to serve it. I hope this was helpful! This is a delicious recipe! I just get so paranoid when it comes to canning, that I’m afraid to veer away from tested recipes.
Thank you so much for sharing your feedback Anna! I really appreciate it!
Not sure how f you keep the skin on the tomatoes.
You can leave the skin on Kathy. Enjoy!
Is it possible to freeze the soup?
This recipe would freeze well before adding the cream.
This was absolutely fabulous!! My fiancé was craving tomato soup and I wanted to learn how to make it from fresh tomatoes. I will NEVER buy a can of Campbell’s again. I left out the bell pepper because neither one of us are huge fans of them – that was the only thing I changed! So so so good! Made it with a grilled cheese and served with a pickle
I am so happy to hear you loved this recipe Hannah! Served with a grilled cheese is the best way to enjoy it :)