Creamy Homemade Tomato Soup

When the weather gets cold, it’s always good to have healthy and hearty soup recipes on hand. This Creamy Homemade Tomato Soup is one of my go-to meals throughout the winter months!

Table of Contents

• What You’ll Need
• How to Make Tomato Soup From Scratch
• Tips for Success
• Serving Suggestions
• How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
• Get the Recipe
• More Soup Recipes to Try

This creamy homemade tomato soup is so easy to make, and it’s perfect for chilly winter evenings. It’s a great make-ahead meal that only takes a couple of minutes to heat up and ladle out as a quick dinner idea! We’ll usually serve it with a few slices of crusty bread, or with grilled cheese sandwiches. Rich tomato soup is also great as a warming lunch after your kiddos come in from playing in the snow.

The secret to this delicious soup is the parmesan rind – it adds incredible depth of flavor and is a great way to use up the rinds of the cheese. We usually buy the big wheels of parmesan at Costco, then I cut off the rinds and store them in the freezer to use later in recipes like this.

What You’ll Need

So, what goes into making tomato soup? Other than the parmesan rinds (which is optional), the ingredients are pretty basic. Take a look at this list to gather up what you’ll need. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post for specific amounts.

• Butter: I like to use unsalted, but if you want to use salted butter just reduce the amount of salt you add in later.
• Onion: Chop up a medium-sized onion before adding it to the soup pot.
• Garlic: Minced.
• All Purpose Flour: To thicken up the soup.
• Vegetable Broth: I used low sodium broth for this soup but you can use whatever you have on hand and then adjust the amount of salt used separately in this recipe.
• Tomatoes: 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes.*
• Tomato Paste: 1 6-oz can.
• Cream: You’ll need 3/4 cup heavy whipped cream.
• Seasoning: Salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: 1 parmesan rind.
• Optional: Extra virgin olive oil or shredded parmesan cheese to garnish.

*During the summer I usually will freeze roughly chopped tomatoes from the garden in mason jars. Two 16-oz mason jars full of frozen chopped tomatoes can also be used here. The amount of tomato is slightly different than the 28-oz can, but usually there is some extra air in these jars so it all evens out. You can also use a similar amount of garden fresh tomatoes in this recipe during the summer months, see tips below for more info on going this route.

How to Make Tomato Soup From Scratch

Cooking a big batch of soup is a great idea for a couple of reasons. First, with just 30 minutes of work, you’ve prepared a healthy meal that can be frozen and/or refrigerated, which is always a plus. Second, it makes the kitchen smell amazing!

Here’s how to get started:

Cook Onion & Garlic: In a large pot melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and somewhat translucent. Add the garlic and cook until just fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add in Broth & Tomatoes: Reduce heat to low and add the flour along with a splash of the broth, gently whisking constantly. Cook about 1 minute. Add the rest of the broth, the tomatoes, tomato paste and parmesan rind if using. Bring to a simmer and cook about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the soup has thickened a bit. Remove the parmesan rind. Turn off the heat.

Blend the Soup: With an immersion blender, blend up the soup until everything is smooth and well combined. You can also use a standard blender, but be sure to vent the top of the blender so that pressure from the hot soup doesn’t build up and cause some of the soup to burst out of the blender.

Add Heavy Cream: Once soup is well combined, return pot to stovetop over low heat. Stir in the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until heated through.

Tips for Success

Aren’t 30 minute soup recipes just the best? Here are some of my tips to make sure your tomato soup comes out perfectly.

• When Using the Immersion Blender: Keep it submerged under the soup – trust me when I say that you do not want to clean up a tomato soup splatter. 🙂
• Experiment with Herbs: Adding in some dried basil or other seasonings are a great way to make this recipe your own. I sometimes will add about 1/2 teaspoon of any of the following: dried basil, dried oregano, dried rosemary, dried thyme or dried sage. If you want to combine herbs, basil + oregano is a great combo. Similarly, rosemary + sage + thyme goes really well together, just like the Simon and Garfunkel song. A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes is also very nice if you want a little kick.
• If Using Fresh Tomatoes: If you want to use fresh tomatoes, be sure to chop them finely. This way the immersion blender will be able to puree them well.
• If Using Frozen Garden Tomatoes: The process of freezing roughly chopped garden tomatoes will have already broken down the cell walls of the tomatoes, making them easier to puree. But let your tomatoes defrost completely before using them in the soup. The best way to thaw frozen tomatoes is to put them in the fridge for at least 24 hours.

Serving Suggestions

We love to garnish this soup with sprinkles of shredded parmesan cheese or with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Tomato soup also goes especially well with buttered toast, a slice of crusty bread or grilled cheese sandwiches. A side salad of greens isn’t a bad idea either.

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

Store this soup in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for 4-5 days.

You can also freeze tomato soup for about 3 months. I usually freeze soup in 16-oz mason jars with freezer safe BPA free lids. Be sure to leave at least 1-inch of room at the top of the jar so that the soup can expand in the freezer.

To reheat, let the soup simmer in a pot on the stovetop until it reaches the desired temperature.

Creamy Homemade Tomato Soup Recipe

Rate Recipe

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

In need of some cold weather soup recipes? This Creamy Homemade Tomato Soup will warm you right up every time you make it. Keep in mind that it’s best served with a buttery grilled cheese sandwich!

• Author: Rustic Family Recipes
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: Serves 6
• Category: Soup
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 3 cups vegetable broth, low sodium
• 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 6-oz can tomato paste
• 3/4 cup heavy whipped cream
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: 1 parmesan rind
• Optional: extra virgin olive oil or shredded parmesan cheese to garnish

Instructions

In a large pot melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and somewhat translucent. Add the garlic and cook until just fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Reduce heat to low and add the flour along with a splash of the broth, gently whisking constantly. Cook about 1 minute. Add the rest of the broth, the tomatoes, tomato paste and parmesan rind if using. Bring to a simmer and cook about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the soup has thickened a bit.

Remove the parmesan rind. Turn off the heat.

With an immersion blender, blend up the soup until everything is smooth and well combined. You can also use a standard blender, but be sure to vent the top of the blender so that pressure from the hot soup doesn’t build up and cause some of the soup to burst out of the blender.

Once soup is well combined, return pot to stovetop over low heat. Stir in the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until heated through.

Serve garnished with sprinkles of shredded parmesan cheese or with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. This soup goes especially well with buttered toast, a slice of crusty bread and grilled cheese sandwiches. 

Last Step:

Please share a rating and comment if you enjoyed this recipe! Your feedback helps this little blog thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.

Keywords: homemade tomato soup

More Soup Recipes to Try

Looking for more hearty soup recipes?

• Instant Pot Chicken Soup
• Smokey White Bean Soup
• Butternut Squash Stew

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.