With the convenience of canned tomatoes, garlic, and onions and a few additional pantry ingredients, this Creamy Tomato Soup recipe comes together in about 40 minutes in one pot on the stovetop.
Dairy or plant milk balances the acidity while making it extra creamy. Share this comforting soup with crusty sourdough bread or grilled cheese sandwiches.
A Classic Homemade Tomato Soup Recipe with Canned Tomatoes
This is one of those back pocket pantry staple recipes to have at the ready when you want something comforting but doesn’t require a lot of effort (or dishes). Everyone needs an easy tomato soup recipe!
Homemade tomato soup, whether it’s made with in-season fresh tomatoes or canned tomatoes, is pure comfort food in my book, and when it’s this simple to make, why not?
From customizing the blend of herbs and milk to adjusting its texture, there are several ways to personalize this soup according to your preferences.
This Recipe Is
- classic
- rich and flavorful
- easy
You’ll love this simple creamy tomato soup if you enjoy tomatoes and making homemade soup recipes.
“Wow. This was SO GOOD and using the canned tomatoes made life so much easier!”
Kaitlyn
About the Key Ingredients
- Fresh Herbs – I love fresh rosemary in this soup, as it offers a mild and fresh background flavor that’s not overpowering. You can use fresh thyme or basil, whatever you prefer. For softer herbs like basil, add just before pureeing the soup. No fresh herbs on hand? Try a few teaspoons of dried Italian seasoning.
- Canned Whole Peeled Tomatoes – there are many varieties to choose from, but for this tomato-forward soup, I use San Marzano-style tomatoes from Muir Glen or San Marzano tomatoes from Cento. San Marzano tomatoes are a bit less acidic, have fewer seeds, and tend to be less watery than other varieties of canned tomatoes.
- Baking Soda – a surprise ingredient perhaps, but it helps balance the acidity of the soup. Just a touch, 1/4 teaspoon will do. This is a tip from American’s Test Kitchen I learned years ago.
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How to Make Tomato Soup With Canned Tomatoes
step by step
Have you tried my Tuscan Tomato Chickpea Soup? It’s hearty, and easy to make!
What to Serve with Homemade Tomato Soup
From condiments to sides, here’s some ideas for what to share with tomato soup:
Condiments
- crunchy oven baked Garlic Butter Croutons
- dollop with Lemon Basil Pesto or Garlic Scape Pesto
- top with homemade Sourdough Croutons
- sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese
Sides
Traci’s Tips
- Blender or Immersion Blender – it depends on texture preference and kitchen tools. I like using an immersion blender for this recipe because it leaves the soup with some texture. I use Bamix immersion blender (affiliate link). But to get it perfectly smooth, working in two batches, use a high speed blender with a lid plug (to vent the steam) to get it ultra smooth. I like VitaMix (affiliate link).
- Cooking Vessel – tomatoes are acidic so you’ll need to cook the soup in a non reactive vessel like an enameled Dutch oven or heavy bottomed stainless steel soup pot.
- Sugar – some tomato soup recipes call for sugar. I’ve found it not necessary when including San Marzano tomatoes and a touch of baking soda. But, taste the soup as you go. If you think the acidity needs to be further balanced, add a teaspoon at a time until you achieve the desired flavor. You shouldn’t taste the sugar, rather, it’s just for balancing the acidity.
Creamy Tomato Soup with Canned Tomatoes
Servings:6 servings
Calories:165kcal
With the convenience of canned tomatoes, garlic, and onions and a few additional pantry ingredients, this Creamy Tomato Soup recipe comes together in about 40 minutes in one pot on the stovetop. Dairy or plant milk balances the acidity while making it extra creamy. Share this comforting soup with crusty sourdough bread or grilled cheese sandwiches. This recipe is vegetarian, easily vegan, and gluten-free. *Garlic Note* We are a garlic lovin' household. There are 6 cloves called for in this recipe, making it garlic forward. Feel free to reduce to taste. See blog post for sides and condiments to share this soup with.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 1/2 cups (200 grams) Diced Yellow Onion medium dice
- 1 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
- 4 tablespoons (60 grams) Tomato Paste
- 6 (25 grams) Plump Cloves of Garlic peeled and smashed, or to taste
- 2 teaspoons Fresh Rosemary finely chopped *see note
- 2 28 ounce (793 grams each) Cans of Whole Peeled San Marzano Tomatoes or San Marzano style
- 2 cups (480 grams) Low Sodium Vegetable Broth
- 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) Heavy Cream **see note
- 1-2 teaspoons Lemon Juice
- Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- In a 4-Quart Dutch oven or heavy soup pot, add the oil and heat on medium until it shimmers. Add the onions and saute' over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until soft. Add the salt and tomato paste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato paste turns a slightly darker red, 4-5 minutes. Adjust the heat down as needed. It's okay if it sticks a bit. Add the garlic and rosemary. Stir about one minute until fragrant.
- To the onion mixture, add the tomatoes, all their juices and the veggie broth. If you see any tomato skins, pick those out and discard. Stir in baking soda. The mixture will fizz a bit, but will dissipate as you stir. Bring to a simmer. Put a lid on the pot and cook on a low simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Puree' the soup using an immersion blender in the pot (alternatively, transfer to a blender in batches and blend until smooth – use the lid plug to vent steam). Stir in the cream, and lemon juice. Taste for salt adjustment and add plenty of fresh ground pepper. Ladle into warm soup bowls and share with Garlic Butter Croutons or Sage Pesto Grilled Cheese.
- To Store: cool completely and store in lidded containers in the refrigerator for up to three days or the freezer for up to several months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and gently reheat on the stovetop.
Video
Notes
*Rosemary – if adding fresh rosemary, it only needs to be chopped fine if blending with an immersion blender. If using a blender, strip about a 2″ piece of rosemary of its leaves and put the leaves directly in the soup. A high-speed blender will pulverize the leaves. Basil – if you prefer basil, put 7-10 leaves in the soup just before pureeing.
**Cream/Milk – Use cream, or half n half. For plant milk, I use unsweetened Homemade Cashew Milk. Coconut milk plays well with tomatoes and can be used in this recipe if you like a light coconut flavor. Use full fat coconut milk (the canned variety).
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 165kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 896mg | Potassium: 679mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 707IU | Vitamin C: 31mg | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 3mg
Made It? Leave a comment below! The most helpful comment may include recipe rating, feedback, any modifications and/or helping other commenters. On Instagram? Take a snap of your make and share, tagging @VanillaAndBean #VanillaAndBean!
The tomato soup was delicious. I added the lemon juice and not a fan. What can I add to get rid of the lemon taste?
Hi Terrie! I’m not sure about how to take away the lemon taste. You shouldn’t really taste it, rather, it’s just there to brighten the flavors. You can try adding a bit more cream.
Loved it! Only tweak I made was using basil in place of rosemary. I thought the addition of baking soda made a great impact. Will save and make again!
Ah, basil is perfect! Thank you for your note and giving the soup a go, Kristy!
Made this soup for lunch. It’s pretty good. I added more cream and pepper than called for. Pretty yummy on a cool day with grilled cheese sammies of course.
Hi Grandma! Thank you for your note and giving the soup a go. More cream and pepper with grilled cheese sounds good to me!
This was one recipe I would save!!! Very versatile and so flavorful!
Thank you!
Hooray! I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup, Susan. Thank you for your note!
I’ve been looking for a really good recipe for creamy tomato soup, and now I have found one. Typically, I tweak recipes a lot. This recipe didn’t need it. I simply substituted w/ fresh homegrown tomatoes (they were ripe and I needed to do something with them), and I chose basil over rosemary. My tomatoes were still too acid for me, but a touch (1 tbs. natural sugar) fixed that. My husband was “blown away”, saying this is the best soup ever. I’m canning now so that I can have plenty of this lovely soup this winter………paired w/ your sourdough bread.YUM!!!!!
Hi Dawn! Thank you for your note and giving a new tomato soup recipe a go! With homegrown tomatoes and V&B sourdough bread too – how delicious!
I’ve tried several recipes to make tomato soup and my husband and I really enjoyed this recipe. I love the idea of adding baking soda to balance acidity instead of sugar. Will definitely keep this one. Thank you!
Thank you for your note, Barbara! So glad you and your husband enjoyed it!
Wow. This was SO GOOD and using the canned tomatoes made life so much easier! Even my three year old said. Oh this is good soup and asked for seconds!
Hi Kaitlynn! Thank you for your note and 5 star review. Seconds sounds good to me!
Ooops , sorry, Traci ! 🥺
Hi Danielle! SO glad to receive your note and recipe rating. Thank you for giving the soup a go and, sharing your sub of dill and chicken broth (homemade!) – I looooove dill, but haven’t tried it in this soup.
Hi Tracy 😄
This soup is marvelous 😋 I substituted dill, for the herbs, and chicken broth ( homemade) for the broth.
Thanks for posting these great recipes ❣️
So good! This recipe is so easy and tastes amazing! Would 100% make this again. I did add 2 teaspoons of sugar just as personal preference but it was still great without it.
Love hearing this, Jill! Thank you for your note and giving the soup a go!
Tried this recipe for lunch today and it was delicious. I will definitely make it again. In another soup recipe that I use, some salt is cooked with the onions and I did this here as I find it seems to make the onions more luscious. I also reduced the amount of garlic. Thanks for a great recipe.
Hi Anne! Thank you for your note, tip about the salt and giving the soup a go! SO happy you enjoyed it.
Nice but very heavy on the garlic, 1-2 cloves would have been fine
Hi Hector! Thank you for your note and giving the soup a go. Feel free to adjust the garlic to taste!
So creamy and delicous!
It took me longer than 10 mins. I used my canned tomatoes from last summer and did not use any tomato paste instead used a strainer to mashed some of the tomatoes to cooked with the onions. Used chicken broth because I didn’t have any. Used what in my pantry. It’s an awesome recipe. I have recommended your website to a few of my friends.
Thank you for your note, Wendy and giving the recipe a go! I appreciate your recommendations!
Can this be frozen?
Hi there! Yes. Cool completely, then freeze for up to several months. Thaw in fridge overnight and reheat on stovetop or microwave.