I've been on a soup kick the past few weeks and I'm in no hurry to change it up anytime soon! And this Roasted Tomato Basil Soup with Cheesy Garlic Bread is about to be your go-to tomato soup from here on out! Bonus tip: If you are looking to level up the garlic on your garlic bread, might I suggest this most epic Garlic Confit Recipe.
I know we all feel very strongly about Roasted Tomato Basil Soup. I mean, what else are you supposed to eat alongside your grilled cheese during the fall and winter months? Hello?!? Tomato soup is VERY important which is why I'm so excited about this recipe. It's great for anytime of the year.
If you're in the middle of winter and there aren't any great tomatoes, you can use canned roasted tomatoes and it's going to be perfect. Just keep your eyes open for a brand of canned tomatoes that really strike your fancy! Canned tomatoes are assembled in the peak of tomato season - so it's the way to go if the tomatoes in your produce department are lacking any flavor or scent! If you're in the middle of tomato season, then by all means, roast your own tomatoes!! I've tried it both ways and the bottom line is - you need great tomatoes as they are the base for the soup.
I serve this up with a grill cheese or a garlic cheesy toast! I've been known to serve it up as brunch with a croque monsieur too! Because I live on the edge and I do what I want. YOLO.
But whether you serve this Roasted Tomato Basil Soup up by itself or with some toasty / cheesy bread, I promise you'll love it.
Roasted Tomato Basil Soup with Cheesy Garlic Bread
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion small dice
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 28- ounce cans roasted tomatoes or 3 pounds of tomatoes, halved and roasted at 425 degrees for 30 minutes
- 1-2 roasted red bell peppers either from the jar and drained, or halved and season with salt, pepper and a few teaspoons of olive oil and roasted in the oven at 425 for 20 minutes
- ¾ cups chicken stock
- ½ tablespoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup heavy cream optional
- Handful fresh basil leaves
For the Cheesy Garlic Bread
- 1 baguette sliced into triangles
- Butter at room temperature
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- ½ pound grated Gruyere
- Fresh thyme for garnish
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add diced onions and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 20 minutes.
- Add flour and stir until mixture is slightly thickened and pale gold, about 3 minutes; do not allow to brown.
- Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, red bell peppers, chicken broth, salt, red pepper flakes, thyme and pepper. Raise heat to medium until the liquid bubbles, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot frequently.
- Stir in heavy cream (if using) and basil. Remove from heat and purée using a hand blender, or allow to cool until no longer steaming and purée in batches in a stand blender. Return to medium heat just until heated through.
- Once the soup is done, preheat the broiler. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer. Slather the top with butter and sprinkle with garlic. Top the bread with the Gruyere and broil until bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Photo Matt Armendariz // Food Styling Adam Pearson // Props Gena Sigala // Recipe by Gaby
Is this just a single serving recipe?
4-6!
Yum! Made this last night. I roasted peppers and tomatoes that I had in abundance from my weekly CSA box. Otherwise made this as directed. It was just perfect. So fresh and tasty!
It’s going to be a nasty snow storm and polar vortex weekend here and I can think of nothing better than this soup to warm the insides!
Side note made it for friends as an easy NYE dinner and rave reviews. The roasted red peppers add that something extra!
Made it! Loved it! Got lots of compliments. I did end up doubling it and now I have some to freeze! I love when dinner gets me excited to eat. Yum!
Hey Gaby! If I double this for a larger crowd, do I really need to do 4 28-oz cans of tomatoes? Just simply double everything? Thx!
If you're making it for 12+ people, then yes, double everything if you want decent sized portions!
You did a live Instagram story making this soup and made a deliciously gooey grilled cheese to go with it! I remember it was a soft cheese from whole foods but what was the actual cheese you used??
port salut!
What is you preferred brand of fire roasted tomatoes and where can you buy them?
The san marzano ones from whole foods are my fav
Ok so I watched you make this on your insta-live and oh my gosh. Just straight drooled until I made some and had it for dinner the next night. Soooo good and easy!! 15/10 already taking it to work for my lunchbox and making my coworkers jealous (...and bragging on social media...and sending my mom the recipe ...and preaching to my brother that he just hasn’t lived yet until he eats this with a grilled cheese etc etc.)
Just made this for dinner tonight. It was really good! We had grilled cheese instead of the cheese bread, but I added some garlic to the butter I grilled the cheese in to add the garlic flavor. Perfect for a wintry weather evening in CO. Thanks!
This was absolutely delicious! It definitely had a kick so I'd cut down on the pepper flakes a bit, but it was still great.
Plus, you know, garlicky buttery cheesy bread.... I should've made more.
Can I substitute bone broth for chicken stock to add some protein? Thanks! Looks delish!
absolutely!!
I made this today and WOW!! Great flavors! I have to admit what I thought was a jar of roasted red peppers in my pantry was really ma jar of peppadew peppers! So I just used those and omitted the pepper flakes. This is my new favorite tomato soup! Hands down!!
Can this soup be made gluten free? What flour would you sub for the all-purpose? Would almond flour work here or make it too grainy? Thank you!!
I used arrowroot flour to make it gluten free and it came out perfect!
Hiii!! tomato soup is my absolute favorite! cannot wait to make this!! on the ingredient list you don’t mention sugar, but in the directions you do. How much sugar is needed?
no sugar!!! typo 🙂
In the instructions it indicates add sugar, but I don’t see it on the ingredient list?
no sugar!!! typo 🙂