The Recipe Rebel / Dinner
written by Ashley Fehr
4.97 from 109 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Total Time 25 minutes mins
Servings 6 servings
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Last updated on February 5, 2024
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This Creamy Tomato Soup is made in 20 minutes with canned tomatoes, but no one would ever know! It’s flavored with basil, garlic and Parmesan and perfect for dunking your grilled cheese!
Looking for more easy soup recipes? Try my Easy Taco Soup recipe, my Crockpot Chicken Taco Soup or my Ramen Noodle Soup!
Table of Contents
- How to make easy Creamy Tomato Soup:
- Variations on this Creamy Tomato Soup:
- Got leftover Tomato Soup?
- 20 Minute Creamy Tomato Soup from Scratch Recipe
There is just not a better comfort food combo than creamy tomato soup and a crispy, melty grilled cheese sandwich.
This Creamy Tomato Soup has been on repeat here, because it’s easy and quick enough to whip up for any meal, even with the kids running circles around you!
It’s so quick, and so delicious, that you’ll never have to settle for the can again!
What I love about this tomato soup recipe is that it can be made with canned tomatoes for the majority of the year when we don’t have fresh garden tomatoes. Made with canned tomatoes, it’s an easy and inexpensive meal that tastes just as amazing year round.
(P.S. This Tomato Tortellini Soup is another one using canned tomatoes!)
But if you’ve got a bucket of fresh tomatoes from the garden?
Even better! Throw those in for a quick summer meal.
I confess, I’m one of those people who enjoys soup year round, and some of our other favorites (if you’re one of those people, too!) are thisSausage Tortellini Soup,Chicken Gnocchi Soup, and thisCrockpot Potato Soup.
Give me some crusty bread or a great dinner bun and I’ll enjoy soup for every meal of every day!
How to make easy Creamy Tomato Soup:
- We make our roux first, instead of at the end and this saves us a pot making this a ONE pot soup (yay!). First we melt the butter, add the garlic to make it fragrant, then stir in some flour. This will thicken our soup and make it incredibly creamy.
- Stir in the rest of our seasonings, then whisk in the milk until smooth. Let this simmer until thickened, whisking often so it doesn’t clump!
- Stir in all of that tomato goodness, and give it a good stir to incorporate.
- Puree with an immersion blender, in a blender meant for hot foods (not all are, so be careful!), or in a food processor. This is optional, but really makes it smooth and creamy so I recommend it!
Variations on this Creamy Tomato Soup:
- Feel free to adjust the spices and herbs to your tastes or what you have on hand — add some heat if you like, or experiment a little!
- If you don’t have fresh milk, you can easily substitute for evaporated milk or cream. If you need to make this recipe dairy free, you can substitute for non dairy milk though it will change the flavor, or you can use chicken or vegetable broth as well. It will still be creamy and delicious!
- Feel free to add in other veggies, before or after pureeing! Some cooked carrots puree really easily in tomato soup and go mostly unnoticed.
- Some pasta, rice or other cooked grains can make this soup a little heartier (though you know I’m serving mine with grilled cheese so I opt for plain and simple 😉 )
- If you need to make this recipe gluten free, you can skip the roux and opt to thicken the milk with a couple tablespoons of corn starch before adding the tomatoes.
Got leftover Tomato Soup?
Pasta: This creamy Tomato Soup also makes a great pasta sauce! You can make a double batch, and save some for serving over pasta for an easy dinner another night.
Pizza: This Tomato Soup is thick and creamy enough to be used as a pizza sauce as well!
Reinvent it: serve leftovers with cooked pasta and vegetables for a new twist on tomato soup — bonus points if what you add to the soup is also leftover from another meal!
*This post has been updated since its original posting in April 2014.
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Pin this recipe to your favorite board20 Minute Creamy Tomato Soup from Scratch
written by Ashley Fehr
4.97 from 109 votes
This Creamy Tomato Soup is made in 20 minutes with canned tomatoes, but no one would ever know! It's flavored with basil, garlic and Parmesan and perfect for dunking your grilled cheese!
Save
ReviewPrep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 25 minutes mins
Cuisine American
Course Soup
Servings 6 servings
Calories 226cal
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3 tbsp fresh basil (or 1/2-1 teaspoon dried)
- 1-2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp basil pesto optional and to taste
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 798 ml can of diced tomatoes with Italian herbs (28 oz) or sub crushed or fresh, chopped
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste (about half 156ml can)
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan optional
Instructions
In a large pot, melt butter. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add flour and whisk to combine.
Add basil, sugar, salt and pesto. Cook and stir 1 minute.
Add milk and whisk until combined. Cook and whisk on medium heat until thickened, stirring often.
Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and Parmesan if using, and stir until combined.
Puree with an immersion blender if desired and serve.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 226cal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 711mg | Potassium: 476mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 820IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 255mg | Iron: 2mg
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Meet Ashley
My name is Ashley Fehr and I love creating easy meals my family loves. I also like to do things my way, which means improvising and breaking the rules when necessary. Here you will find creative twists on old favorites and some of my favorite family recipes, passed down from generations!
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Reader Interactions
Comments
ALuna says
Love this soup, you made my day!!!
This soup was so delicious… I will never eat canned again (i cant anyhow as they have flour in them)… the only changes I made were … I didn’t have pesto to add; My canned tomatoes had no Italian seasoning so I added some dry to can before adding; I didn’t have fresh Basil – used dry; and I used Gluten Free flour (Pillsbury GF all purp)… Oh also I didn’t have garlic so I used garlic powder. Will certainly make again!!! And again!!!Reply
Cat says
Amazing soup, better then any shop bought tinned soup and the best tomato soup recipe i have found.
I didnt get 6 portions out of it thoReply
Holly says
I was craving tomato soup and grilled cheese today, so I whipped this soup up for lunch and it turned out great! Thanks for the quick and easy recipe, we really enjoyed it!
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The Recipe Rebel says
Yay! Thank you Holly!
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Diane says
Delicious and easy.
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The Recipe Rebel says
Thanks Diane!
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Jessica Carter says
When you use leftover soup for pasta do you use a particular type of pasta? Do you just make the pasta as normal and then pour the leftover soup on top as sauce?
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The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Jessica, yes you’ll just use this as if it is a pasta sauce. So you can use any pasta that you’d like. Enjoy!
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Heather says
Fan-flippin’-tasting! This sooo good! It will be my go to tom soup. Only change was adding a small onion.
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The Recipe Rebel says
Great to hear! Thank you Heather!
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Tracy says
This is a game changer soup for a busy family. I love it’s simple ingredients and the delicious flavour. My only complaint is not doubling up the recipe for extras for lunches. Thanks so much
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The Recipe Rebel says
Glad you enjoyed it!
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Brenda says
Just wondering what keeps it fro curdling? I have always thought you had to add baking soda to homemade tomato soup but it gets so foamy and I don’t care much for that .
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The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Brenda, I’ve never had a problem with it curdling, so not sure.
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Leslie says
This has definitely changed the way I feel about tomato soup! It’s easy to put together during our busy seasons and I very much appreciate the easy ingredients, thank you!
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The Recipe Rebel says
Thank you so much for your kind review Leslie!
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Stephanie Lighter says
Didn’t have canned tomatoes so use tomato sauce! Worked great!
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The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Stephanie! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
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Stephanie Lighter says
Love to have more recipes!
Gianna says
This is the fastest and best tomato soup I’ve had and with the grilled cheese it was just so good!!! ♥️♥️♥️
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The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Gianna! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
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Leslie says
This has definitely changed the way I feel about tomato soup! It’s easy to put together during our busy seasons and I very much appreciate the easy ingredients, thank you!
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The Recipe Rebel says
So happy to hear Leslie!
Annie says
I just made this and it is definitely creamy and yummy. I used crushed tomatoes so I opted not to use my immersion blender.
Now I’m wondering if I can freeze small portions of this for my kids’ lunches, what do you think?
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The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Annie! It should work! So glad you enjoyed it!
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Carla says
This recipe was so easy to make and sooo good. I’ve been looking for a tomato soup I can whip up in a pinch, and this is it. My whole family loved the creaminess of the soup, and asked for a 2nd batch to be made. I used dry basil and left out the pesto, and it still had very fresh flavor without having to go through the trouble of roasting tomatoes.
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The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Carla! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
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Breanne says
This is officially a staple in my home! I’ve been trying to find Campbell’s replacements and this is similar in flavor but considerably better and also healthier! Highly recommend!
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The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Breanne! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
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Nikki says
This was the first time I tried this recipe and I gotta say, I’m disappointed. It was very bland and had a strange aftertaste. It’s entirely possible that I made a error but I don’t think I will use this recipe again.
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The Recipe Rebel says
I’m sorry to hear you had trouble with the recipe Nikki. The amounts and ingredients have worked well for myself (and others) have enjoyed it, so I wished it would of been a hit for you too.
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Annie says
Did you use low sodium tomatoes? Sometimes it can give a weird aftertaste if you did. I used half a can low sodium and half regular and it turned out tasty and creamy
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The Recipe Rebel says
Thanks for the tip Annie!
Ashley says
THE BEST and easiest tomato soup! I was very Impressed with how good this was especially for how simple it was to make!
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The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Ashley! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
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