Classic Tomato Soup (Lightened Up!)
You're going to love this classic tomato soup recipe! It's super creamy, yet light (no cream). You probably have all the ingredients in your pantry already!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 1, 2024
This soup is everything I want tomato soup to be! Itโs rich and creamy, yet doesnโt weigh me down. Itโs bursting with amazing tomato flavor, yet itโs made from canned tomatoes.
Thatโs right, canned tomatoes. The season for ripe tomatoes (summer) is not the season for tomato soup (fall through spring). Itโs a real conundrum, and this homemade tomato soup recipe is the perfect solution.
I developed this recipe for my cookbook, and wanted to bring it to life here on the blog as well. I bet you have all of the ingredients in your kitchen right now.
Tomato soup is perfect for rainy days. Itโs even more perfect with a grilled cheese sandwich. Are you ready?!
Why Youโll Love this Tomato Soup
Here are four reasons why this tomato soup recipe will become your new favorite:
- This recipe offers classic homemade tomato soup flavor, and itโs made with basic pantry ingredients. Winning!
- Itโs rich and creamy, yet cream-less. It uses a combination of white beans (I promise you canโt taste them) and butter to achieve this feat.
- This soup is special diet-friendly. Itโs gluten free, since it doesnโt need any flour for thickening. Itโs also easily made veganโsee the recipe notes.
- You can turn this recipe into tomato basil soup, if you have fresh basil on hand. It couldnโt be easier.
How to Make the Best Tomato Soup
This recipe is so easy to make! If youโre serving more than a couple people, I recommend doubling the ingredients.
1) Cook chopped onion in olive oil until tender, then add tomato paste.
Every great soup starts with an onion! Once itโs tender, weโll stir in a dollop of tomato paste and let it cook for a couple of minutes. Tomato paste offers deep tomato flavor and adds a lot of intensity to this soup.
Tip: You can freeze leftover tomato paste in an air-tight container for several months.
2) Add whole canned tomatoes and vegetable broth, and gently simmer for 30 minutes.
Next, weโll add one big can of whole tomatoes. Did you know that whole tomatoes are the highest-quality canned tomatoes? Canning companies reserve the less ideal tomatoes for diced and crushed varieties. Donโt worry about breaking up the tomatoes as they cook, because weโre going to blend them next.
This is the perfect time to clean up the kitchen or kick back with a glass of wine. You know which one Iโm rooting for.
Tip: Stock up on Muir Glen tomato products, because they consistently taste the best.
3) Transfer the soup to a blender, and add a few more essential ingredients.
I always recommend using your stand blender for soups (vs. an immersion blender), because stand blenders produce much creamier soups.
Now, weโre going to add a few key ingredients: Great Northern beans (for creamy texture), butter (for amazing rich flavor), a little sugar (it balances the acidity of the tomatoes), salt and pepper. I donโt add sugar to savory dishes often, but just 1 teaspoon makes a big difference.
Tip: This recipe wonโt use up a whole can of beans. You can freeze the leftover rinsed and drained beans in a resealable bag (silicone or Ziploc) for future batches of soup.
4) Blend until completely smooth, and serve.
Thereโs nothing better than tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich. You could also enjoy this soup with a big green salad. I actually think it would go great with this lentil and carrot green salad.
Watch How to Make Tomato Soup
Tomato Basil Soup Variation
This is so easy and delicious. Once you have blended your soup, simply add a handful of fresh basil leaves and blend until theyโre broken into tiny bits.
If youโve ever had Nordstromโs tomato basil soupโthis option tastes like a more fresh version of it. Yum.
Please let me know how your soup turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Looking for more creamy, lightened-up soups? Here are a few more favorites to bookmark:
- Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup
- Creamy Roasted Carrot Soup
- Creamy Roasted Pumpkin Soup
- Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Classic Tomato Soup
Youโre going to love this classic tomato soup recipe! Itโs super creamy, yet light and magically cream-less. Make this easy recipe tonight! Recipe yields 4 modest bowls; if you are serving a crowd or want leftovers, simply double the recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- ยฝย teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 large can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes, with their liquid
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- ยฝย cup cooked Great Northern beans or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into a few pieces
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar or brown sugar, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- For the tomato-basil variation (optional): 10 to 15 fresh basil leaves, to taste
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or soup pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender and turning translucent, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the tomatoes and vegetable broth and stir to combine. Increase the heat to medium-high, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes, reducing the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer, and stirring occasionally.
- Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Carefully transfer the mixture to a blender, being sure not to fill past the maximum fill line (blend in batches if necessary). Add the beans, butter, sugar, and several twists of black pepper. Securely fasten the lid and blend the soup until smooth, being careful to avoid hot steam escaping from the lid.
- Since canned tomatoes vary in flavor, I always end up tinkering with this soup a bit at the end. Taste and, if necessary, add a little more sugar (to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes), pepper, and salt (I usually add another ยผ to ยฝย teaspoon).
- If youโre adding basil, add it now. Briefly blend again, and serve hot. This soup keeps well for up to four days or so. You can freeze leftovers for up to 3 months.
Notes
This recipe comes from my cookbook, Love Real Food.
My favorite canned tomatoes:ย I always recommend Muir Glen tomatoes for their superior flavor. Plus, theyโre organic.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Replace the butter with 1 tablespoon additional extra-virgin olive oil.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Kate: You mentioned freezing tomato paste. That is a good tip. Did you know that tomato paste is available in a tube and lasts for months! This is the best way to keep tomato paste at the ready!
Thanks for sharing, LaVerne!
How have I glossed over this recipe in your cookbook! Beans for creaminess โ genius!!! Off to my bookcase ;)
Great! Enjoy, Jackie.
Do you think it would make much difference if I eliminated the butter? Of course I could use vegan butter but just wondering if itโs needed. Looks delicious! Iโve been looking for a good, healthy and basic tomato soup recipe. :)
She gives a vegan tip in the recipe.
Oh I missed it before. Thanks Louise!
It helps make it creamy, but you can use vegan butter too.
I made the recipe and left out the butter. It was plenty yummy! I also made it once with the butter.
The nutrition information never comes up in the recipes regretfully.
From Suzanne Purvey
Hi Suzanne, Iโm sorry you are having trouble. The nutrition information is a plug-in on my blog. You need to make sure you allow cookies in your browser. I hope this helps.
I made this for lunch today. I made a few changes though. I fried the onions with some cummin seeds and added in garlic when the soup was simmering, plus a dash of Worcester sauce. Finally, I added some milk near the end. It was delicious. My husband who loathes fresh or tinned tomatoes said it was lovely. It really was. Thank you for an addition to my menu list!
Instead of the sugar couldnโt you add shredded carrot as the sweetener in pretty much any recipe?
Iโm not sure, but I would be interested if you tried it, Rick!
I substituted a carrot for the sugar too and I loved it!
How much shredded carrot takes the place of 1 teaspoon of sugar?
Thanks for the tip on the tomato paste! I usually end up throwing away the rest of those little cans while cursing the industry for not finding a better way to package it.
Thanks for sharing, Janet!
Actually Trader Joeโs makes a handy tomato paste tube! Squeeze what you need and store the rest in the fridge!
You can put extra tomato paste into ice cube trays and freeze. Put frozen paste. Uses in a baggie for future use.
This is one of our favorite recipes from your cookbook! Itโs easy and delicious!
So happy to hear that, Rebecca! Thanks for your review.
I make this soup from your cookbook a least once a month! Itโs my carnivore husbandโs favorite soup of all time. I doubled the recipe for an office potluck and it was a huge hit. Thanks Kate!
So great to hear, Laura! Thanks for your review.
This recipe looks awesome! Iโve been looking for version of tomato soup that my daughter can eat (sheโs allergic to dairyโฆbut can have butter so this is perfect). Also, Iโm not sure when you added this, but I LOVE the 1x, 2x, 3x buttons. Thatโs super handy!
Iโm glad this one will work for her! Thanks for your feedback, Sabrie.
I love this soup! Having the beans for creaming us would have never occurred to me, but was so good. This is now my go to tomato soup recipe
Itโs thanks to my daughter who became vegan 4 years ago that I was introduced to your blog. After making many of your delicious recipes she bought me your cookbook this past Christmas (smart of her โ I make the recipes and she gets to eat them! :) This tomato soup is among about 15 recipes that I have made and they were all delicious!
Thank you Kate for making healthy, easy recipes that are always appreciated by myself and my family!!!
PS to the comment/question below: I didnโt use butter in the Tomato Soup and it was still very good!!
Thank you for sharing, Marisa! I appreciate it.
Hi Kate,
Could you please tell me another name for Collard I have searched every vegie sore near me and no one here (Perth, Western Australia) knows what it is. I have looked it up on the internet but still cant find it in any store. Do you know if it is a Chinese Vegie.
Regards
Tina
PS: I love making all and I mean ALL your salads. Oh and Monster Cookies.
Hi Tina! If you canโt find collard greens, you can try kale too. I hope this helps!
Thank you
Collard greens are a slightly bitter green that are a bit tougher than other common greens and so need to be cooked longer. I f you want to replace them in a recipe, kale or spinach or chard would be excellent alternatives.
Thank you
The best tomato soup! Iโve made it so many times from the cookbook the page has come out. Now I have it from my phone. Yay!!
A well used cookbook! I love it. Thanks for sharing, Julie.
Made this recipe tonight for my husband and kids โ phenomenal!!
Wonderful, Emily! Thanks for your review.
I am a huge tomato soup fan, and this is the best recipe I have ever made.So incredibly easy, so incredibly good! I can hardly wait for the grilled cheese recipe to go with it.
Itโs so delicious!
My Mother canned her own tomatoes. So living on a farm we ate tomato soup many times. I can tomato adding one tsp of soda heat in pan and in another pan add 2 cups milk.heat both separate when both hot . when both are hot pour together and you have the best tomato soup ever. I still make mine like that. wonderful cook my Mother was.
God Bless her for her efforts.
Thanks for sharing!
LOVE this recipe (and your whole cookbook!) Weโve been making it once a week with grilled cheese.
Great combination! I approve. :)
Lovely recipe. Delicious and so simple to make. When I make this for a bean-averse friend of mine (donโt ask), I will try simmering a potato with the tomatoes to replace the thickening property of the beans.
Thanks for your feedback, Kathryn!
Hi, I made this tomato soup today. Put beans in to cook with the tomatoes for last 10minutes. What a deliciously light and flavorsome soup. Thank you Kate yet another stunning recipe from Cookie and Kate!!
From Jules, Christchurch NZ.
Youโre welcome, Jules!
I made itโฆamazing!!!
Never made tomato soup before, I had previously dismissed it as a too simple and boring recipe to makeโฆbut your pictures looked so yummy and the idea of using great northern beans so inspired I just had to try! Couple of things I did change: I added garlic and red pepper flakes and smoked paprika when I was cooking down the onion. I also doubled the onion and hit it with balsamic glaze to really caramelize and get dark and sticky and borderline charred on the bottom of the pan to further impart a smoky flavor to the soup together with the smoked paprikaโฆYum!!
Super delicious, I canโt wait to serve it for brunch, Iโm thinking grilled cheese sandwich made with crusty sourdough bread, tangy goat cheese and grilled brussel sprouts maybe?
Thanks for sharing what you did, Remi! I love your pairing ideas. Sounds delicious!
So stinking good! A solid and filling tomato soup. I didnโt add sugar, and it turned out great. Will definitely make this again.
Great to hear, Maria!
I love itโs creamy golden colour.. I just know that this is a really yummy soupโฆ. thank you for sharing
Youโre welcome!
This is SO tasty, we loved it! And it really does remind me of the Nordstr tomato soup that I really love! Thanks!!
Youโre welcome, Missy!
Hi, please can you let me know whether cannellini beans or butter beans are the best substitute for great northern beans? Thanks
Cannellini beans usually work well.
What about pinto beans?!
I donโt know if those would get you the same level of creaminess.
I made the tomato soup recipe and I loved it! Will absolutely make it again. I think it will be great for camping since it freezes well. Thank you for sharing.
Erin
Iโm glad you loved it! Thanks for your review.
Good morning, Kate & Cookie! Just a note to let you know I really rely on your special recipes whenever Iโm in a bind! Every one I have tried has been my new โfavoriteโ! I recently purchased one of your cookbooks for my granddaughter. She is vegan, and appreciates your recipes.Keep โem coming!
Thank you, Gail! Iโm happy to hear that.
Iโm going to fix this today. I love the fact it has beans in it. My husband hates beans. At least he thinks he does. Heโll never know there in there. And today is the perfect day for tomato soup and grilled cheese. Its rainy and just plane yucky out. Will rate again when I do an update.
What did you think, Lori?
My mother and law dropped in as I was fixing the soup. I invited her to stay. She loved it and my husband had 2 bowls and never knew it has beans in it. Donโt tell him. Iโve tried for years to get him to eat beans. This is just one more way I can sneak them in to him. To go with the soup I made grilled ham and cheese and added tomatoes and lettuce after they were grilled. Canโt wait to try it on my grandkids.
So delicious and simple. Perfect for the finally cooler weather.
I also do the tomato paste in the freezer. I do TBS dollops on wax paper, let them freeze for about 10-15m and then roll it all up to store in a freezer container. Then I just pop a frozen dollop or two into my recipes based on need.
My 4 year old and I made this tonight exactly as written and loved itโ thank you!!
Youโre welcome, Tracy!
Lovely soup! I did double the recipe using the 2X option, and it did not double the beans so take care if you decide to double the recipe and use 1 cup of beans (or the entire can). Years ago I took a course with a chef from NYC and he always used roasted red pepper puree in his tomato sauces for sweetness. So I eliminated the sugar and used a roasted red pepper when blending and delish! Thanks for a great recipe.
Thank you for sharing, Maria! I appreciate the review.
Amazing! Made it with the grilled cheese and our whole family loved it!
Wonderful, Jess! Thanks for your review.
The whole family loved this soup! I loved that it was easy to make and had some protein in it from the beans! Very fresh tasting and filling. Left-overs served our friend with a dairy allergy well (the small amount of butter is tolerable for the friend, though I know next time I could use olive oil). Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
Iโm glad you loved it!
Great soup!!! will make again. make sure not to skimp on the sugar- I estimated and probably didnโt throw in enough and my kids thought it was too sour. I added more brown sugar and they loved it!! made it out of muir glen whole tomatoes and followed recipe.
Thanks for sharing, Camille!
Add a pinch of baking soda- sweetens it right up!
I wouldnโt recommend baking soda in this, but you can adjust the other seasonings as you need to.
YUM!!! Another hit with the fam. I made it with your grilled cheese recipe. I added a little extra sugar and next time I wonโt add quite as much onion (the onion flavor was a bit strong, but it was a large onion).
Thanks for sharing, Emily!
Delicious! Will become one of my go-to recipes.
Simon
Great to hear, Simon! Thanks for your review.
This was so easy and DELICIOUS!!!! Thank you!
Youโre welcome, Julie! Thanks for your review.
I love tomato soup! This recipe looks to die forโso vibrantly red and beautiful! Integrating beans to thicken the soup is absolutely genius too. I am addicted to northern beansโitโs not even funny!
Thank you, Cassie!
Made it today along with the grilled cheese sandwiches. Easy to make and really delicious. I added the basil.
Basil makes it so good, too! Thanks, Julie.
I never have Great Northern beans or cannellini beans on hand, but I always have navy beans, which is also a type of white bean. Could I substitute navy beans in your soup recipe?
Hey Melly, yes, those should work well!
Made this last night. YUM! The best tomato soup Iโve ever had, much less made. So creamy and rich! My husband declared it a keeper:). Iโm an oil-free vegan, so substituted cashew butter for the butter in the recipe โ would do that again in a heart beat. Served with herb bread, made a great dinner.
Thanks for sharing, Diana!
I made this soup a few days ago and it is a winner! So easy, and the beans and butter make it so smooth and satisfying. It was the perfect grilled cheese accompaniment! Definitely going into my regular rotation.
I also took your advice and enjoyed a little glass of wine while it simmered. Itโs important to follow recipes to the letter ;)
Iโm happy to hear that, Lizzie!
Loved this soup, and made the perfect grilled cheese sandwiches to go with it! Both amazing. I added a bit more broth because I prefer it thinner, otherwise perfect! Even my mom (who doesnโt like tomato soup) loves it. Thank you Kate!
Youโre welcome, Melissa!
Best soup Iโve ever made!! Itโs absolutely delicious. Added the basil and ate with sourdough bread grilled cheese
Sourdough grilled cheese, yes please! Thanks for the review, Amy.
This is the best tomato soup I have ever made or tasted. Iโm not kidding. It is so delicious and filling! I made it the vegan way, with 2 tbsp vegan butter instead of table butter or oil. It turned out awesome.
Great! Thanks, Christina. Iโm happy you loved it.
I saw this recipe in your cookbook when I first got it, but I was quite skeptical due to the white beans. Finally, a sore throat willed me to try the recipe today and it was perfect! Could not taste the white beans at all but they made it extra creamy and lightened up the red colour of the soup a tad. Will making this often :)
Whoa! Adding white beans for creaminess is pure genius. Iโve been trying to make homemade tomato soup for a while now and havenโt been satisfied with my efforts โ I canโt wait to try your version!
Kate, have you ever substituted fresh tomatoes? Someone just gave me a whole bag full and Iโd love to make them into tomato soup, but am unsure about how to do that. Can you help?
I havenโt! I liked this one since it requires pantry ingredients.
Lisa โ Did you try this recipe with fresh tomatoes? A friend just gave me almost 30 tomatoes and Iโm trying to figure out what to do with them.
Easy to cook โ hand held blender worked well โ and simply delicious. Had it twice in as many weeks.
My fatherโs a fan of Heinz tomato soup, so Iโll try out this on him when he visits in a few weeks time. No doubt which heโll prefer.
Have you thought about a recipe for a French onion soup? Just a thought. Cheers..
I hope he likes it! I donโt have a plan for French onion soup right now. :) Thanks so much for your review, Greg!
This soup is fantastic! I canโt believe how good it tastes โ thank you Kate!
Youโre welcome, Lindsay!
The soup is lovely especially with the basil leaves added!! Thank you.
Is it possible to give me the calories? Thks.
Hi! The nutritional information is below the recipe. Click to expand and make sure you allow cookies in your browser.
This soup is wonderful! I made it tonight, and my whole family loved it!
Great to hear, Pat!
Best ever tomato recipe!! So creamy and tasty!!
Thank you, Michelle!