Making Homemade Tomato Soup from scratch is easy, instant pot friendly, and made with bacon, onions, carrots, and tomatoes.
And MAKE SURE you make a grilled cheese or something like Soft Fluffy French Bread or Cheddar Garlic Biscuits to go with it.
Easy Homemade Tomato Soup Recipe
For this tomato soup recipe I used whole peeled canned tomatoes, carrots and onions for a little aromatic loveliness, and OH HI BACON. Bacon is a whole mood in this house.
The bacon isn’t meant to be crispy in this recipe, it’s simmered in and blended with the soup and adds a lovely salty, bacony second in command flavor right behind the number one, tomato. You’ll notice there is no added salt in this homemade tomato soup, this is largely due to the bacon and chicken broth. You can easily adapt this recipe to be vegan/vegetarian by omitting the bacon and substituting with vegetable broth.
Ingredients needed for tomato soup
- Bacon – thick cut, not a sweetened variety
- Carrots
- Yellow onion
- Tomato paste
- Whole-peeled tomatoes – I like Cento San Marzano, RedPack or Market Pantry brands.
- Basil & bay leaf
- Chicken broth – may substitute vegetable broth
How do you make tomato soup from scratch?
- Start by sautéing the chopped onion, carrots, and bacon together in a large soup pot over medium heat until vegetables are tender, 5-7 minutes.
- Add in the tomato paste and cook 2-3 minutes, until it becomes aromatic. Add tomatoes, spices, and chicken (or vegetable) broth.
- Simmer 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally and slightly reduced. Remove bay leaf.
- Blend in batches in a blender or use an immersion blender until desired consistency is reached.
- Optional: top with parmesan cheese and some fresh chopped basil, and serve with crusty bread/grilled cheese/cheese toast.
What can I add to tomato soup?
All good things, all good things. Fresh basil, fresh grated parmesan or pecorino romano, sun dried tomatoes, or heavy cream. For this recipe I use onions and carrots as aromatics to help balance it out a little. A little bit of red pesto sauce would also be delicious. Oh yes, and BACON for obvious reasons.
Is tomato soup better with milk or water?
That depends on what flavor you want for your soup. If you want a creamy base, I would use whole milk or heavy whipping cream. If you do not want a creamy base, plain water, vegetable, or chicken broth would work wonderfully well.
Can I freeze tomato soup?
You can freeze tomato soup in an airtight container for up to 3 months. BUT.
Soups with dairy in them sometimes do not freeze/reheat well.
If you plan on freezing your tomato soup, leave out the milk/cream then add it when you reheat the soup.
What to serve with Tomato Soup:
Homemade Tomato Soup
Equipment
- Immersion blender
- Cooking Pot
Ingredients
- 6 slices thick cut bacon (not sweetened variety)
- 3 medium carrots, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 (6oz) can tomato paste
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 (28 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- optional, fresh grated parmesan or heavy cream
Instructions
- In a large cooking pot over medium heat, cook bacon, carrots, and onions until vegetables are tender and bacon is cooked, about 5-7 minutes. Bacon is not going to be crispy due to moisture from vegetables, this is fine. Drain excess bacon grease (or leave in for extra flavor).
- Add tomato paste and cook over low/medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken broth, whole peeled tomatoes, bay leaf, garlic, and basil. Mix well to break up tomatoes and cover with lid to simmer for 20-25 minutes on low heat, stirring every 5-10 minutes.
- Find and remove bay leaf, then blend until desired consistency is reached; completely smooth or leave tomato and vegetable chunks for some texture. If using a normal blender, this can be done in batches. If using an immersion blender, just blend in the cooking pot and be careful to keep the blender under the soup surface to avoid splattering hot soup.
Notes
Nutrition
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