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Roasted Tomato Soup
This gorgeous roasted tomato soup recipe is the perfect combination of ease and deliciousness. This soup is cooked in the oven and you only need one pot and a few minutes to throw it together.
Why This Recipe Works
- This is a one pot/pan recipe! Woot woot! Need I say more?
- The smell alone makes this recipe worth it. Roasting tomatoes, garlic, and onion fills the kitchen with the most delicious aroma. The flavor is just as delectable.
- Prep and cleanup are incredibly quick and easy. Prep takes about 5 minutes with easy ingredients. Cleanup consists of cleaning one pot/Dutch oven and one immersion blender. Amazing.
- This recipe is foolproof. This recipe was designed to take the guesswork out of cooking.
- Your soup won’t be over or undercooked because it is made in the oven. So, all you have to do is pop it in the oven and set the timer.
- This recipe calls for butter and sugar to ensure the soup isn’t too acidic.
- Thickening of the soup occurs automatically when the tomatoes are blended. No need to monkey around with making a roux, using thickeners, etc.
- The last step in this recipe instructs you to turn off the heat before mixing in the heavy cream which avoids any risk of curdling!
- If you follow this recipe, you’ll end up with perfect tomato soup every single time.
What Goes Into This Recipe
The ingredients in this recipe are easy peasy. In fact, you likely have most of them already in your kitchen/pantry.
Ingredient Notes
Tomatoes – I recommend using a variety of different tomatoes. Roma tomatoes are a dependable option. Cherry and grape tomatoes add a tiny bit of sweetness. Most tomato varieties will work. The key is making sure they’re nice and ripe!
Garlic and Onion – You can use a white or yellow onion. The smell of roasting garlic and onions is one of the best smells to ever exist.
Canola Oil – I recommend using canola oil because it has a neutral flavor and a high smoke point for roasting. Other oils with high smoke points, such as avocado oil, are also good options. Olive oil can be used but I don’t recommend it because it has a smoke point of about 400° and this recipe roasts at 450°.
Chicken Stock – Feel free to use vegetable stock if you wish to make the recipe vegetarian.
Butter & Sugar – Butter and sugar add flavor and help balance the acidity of the tomatoes. Don’t skip this!
Heavy Cream – Heavy cream adds rich creaminess to soup. You can omit it or use something else such as milk, a dairy-free product, coconut milk, evaporated milk, etc. Although this will change the flavor slightly.
Fresh Basil – Fresh basil has a fresh and slightly sweet flavor. It should be added to the soup right before serving. Too much heat can cause the basil to lose its flavor and turn bitter.
Step-by-Step Instructions
This recipe is foolproof and requires less than 10 minutes of prep.
Step 1 – Put the first six ingredients in a Dutch oven.
Note – Small tomatoes, like cherry and grape tomatoes, can be roasted whole. Larger tomatoes should be quartered and any tough parts of the core removed before roasting. No need to remove skins or seeds.
Step 2 – Roast in the oven.
Step 3 – Add stock, sugar, and butter to the Dutch oven. Blend until smooth.
Step 4 – Slowly stir in heavy cream. That’s it!
Expert Tips
1. Use a variety of tomatoes. I recommend using a variety of tomatoes for a few reasons. For starters a variety of tomatoes will bring a variety of delicious tomatoey flavors. The second reason is that ripe flavorful tomatoes can help compensate for tomatoes that maybe don’t have as much flavor. It sort of hedges your bets to ensure a delicious tomato soup.
2. Use an immersion blender (also known as a stick blender). You can blend whatever your little heart desires right in the pot, dish, or glass you’re using. You just stick the immersion blender directly into the pot and blend away! Truthfully, it is one of my favorite kitchen tools. It saves so much time, stress, and storage space in the kitchen. Also, it takes 10 seconds to clean. So, if there is anything I hope you get from this post, it’s that you should purchase an immersion blender.
3. Double the recipe and freeze soup like an expert. – Double the recipe and freeze the extras. Why not get twice the amount of tomato soup with half the effort?! I recommend freezing soup in quart-sized baggies laying flat. They’re easy to store and quick to thaw.
Recipe FAQs
Although most tomato varieties will work, generally small to medium sized tomatoes work best. Sometimes large tomatoes create a thinner soup because they have a higher water content.
I recommend using a variety of different tomatoes. Roma/plum tomatoes are always a dependable option. Cherry and grape tomatoes add amazing flavor and the tiniest bit of sweetness. The key to choosing good tomatoes is making sure they’re nice and ripe!
Nope! There is no need to peel tomatoes in this recipe (another reason why I love this soup). Blending the roasted tomatoes takes care of any texture the tomato peel might leave behind.
You do not have to core tomatoes or remove any seeds before roasting. Small tomatoes, like cherry and grape tomatoes, can be roasted whole. Larger tomatoes just need to be cut in half or quartered.
Canola oil has a neutral flavor and a high smoke point which is why I recommend it. Other oils with high smoke points, like avocado oil, are good also options. Olive oil can be used but I don’t recommend it because it has a smoke point of about 400° and this recipe roasts at 450°.
When oil heats past its smoke point the fat in the oil starts to breakdown. The oil will start to smoke and release harmful fumes. Additionally, the flavor of the oil turns bitter and unpleasant.
Butter is added to this recipe for three main reasons. For starters butter is delicious and adds a bit of luxurious flavor to the soup. It also helps to neutralize the acidity of the tomatoes. Lastly, butter acts as a natural emulsifier to ensure the cream doesn’t curdle and you end up with perfectly smooth creamy soup.
Sugar adds a little bit of sweetness to help balance out the acidity from the tomatoes. Don’t skip the sugar! It makes a difference in the soup’s flavor.
It is best to add fresh basil at the end of the recipe or right before serving. Too much heat causes fresh basil to lose its flavor.
I recommend fresh basil but dried basil can be used in a pinch. Add a tablespoon or so of dried basil to the Dutch oven when you add the chicken stock in step 3 of this recipe.
The substitution ratio for fresh to dried basil is 1:3. That means the correct ratio is 1 tablespoon of fresh basil to 1 teaspoon of dried basil.
There is no difference between heavy cream and whipping cream. They are the same thing and just come from different brands.
Yes! I actually recommend it. Fill a quart-sized Ziplock baggie 1/2-2/3 with soup. Then carefully remove all the air, seal the baggie, and lay it flat to freeze. This method is by far the easiest to store and the quickest to thaw.
If you do not have a Dutch oven, you can use an oven-safe pot or casserole dish as long as it is ceramic or enamel-coated. Do not use uncoated cast iron, aluminum, copper or other metals that will cause an acidic reaction with the tomatoes. 
I highly recommend using an immersion blender (aka stick blender). If you don’t have one, you will not regret getting one. They are cheap, easy to clean, easy to store, and even easier to use. However, you can also use a blender or food processor to blend the soup. Do so very carefully in batches as it will be hot.
This recipe uses butter and sugar to neutralize the acidity from the tomatoes. You can also add 1/2-1 teaspoon of baking soda to the soup to make it less acidic. However, keep in mind the baking soda will also add saltiness to the soup.
Often a grainy texture appears if the soup is not blended long enough. Sometimes underripe tomatoes can cause the soup to be gritty and grainy.
Use ripe tomatoes and blend for longer. If all else fails, push the soup through a mesh strainer.
Heat and acidity cause dairy products like cream, milk, and yogurt to curdle. Higher fat dairy products like heavy cream do not curdle very easily. However, it is easier for lower fat dairy products like milk and half and half to curdle.
To help prevent curdling, use high fat dairy products like heavy cream and avoid low fat dairy products like 2% milk.
Next, avoid adding cold dairy products to hot soup. Instead bring the cream to room temperature or gently warm it in a separate pot before adding it to the soup. Tempering is also effective in avoiding curdling.
Do not boil soup after the heavy cream has been added. In fact, I usually recommend turning off heat entirely after the soup is done cooking but before adding the cream.
If you follow the ingredients and instructions in this recipe, there shouldn’t be any issues with curdling.
Similar Recipes
This tomato soup, along with my Chicken Tortilla Soup, are a couple of my favorite things to make when it’s cold outside!
This recipe is also perfect for tomato season! Tomatoes are a popular ingredient here at Zested Lemon. Here are a few tomato heavy recipes to try!
- Slow Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
- Creamy Basil Cashew Pasta
- Easy Breakfast Sandwich
- Homemade Pizza Sauce
- One-Pan Caprese Chicken
- Rainbow Couscous and Tzatziki Chicken
- Tomato Spinach Garlic Shrimp Pasta
- Fruit and Veggie Loaded Guacamole
How to Make Roasted Tomato Soup
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Roasted Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 3 lbs tomatoes, quartered as needed (see notes 1 and 2)
- 8 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1/2 yellow or white onion, peeled and quartered
- 2-3 Tbsp canola oil, (see note 3)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, lightly packed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°. Put tomatoes, garlic, and onion in a Dutch oven (see note 4). Toss with the canola oil, salt, and pepper until combined and evenly coated.3 lbs tomatoes, 8 cloves garlic, 1/2 yellow or white onion, 2-3 Tbsp canola oil, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp salt
- Put the Dutch oven in the preheated oven for 35 minutes.
- After removing from the oven, add chicken stock, butter, and sugar to the Dutch oven. Blend until smooth with an immersion blender (see note 5) or carefully with a blender.1/2 cup chicken stock, 1 Tbsp sugar, 2 Tbsp butter
- Slowly add heavy cream to the pot and stir until well combined. Serve soup immediately, topped with fresh basil.1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup fresh basil
Perfect every time!!!
So easy and delicious!