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Homemade tomato soup is easy to make with this simple but delicious fresh tomato soup recipe and you don’t even need to heat up the oven to make this incredible toasted Parmesan and Olive Oil Baguette.
I love soup in all seasons.
I love it when the sun is shining and I want a light meal for lunch or dinner. I love it when summer has ripened the tomatoes and I have fresh herbs flourishing in my kitchen window.
And I love it when the nights are long and cold and I need warmth and comfort in my bowl.
When it comes to the most delicious soups, nothing beats a pot of homemade soup simmering on your own stove. The aroma as it bubbles and waits for you to ladle it up is almost as soothing as the soup itself.
But if you think making homemade soup takes way too long and is way too much work, no worries!
This super easy tomato soup recipe is so quick and simple to whip up, you can throw it together and then let it simmer while you help the kids with their homework, write a blog post, throw in some laundry, or even make another meal.
In fact, while I was making and photographing my Immune Boosting Lemon and Ginger Chicken Soup, I made a huge triple batch of this tomato soup recipe at the same time. I was going to freeze some, but it was gone before I had the chance.
I gave some to Susan and her girls and my family ate the rest of it over the next few days. My teenage son has a ravenous appetite, so I need to keep extra healthy meals on hand for him.
When I eat my soup, I like to eat it as a meal. And so I often indulge in toasted baguette with olive oil and Parmesan cheese.
In general, I try not to eat too much bread. But a fresh, crusty French baguette dripping with olive oil is just so necessary some days.
My favorite and super FAST way of making myself some sinfully scrumptious baguette is to toast it in olive oil in a frying pan. I brush slices of baguette with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and dried herbs, then I toast them in the frying pan.
Once the slices are warm and almost ready, I sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and continue to cook for a couple more minutes until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted.
Toasting the Parmesan baguette in the frying pan saves the time and cost of heating up the oven. Especially when I am just making a small portion to accompany my soup, the frying pan is the perfect way to make these dangerously delicious cheesy toasts.
How to Make Fresh Tomato Soup the EASY Way
I got a little distracted with all that yummy baguette talk.
Let’s get back to how you can make homemade fresh tomato soup quickly and easily.
For this soup I used vine ripened tomatoes. Since they are grown locally in a greenhouse, I can have fresh summer taste all year round — and they were on sale!
You can use whatever fresh tomatoes you want — or you can opt to use canned tomatoes if you prefer.
To save time and make your soup prep as fast as possible, you don’t need to chop your tomatoes. You can BLEND them.
Yes, before you even cook the tomatoes, stick them in a powerful blender or a food processor and skip the cutting board.
In fact, instead of chopping the onions, you can also use a high powered blender or a food processor to save you time and tears.
NOTE: if you have the extra time and you want the extra flavor of ROASTED tomatoes, you can first roast them in the oven along with chunks of onion, garlic, and red peppers too if you want. Just cut the tomatoes in halves, spread them out on a parchment lined cookie sheet, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and roast at 400F for 30-40 minutes.
It is time to start cooking this soup. In a medium/large pot, add one tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter, (you can use just olive oil or just butter, but since I like the flavors of both, I use a bit of each,) and saute your chopped (or blended) onion for about 10 minutes on medium low, until softened.
Add finely chopped or minced garlic and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
Next, increase the heat to medium and add in your pureed tomatoes. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Once tomatoes are cooked, add in 2 cups of chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 10-20 minutes.
If you have already pureed the tomatoes and onions before cooking and your soup is a consistency that you like, you don’t need to puree again.
Otherwise, allow soup to cool for about ten minutes and puree with an immersion blender in the soup pot or use a blender and puree in batches, ensuring that the soup is cool enough and you don’t burn yourself.
If you would like your soup to have a thicker or richer consistency, you can add 1/3 cup of heavy cream to the pot of soup, or serve with a dollop of creme fraiche or plain Greek yogurt.
Garnish with fresh or dried basil and grated cheese. For this batch of soup, I used grated Parmesan. But I use all different kinds of cheese on my tomato soup. Whatever I have on hand. One of my favorite ways to top my tomato soup is with feta cheese. So good!
And of course serve with some toasted Parmesan baguette.
Easy Fresh Tomato Soup and Parmesan Baguette Recipe
Easy Fresh Tomato Soup Recipe with Parmesan Baguette
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil or 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter
- 2-3 garlic cloves finely chopped or minced
- 1 medium onion chopped or pureed
- 2 cups chicken stock I use Better Than Bouillon - Reduced Salt
- 8-10 medium tomatoes I use on-the-vine
- fresh or dried basil to taste and for garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
- optional - grated Parmesan cheese or cheese of your choice
- optional - 1/3 cup heavy cream or creme fraiche or plain yogurt
- For Toasted Parmesan Baguette:
- Olive Oil
- Dried herbs - basil oregano, parsley, etc or use an Italian mix
- French baguette sliced
- Grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a medium/large pot, add one tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter, (you can use just olive oil or just butter, but since I like the flavors of both, I use a bit of each,) and saute your chopped (or pureed) onion for 10 minutes on medium low, until softened.
- Add finely chopped garlic and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
- Increase the heat to medium and add in your pureed tomatoes.
- Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add 2 cups of chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 10-20 minutes.
- If you have already pureed the tomatoes and onions and soup is a consistency that you like, you don’t need to puree again.
- Otherwise, allow soup to cool for about ten minutes and puree with an immersion blender in the soup pot or use a blender and puree in batches, ensuring that the soup is cool enough and you don’t burn yourself.
- For a thicker or richer consistency, add 1/3 cup of heavy cream to the pot of soup, or serve with a dollop of creme fraiche or plain Greek yogurt.
- Garnish with fresh or dried basil and grated Parmesan cheese, or your cheese of choice.
- To make toasted Parmesan baguette, brush slices of baguette with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and dried herbs.
- In a medium hot frying pan, toast baguette slices on each side.
- When the slices are warm and almost ready, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and continue to cook for a couple more minutes until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted.
- Serve immediately.
Written and photographed by Janice Croze, co-founder of 5 Minutes for Mom and Janice Croze Photography.
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Sarra Edwards says
Thank you for this recipe Janice, it looks amazing. It’s getting really cold again here this week (Alberta, Canada) so this will be a perfect lunch for my little family !