This bold and ultra flavorful Creamy Tomato Basil Soup is out of this world amazing! It uses a lot of pantry staple ingredients, and can easily be made in the slow cooker, Instant Pot, or right on your stovetop. You won’t want canned tomato soup ever again!
This is one of my Soup recipes I know youโll want to keep on hand!
I’ve had this recipe on my website since 2014… in fact, it’s one of the very first recipes I shared!
We still make this creamy tomato soup often, and over the years, I’ve tweaked it slightly, changed things up to prevent any curdling, and developed more ways to cook this soup.
If you’re a fan of canned creamy tomato soup, let me tell you, you won’t want to buy those cans ever again after you try this homemade version.
The flavors are absolutely incredible! The acidic tomatoes, sweet basil, velvety cream, and salty Parmesan all come together in a bowl of pure deliciousness.
This soup is made in a slow cooker, but don’t worry, I’ve shared how to make it in the Instant Pot, as well as on the stovetop. No matter which version you make, you’ll love how easy it is!
How to make creamy tomato basil soup?
This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.
- Add tomato soup base to slow cooker. That’s the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, onion, garlic, basil, salt, pepper, and chicken broth.
- Slow cook. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- Make roux. This thickens the soup a bit, and adds undeniable creaminess! Melt butter, then add flour and whisk. Whisk in the milk and cream and cook a few minutes, until thickened slightly.
- Add cheese. To the roux, add Parmesan cheese and stir until smooth.
- Pour roux into slow cooker. Give it a good stir, then leave it uncovered and cook about 20 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve. Serve hot, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, and fresh basil.
Helpful Tip!
This soup will need to be blended once cooked, and there are several ways you can do that. My favorite way, and the most convenient, is to use an immersion/hand blender. You can blend the soup while it’s hot, and right in the slow cooker. You can also use a traditional blender, or food processor but you’ll need to take some precautions.
- Let the soup cool a little bit, so there is less steam.
- Only fill up your blender about halfway.
- Remove the center cap of the blender lid.
- Use a kitchen towel to hold the blender lid on.
- Blend, then pour into a bowl.
- Repeat with remaining soup.
Variations of this recipe
- Non-creamy – creamy tomato soup not your thing? You can simply leave off the roux and dairy, and have a rich, traditional tomato basil soup.
- Vegetarian – we like to use chicken broth as the liquid in the soup since it adds great flavor, but if you’re a vegetarian, swap that for vegetable broth.
- Dairy – we like the combination of the evaporated milk and heavy cream, but feel free to play around with different types of dairy that you have on hand (milk, half and half, all evaporated milk, all cream, etc). I haven’t specifically tested with non-dairy milks, but I *think* they should work well.
- Fresh tomatoes – in the summer, this soup can be made using fresh tomatoes if you have some on hand. You’ll want about 3 lbs of tomatoes (peeled or unpeeled, it’s up to you), and you can use less chicken broth (since the tomatoes will give off quite a bit of liquid as they cook). Obviously you can omit the canned tomatoes and tomato sauce, but I’d probably keep the tomato paste in, since it adds a deeper flavor.
- Other cooking methods – as written, this is for a slow cooker soup, but you can easily make this recipe in other ways. Check out the “chef tips” section below the recipe for all the details (stovetop and Instant Pot versions).
FAQ’s
Traditionally, bisque is made using a shellfish broth/stock. But in our more modern times, adding cream and thickening a soup can classify it as a bisque… which means this recipe can either be called creamy tomato soup, or tomato bisque. Whatever you call it; it’s delicious!
In this recipe, it shouldn’t. The extra step of making a roux, then warming the dairy before adding it changes the chemical makeup of the dairy liquid, which keeps it from curdling in the acidic tomato soup base. We are also using higher fat dairy, which further prevents curdling.
Adding baking soda is sometimes done to prevent any curdling. Tomatoes are, by nature, acidic, and high amounts of acid can curdle lower-fat dairy (such as 2% milk). Even just 1/2 tsp of baking soda will work, so if you are using a lower-fat dairy milk, it’s an option if you really want to be on the safe side. I promise, you won’t taste the baking soda!
Making tomato soup ahead of time
Soups are amazing to make ahead of time, since most of the time, they actually taste better the next day! All the flavors have had time to really meld together.
This tomato basil soup should last for several days in the refrigerator, so feel free to make it completely ahead of time if you’d like.
Storage
Leftover soup should be refrigerated in an airtight container and enjoyed within 4-5 days.
Reheat however you prefer (microwave, stovetop or Instant Pot).
Freezing
This tomato soup recipe can be frozen! Due to the dairy in it, I do recommend freezing it before adding the roux and cheese.
Let the soup cool completely, then transfer to a freezer-safe container, label with the date, and freeze for up to 3-6 months.
Thaw in the refrigerator, then proceed with the roux instructions and heat.
Recipes to Serve with Tomato Soup:
My Favorite Slow Cooker!
I had this crockpot for a while now, and I really love how it cooks. The locking lid feature is amazing for taking foods to potlucks or other gatherings!
Original recipe from 2014 was inspired by Le Creme de la Crumb
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
Tomato soup base
- 30 oz canned diced tomatoes including the juices in the can
- 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 – 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
Roux
- 3 Tbsp unsalted or salted butter
- 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 12 oz can evaporated milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese freshly grated from a wedge of Parmesan tastes best
Instructions
Basic tomato soup
- To the insert of a slow cooker, add tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, onion, garlic, basil, salt, pepper, and chicken broth.ย Whisk or stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
Blend
- About 40 minutes before you want to serve the soup, use an immersion blender, or transfer soup (in batches) to a traditional blender and blend until smooth.ย If using a traditional blender, transfer soup back to the slow cooker after blending.
Make roux
- In a small saucepan over MED heat, add butter.ย Once melted, whisk in flour.ย Cook for 1 minute, whisking often.ย Slowly whisk in the heavy cream and evaporated milk and cook a few minutes, whisking often, or until smooth and thickened slightly.ย Stir in parmesan cheese until melted.
- Transfer heavy cream mixture to slow cooker with soup and give a good stir to combine.
Heat through and thicken slightly
- Donโt cover, and cook on HIGH for about 20 minutes or so, until thickened a little bit, and well combined.
Serve
- Serve hot, garnished with additional grated Parmesan cheese and minced fresh basil if desired.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
Chef Tips
- Recipe makes enough for 6 servings of approximately 1.5 – 2.5 cups.
- Soup can be made ahead and frozen, see above post under the headings “making tomato soup ahead of time” and “freezing”.
- Recipe has been updated, but if you were a fan of the old version, I’ve included it below this recipe card for your convenience.
- This soup will need to be blended once cooked, and there are several ways you can do that. My favorite way, and the most convenient, is to use an immersion/hand blender. You can blend the soup while it’s hot, and right in the slow cooker. You can also use a traditional blender, or food processor but you’ll need to take some precautions.
- Let the soup cool a little bit, so there is less steam.
- Only fill up your blender about halfway.
- Remove the center cap of the blender lid.
- Use a kitchen towel to hold the blender lid on.
- Blend, then pour into a bowl.
- Repeat with remaining soup.
Instant Pot Directions:
- Select “saute”, then add a drizzle of olive oil. Cook onion until softened, about 3 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds.
- Add all other tomato soup base ingredients listed above.
- Cancel “saute”. Give a gentle stir. Secure lid and make sure the valve is set to the “sealing” position.
- Select “manual” or “pressure cook” and press the +/- buttons to choose 8 minutes.
- Once the time has elapsed, carefully move the valve to the “venting” position. When the pin has dropped and you can remove the lid, do so safely.
- Blend.
- Make roux as indicated in recipe above, then pour into the soup.
- Select “saute” and if your pot has a “low” option, choose that. Stir soup and cook for a few minutes, until thickened slightly and combined well.
- Serve and enjoy.
Stovetop Directions:
- To a large dutch oven or whichever pot you normally cook soup in, add a drizzle of olive oil and heat over MED heat.
- Add onion and saute until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and saute about 30 seconds.
- Add remaining tomato soup base ingredients listed above, then stir and bring soup to a low boil.
- Reduce heat to a high simmer and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.
- While soup is simmering, make roux as indicated in recipe above.
- Blend soup.
- Pour the roux mixture into the soup and stir to combine well.
- Simmer for a few minutes, until thickened slightly and smooth.
- Serve and enjoy.
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Original Recipe from 2014
- 2 (15 oz each) cans diced tomatoes
- 1 (10 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- 2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, onion, basil, salt, pepper, heavy cream and vegetable or chicken broth to your crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours (although it can be done on high for 2 hours as well). Stir occasionally and scrape down the sides (if you can).
- 40 minutes before serving, transfer soup to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Return to crockpot.
- Make your roux by melting your butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once butter is melted, add the flour and whisk until it’s incorporated. Slowly whisk in the heavy cream until the cream is smooth and thickened.
- Add Parmesan cheese and roux to the crockpot and stir to combine.
- Cook for another 20-30 minutes. Cheese should be completely melted into the soup. Stir thoroughly before serving. Garnish with additional Parmesan cheese and basil if desired.
BRITTANY PARVIAINEN says
Anytime i want tomato basil soup, I come back to this recipe. So yummy