I have been wanting to try my hand at homemade tomato soup for years, especially since we grow and can our own tomatoes. When my friend Suzanne over at Pug in the Kitchen posted this recipe, I knew it was time. Besides, I had a can of San Marzano tomatoes that had been in my pantry over a year, and what about those 20 pints of canned jars of tomatoes I forgot about in the garage? How did I forget about canning those from the fall? I grabbed a few for my pantry lest I forget again.
This soup comes together quite easily after some initial prep. And if you are wondering how long it takes for tomatoes to caramelize in a hot oven, it takes 18 minutes according to the smoke alarm that went off during my 20-minute timer. I suggest using a vent fan during this process. 😉
My husband was amazed at the taste of this soup. According to him, it did not taste like tomato soup from a can. Errrmmm… We’ll leave it at that. Oh, and don’t forget to cook up some ooey-gooey grilled cheese sammies for dunking! We used sourdough bread and a combination of Monterrey jack, sharp yellow cheddar, and pepper jack that was leftover from Super Bowl. This makes about 3 to 4 dinner-size servings.
Homemade Tomato Soup
Adapted from Tomato Soup at A Pug in the Kitchen
1 28-ounce can San Marzano or good quality tomatoes, liquid reserved
1 pint homemade canned tomatoes (about 1 large cup fresh), liquid reserved
Ground pepper and sea salt, to taste
Olive oil, for tomatoes and vegetables
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 large clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 bay leaf
Small piece of Parmesan rind
3 large leaves fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
Additional basil, chiffoned for garnish
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place all the drained tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Season to taste with ground black pepper and sea salt. Roast until caramelized or until your smoke alarm goes off (18 to 20 minutes).
Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, and onion and cook until they start to soften, about 10 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook about a minute more until fragrant. Add the roasted tomatoes and the reserved tomato juice (About 2 cups, add water if you don’t have that much. My canned tomatoes had a lot of of liquid.) Also add the bay leaf and cheese rind. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes until vegetables are very tender. Remove the bay leaf, then add the chopped basil. Taste for seasoning.
Pour into a large blender and puree until smooth (or use an immersion blender if you have one. I need one!) Return soup to the pot, then add the butter and cream and stir until incorporated. Keep warm while you griddle up some grilled cheese. Ladle into bowls, top with additional basil, and serve immediately with grilled cheese sandwiches.
I love the color! It must have tasted incredible with the incorporation of your home grown tomatoes. When I saw Suzanne’s post I bookmarked it to try too. 🙂
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Thank you Josette! I pretty much followed hers with a few minor changes. 🙂
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My favorite!! (Especially with a little bacon in the grilled cheese sammies.) thanks!
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Dang, I should have added BACON! I’ll have to remember that. But heck, I got my hubby to eat a meatless meal, how about that?? 😀
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Yum-oooooooooooooooooooooooooo KR!
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LOL thank you CCC! xoxoxoxo
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Oh yummmmm! Definitely want to try this one!!!!
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And you really should Jodi, thanks! (And I bet your photograph would be mouth-watering, too!) xo
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I often use the smoke alarm for a timer 😁 The soup looks and sounds delicious – not anything like from a can. Sounds like your husband needs to remember Valentines Day.
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Thank you Darryl, glad you have the same cooking “skills” as I do. 😉 However, we have never celebrated Valentine’s Day, it was just one we decided we didn’t need to spend any money on. Thanks for stopping by!
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I liked the original post and your soup too looks so tasty. Love the “smoke alarm timer” method! 😀
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LOL thanks Ronit! Well it certainly worked for me. 🙂
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I grew up on canned Campbell’s, Kathryn, and never really liked tomato soup. Then in my 30’s, I had my first homemade sip (being polite at a dinner party). I could have slurped down the entire pot!! Thanks for the recipe. Roasting and caramelizing the tomatoes sounds AMAZING! Have a great weekend!
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This sounds and looks delicious!
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Thank you Joanne! It sure was. 🙂
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Thank you Diana! I have carved out time tomorrow to finish Book 2!! I hope you get to make some of this soon. Enjoy yours!
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😀 😀
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I don’t know if I can wean my husband off his Campbell’s tomato soup. I am going to try it because your soup looks delicious. Did the tomatoes make a mess in your oven?
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No, not at all! Just when the juices caramelized at the edges of the pan, it started smoking, which is when the alarms went off. You definitely want a rimmed baking sheet, not a flat one, though. I hope you can convince your husband homemade is better! My husband really did like it, but to him it did not taste like the tomato soup from a can he is used to. It’s not supposed to! 🙂
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Thanks for the info! You are absolutely right homemade tomato soup is so much better.
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That looks so delicious. And what a great colour! Can’t wait to make this.
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Thank you Tracey! I hope you do get to make it, it is so much better than canned. 🙂
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It’ll be winter here in a few months, I’m definitely going to make this
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Thanks Tim, you’ll be glad you did!
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Yum!!! Love the idea to caramelize them! Also, i looove the immersion blender. Comes in handy all the time — soups, mushroom gravy, etc!
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I’m thinking I’ll buy one today, thank you!!!
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You will love it! Eager to hear what you make.
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I bought a Cuisinart and made an Asian marinade to go over pork chops. Yum!
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Yep! This is the one I’d be making!! 😀
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Yay, thank you!
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The roasting and caramelization of the tomatoes must have surely added tonnes of flavor!! Looks yumm!
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Thank you Freda, it was full of flavor!
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I have all of the above ingredients in my house. So, I will definitely be making tomato soup this week.
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That’s wonderful when that happens, I hope you enjoy, thank you!
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Looks so good. Love the recipe!
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Thanks Mimi!!
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Could I use Greek yogurt? I don’t have heavy sauce.
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You could omit the cream altogether if you want but I bet Greek yogurt would taste fantastic in this. 🙂
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Sounds good
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Lovely! I could eat it all right now 🙂
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Thank you Elaine so much!! xo
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I love a good bowl of tomato soup with grilled cheese! I have a recipe from Giada that I have made so many times I have it memorized. This one you and Suzanne have made looks outstanding. Maybe its time I try a fresh recipe. Thank you to you both!
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Thanks Michelle, I’ll have to look up Giada’s recipe. It doesn’t hurt to have more than one in the arsenal. 🙂
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True. I like her recipe b/c it contains canellini beans, once blended you don’t know they are there but they add a depth of texture and some protein.
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I just bought an immersion blender today, sounds like a perfect recipe to try it out on!
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I use mine all the time with soups. Great way to make them creamy w/o added cream!
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I use to make my own tomato concentrate from many of the Roma tomatoes in my country garden and tomato soup was a cinch to make. I still enjoy Campbell’s when nothing else is available.
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For the canned variety, my husband is partial to Progresso’s Tomato and Basil.
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Must be the week for tomato soup! I just made some today and posted on my blog as well. February calls for comfort food. Your soup looks so deliciously good. Very pretty.
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Thank you Teresa, I did see yours too. Yours is nice and rustic, lovely!
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HA – I made it, too!! 🙂 Changed it up just a hair, tho! 🙂 Both yours and Suzanne’s look delish!!
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LOL Mollie, great minds right? 😉
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I’ll cop to that, lol!! 🙂
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Yummmmm a must try! I love your kitchen stories KR haha
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Thanks Lynn, lol. You can’t make that stuff up, I tell you. 🙂
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A pretty perfect combination there. Cheese and tomato soup. Wonderful.
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Thank you Conor, a childhood favorite!
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It looks delicious. And cheese is always good idea 🙂
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Thank you KR! Many friends call me KR (my initials). 🙂
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KR s are good persons and bloggers 😀
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One of my favorite combinations….it looks delicious!
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Thank you Antonia!
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Yummy!
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Thanks Marci!
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I love the sound of this soup and looks delicious Kathryn 😊
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Thanks so much Marisa, it was a big hit in our house. 🙂
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That delicious looking soup of yours certainly didn’t taste like “canned soup”. Yummy!
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Thank you Karen, and that was certainly my intention. 🙂
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This soup sounds exceptional! Tomato and grilled cheese mixed together sounds like a perfect combination!
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Thank you Agness, it is one of my favorites!
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The soup looks wonderful. I’ve never made homemade tomato soup, but this post makes me want to give it a try.
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Hi Sheryl, thank you! You should really try, it is not all that hard at all. 🙂
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Love tomato soup and yours certainly had to be outstanding using some of your homegrown tomatoes. Tomatoes are just starting to be harvested at some of the farms in our area but the best are still a little ways off.
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Our tomatoes are still but wee seeds in packets, however we have our trays full of dirt ready for the seeds. But as I look outside it is starting to snow again, sigh…
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I know where you are coming from…so glad we moved to Florida. Wishing spring hurries up for you. 🙂
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Hi Kathryn, speaking of wonky WordPress, it didn’t email me this post! Sorry to be late! This looks so delicious. Well done again!
About Guitar Mancer, you didn’t miss anything. I had moved it to a different page, because of less than appropriate comments. Unfortunately there were a lot of WordPress problems during those few months (not emailing, unfollowing blogs, etc.), so that could have something to do with it… But there was no interest. So I stopped.
Anyway, this soup makes the lunch I just had seem very lacking. 😀 It’s always marvelous to have a peak inside your kitchen. Mega hugs.
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Thank you my dear! This post is from last week, I still don’t have one up for this weekend yet!! But it’s a three-day weekend so I’m giving myself some latitude. And oh darn about Mancer, as I REALLY want to know how it all turns out!!! So if you ever get the bug to continue it, just know that you’ll have at least one appreciative reader. 🙂 Hugs back!
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You are so kind, Kathryn. Thank you for saying that.
Since I missed this one, another recipe would be a double treat. Huge hugs.
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This is my absolute favorite combo. There’s nothing else to say!
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Thank you Lulu! One of ours too!
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This looks so good! Of course, tomato soup and grilled cheese are the perfect combination. 🙂
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Yes, it seems I cannot have one without the other. Thank you!
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Nothing goes better with grilled cheese than tomato soup, in my opinion! 🍅🧀
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Truth! 🙂
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One of my favorite soups! 💗💗
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Nom nom!
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💗💗
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