You’ll never reach for canned soup again once you try this creamy Homemade Tomato Soup for two. Pair it with a melty grilled cheese sandwich for a fulfilling lunch or dinner.
I wasn’t planning on blogging this homemade tomato soup for two recipe, but from the moment I took my first bite, I knew I had to share it.
I’m not sure what happened to me this summer as I haven’t done very many summery things, but there I was in the beginning of August and haven’t made it to one farmer’s market.
Not the one in the neighborhood next door. Not the one I went to multiple times last year. Not a new one to check out. Not a single one.
It’s not like I’ve been busy every weekend and couldn’t make it. I guess you can chalk it up to laziness because I don’t have any excuses.
I finally made it to a farmer’s market with my heart set on buying a basket of heirloom tomatoes because I wanted to make a tomato galette.
They taste so much better than regular tomatoes because of the way they are grown.
After making two galettes, I still had plenty of heirlooms left. What else to make?
Weirdly enough, I decided to make tomato soup. Yes, soup when it’s 90 degrees outside.
If you tell me you don’t like tomato soup, I guarantee it’s because you’ve never had homemade tomato soup before.
Canned soup is light years away from tasting like real tomato soup.
This is the recipe that’ll convince you to never buy canned again. Fresh chopped tomatoes are lightly cooked, allowing the flavor to shine through every bite.
Is it weird to say I had a certain farmer’s market on my summer bucket list? It’s located in downtown Pittsburgh every Thursday.
I’ve never gone to it before because you have to pay for parking, which is another $5-$6 I’m not spending on produce.
I finally decided it was time to visit, even if I never come back.
I must admit it was the best farmer’s market I’ve seen in Pittsburgh. Plenty of tents set up selling all kinds of produce, including heirloom cherry tomatoes.
I first made this soup recipe using heirloom tomatoes, which made the best tomato soup I’ve ever tasted.
Heirloom tomatoes are a variety of tomatoes that have been grown without crossbreeding for 40 or more years compared to hybrid tomatoes found in grocery stores.
Since heirlooms are more expensive and harder to find, I tested the recipe with regular garden tomatoes.
If you have the opportunity to use heirlooms, they make the best soup. If not, make sure your tomatoes are as fresh as possible.
If your tomatoes taste old, your soup will taste lackluster. This is one recipe where you need the best quality possible.
You may notice some basil herb butter in the photos. This is butter I make when I buy a loaf of fresh bread from a local bakery.
You mix together butter, basil, garlic, and sea salt. It’s a quick and easy way to make dinner a little special when you don’t have time to make homemade bread.
Looking for some grilled cheese recipes to serve alongside this soup? Check out Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese, Salsa Chicken Grilled Cheese, and Grilled Cheese Roll Ups.
Homemade Tomato Soup For Two
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 4 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped (roughly 1 1/2 pounds)
- 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat the oil until hot. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds.
- Add the tomatoes, broth, and basil. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the soup to a blender then puree until smooth, roughly 1-2 minutes (be very careful as hot liquid expands when blended).
- Pour the soup back into the pot and bring to a simmer. Stir in the milk, brown sugar, and salt. If the soup is too thick, add more broth.
Rachel says
I totally agree with you–Canned tomato soup is nasty. Homemade on the other hand is amazing. I’ve never made it with heirloom tomatoes before (I usually just use Romas that we grow in our garden), but I’m going to give that a try this year!
Carla says
I was amazed at how well the soup tasted with heirlooms. Definitely give those a try if you can!
Cheryl Illinois says
Try Oakmont Bakery for home made bread to go with the soup.
Carla says
Oh I love Oakmont Bakery! I’ve only ever had doughnuts there. Next time I’ll have to try their bread.
Suzanne Vaught says
I have found that if you roast your veggie’s at 400 with a little sea salt and a little olive oil then blend your soup will have a depth of flavor that it was missing. Makes it super good.
Alice says
I just made a small pot of your soup. My husband loves tomato soup and as I don’t (don’t scold me!), I checked the internet for a recipe for one and somehow stumbled onto yours. I love the simplicity of it and gave it a try. Husband gave it a thumbs up! Tks!
P.S. I used heirloom tomatoes that I harvested this morning from the garden.
Carla says
Oh man that must’ve been the freshest tomato soup if you used freshly picked heirlooms! And I won’t scold you. I didn’t enjoy tomato soup for the longest time until I started making it with fresh summer tomatoes.
Jennifer says
I made this soup. It is so good an awesome.. I will definitely make this tomato soup again. This soup has so much flavor. I have one question I am wondering if you can freeze the soup. I am thinking you would freeze without the milk.
Carla says
Yes you can freeze the soup before adding the milk.
Katherine | Beloved Kitchen says
Thanks for the delicious recipe! I was looking for a small batch soup recipe because our fridge has been out of order for the last 2 weeks and found your recipe. I made it with almond milk and it turned out great!
Katie says
This soup was amAZing! Holy smokes! Your recipe was my first try at tomato soup–a soup I’m not usually a fan of–and I am smitten. Thanks for sharing.
Carla says
Awesome! Glad this recipe changed your mind about tomato soup.
arj says
Can’t wait to try this! I am allergic to dairy so I’ll try it with a non-dairy milk and report back on results. :)
Carla says
Let me know how it turns out!
arj says
GREAT recipe! I bought 3 lbs of “ugly” (i.e. not pretty but cheap!) heirloom tomatoes from the farmer’s market this weekend just to make this soup. Thanks for providing the weight measurement of the tomatoes because it was easier for me to figure out how much to increase the recipe instead of just guessing by the size and number of tomatoes
I followed the recipe exactly with these small changes:
-doubled recipe bc I wanted to use all my tomatoes
-used soymilk instead of dairy milk (allergic to milk), which is a little sweet so I did not add the sugar
-my broth already had salt in it so I cut the additional salt called for in half
That’s it! Turned out beautifully. Super cool we didn’t have to peel the tomatoes, but just to be sure all the skins broke down, I put the soup in my high-speed blender instead of using the immersion blender like I normally would for soup. Silky smooth!
I froze 3 jars for later and have 1 big jar in my fridge for dinner this week. Yum!
Thanks for another great, simple, and clear recipe.
One question: why do we “de-seed” the tomatoes? I followed the recipe but felt like I was throwing away all that good tomato juiciness!
Carla says
Glad you loved the recipe! Heirloom tomatoes vary so much in size, it makes more sense to include weight. As far as deseeding, tomato seeds can be bitter.
Audrey says
Made this tonight and enjoyed! After tasting, I decided to add a 32oz can of crushed tomatoes to make it more tomato-y (my fresh tomatoes were on the small side). Next time, I will definitely peel and de-seed the tomatoes, as my blender didn’t break them down enough and I didn’t like those textures. Otherwise, this was a good recipe using ingredients I already had on hand, basic, easy and delicious!
Carla says
Thank you for the review!
Stanley M Weinberg says
Great recipe. Regular farmers market tomatoes work great too. Without a blender I food processed it and pushed the cooked mixture through a strainer to get a silky soup. A nob of butter is a good finisher. Yum!
Carla says
Oh yes regular tomatoes work as well! Good tip for others who don’t have blenders. Glad you enjoyed it.
Janice L. says
I made this recipe with tomatoes that were almost overripe and didn’t want to waste them as I only had 4. It was great. I made it for my youngest daughter who. loves 🍅 tomato soup and she loves it!!