This is the easiest tomato soup recipe you will ever make. Made with tinned tomatoes and ready in under 15 minutes, it has all of the comforting flavour of homemade tomato soup, but with much less effort. Just 5 ingredients, and no fresh tomatoes needed, this is easy comfort food at its finest!
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Did you know that you can make an incredibly delicious homemade tomato soup with tinned tomatoes? Blended up with some stock, onion and seasoning, and you have yourself a delicious hearty and warming soup ready in under 15 minutes. Even better, it's gluten free and can be vegan.
This easy tomato soup is the perfect balance between homemade soup, and tinned soup. Because, it's a homemade soup made from tins.
Looking for some other ways to use tinned tomatoes? Why not try our Easy Pizza Sauce, Chickpea and Spinach Curry, Tomato Baked Risotto, or Slow Cooker Chicken Curry.
For more healthy lunch ideas, see all our lunch recipes.
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Why You Will Love It
- Quick and easy - This is seriously so simple. Just soften the onions and then dump everything in for 10 minutes and blend. Not that much longer than cooking a tin of processed soup.
- Cheap - This is really cheap to make, but it is worth spending a bit more on good tinned tomatoes, as it will make all the difference.
- Healthier - Tinned tomato soup is very popular (I ate a lot of it as a kid), but it is very processed and full of salt and sugar. This has all the convenience of a tin of soup, but without all the added ingredients.
- Delicious - Although there are no fresh tomatoes in sight, this is still a delicious tomato soup. The key is to using good quality tinned tomatoes. More on that below.
- Perfect for winter - In an idea world, we would be making tomato soup from fresh and ripe tomatoes. But, in the winter months when they aren't in season, that isn't an option. Making tomato soup with tinned tomatoes meals you can enjoy delicious easy tomato soup all year round.
Ingredients and Substitutions
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Chopped tomatoes - This is the star of the easy tomato soup. We used Mutti tomatoes, as we think they are the best quality, and you can find them online or in most supermarkets. They are a little more expensive, but totally worth it. Try to buy the best quality you can, as you really will be able to taste the difference. Cheap tomatoes tend to be really watery, and that will change the consistency of the soup too.
- Onion - This is the base of the soup. We used a small brown onion, but you could use shallots instead, which would give a sweeter flavour.
- Tomato puree - This not only helps to give it a bright red colour, as well as a boost of tomato flavour, but it helps to thicken it up too.
- Butter - This is what we softened the onions in. To make this vegan, you could use olive oil, but we love the flavour that butter gives.
- Stock - This helps the soup go further and loosens it up. We used vegetable stock to keep this vegetarian, but chicken stock would add a richer flavour. If you are making this soup for young children, then use a low salt stock.
- Salt and pepper
More ingredient substitutions and variations can be found in the recipe card.
Step by Step Instructions
One: Heat the butter in a large pan. Once melted add the onion and cook on low for 4 minutes.
Two: Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes.
Three: Blend and serve with fresh basil (optional).
Serving Suggestions
To give our easy tomato soup a bit of texture, we love serving it with some crunchy croutons on top.
We make our own easy croutons by chopping up some bread into squares and drizzling over a little olive oil and a sprinkle of garlic granules and dried herbs. Put them in the oven for about 5 minutes to crisp up. Perfect for adding to soups and salads.
You could keep it simple and serve the soup with some French bread fresh from the oven. Garlic bread is also great to dip in it, and that is a favourite with our kids.
We also love soup with our Garlic and Rosemary Focaccia, which is a really easy and delicious homemade bread. This time we served it with our Easy Bagel Recipe, but a simple white loaf would work too.
If you have time, then our Slow Cooker Bread goes really well with this soup.
But, do you know what we REALLY love serving with tomato soup? Grilled cheese sandwich! It's the perfect comforting combination.
Storage
Store: If you have leftovers of this soup, it will store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Freeze: This soup freezes really well. We usually make a double portion and either save some for the kids or we wait until it has cooled, put in freezer bags and then lay it flat in the freezer.
Defrost: To defrost, simply take out of the freezer and leave to defrost thoroughly.
Reheat: You can reheat it through in a pan.
Dannii's Top Tips
- It might be tempting to make this soup quicker, by not cooking the onions for as long, but letting them get golden brown does add so much flavour to the soup.
- If you want to add some extra fresh flavour, then blend some fresh basil into the soup. You will need to only add it right before blending though, for maximum flavour.
- If you are making this soup for young children, then use a low salt stock.
- We have used vegetarian stock to keep this soup vegetarian, however you could swap it for a really good quality chicken stock to give it a richer flavour.
- If you are using a jug blender to blend this soup, then wait until it has cooled first as you could crack the jug if it is too hot.
- Make this soup more indulgent by sprinkling some cooked chopped bacon on top or stirring in a little cream.
- Add lots of extra flavour by drizzling some pesto on top before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this can be made with fresh tomatoes, but it will take longer. Dice 8 tomatoes up and add after the onions have softened and cook for 2 minutes. Then add the stock and simmer for 15 minutes.
To make a vegan option, use a plant based butter alternative or cook the onions in oil.
Yes, you can make this in advance and then leave it to cool in the pan, cover and refrigerate the whole pan. Then, when you want to serve it you can put the whole pan (uncovered) on the hob and heat it through.
If your soup is too thick, then you may have cooked it at too high a temperature. Simply add a little more stock until it is the desired consistency. Equally, if it is too thin that you might not have had the heat high enough. Let it simmer a little longer to thicken up.
Yes, you can cook this in the slow cooker, but obviously it will take much longer. Simply reduce the stock to 300ml and put everything in on low for 6 hours and then blend. You can always add a little more water if it's too thick.
More Vegetarian Soup Recipes
If you've tried this easy tomato soup recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Easy Tomato Soup
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 400 g (2.66 cups) of Chopped tomatoes - canned
- 1 Onion - diced
- 2 tablespoons of Butter
- 500 ml (2 cups) of Vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons of Tomato puree
- 1 pinch of Fine sea salt and ground black pepper
- Fresh basil - (to serve)
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of Butter in a large pan. Once melted add 1 Onion and cook on low for 4 minutes.
- Add 400 g of Chopped tomatoes, 500 ml of Vegetable stock, 2 tablespoons of Tomato puree, and 1 pinch of Fine sea salt and ground black pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Blend and serve with Fresh basil (optional).
Recipe Notes
- It might be tempting to make this soup quicker, by not cooking the onions for as long, but letting them get golden brown does add so much flavour to the soup.
- If you want to add some extra fresh flavour, then blend some fresh basil in to the soup. You will need to only add it right before blending though, for maximum flavour.
- If you are making this soup for young children, then use a low salt stock.
- We have used vegetarian stock to keep this soup vegetarian, however you could swap it for a really good quality chicken stock to give it a richer flavour.
- If you are using a jug blender to blend this soup, then wait until it has cooled first as you could crack the jug if it is too hot.
- Make this soup more indulgent by sprinkling some cooked chopped bacon on top or stirring in a little cream.
- Add lots of extra flavour by drizzling some pesto on top before serving.
Nutritional Information
Where nutritional information is provided, it is approximate and calculated using online tools. Values can vary depending on the ingredients and brands used, but we endeavour to be as accurate as possible.
All timings are a guide and may vary depending on the ingredients, equipment and, where relevant, the appliance used. Changing the serving size may also affect the time needed.
Kim Baker says
Super tasty and so quick. I used the good quality tinned tomatoes as advised but was still a bit sceptical however I was happy to find it was lovely, definitely one to make on repeat and great knowing it's not full of preservatives
Hilary says
This is my go-to quick tomato soup recipe. Sometimes I add a half teaspoon of sugar or a chopped date before blending if the flavour profile needs it. I love how reliable it is and that it doesn't require fresh tomatoes. Big winner for me, thanks!
Miles says
Great soup. Added Some sugar, double cream and topped with crispy fried onions. Delicious
Sarah G says
This soup was absolutely delicious and so easy to make. It is definitely a recipe that I will keep and make again.
Leo says
Simple recipe and tastes great, but for anyone going by ml rather than cups, go easy with the stock quantity. According to my measuring jug, 1.5 cups is closer to 375ml. 500ml as stated above might be too much and, for me, would leave the soup a bit too watery.
Dannii Martin says
500ml is correct - for some reason the cup conversion is wrong and it should be 2 cups. 500ml worked for the recipe for us and it was tested several times, however it depends on how thick/thin you like your soup. If you want it really thick, then you can use less stock. Also, it depends on the quality of canned tomatoes you have used. Cheaper brands are thin and will result in a watery soup.
Sally Smith says
Super recipe & easy. Time to prepare & cook is very short unless you fiddle about as I am so often tempted to do! It's great with cheese & bacon toasty things.
Oobi says
very easy and quick to make and very tasty.
Jemma says
So simple yet so tasty. Love this recipe
Clare says
This soup was delicious, so fresh and full of flavour! Such an easy recipe, will definitely be making it again! Thank you!
Krissy Allori says
So easy to make and great flavor! Perfect for this time of year.
Alisa Infanti says
Perfect with a side of grilled cheese for dipping!
Beth Sachs says
There's nothing better than a mug of tomato soup when the weather gets colder. Love how easy this recipe is!
Danielle Wolter says
So simple and just delicious. Love the chopped tomatoes in it - brings such yummy flavor.
Gina says
I can't believe how good this tastes without any fresh tomatoes! So simple too, great for easy lunches on a lazy day!