This easy slow cooker tomato soup is about as hands-off as homemade soup gets. There is no sautéing and no need to stand over a pan - just add everything to the slow cooker, leave it to cook until the vegetables are soft and then blend.
I use canned tomatoes, so this is a tomato soup I can make all through autumn and winter without relying on flavourless out-of-season tomatoes. Sweet potato, carrot and celery add extra vegetables and give the soup a naturally thick, velvety texture, with just a little crème fraîche stirred in at the end if you want it extra creamy.
This is my go-to soup for a busy day. I can get it into the slow cooker in about five minutes, get on with everything else and come back a few hours later to a warming lunch or dinner. We have often put it on before heading out for a walk and come home to soup that just needs blending.
Recipe update: This recipe was originally published on 29 January 2024 and was fully retested in October 2026 to check the cooking time and ingredient quantities. The original recipe still worked well, but I've expanded the instructions, tips and FAQs.
For some more tomato soup recipes, try our high protein tomato soup, tomato soup with tinned tomatoes or our roasted red pepper and tomato soup.
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Jump to:
- Why You'll Love It
- Recipe Overview
- Ingredients and Substitutions
- Canned Tomatoes or Fresh Tomatoes?
- How to Make Slow Cooker Tomato Soup
- How To Get The Perfect Consistency
- Variations
- What To Serve with Slow Cooker Tomato Soup
- Storage and Freezing
- Dannii's Top Tips
- Troubleshooting Guide
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Tomato Recipes
- Recipe
- Feedback
Why You'll Love It
- Almost completely hands-off - there is no sautéing or browning first. Everything goes straight into the slow cooker.
- Just 5 minutes prep - roughly chop the vegetables, add everything and let the slow cooker take over.
- Uses canned tomatoes - inexpensive, convenient and reliable at any time of year.
- Packed with vegetables - tomato, sweet potato, carrot, celery, onion and garlic all go into one pot.
- Naturally thick and creamy - sweet potato gives the soup plenty of body without needing lots of cream.
- Easy to adapt - make it spicy, add basil, include roasted red peppers or leave the crème fraîche out completely.
- Great for making ahead - leftovers are ideal for quick lunches and the soup freezes well.
Recipe Overview
- Prep time: 5 minutes
- Cook time: 3 hours on HIGH or 6 hours on LOW
- Servings: 4
- Slow cooker: 4.5L slow cooker
- Main ingredients: Tinned tomatoes, sweet potato, carrots, celery and vegetable stock
- Texture: Thick, smooth and creamy once blended
- Best for: Easy family lunches, batch cooking and freezer-friendly meals
- Dietary: Vegetarian, gluten free with suitable stock, and easily made vegan
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.
- Canned tomatoes: These are the star of the soup and such a great shortcut. I actually prefer canned tomatoes here because they give you consistent tomato flavour all year round. Choose good-quality chopped tomatoes if you can, as very cheap ones can sometimes contain more watery juice.
- Sweet potato: This helps naturally thicken the soup once blended and adds a little sweetness, which works really well with tomatoes. A regular potato can be used instead, although the flavour will be slightly different.
- Carrots: These add sweetness as well as extra vegetables and help balance the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Celery: Adds plenty of savoury flavour to the base of the soup.
- Onion: There is no need to soften it first. Just roughly chop it and add it directly to the slow cooker.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic gives the best flavour, but frozen crushed garlic is useful when you want to make the prep even quicker.
- Tomato purée: This intensifies the tomato flavour, particularly useful when using canned tomatoes.
- Vegetable stock: Use a good-quality vegetable stock. If you are making this for younger children, you may prefer a reduced-salt stock.
- Dried herbs: Oregano works really well with tomato, but Italian seasoning or dried basil are good alternatives.
- Crème fraîche: This is stirred through at the end for extra creaminess. It is completely optional, so the soup itself can easily be made dairy free or vegan.
Canned Tomatoes or Fresh Tomatoes?
For this slow cooker tomato soup, I prefer using tinned tomatoes. They are convenient, affordable and have a consistent flavour all year round. There's no peeling or roasting needed, making this a really easy soup to prepare.
You can use fresh tomatoes, particularly ripe summer tomatoes, but the result will depend on their sweetness and water content. If they lack flavour, you may need extra tomato purée. For the most reliable results, especially during autumn and winter, I recommend sticking with tinned tomatoes.
How to Make Slow Cooker Tomato Soup
- Add everything to the slow cooker: Add the tinned tomatoes, sweet potato, carrots, celery, onion, vegetable stock, garlic, tomato purée, dried oregano, salt and pepper to the slow cooker. Keep the crème fraîche aside until the end.
There is no need to sauté the onion or vegetables first.
- Mix: Give everything a good stir so the tomato purée, herbs and seasoning are evenly distributed.
- Slow cook: Cook for 3 hours on HIGH or 6 hours on LOW, until all of the vegetables are very soft.
Slow cookers can vary, so use the texture of the vegetables as your guide. If the carrots and sweet potato are still firm after 3 hours on HIGH, replace the lid and continue cooking in 20-30 minute intervals until completely tender.
- Blend: Use a stick blender to blend the soup directly in the slow cooker until smooth and creamy.
- Stir through the crème fraîche, if using, then taste and adjust the seasoning before serving.
How To Get The Perfect Consistency
I like this soup fairly thick because the sweet potato and carrots give it a lovely velvety texture once blended.
If your soup is too thick, stir in a little extra hot stock or water after blending until it reaches the consistency you like.
If the soup is still too thin after blending, transfer it to a saucepan and simmer uncovered for a few minutes to reduce the excess liquid.
For an ultra-smooth soup, a stick blender is the easiest option because everything can be blended directly in the slow cooker.
Variations
Tomato and basil: Add a handful of fresh basil just before blending. Adding it at the end keeps the flavour fresher.
Tomato and red pepper: Add roasted red peppers along with the other ingredients for a sweeter, slightly smoky soup.
Spicy tomato soup: Add chilli flakes or a little fresh chilli with the other ingredients.
Extra creamy: Stir through a little extra crème fraîche or cream after blending.
No cream: Simply leave out the crème fraîche. The sweet potato already gives the soup a creamy texture, so dairy isn't essential.
Extra tomato flavour: A spoonful of sun-dried tomato paste can give the finished soup an even deeper tomato flavour.
What To Serve with Slow Cooker Tomato Soup
Tomato soup and something cheesy for dunking is one of those combinations that never gets old.
Our air fryer cheese toastie is probably the obvious choice. Crisp bread, melted cheese and smooth tomato soup is proper comfort food. For something with a little more protein, try the cottage cheese grilled cheese.
Bread works just as well. I love this with slow cooker bread, especially if you want an entirely cosy slow-cooker kind of meal. garlic and rosemary Focaccia, soft bread rolls or easy cheesy garlic bread are all great for dipping too.
For a little crunch without making a separate side dish, scatter air fryer croutons or sourdough croutons over each bowl just before serving.
A drizzle of olive oil, a little grated Parmesan, black pepper, fresh basil or chilli flakes are also easy ways to finish the soup.
Storage and Freezing
Fridge: Allow the soup to cool quickly, transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate. Leftovers are best eaten within two days.
Freeze: The soup freezes really well. For the best texture, freeze it before adding the crème fraîche and stir that through after reheating instead. Portion the cooled soup into freezer-safe containers or bags and freeze.
Defrost: Defrost overnight in the fridge. If you need it more quickly, use the microwave defrost setting rather than leaving the soup to defrost at room temperature.
Reheat: Reheat gently on the hob or in the microwave until steaming hot throughout. If it has thickened after chilling, simply stir in a splash of stock or water.
Dannii's Top Tips
- Cut the vegetables into similar-sized pieces so they become tender at roughly the same time.
- Use good-quality canned tomatoes because their flavour really comes through in such a simple soup.
- There is no need to sauté anything first - the whole point of this recipe is keeping the prep minimal.
- A stick blender is the easiest way to get a smooth soup without transferring hot liquid between containers.
- If the tomatoes taste a little sharp after blending, add a small pinch of sugar, stir and taste again.
- Adjust the thickness only after blending, as the sweet potato makes the soup considerably thicker once smooth.
- Add crème fraîche, cream or fresh basil at the end rather than cooking them for hours in the slow cooker.
Troubleshooting Guide
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Soup tastes too acidic | The tinned tomatoes are particularly sharp. | Add a small pinch of sugar, stir and taste again. A little crème fraîche can also mellow the acidity. |
| Soup is too thin | The tomatoes contain a lot of liquid or the vegetables haven't been blended thoroughly. | Blend until completely smooth. If still too thin, transfer to a saucepan and simmer uncovered to reduce. |
| Soup is too thick | The sweet potato and carrots have naturally thickened the soup. | Stir in extra hot vegetable stock or water, a little at a time, until you reach your preferred consistency. |
| Vegetables are still firm | Slow cookers vary in temperature or the vegetables were cut into large pieces. | Replace the lid and cook on HIGH for another 20-30 minutes. Check again before blending. |
| Soup tastes bland | The tomatoes lack flavour or the seasoning needs adjusting. | Add a little extra salt and pepper to taste. A small amount of tomato purée or fresh basil can also improve the flavour. |
Frequently Asked Questions
No. This is deliberately a hands-off slow cooker tomato soup, so the onion, carrots, celery, sweet potato and garlic all go straight into the slow cooker.
You can, especially when tomatoes are ripe and in season. However, canned tomatoes give a more reliable result throughout the year. If using fresh tomatoes that aren't particularly sweet or flavourful, you may want to increase the tomato purée slightly.
Yes! The sweet potato gives this soup a naturally thick and creamy texture once blended, so you don't need cream or crème fraîche. Simply leave it out for a dairy-free version. Just make sure your vegetable stock is suitable if you want the soup to be completely vegan.
Yes, fresh basil works really well with the tomatoes. Stir a handful of basil leaves into the soup just before blending for the best flavour. You can also scatter some finely chopped basil over each bowl before serving.
Absolutely! This is a great soup for meal prep because the flavours develop as it sits. Make it ahead, cool it quickly and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days. Reheat until steaming hot throughout, adding a splash of water or stock if it has thickened.
Yes! Because the sweet potato makes this soup naturally thick, it works well as a simple tomato pasta sauce too. Reheat it in a saucepan and simmer uncovered if you want it thicker. Stir through cooked pasta and finish with fresh basil and grated Parmesan.
We used a 4.5L slow cooker, but a 3.5-litre slow cooker should be suitable for this four-serving recipe, provided the ingredients fit comfortably without filling it too high. A larger slow cooker can also be used, although cooking times may vary. Make sure the vegetables are completely tender before blending.
More Tomato Recipes
If you've tried this slow cooker tomato soup, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy and use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Easy Slow Cooker Tomato Soup
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 800 g (1 ¾ lb) of Chopped tomatoes - canned
- 1 Sweet potato - peeled and diced
- 2 Carrots - peeled and diced
- 2 ribs of Celery - diced
- 1 Onion - diced
- 400 ml (1 ⅔ cups) of Vegetable stock (low salt)
- 2 Garlic cloves - crushed
- 3 tablespoons of Tomato puree
- 2 teaspoons Dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon of Fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon of Ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons of Crème fraîche - optional
Instructions
- Add everything to the slow cooker: Add the tinned tomatoes, sweet potato, carrots, celery, onion, vegetable stock, garlic, tomato purée, dried oregano, salt and pepper to the slow cooker. Keep the crème fraîche aside until the end.
- Mix: Give everything a good stir so the tomato purée, herbs and seasoning are evenly distributed.
- Slow cook: Cook for 3 hours on HIGH or 6 hours on LOW, until all of the vegetables are very soft.
- Blend: Use a stick blender to blend the soup directly in the slow cooker until smooth and creamy.
- Stir through the crème fraîche, if using, then taste and adjust the seasoning before serving.
Recipe Notes
- Cut the vegetables into similar-sized pieces so they become tender at roughly the same time.
- Use good-quality canned tomatoes because their flavour really comes through in such a simple soup.
- There is no need to sauté anything first - the whole point of this recipe is keeping the prep minimal.
- A stick blender is the easiest way to get a smooth soup without transferring hot liquid between containers.
- If the tomatoes taste a little sharp after blending, add a small pinch of sugar, stir and taste again.
- Adjust the thickness only after blending, as the sweet potato makes the soup considerably thicker once smooth.
- Add crème fraîche, cream or fresh basil at the end rather than cooking them for hours in the slow cooker.
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.
Neha says
Dump and cook are my most favorite recipes for soups! I can only imagine how great its flavors would be. Can't wait to try this one out!
Lauren says
This was the easiest tomato soup recipe I've made yet! And it tasted great with grilled cheese sandwiches - yum!!
Shelby says
Love this easy-to-make tomato soup. Served it with grilled cheese and it was the perfect kid-friendly lunch!
Julia says
This soup was amazing! We served it with grilled sandwiches
Holly says
Great recipe! I loved how easy it was to throw everything together and come home to a delicious meal. Tomato soup is one of our favorites. This is definitely a keeper.