The Creamiest Tomato Soup

Let’s make some creamy dreamy tomato soup with roasted red pepper – MY all time favorite soup! It tastes so much better homemade than out of a carton, especially with the perfect grilled cheese.

This soup is inspired by the Trader Joe’s Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup! It’s so warming and comforting especially with a grilled cheese. It got me through some dark days in college but everything can be made at home and even better. It’s a bit sweet from the roasted red bell pepper, slightly acidic from the tomatoes, and super creamy from the parmesan and cream – the perfect balance. To make it a more filling meal, I add grilled chicken on the side for protein and a grilled cheese or sandwich.

How to Make the Soup

The best part of this recipe is that you only need one dish, a large pot, so cleanup is super easy!

• Caramelize the tomato paste with garlic! Over medium-high heat, add olive oil and cook down the tomato paste and garlic. For a more rich flavor, swap half of the olive oil with butter. If you’d like to add onions to this recipe, saute them first for 3 to 4 minutes before adding the paste and garlic.
• Add the whole peeled tomatoes, roasted red bell pepper, spices, and fresh basil. Add it all to your pot and drop the heat to bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Blend really well. Use an immersion blender or regular blender to make the soup really creamy. If you like some texture, don’t blend too much.
• Add the heavy cream, milk, sugar and cayenne (optional), and parmesan! The heavy cream and milk makes this soup so smooth. But if you would like it lighter, you can just add only milk, water, or broth.
• Taste and adjust. Make sure the salt level is perfect to your taste.

Tips & Notes

• Tomato soup is delicious when made with high quality canned peeled whole tomatoes. The San Marzano tomatoes are my absolute favorite.
• For a more rich flavor, add some butter with the tomato paste and garlic along with the extra virgin olive oil.
• If you don’t have fresh basil, you can also use dry basil but the taste of fresh basil can’t be beat.
• You can also add onions to this soup. Just slice it and saute it for about 3 to 4 minutes with the olive oil and/or butter before adding the tomato paste and garlic.
• Some optional toppings you can garnish the soup with are a drizzle of olive oil, more grated parmesan, croutons, or grilled cheese bites which I explain how to make next.

How to Make the Perfect Grilled Cheese to Dip

No bowl of tomato soup is complete without a grilled cheese to dip on the side. I like to use brioche sliced bread but any sliced bread will work perfectly. Brush the outsides of both slices with mayo or butter. Trust me on the mayo, it’s a game changer for making grilled cheeses. For the cheese, I like to add both medium sharp cheddar and mozzarella. Assemble and add to a pan over medium-low heat. Cover the pan so the cheese can melt properly. Once one side is golden and toasted, flip and repeat with the other side. And that’s it!

To make grilled cheese bites to add as “croutons” on top of the soup, just chop the grilled cheese into crouton sized pieces and use it as a garnish.

Some Other SOUPS You’ll Love!

• Panera Bread’s Broccoli Cheddar Soup
• Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana Soup
• Chicken Gnocchi Soup
• Butternut Squash Soup

If you tried this recipe and loved it, drop by down below and let me know how you liked it with a rating and comment! Feel free to also leave a question there about this recipe and I’ll get right back to it.

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