Classic Tomato Soup

Thank you for sharing!

Last Updated on December 26, 2020 by Chef Mireille

Classic Tomato Soup – This vegan Tomato Soup is so delicious enhanced with herbs and spices. It makes a quick and easy lunch with a grilled cheese sandwich or cheese quesadilla. Use vegan cheese if you want to keep the entire meal vegan.

This post may include affiliate links.

Are you a tomato soup fan?

I had a HATE relationship with tomato soup for many years. When I was a child, I used to attend a summer day camp. I have many pleasant memories of the summers I spent at St. Gabriel’s, but lunch was not one of them.

To keep the costs of summer camp reasonable, St. Gabe’s took advantage of many free services that New York City offered at that time. One of these was free lunches to children during the summer. I think the city still provides this.

During the regular school year, I would bring lunch to school from home. My mom figured if I was getting a free lunch, that’s great – less work for her right? At St. Gabe’s, they would take us to a public school a few blocks away. We would all have to walk single file the few blocks to the cafeteria. Those poor teachers – I don’t know how they managed to keep us safe on that daily walk.

Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Sandwiches is a classic American children’s meal. However, when I tasted that tomato soup, I hated it. When I reflect on it now, I think all they did was dump a can of tomato sauce in a pot, thin it out with a little water and add some salt.

It was very bland and acidic.On the days when they served that horrible soup, I would have to double up on fruit and yogurt to keep me full until dinner. At the age of 8, I swore off tomato soup and it did not cross my lips for many years.

Just a few years ago, I was visiting a friend and she had made some tomato soup and I really had no interest in trying it, but she persuaded me and I really liked it. I realized my error in avoiding tomato soup for so many years.

It was not that I did not like tomato soup. I just did not like flavorless, bland soup. And who’s bright idea was it anyway to feed kids hot tomato soup in the middle of summer after swimming?

If you are a tomato soup fan like I am now, you might like to try these other Tomato Soup variations.

Tomato Soup Recipes

Here’s my version of this classic American combination that I actually NEVER ate as a child.

This is a great make ahead recipe that can easily be frozen for later.

Cream is often added to tomato soup, but my version is vegan without cream. If you would like to keep the whole meal vegan, use soy cheese in the quesadilla.

In my part of the world, most of the tomatoes in the supermarkets at this time of year are hothouse tomatoes, chemically ripened. For this reason, they don’t have that much flavor and the natural sweetness of tomatoes is virtually non existent. At this time of year, canned tomatoes are a better alternative as they are picked at the peak of ripeness. For this recipe I used Hunt’s whole tomatoes to infuse the best possible tomato flavor in this soup.

Have you tried instacart yet? It’s how I get all of my fresh grocery items delivered within 2 hours!

HOW TO MAKE VEGAN TOMATO SOUP

Now if the cafeteria would have served this tomato soup, I would have wholeheartedly devoured the whole soup.

Tomato Soup LR

Instead of the classic grilled cheese sandwich, pair this tomato soup with Cheese Quesadillas on corn tortillas, making the meal #glutenfree too!

Tomato Soup LR 1

Vegan Tomato Soup

A quick and easy tomato soup made without cream. This vegan tomato soup is perfect for lunch with a sandwich.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Continental
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 121.29kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 2 cloves garlic chopped
  • 2 onions chopped
  • 3 stalks celery chopped
  • 3 small carrots peeled and chopped
  • 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper optional
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 2 tablespoons parsley finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Instructions

  • Heat oil. Add garlic, onions, celery and carrots. Saute for a few minutes until softened.
  • Add tomatoes, 2 cups water, oregano, basil, crushed red pepper and paprika. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and using an immersion blender, puree.
  • Add parsley, salt and sugar. Cook on low heat for another 5 minutes.

Notes

  • You can also use fresh tomatoes instead of the canned tomatoes but you might want to add something for color like a little ground turmeric.
  • This soup can easily be made in advance and frozen.

Nutrition

Calories: 121.29kcal | Carbohydrates: 18.31g | Protein: 3.19g | Fat: 5.25g | Saturated Fat: 0.45g | Sodium: 529.12mg | Fiber: 4.52g | Sugar: 10.15g
Did you make this recipe? Let me see!Tag me on Instagram @chefmireille so I can see yours!
Is this recipe on my You Tube channel?Find out and subscribe to my channel here!

You might also like:

DO YOU YUM? SAVE IT BELOW!

Yum
bowl of tomato soup with text
bowl of tomato soup with text

Don’t forget to visit the RECIPE INDEX with over 1000 recipes from around the world including lots of Vegetarian Recipes and Gluten Free Recipes!

Thank you for sharing!

Join the Global Kitchen Travels community!

Sign up for updates!

Thanks! Keep an eye on your inbox for updates.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Looks absolutely perfect. I love to cook the soup this way too. The acidity keeps me away from it too however I only have it if I have made it 😉 Happy to know that the childhood hate is not a loved one 🙂

  2. I was never a fan of tomato soup myself until I started my own and realized just how could it could be. This one looks lovely–such great color, and it's the perfect comfort food with the grilled cheese. Thanks for sharing it with Souper Sundays this week. 😉

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.