Easy Tomato & Basil Soup

Easy tomato & basil soup is a great fresh tasting soup. Using the sweetest fresh tomatoes and flavoured with just a hint of onion, garlic and basil. This tomato and basil soup recipe is a favourite in our house.

One of my favourite food pairings is tomato and basil. Tomatoes are a food that I love to eat in pretty much any shape and form. This homemade tomato and basil soup is simple to make, cooks quickly and is full of fresh tasting flavours.

This healthy tomato and basil soup is great for anyone with a greenhouse and grows their own tomatoes. As anyone who grows their own fruit and vegetables will know there are always times when you have an abundance of produce.

With just a few simple ingredients added to the tomatoes you have a delicious soup with a lovely light freshness.

Why you will like this recipe

• A tasty bowl of soup using the freshest of ingredients.
• Get ahead and make the soup earlier in the day or the day before and warm up when you are ready to eat.
• Use a gluten free vegetable stock and this soup is suitable for coeliacs or anyone following a gluten free diet.
• Containing no dairy this soup is ideal for dairy free and vegan diners.

Recipe ingredients

• Tomatoes - use the best quality fresh tomatoes you can find. I like to use large vine tomatoes as they have the best flavour. If you grow you own tomatoes this is a great recipe for you to use up a glut of tomatoes.
• Oil – I use olive oil as it has the best flavour to work with the tomatoes in this soup.
• Vegetables - I use both fresh onion and garlic in this soup.
• Tomato Passata - I also like to add tomato passata to tomato and basil soup as it really intensifies the tomato flavour, rather than just using stock.
• Stock - I use vegetable stock, but if not serving to vegetarian or vegan diners, you can also use a light chicken stock.
• Basil - I only use fresh basil in this soup as dried basil will not give you the same fresh flavour.
• Sugar - a teaspoon of caster sugar balances out the acidity of the tomatoes.
• Seasoning - I keep the seasoning simple with just a little sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

How to prepare and peel tomatoes?

Peeling tomatoes for this homemade tomato and basil soup is a fairly quick and simple job. However, it is really important to get the most of our the tomatoes.

• Cut a cross at the base of your tomatoes with a sharp knife and cover with boiling water.
• Allow the tomatoes to sit for 10 to 15 minutes in the hot water.

• After 10 minutes or so, drain the water off the tomatoes and gently pull the skin off the tomatoes, it should slip off really easily.
• Once peeled discard the outer skin of the tomato, placing it into a sieve for later. Then simply cut the fruit into quarters.
• You then cut away the seeds and core to leave the outer flesh of the tomato.

TOP TIP: Do not throw away the seeds and core as they are full of deliciously tomato flavoured juices. Instead pop the seeds and core into the sieve, along with the tomato skins, and place the sieve over a bowl.

How to make tomato and basil soup

• Once the tomatoes have been peeled, remove the core and seeds and place them in a sieve place over a bowl.
• Using a metal spoon, push the seeds and pulp to extract as much of the tomato juice as possible.
• There is a lot of juice to extract from the seeds and core and you don't want to waste a drop!

• Take the tomato flesh and roughly chop it up into smaller 1cm pieces and set aside for later.

• Saute the chopped onion over a medium heat for 5 minutes to soften, but not colour the onion.
• Add the garlic and cook for a further minute.

• Now add the tomato passata and sieved tomato juice to the onions.

• Along with the chopped up tomato flesh.

• Now add the vegetable stock, sugar and season well with salt and pepper.
• Cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes.

• Finally add the basil, check the seasoning and serve.

Flavour variations

• Add chilli heat, a couple of fresh de-seeded red chillies could be added along with the garlic. This will add a nice chilli heat to the soup, whilst still keeping it's fresh flavours.
• Use the basic tomato soup as a base for adding in other vegetables and flavours. You could add other vegetables, like courgettes and peppers to increase your 5-a-day. Simply add them at the same time as the onion (recipe step 4) to soften before adding in the remaining ingredients.
• You can also add alternative flavour with herbs, try adding thyme or parsley in place of the fresh basil.

Serving suggestion

Soup makes a great lunch or light dinner option. I like to serve tomato and basil soup with some crusty bread, toasted bread or crunchy garlic bread.

Recipe hints & tips

• Check the soup for seasoning and, if necessary, adjust with salt and pepper. Proper seasoning will make all the difference to the finished soup.
• If you would prefer a completely smooth soup, once cooked, blitz with a stick blender to achieve a silky consistency.
• Containing no meat or dairy products, this soup is suitable for dairy free and vegan diners.
• For a gluten free soup, use a gluten free vegetable broth.
• Allergy advice: gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soya free and nut free. For comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.

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Additional recipe suggestions

If you like this recipe then try some of our other vegetable based soups!

• Creamy Tomato Soup
• Tomato & Vegetable Soup with Harissa
• Potato & Leek Soup with Chickpeas
• Courgette & Sweet Pepper Soup
• Leek & Barley Broth
• Spicy Bean Soup
• French Onion Soup
• Garlic Soup
• Curried Vegetable & Chickpea Soup

For some great hints and tips on how to make a great bowl of soup, have a read of our 20 Simple Soup Recipes post. This features some delicious soup recipes for you to try!