This beautiful creamy Tomato Basil Soup uses garden fresh tomatoes and only four other ingredients. The taste is restaurant quality but it is as easy as using a blender.
My husband and I spent a lovely 3 days in Quebec City last week in beautiful weather. Unfortunately, home in NJ it rained almost non-stop. When we got back home most of the tomatoes in my garden had split. I picked them and sat there staring at them wondering what to do. I would have hated to through them out.
So, I started cutting off the stems and the split areas and tossing them into the blender. I figured I could make something out of them. Then, I filled the blender, pureed them (skin and all) and then put the puree in the fridge for two days before deciding to attempt a tomato recipe.
I have to say I make a great tomato sauce. The recipe for that I got from a Nicholas Sparks' book. Totally not kidding. It's two cans of San Marzano tomatoes, two onions peeled and cut in half, stem intact, and a stick of butter. That's it. Simmer for an hour, remove the onions, blend the tomatoes, and serve. The butter gives it a hint of saltiness and creaminess.
With that in mind I tossed a stick of butter and a block of cream cheese into my simmering tomato puree and said a prayer. I pureed it again when it was hot and it tasted just like restaurant Tomato Basil Soup. I'm completely serious. In my Rutgers days I loved going to Old Man Rafferty's restaurant in New Brunswick for a bowl of their Tomato Basil soup. They float a few gnocchi on top and garnish it with fried onions. Amazing. I thought about making gnocchi with a low carb pasta dough I've seen around the internet but wasn't feeling quite that motivated. And I didn't even miss them once I dug it.
Ingredients:5 cups of fresh tomato puree - this was a blender full of fresh tomato chunks, stems removed (I wish I weighed them before proceeding so I had a weight for you)
1 stick of salted butter
8 oz cream cheese
a handful of fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp Trim Healthy Mama Gentle Sweet (or my sweetener blend), optional
salt and pepper to taste ***
*** If you've ever bought a five ingredient cookbook you know that they never count salt and pepper in the five. And since I have the sweetener as optional this could really be a four ingredient soup. Just saying.
Directions:
Puree enough fresh tomatoes in a blender to equal five cups of puree. This was about 4 large tomatoes and maybe a pint of cherry tomatoes.
Pour the puree into a large saucepan and add the butter and cream cheese. Heat to a simmer and cook until the butter and cream cheese melt. Carefully pour the soup back into the blender and add the basil (use caution blending hot liquids - always vent the lid) or use an immersion blender to puree until smooth.
Here are a few other great Tomato Soups you should check out:
Easy Tuscany Tomato Soup from Counting All Joy
Creamy Fire Roasted Tomato Soup from Oh Sweet Mercy
Bacon Tomato Soup for One from A Home With Purpose
Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho from My Fling With Food
Yields 6-8 servings
5 minPrep Time
10 minCook Time
15 minTotal Time
Save Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 cups of fresh tomato puree - this was a blender full of fresh tomato chunks, stems removed (I wish I weighed them before proceeding so I had a weight for you)
- 1 stick of salted butter
- 8 oz cream cheese
- a handful of fresh basil leaves
- 1 tbsp Trim Healthy Mama Gentle Sweet (or my sweetener blend), optional
- salt and pepper to taste ***
Instructions
- Puree enough fresh tomatoes in a blender to equal five cups of puree. This was about 4 large tomatoes and maybe a pint of cherry tomatoes.
- Pour the puree into a large saucepan and add the butter and cream cheese. Heat to a simmer and cook until the butter and cream cheese melt. Carefully pour the soup back into the blender and add the basil (use caution blending hot liquids - always vent the lid) or use an immersion blender to puree until smooth.
Notes
*** If you've ever bought a five ingredient cookbook you know that they never count salt and pepper in the five. And since I have the sweetener as optional this could really be a four ingredient soup. Just saying.
This is very rich. I have the servings small because of that and to keep the carbs down. I recommend eating it as a side.
| Nutrition Facts |
| Amount Per Serving with 8 servings (using 15 medium tomatoes) |
|
Calories 243
|
|
%Daily Value
|
|
Total Fat 21.9g
34%
|
|
Saturated Fat 13.6g
68%
|
|
TransFat 0.0g
|
|
Cholesterol 62mg
21%
|
|
Sodium 177mg
7%
|
|
Total Carbohydrates 9.8g
3%
|
|
Dietary Fiber 2.8g
11%
|
|
Sugars 6.2g
|
|
Protein 4.4g
|
|
Vitamin A 57%
Vitamin C 54%
|
|
Calcium 6%
Iron 6%
|
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This soup was amazing. Great recipe!
Did you remove the skin from the tomatoes or not?
I did not. I couldn’t tell in the end and it is a pain to remove the skin.
One of my favourite soups! Thanks
Have you made this soup with the canned San Marzano tomatoes? If so, was the final product as delicious as it appears in the picture? I’m staring at February and no fresh tomatoes until Summer. I’m not sure I can wait that long. This recipe looks delightful.
I have not. If you try it let me know how it turns out 🙂
I am not gonna lie I was hesistant how this would turn out it sounded too easy but it was so good! I am having a bumper crop of tomatoes and some basil so thought this would be good and it was. I have never made a soup with melting cream cheese for the creaminess but again it was great. Thanks!
I’m glad you liked it 🙂 I don’t have any ripe tomatoes in my garden yet but I hope to make it in a few weeks.