Made with roasted fresh tomatoes and fragrant basil, this tomato basil soup recipe is rich, flavorful, and comforting. Fresh yet cozy, it’s the perfect transition into fall!
When the air turns crisp and tomatoes are still lingering at the market, I know it’s time to make a big batch of this vegan tomato basil soup. Roasting the tomatoes concentrates their sweetness, while carrots add just enough natural balance to the acidity—no sugar required! A hint of thyme, warming spices, and a generous handful of fresh basil give it that unmistakable Mediterranean flavor that’s both bright and cozy.
What I love most about this tomato basil soup is its versatility. Make a big batch and freeze some for the colder months, when juicy summer tomatoes are long gone. Reheat it on a busy weeknight and serve with a melty feta grilled cheese, or a hunk of crusty bread for dipping.
As Nelson so perfectly summed it up in the comments, “I’ve used this recipe before; First time was dinner party with some meat ‘n tater folks. Got rave reviews, still do. An interesting observation I make now is when I send out announcements for a dinner party the RSVP comes back with a question… “Are ‘ya serving that tomato soup again? We hope so!”
Table of Contents
Tomato Basil Soup Recipe Ingredients
This tomato basil soup swaps heavy cream and gluten for simple, easy to find ingredients that pack so much nutrition and flavor. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Produce: Tomatoes are the main flavor-maker here, with carrots providing a sweetness for balance. You can use any tomatoes you have, but I recommend smaller, denser varieties like Roma. They tend to have a sweeter and more concentrated flavor.
- Extra virgin olive oil: I recommend a robust and peppery olive oil with this recipe, like our Private Reserve Greek EVOO
- Seasonings: Dried oregano gives the soup a strong aromatic quality. Kosher salt and black pepper enhance the flavor. Cumin brings warmth, and sweet Spanish paprika adds a subtle kick.
- Aliums: Lightly softened onions and garlic add a perfectly sweet and savory flavor to the soup.
- Canned crushed tomatoes: Add a concentrated tomato flavor and give body.
- Fresh herbs: Fresh basil and thyme add so much subtle aromatic flavor. They’re what bring this soup to the next level, totally setting it apart from any canned soup you can find.
- Lime juice (optional): Lightens the soup and marries the flavors together.
How to Make Tomato Basil Soup
This tomato basil soup is as easy as it gets, you just need to allow about an hour to really develop the flavor. Here’s how to do it:
Roast the Tomatoes
- Get ready. Preheat your oven to 450°F. Slice 3 pounds of Roma tomatoes in half and add to a large mixing bowl. Peel 2 medium carrots, coarsely chop, and add them to the bowl. Add a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch salt and pepper and toss to coat. Transfer to a large baking sheet and spread well in one layer.
- Roast the carrots and tomatoes. When the oven is at 450°F, add the carrots and tomatoes and roast until the tomatoes have deflated and began to char at the edges, about 30 minutes. Set aside for about 10 minutes to cool.
- Prep the aromatics. Chop 2 medium yellow onions. Mince 5 garlic cloves (see the easy way in our how to mince garlic guide). Pick the leaves off of 1 bunch of basil.
- Blend. When the tomatoes and carrots have cooled slightly, transfer them to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade. Add a splash of water and blend until the vegetables have broken down and combined. Some texture is nice, so stop the processor before it becomes a super smooth puree.
Finnish, Simmer, and Serve
- Sauté the onions and garlic. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil over medium-high. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the onions and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook briefly until golden, about 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes and reduce. Pour the roasted tomato mixture into the pot with the onions. Stir in 1 cup of canned crushed tomatoes, the basil, 3-4 fresh thyme sprigs, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon each of paprika and cumin. Stir in 2 ½ cups of water and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cover, leaving the lid slightly ajar to allow some steam to escape. Let simmer for about 20 minutes or so.
- Finish and serve. Remove the thyme springs and transfer the soup to serving bowls. If you like, add top each serving with a squeeze of fresh lime and a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Optionally, serve with your grilled bread, grilled cheese, or crusty bread on the side. Enjoy!
What to Serve with Tomato Basil Soup
I love to give the classic tomato basil soup and grilled cheese sandwich combo a Mediterranean twist. Our mozzarella and feta pita grilled cheese is the perfectly rich and melty grilled cheese sandwich to dip into a warm bowl of aromatic tomato soup. Or, for a fun little dinner party appetizer, top cups of tomato soup with crispy fried goat cheese.
If you’d like to continue on the dairy and gluten free track, simply leave off the cheese on a crunchy green salad, like Maroulosalata (Greek lettuce salad) or Mediterranean cucumber salad.
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Tomato Basil Soup
Ingredients
- 3 pounds ripe small tomatoes (I used Roma), halved (or quartered if large)
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 bunch (2 ounces) fresh basil leaves
- 3 to 4 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- Fresh lime juice (optional), for serving
- Pita grilled cheese , grilled bread, or toast (optional, for serving)
Instructions
- Get ready. Preheat your oven to 450°F.
- Roast the carrots and tomatoes. In a large mixing bowl, toss the tomatoes and carrots with a generous drizzle of olive oil and a pinch salt and pepper. Transfer to a large baking sheet and spread well in one layer. Roast in the heated oven until the tomatoes have deflated and began to char at the edges, about 30 minutes. Set aside for about 10 minutes to cool.
- Blend. Transfer the roasted carrots and tomatoes (along with their skin and seeds) to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade. Add a splash of water and blend until the vegetables have broken down and combined. Some texture is nice, so stop the processor before it becomes a super smooth puree.
- Sauté the onions and garlic. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the onions and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook briefly until golden, about 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes and reduce. Pour the roasted tomato mixture into the pot with the onions. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, basil, thyme, oregano, paprika, cumin, and 2 1/2 cups of water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cover, leaving the lid slightly ajar to allow some steam to escape. Let simmer for about 20 minutes or so.
- Finish and serve. Remove the thyme springs and transfer the soup to serving bowls. If you like, add top each serving with a squeeze of fresh lime and a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Optionally, serve with your grilled bread, grilled cheese, or crusty bread on the side. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the olive oil and spices used in this recipe.
- Best Tomatoes to Use: Tomatoes with lower moisture content tend to work best for roasting, like Roma, Campari, Early Girl or similar variety that remains firm when ripe. That said, if you have an abundance of garden tomatoes you’d like to use up (or even, dare I say, off season tomatoes) roasting them will bring out their sweetness. Just be sure to cut any larger varieties into wedges. Keep a close eye on them as they cook to ensure they don’t burn, and adjust the amount of water in the soup as necessary.
- Storage: Allow to cool completely, then refrigerate in tight-lid glass containers for 3 to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Reheat over medium, allowing frozen soup to first thaw in fridge overnight.
- Have more tomatoes to use up? Check out my 15 Mediterranean Fresh Tomato Recipes that are NOT salad!
Nutrition
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Help needed
I made this soup for my Mum but she doesn’t like thick soup, so I added some extra water but now it tastes watery. What can I add to it to help the flavour
Hi, Kathleen. You can try to add a bit more of the spices/seasonings to see if that helps.
I made this soup for my sister, Kathy. We ate lunch together. Her husband made us grill cheese sandwiches to go with it. We all loved it. On a side note, please pray for my sister, she has stage 4 colon cancer. Her outlook does not look good. We need a miracle. Thank you. Yes, I am asking everyone to say a prayer for her.
Oh, no! I’m so sorry, Mary Jane! Sending prayers!
Just made it. Absolutely delicious! Thank you
All I can say is that this recipe is absolutely wonderful. Being half Armenian and half Italian I immediately was drawn to this recipe as the ingredients consist of all things that I love. I made it exactly as written (although I halved it) with the exception of cutting the cumin down slightly so as to be sure as to not overpower the other ingredients. Regarding the comment by another reviewer about it tasting like onion soup, I would suggest using small to medium size sweet onion as maybe their onion was too strong and/or bitter. And yes, it is a little time consuming to make, but boy is it worth it. Food is love and spending time preparing it to share with friends and family is a way to express that love and well worth it. Thank you so much for this recipe and video Suzy, it’s a keeper!
This was not what I expected. More of an onion soup than tomato. Too much onion and not a lot of flavor.
No, just no. I like a lot of Suzy’s recipes, particularly her baked cod, but this took 2 hrs, used way too many utensils that needed to be washed & tasted very mediocre to not good at all.
Loved this soup. Will make this one often. Great flavour, new favourite in our house.
I am curious how you were able to get 2oz of fresh basil into the small of a container shown in your video. Also to make the recipe very clear consider including the 2.5 cups water in the ingredients list.
Hi, Dolores! Thanks for the feedback. Suzy is able to get 2 oz. in that little container by chopping it well. Hope you give this recipe a try!!
Made the recipe and it was delicious. Even my foodie 32 year old son said it was great. Thanks for a recipe using basil as a primary ingredient.
This soup is delightful! I am happy it had sweetness on its own. I find that when you just use canned tomatoes they taste really sour and I have to add sugar.
This is a keeper 🙂
Hi, Polly! We couldn’t agree with you more! Just in case you’re trying to use up fresh tomatoes from your garden you might like this recipe for Roasted Tomatoes. I recommend eating them on toast with eggs!
I was looking forward to making this as I love tomato soup. I’ve made several of your recipes and most are on repeat. I have to say this is the first recipe that I won’t make again. It wasn’t my favorite tomato soup recipe. Having said that, most of your recipes are so easy and delicious, and I appreciate you sharing them.
I agree there are better recipe’s, but why would you leave 4 stars for a recipe you’d not repeat? I was struggling with leaving three.
It wasn’t terrible, just too bland for me, and I was trying to be gracious since Suzy is kind to share her recipes online and most of them have been very good.
I have made this recipe twice now and it is terrific. I prepared it as written the first time and added some lupini beans to the second batch for a little bit of protein. The cumin is a wonderful touch.
Thanks so much, Rachel!
I found this soup to be a little thick. Maybe I nshould have used an immersion blender. That said, my wife’s son said that this was the best tomato soup he’s ever had.
As a Greek American, I will drool at the thought of making your Youvalakia recipe this weekend. Talk about comfort food!
Keep up the good work. Love your recipes!
Love your recipes!
I thought the Tomato Basil soup was a little thick. Next time I’ll use the immersion blender. My wife’s son thought this was the best tomato soup he’s ever eaten!
As a Greek American, this weekend will be all hands on deck for your Youvalaklia recipe, one of my all time (73 years) things to eat!
Thank you for all you do for Mediterranean cookery.
Thank you, Elias! Can’t wait to hear what you think about the Youvarlakia!
This soup was amazing! I added just a little heavy cream and it turned out well, but I’m sure it would have been great without it too. Delicious!!
Suzy, I’m in trouble!
I made this this weekend for the first time.
After dinner my wife turns to me and says “The only problem with this is that I’m never going to be able to eat that S@#& out of the can again”. We usually eat Progresso Tomato Basil.
Thank you sooo much.
Jill
LOL! Once you start making homemade soups, it’s REALLY hard to go back to the canned stuff!!
Looks amazing:) everything I’ve made from you is delicious. I gave 5 stars for this even though I have not made it yet. Today with my fresh tomatoes for sure.
Your recipes never disappoint my family
Thank you
Hope you enjoy it, Rose!