Simple homemade comfort food — thick, creamy tomato soup made with roasted tomatoes, and it’s dairy-free.
Sometimes we wait until total exhaustion — or just straight-up illness — sets in before giving ourselves permission to completely unplug.
It’s hard to allow for time to just be, especially while we’re busy working or being caregivers to others.
Letting all that stuff go once in a while is obviously good for the soul.
And you know what else is? Making a pot of homemade creamy tomato soup!
Does it even need to be said? Cream of tomato soup is at the top of the list of comfort foods, always a favorite for kids and adults, too.
When I was growing up, my mom would make me bowls of creamy tomato soup (sometimes even with a side of grilled cheese).
It was always Campbell’s soup from a can, made with milk added to the concentrate instead of water. I learned to love that combo.
As a mom, when my own kids were home from school on a sick day, I’d often take the opportunity to join them on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket with bowls of warm soup.
To re-create the creamy texture of my childhood comfort food, this recipe uses fresh bread crumbs to thicken it instead of milk or a heavy flour-based roux.
And for the tomato base, I made a batch of roasted tomatoes. I often grab supermarket Campari tomatoes to have on hand as a staple — they’re a sweet, greenhouse-grown variety, available year-round.
Roasting small vine tomatoes concentrates their flavor, and the onion that roasts in the pan adds even more.
For the finishing touch, creating that deliciously smooth texture is much easier using a blender — an inexpensive hand stick blender (one of my favorite kitchen tools) is the easiest, since you can work right in the pan.
More comforting soup recipes:
- Tuscan Tomato Soup (Pappa al Pomodoro)
- Chickpea Soup with Pasta (Pasta Fagioli)
- Classic Italian Minestrone Vegetable Soup
cream of roasted tomato soup
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 4 servings
Homemade cream of tomato soup, thickened with bread instead of milk or cream. Easy and delicious!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ large onion, sliced
- 2 pounds small vine-ripened tomatoes, such as Campari, sliced in half
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus additional to taste
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 slices country-style bread, crusts trimmed off, plus more bread for serving
- 1 – 2 cups cup vegetable broth or water
- Soft goat cheese or ricotta (optional) and chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, thyme or basil
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425 degrees.
- Pour the olive oil into a large baking dish or a pan that will hold the tomatoes snugly. Scatter the onion evenly over the bottom.
- Arrange the tomatoes cut side up over the onion and sprinkle with the salt and sugar.
- Roast 20 minutes. Add the garlic to the tomatoes and roast for about 10 more minutes – the tomatoes and onion should be soft and golden and the juices bubbling. Season the tomatoes with the black pepper to taste and cool 10 or 15 minutes.
- Transfer the tomatoes to a blender or food processor. Tear the bread slices into small chunks and add to the tomatoes (one half at a time if blending in 2 batches). Add enough broth or water to barely cover the tomatoes – it will depend on how juicy the tomatoes are after roasting.
- Puree until completely smooth, in batches if necessary, adding more bread and/or liquid to achieve a consistency you like. I prefer the soup with a little body rather than very brothy. Taste the soup and add more salt if you think it needs it.
- Toast some bread slices and spread with goat cheese or ricotta, if you like, or drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with herbs place the toast in each bowl of soup.
Courses soup
Cuisine comfort food
Hi there! I’m Karen, a mother of two and a professionally trained cook certified in holistic nutrition.
As the recipe developer, photographer and publisher of Familystyle Food, I share recipes and tips for making easy seasonal meals that are healthy and flavorful. Learn more about me here.
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Have a question or feedback? Get in touch or leave me a comment below — I love hearing from you!
laura (Tutti Dolci) says
Oh I love that you thickened this soup with bread! Gorgeous photos!
Karen says
Laura, thanks so much! I’ve been trying to get creative with the leftover bread I seem to always have in the kitchen.
Hi Erin – I hope you find another day to make more soup soon, although I’m guessing Tomato-Basil made your sis very happy!
Erin @ The Speckled Palate says
What beautiful photos of a gorgeous soup! And what a fun thing to whip up in lieu of the Campbell’s soup. I wish I had seen this yesterday, as I made a Tomato and Basil Soup for my sister, and this might have been even more perfect. Definitely giving this a shot when I get home!
Kocinera says
That soup sounds lovely and your photos are so beautiful! And what a cool idea to use bread as a thickener.
Mary says
Your Roasted Sweet Potato soup is a regular at our house. I’m looking forward to trying this one. It looks delicious.
Karlyn Blaha says
Hey! This soup looks great! I was wondering if you knew the nutrition facts on it? If not all, just the calories are what I really need. My husband and I just started this diet, after I had a baby 3 months ago, so we are trying to be really careful. Thank you!
Karen says
Karlyn,
Hi – thanks for asking about nutrition facts; it’s a great question. I used Spark Recipes to calculate some info for you since I don’t personally have software to do that.
Here’s the link to nutrition info based on 4 servings – good luck with your diet!
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=11282,4053,11882,19335,18033,1033,11215,&amounts=28601,25011,29329,34590,32989,23735,28497,&qtys=1,3,7,1,2,1,3,&servings=4&food=
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Rekha says
Hi Karen, Came here from pinterest. You have a wonderful space and the soup looks delicious.
Brenda says
I love to make homemade croutons with my leftover bread….almost any kind will work, However whenever I and at the market and can find day old loaves….I buy several loaves and spend the afternoon….cutting, toasting and freezing my nuggets of wonderful goodness…for salads,soups and gumbos…..Mmm delicious…
marykate says
Wow ive just made this for my family amd everyone went wild for it!! We had grilled cheese sandwiches with ours as that is a firm favorite of my husbands. The recipe was easy to follow and quick to make. Thank you this will become a firm favorite im sure!
albert says
Great recipe!!! One question- do you transfer JUST the tomatoes, or the tomatoes, onion, and garlic to the processor?
Karen says
Hi there Albert. Yes, the tomatoes and all the other good stuff goes in too. Sorry about the confusion!
D Vermeal says
Love everything you do!!!
Thank you for your soup recipes…
keep on rocking!
Arlette says
Great soup, I made and it was delicious …thanks