Simple homemade comfort — thick, creamy tomato soup with roasted supermarket tomatoes.
What’s your favorite way to take care of yourself? I have to admit that sometimes I don’t put myself high enough on the daily priority list.
Making a comforting bowl of creamy tomato soup counts, for sure. And going to a yoga class every now and then. But for some reason taking the time to focus on nourishing body and soul feels like a guilty pleasure.
Why is that?
When my kids were younger and home from school on a sick day, I’d often join them on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket.
That down time is always for the better, and it works like magic. But it almost feels like we wait until weariness or illness sets in before just completely unplugging and allowing ourselves time to just be, especially while we’re caregivers to others and have careers at the same time.
Letting all that stuff go once in a while is obviously good for the soul.
But you know what? So is a making a pot of homemade creamy tomato soup!
Cream of tomato soup is at the top of the list of comfort foods, always a favorite for kids and adults, too.
Instead of using a milk-based thickener for this soup, I created the recipe using crumbs from fresh bread, keeping in mind the creamy, slightly sweet Campbell’s soup my mom would make for me when I was a kid.
A blender aerates the soup, and with the bread as a natural thickener the texture is perfectly smooth and luxurious.
Roasting small vine tomatoes concentrates their flavor, and the onion that roasts in the pan along with them adds even more. I love Campari tomatoes in this soup — they’re a sweet, greenhouse-grown variety and available year-round in supermarkets.
cream of roasted tomato soup
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 4 servings
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 peasant-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 (I used a 14-inch cast iron skillet); 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; then scatter the garlic over 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 for seasoning.
- 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
Oh I love that you thickened this soup with bread! Gorgeous photos!
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!
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!
That soup sounds lovely and your photos are so beautiful! And what a cool idea to use bread as a thickener.
Your Roasted Sweet Potato soup is a regular at our house. I’m looking forward to trying this one. It looks delicious.
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!
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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Hi Karen, Came here from pinterest. You have a wonderful space and the soup looks delicious.
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…
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!
Great recipe!!! One question- do you transfer JUST the tomatoes, or the tomatoes, onion, and garlic to the processor?
Hi there Albert. Yes, the tomatoes and all the other good stuff goes in too. Sorry about the confusion!
Love everything you do!!!
Thank you for your soup recipes…
keep on rocking!
Great soup, I made and it was delicious …thanks