Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
A comforting roasted tomato and basil soup made by oven-roasting tomatoes, onions, and garlic, then blending with vegetable broth and fresh basil. Serve warm with grilled cheese or grilled cheese croutons if desired.
Equipment
- rimmed baking sheet
- rimmed half sheet
- Large Pot
- immersion blender or blender
- Kitchen Towel
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 lbsRoma tomatoes halved lengthwise
- 1 1/4 lbsgrape tomatoesor cherry tomatoes
- 4 1/2 Tbspolive oil divided
- Saltand black pepper
- 8 clovesgarlic peeled and left whole
- 2 small yellow onions sliced just under 1/2-inch thick
- 1 1/2 cups 26 g lightly packedfresh basil, divided
- 5 cupslow-sodium vegetable broth
- Prepared grilled cheeseor grilled cheese croutons optional, see notes
Instructions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- On a rimmed baking sheet, arrange the 2 1/4 lbs Roma tomatoes cut side up and the 1 1/4 lbs grape or cherry tomatoes in a single layer. Toss the tomatoes with 3 Tbsp olive oil and season with salt and black pepper.
- On a separate rimmed half sheet, arrange the 2 small yellow onions (sliced just under 1/2-inch thick) in a single layer and spread the 8 peeled whole garlic cloves among them. Drizzle or brush the onions and garlic with the remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil and season with salt and black pepper.
- Place both sheets in the oven side by side. Roast the garlic for 15 minutes, or until just golden; remove the garlic from the oven and set aside.
- Continue roasting the onions and tomatoes: roast the onions 30–35 minutes, until the edges are golden brown; roast the tomatoes 40–45 minutes, until they are slightly browned. (If your oven cooks unevenly, rotate the pans front-to-back halfway through roasting.)
- Transfer the roasted tomatoes, roasted onions, roasted garlic, and any pan juices into a large pot. Add 5 cups low-sodium vegetable broth and about 3/4 of the 1 1/2 cups (26 g) lightly packed fresh basil; reserve the remaining basil for garnish. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Bring the pot to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and let cool a few minutes to reduce splattering. Blend the soup until smooth using an immersion blender, or blend in batches in a regular blender (fill the blender no more than halfway, remove the center insert from the lid, cover the lid with a kitchen towel, and hold it while blending to allow steam to vent).
- Return soup to the pot if needed and reheat gently. Chop the reserved basil and sprinkle it on top of each serving. Serve warm with prepared grilled cheese or grilled cheese croutons if desired.
Notes
Use6 slices of hearty sourdough, wheat or white bread. Brush outsides of all slices with1/2 Tbsp of butteron each.Sprinkle 1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded mozzarella or cheddarover non-buttered sides of three slices. Top with remaining 3 slices of bread with buttered side up. Cook in a skillet over medium heat, reducing to medium-low as needed, until bottom is golden brown. Flip and cook opposite side until golden. Cut in half if serving as a sandwich or if serving as croutons in the soup cool just slightly then cut into squares.
Optionally you can pull peels from tomatoes if preferred. You can also leave basil on the sprigs then remove sprigs before blending if desired.
For a creamy tomato soup you can add 1/2 cup to 1 cup heavy cream to the soup. For a cheesy flavor you can serve with finely shredded parmesan cheese.
Recipe makes about 9 cups soup.
Grilled cheese not included in nutrition estimate.
Optionally you can pull peels from tomatoes if preferred. You can also leave basil on the sprigs then remove sprigs before blending if desired.
For a creamy tomato soup you can add 1/2 cup to 1 cup heavy cream to the soup. For a cheesy flavor you can serve with finely shredded parmesan cheese.
Recipe makes about 9 cups soup.
Grilled cheese not included in nutrition estimate.