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This creamy Tomato Basil Soup is loaded with hidden vegetables and is restaurant-quality DELICIOUS! You can make it on the stove, slow cooker or in the Instant Pot. 

I love making soup for dinner because it's so easy to make (and sneak those vegetables in to) and it's easy to come up with things to serve with it, like an Italian Grilled Cheese Sandwich!  Some of my other favorite soup recipes include: Broccoli Cheese Soup, Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup, and Spicy Chicken Soup.
Creamy tomato basil soup in a white soup bowl topped with croutons and a spoon inside the bowl.
I have been in LOVE with this soup Tomato Basil Soup recipe for nearly a decade! I have a few different recipes for tomato soup on my site but this one is probably my favorite, and I love how it has veggies hidden inside it! It tastes great and is a little more nutritious than a typical creamy tomato soup. It tastes even better the next day if you want to make it in advance or enjoy meal prep leftovers in your fridge.

How to Make Tomato Basil Soup:

  • Sauté the vegetables: Add the carrots, onion and celery to a pot with a little bit of oil and sauté them for a few minutes.
  • Add: diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken broth, oregano, and basil. Bring to boil and cook for several minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

A soup pot with diced carrots, celery and onion next to another photo of the pot with diced tomatoes, spices and chicken broth added to it.

  • Blend. Use an immersion blender or regular blender (you may need to do this in batches, depending on how big your blender is) and purée the soup until smooth. Return it to the soup pot.
  • Make the roux: In a separate pot, add butter and melt on medium heat. Stir in the flour and whisk together constantly for about 10 minutes or until the roux is a nice golden brown color.
  • Add the roux: Stir a big ladle full of soup into the roux-it will start to form a thick paste.  Slowly add another 2-3 cups of warm soup to the roux, whisking it until smooth. Add the mixture to the soup pot and stir well to combine.

Two process photos for making a roux for soup.

  • Stir in parmesan cheese, half and half (or milk), and salt and pepper. Add additional oregano and fresh basil as desired, to taste. Stir well. Cook for a few more minutes until warmed through.

Two process photos of adding basil, cream and parmesan cheese to tomato soup in a pot.

For Slow Cooker Tomato Soup:

  1. Add to slow cooker: diced tomatoes, carrots, onions, celery, tomato paste, chicken broth, oregano, and basil.
  2. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.
  3. Make the roux: About 30 minutes before the soup is ready, prepare a roux. Melt the butter over medium low heat in a skillet and add the flour. Whisk together constantly for about 10 minutes or until the roux is a nice golden brown color.
  4. Thicken soup.  Slowly add 1 cup of the soup from the slow cooker to the roux–it will start to form a thick paste.  Slowly add another 3 cups of warm soup to the roux. Whisk together until smooth. Add the roux mixture to the slow cooker and stir to combine.
  5. Blend: Pour soup into blender (you may need to do this in batches, depending on how big your blender is) Purée until smooth. Return to the slow cooker.
  6. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, half and half (or milk), and salt and pepper. Add additional oregano and basil if needed, to taste. Stir well.
  7. Finish cooking. Cover and cook on low for another 20-30 minutes or until warm.

You can also make Tomato Basil Soup in the Instant Pot!

Storing and Freezing Instructions:

  • Store tomato basil soup covered, in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
  • Freeze: To properly freeze this soup, leave out the cream and shredded cheese before freezing it. Then add the cream and cheese after reheating. (Otherwise they may curdle when reheated from frozen.)

A white bowl full of tomato soup with croutons as a garnish and another bowl of soup in the background.

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4.91 from 462 votes

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

Author: Lauren Allen
This creamy Tomato Basil Soup is restaurant-quality DELICIOUS and it's loaded with hidden vegetables.
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Servings: 8 servings

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Ingredients 
 

Instructions 

  • Add oil to a large soup pot over medium high heat. Once hot, add carrots, onions, and celery and sauté them for a few minutes.
  • Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken broth, oregano, and dried basil. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for several minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
  • Use an immersion blender or regular blender (you may need to do this in batches, depending on how big your blender is) to puree the soup until smooth. (This step is optional, if you like a smooth soup). Return it to the soup pot.
  • In a separate pot, prepare the roux. Add butter to the pot over medium low heat and allow to melt. Stir in the flour and whisk together constantly for about 10 minutes or until the roux is a nice golden brown color.
  • Add a big ladle full of the soup to the roux--it will start to form a thick paste.  Add a few more big scoops of soup to the roux and stir well until smooth. Add the roux mixture to soup pot and stir to combine.
  • Stir in the parmesan cheese, half and half, salt, pepper and basil. Add additional oregano and basil if needed, to taste. Stir well. Cook for a few more minutes until warmed through.
  • Store tomato basil soup covered in the refrigerator for up to one week.
  • Try it served in a yummy homemade bread bowl!

Notes

Slow Cooker: Add diced tomatoes, carrots, onions, celery, tomato paste, chicken broth, oregano, and basil to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 5-6 hours until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft. Continue with step three of the above recipe.
Or make it in the Instant Pot.
Freezer Instructions: To properly freeze this soup, leave out the cream and shredded cheese before freezing it. Then add the cream and cheese after reheating. (Otherwise they may curdle when reheated from frozen.)
Gluten-free Adaptations: Use gluten-free all-purpose flour.

Nutrition

Calories: 264kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 55mg, Sodium: 1095mg, Potassium: 326mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 3445IU, Vitamin C: 12.5mg, Calcium: 226mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.

 

I originally shared this recipe December 2013. Updated September 2019.

 

The BEST Creamy Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup you can make in the Slow Cooker OR on the Stove top! | Tastes Better From Scratch

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About The Author

Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

4.91 from 462 votes (374 ratings without comment)
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It was absolutely perfect!
5 months ago

5 stars
My husband said that this was the best soup he has ever had! It was perfect. We dipped our grilled cheese in it. Yum!

Colleen
2 years ago

5 stars
The whole family loved it! Even my oldest, that doesn’t like soup! We will definitely be making this again! Thanks for sharing the recipe! ❤️

Rick
2 years ago

Turned out well enough, but I would reduce or probably eliminate the parmesan altogether in the future as it overwhelms the tomato and makes the soup too rich and heavy.

Cynthia
2 years ago

5 stars
Added crab to this and Yaouza!!!!! It then became crab Bisque! Wonderful!

Patricia Hill
2 years ago
Reply to  Cynthia

5 stars
This soup is amazing – it’s the 4th time I’ve made it this month – going to freeze the batch I’m cooking this morning – it is wicked cold and this is just the ticket. I did have some fresh basil – threw it in to add even more flavor! 😋

Iris
3 years ago

Love this soup! It is a staple for my family. The only change I made was I do fire roasted tomatoes! It adds that little kick this soup needs.

However I do have one question… how much soup in oz/g/cups is the serving size?

Anita
3 years ago

I made this soup over the weekend and will make it again with some slight changes: 1/2 the amount of onion (or less) and I added Greek seasoning to taste. I found the original recipe to be lacking in flavor hence the Greek and overpowering in onion. I toasted parmesan bread with butter and additional Greek seasoning. Perfect paring!

laroch.miranda@gmail.com
3 years ago

3 stars
We liked the soup, but I think next time I will skip the step of making the roux, and just add the milk to give it that creaminess. The flavor was great though.

Michelle
3 years ago

Made this today when I was hankering for tomato soup. Delicious!
Question, can this be frozen? I was thinking of freezing individual portions in my vacuum seal bags so I can enjoy it at work for lunch.

Admin
Stacy Popham
3 years ago
Reply to  Michelle

So glad you loved it!! Yes, you can freeze it but it’s best frozen without the cream and shredded cheese. You can find instructions in the post on how to freeze it!

Bobbie Lynn
3 years ago

5 stars
Made this recipe for my annual girls soup party and it was such a hit, that the left overs were my parting gift! So flavorful and paired well with a parmesan crustini!

Sandy
3 years ago

5 stars
This soup is excellent. Made it exactly as recipe states and it was perfection. Great flavor. My husband wanted a second bowl.

Haley
3 years ago

2 stars
The roux ruined my soup. It tasted amazing until I added it to the roux. Wish I would have left it out 🙁 it’s completely unnecessary. However, the veggies puréed together was great. Would make again without the roux.

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