Your family will go nuts for this creamy Instant Pot Tomato Soup with basil and parmesan cheese, that’s loaded with veggies. It’s absolutely delicious, full of flavor and has the perfect thick and smooth texture.

Instant Pot Tomato Basil Soup with parmesan served in a white bowl with a handle and topped with homemade croutons.

I’ve officially converted my favorite slow cooker soup to an instant pot version that’s way quicker and easier (like all things with the instant pot seem to be). This is one of those soups that I can really eat all year round, and my family loves it too! It’s packed with “hidden veggies” like carrots, celery and onion, which add to the flavor and make me feel even better about how much my kids enjoy it. Learn all of my instant pot tips!

How to make Tomato Basil Soup:

Start by sautéing vegetables, and then add diced tomatoes (or fresh garden tomatoes!) chicken broth and spices. Cook in the instant pot, slow cooker or on the stovetop. At this point I like to puree the mixture, but that’s optional if you like your soup chunkier.

Chopped carrots, celery and onion in the bottom of the instant pot next to another photo of the instant pot mixture with chicken broth, diced tomatoes and spices added to it.

Make a roux in a separate saucepan. As a side note, some recipes for instant pot tomato basil soup will have you add the flour and butter mixture directly to the pot, rather than cooking it in a saucepan first. Even though that method is more convenient, that really defeats the purpose of the roux, and more importantly, you’d really miss the deep and rich flavor that comes from cooking the roux until it’s golden brown.

Process photos for making a roux for tomato basil soup including butter and flour cooked until golden brown and then tomato soup added to it.

Once the roux is golden, add a cup of the cooked soup to the roux and stir to combine. You’ll notice the roux will thicken significantly. Add another few cups of soup to the pot and stir well, and then add the roux mixture back to the rest of the soup.

Tomato basil soup in the instant pot with parmesan cheese and heavy cream added to the pot.

Stir in parmesan cheese and half and half. Half and half is a mixture of half heavy cream and half milk but you could use regular milk, to cut calories, if you’d like.

I love to serve tomato soup with homemade croutons, or a piece of crusty garlic bread.

Overhead photo of a white bowl filled with tomato basil soup with parmesan cheese, croutons, and a spoon.

Other popular Instant Pot recipes:

Instant Pot Chicken Taco Bowls

Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta

Instant Pot Jambalaya

Recipe

Instant Pot Tomato Basil Soup with parmesan served in a white bowl with a handle and topped with homemade croutons.
Prep 20 minutes
Cook 30 minutes
Total 50 minutes
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Equipment

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Add oil to the instant pot and turn to saute. Add carrots, onions and celery to the pot and saute for 2 minutes. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken broth, oregano, and basil and stir to combine. 
  • Turn Instant pot off. Secure instant pot lid and set the valve to “sealing”.
  • Cook on Manual/High Pressure for 5 minutes. When the timer beeps allow the pressure to naturally release for 5 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, make the roux. Add butter to a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Once butter has melted, stir in the flour.
  • Cook, stirring constantly for about 10 minutes or until the roux is a nice golden brown color.
  • Pour the soup from the instant pot into a blender and blend until smooth (please do this in 2-3 batches, depending on how big your blender is).
  • Add one cup of the pureed soup from the instant pot to the roux and stir to combine. The mixture will start to form a thick paste. Slowly add another 3 cups of soup to the roux. Add the roux mixture back to the instant pot and stir until smooth.
  • Stir in the Parmesan cheese, half and half and salt and pepper. Tastes and add additional oregano and basil if desired, to taste. 

Notes

Stove Top Method:
  1. Add diced tomatoes, carrots, onions, celery, tomato paste, chicken broth, oregano, and basil to a large soup pot. Bring to a gently boil and cook for several minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
  2. 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. Slowly add 1 cup of the soup from the other pot 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 soup pot and stir to combine.
  3. Pour soup into blender (you may need to do this in batches, depending on how big your blender is)
  4. Purée until smooth. Return to soup pot.
  5. 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. Cook for a few more minutes until warmed through.
Slow Cooker Method, follow this recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 297kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 10gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 58mgSodium: 690mgPotassium: 338mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 3455IUVitamin C: 4.2mgCalcium: 212mgIron: 1mg

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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.

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Comments

  1. 2 stars
    I was so excited about this, but there are way too many steps for a bland and ultimately unsatisfying soup. I wasn’t impressed and don’t recommend. Maybe I did something wrong because it looks like a lot of people loved it!!

  2. Absolutely wonderful soup with such depth of flavor. Used the stove top version instead of y instant pot. Also, sautéed the carrots, onions, and celery in bacon fat.
    Easy and we served it with “adult toasted cheese sandwiches”.
    A very satisfying, quick dinner.
    Joanne and Bill

  3. 5 stars
    Delicious! Love the creaminess and robust flavors. I used fresh tomatoes instead of canned and it is really yummy!

  4. 5 stars
    Made this tonight and it was yummy! I had some sun dried tomatoes that I needed to use so I threw them in.
    After reading other reviews, I added some garlic powder.
    Will do again for sure!
    Thank you!

  5. 5 stars
    So creamy and delicious, lots of flavors involved that all work so well together. I don’t like tomato soup, and neither do my younger brothers, but we all loved this!

    1. I made this for my family and it was absolutely delicious and easy. I was disappointed to find out I was out of carrots and I used a yellow pepper instead. One comment here said it was it as sweet as they liked, so this added something special. Thank you!

  6. 5 stars
    I’ve made this soup a few times now for our family dinner and once for a potluck at work. Everyone loves this soup! I serve it with either Texas toast or with a grilled cheese sandwich (we use sourdough bread for the grilled cheese). I usually use canned San Marzano tomatoes, but have made it with crushed tomatoes too (either way it’s delicious). Recommend blending it up with an immersion blender if you have one.

  7. 4 stars
    Thank you for your recipe! I loved the creamy texture of this soup & creaminess was perfect. If you are making tomato basil soup like you would get from chained restaurant recipes, this is not for you. It will not be as sweet as you would expect & tomato flavor is not as strong.
    I used dried basil but would recommend fresh ones.

  8. I made this in my IP Ace Plus. I left out the celery and added ancho powder and Herb de Provence, any herb will do. I also added squash. Very nice basic recipe! Thank you.

    1. Came here to say this is insanely delicious! I doubled the amount of basil and added some garlic powder, and subbed out the half and half for heavy cream (personal preference). Hubby and I loved it! Will definitely be saving and sharing this recipe.

    1. I ended up adding onion powder, garlic powder, dried basil, oregano, and a tablespoon of sugar. That helped quite a bit. It was bland before that. Next time I would definitely truly add 3-4 cloves of garlic when I sauté the other veggies. I also think I would add more tomato paste.

  9. 3 stars
    Tastes like eating Vodka Sauce. I would definitely cut out or reduce the parmesan, Also, way too thick, I would cut the Roux in half.

  10. 5 stars
    I’ve never made homemade tomato soup and really am not that crazy about tomato soup in general. But I wanted something to go with ham and cheese grilled sandwiches so I started searching for tomato soup. In a quick search, your recipe sounded the best and it is delicious. Glad I decided to make it and thank you for sharing!

  11. 3 stars
    Bland soup. Was ok for dipping my sandwich into but very bland by the spoonful even after adding extra spices. just doesn’t have that tomato basil depth and kick for me

  12. 5 stars
    I have made this a few times now, and it rivals a soup from a local restaurant. Delicious! My husband really likes tomato flavor, so we use the whole can of tomato paste, and I am currently using tomatoes from my garden. In fact, the last batch I made was for the sole purpose of freezing for later. I made the base, up to adding the roux back into the pot. I then cooled and froze. When I pull it out, I will heat it up and add the Parmesan cheese and half and half, or, as I did in one batch, Greek yogurt blended in with the immersion blender. Fabulous recipe!

  13. 5 stars
    This is probably the best tomato soup that I have ever had. It requires some patience to make, but the result is well worth the effort. Thanks for sharing!

  14. 5 stars
    I love this tomato soup! Great recipe, easy to follow, and an amazing final result. I used whole milk instead of half and half due to that being what I had on hand. I will be making this again in the future for sure!

  15. 5 stars
    I have made this soup 4-5 times now and absolutely love it. I’ve made it for myself, family & friends pretty much all winter and everyone raves. I make home made croutons to go on top but with some nice bread it’s a filling delicious meal. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe.

  16. 5 stars
    We had a family dinner and this was one of the soups I made. Big hit! Definitely more fresh and tasty than your run of the mill soup. I had a few fresh tomatoes that were needing new life and I subbed the diced tomatoes for some fire roasted ones. Excellent, thank you!

  17. 5 stars
    This recipe is great! I made it over the stove, added a couple garlic cloves and doubled the fresh basil (I love basil) and used an immersion blender at the end, it turned out perfect! Would definitely recommend, super easy and fresh ingredients. Thank you!

  18. 3 stars
    Did not care for the butter taste in this recipe. My husband and I love Tomato Basil Soup. We have a favorite recipe, but thought why not give this one a try. We’ll be sticking with our old recipe.

  19. 5 stars
    I’ve been looking for a great tomato basil soup for years. This is it finally! I used a can of evaporated milk instead of half and half. It’s what I had. I know I’ll be enjoying this soup for years to come. Thanks so much.

  20. 5 stars
    Great soup and I love me some tomato basil soup. I used evaporated milk in place of half and half and it was still yummy. Adding this to my soup recipe repertoire.

  21. 5 stars
    Delicious!!!! The best tomato bisque recipe I’ve tried and I’ve tried several versions. This one is the Keeper!! Thanks for posting the recipe.

  22. 2 stars
    Says 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup flour. Honestly feel that it must be a typo. As any time I’ve made roux its never been 50/50 to make roux. Could taste flour and i didnt put in all the mixture in soup.
    So will try again w roux being different measurements.

  23. 5 stars
    We had this tonight for dinner. We used the Instant Pot method and it turned out great. I used the Mirepoix from @traderjoes and blended with a stick blender, which made it even easier. Making the roux is a little tedious, but only 10 minutes and worth it! It made a quick and delicious weeknight meal with a side salad. Thanks for the recipe, it will be used again!

  24. 5 stars
    I’m pretty much a soup snob 😬 and I absolutely love this recipe! Easy, rich and flavorful, and made from scratch so you know what’s in it! I’ve served it with grilled caprese and bacon sandwiches for dipping- heavenly!

    1. You can substitute about 2 pounds of fresh peeled tomatoes for the two cans of diced tomatoes. 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.) Enjoy!

  25. Do you think this recipe could be “canned” in jars without adding the cheese and cream and adding them in when you heat up to eat? This lools yummy!!

    1. You’d have to check guidelines from a safe canning website to be sure. There are ph/acidic levels you have to meet to make recipes safe for shelf-stable canning.

  26. Can you use arrow root powder instead of flour or even almond flour to thicken the soup if you are trying to avoid wheat and be gluten free?

  27. 5 stars
    I am OBSESSED! I have been looking to the perfect creamy tomato basil soup and this is it! Thank you so much for sharing and teaching me how to cook from scratch. I feels so good to eat your own cooked meals.

  28. 5 stars
    Not usually a fan of tomato soup, but my hubby requested it so I came across this recipe. This was so good! Loved the thicker soup and the Parmesan in it! I have never Cooked a roux that long before but I think it gave it a deeper flavor. THank you for this awesome recipe!

  29. I have a question. I’m about to make this tonight and I’m trying to figure out which method I want to go with. Stove vs. IP. I’m a little confused as to why you would blend the soup without the roux with the instant pot way and with the roux in the stovetop way. What’s the difference? Also, why would you sauté the vegetables with the instant pot but not the stovetop? Not trying to pick apart your recipe, just new to the instant pot and curious as to why you made those specific changes.

    1. I wasn’t really thinking about it when typing up the recipe You can do it either way and it wont matter 🙂

  30. 4 stars
    Loved this soup. My only problem was the amount of butter, I felt that the butter flavor was a bit overpowering and the soup had an almost ‘greasy’ texture. I will make it again, but I think I’m going to leave the butter/roux out and rely on the cream to thicken the soup. I also put the cheese on the table and let people add what they wanted. The flavor of the soup was great, though. I had fresh basil in my garden and I think that really made the flavor pop. Thanks!

  31. 5 stars
    I just got an Instant Pot and I need to learn to use it so this recipe looks like a good one to start with. It looks so delicious too! Plus my kids love tomato soup so that’s a bonus.

  32. 5 stars
    I absolutely loved it. However i had to change a few things in order to eat it cause i am on diet so i need to be careful. I used half quantity parmesan and instead of half half i used 1 cup of low fat milk. I could still feel the parmesan taste (thankfully). Thank you for this awesome recipe. I became one my favourite soups ?

  33. 4 stars
    It was tasty but VERY THIN. I ended up doing a double batch of roux to thicken it and it was still thin. If this were on the stove I would have reduced it over a low flame. I cooked it for 6 minutes as I thought 5 sounded too low for all that liquid. Good thing I did. I used my immersion blender and froze half before adding the cream. I used Italian seasoning instead of straight oregano. Tasted very good even without the cheese-I made it at 7 am and too lazy to grate cheese just for a taste!! I would make this again

  34. 5 stars
    This was super duper delicious! I had never made a roux before or used it in any recipes, so I’m glad I looked it up on YouTube and cooked it low and slow. I was so hungry I probably would have rushed it and burned it and ruined the soup if I hadn’t followed the directions 😉 Anyway, the soup turned out perfectly and I will be making this again and again! Thanks!

  35. Can I use an immersion blender in the instant pot instead of adding several batches to a blender? I can’t wait to try it. It looks delicious!

  36. 5 stars
    Holy geez!! This soup is simple and amazing!! Rather than the back and forth from the blender I used my immersion blender and it was the perfect consistency in a snap! It rained sideways here today and was dark by 3:30 so soup was definitely in order ? I also made grilled caprese sandwiches (melty fresh mozzarella cheese, pesto, tomatoes and bacon bits on the inside, crispy bread on the outside). Dip the Sammie in the soup-match made in heaven! Thanks for the recipe, it’s definitely a keeper!

  37. 5 stars
    UH-MAZING! I made this with fresh tomatoes and basil from the garden. I also added a cup of chopped zucchini, since I have an abundance. It was so delicious! We put cheese garlic croutons on top and paired it with garlic knots. So yummy! My whole family gobbled it up! WIN!!!

    1. I’m so happy you like dit! I love the addition of zucchini and what you served it with sounds divine. Thanks for your comment–I hope you get to try more of my IP recipes soon!

        1. Hi Suzanne,
          The soup won’t freeze well with the cream added. When you reheat it, it will get grainy and separate!

  38. The nutritional information is WAY OFF! It’s about 500 calories not 297. I adjusted the recipe and am going to use skim milk, hanf the butter and half the cheese to get it down to 220.

  39. 5 stars
    Delicious! I absolutely loved this recipe… my basil plants were growing out of control and this was the perfect kick off to fall. Thank you!

  40. 5 stars
    My husband is not very big on anything tomato, let alone tomato soup. I made this for dinner, knowing there was a good chance he would complain and want something else. But, to my great joy and astonishment, he loved it. We served it with grilled cheese and it was delicious! Thanks for sharing.