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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Other popular Instant Pot recipes:
Instant Pot Chicken Taco Bowls
Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Recipe

Instant Pot Tomato Basil Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup carrot chopped
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes undrained
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves chopped, (or 1 Tbsp dried basil)
- 1 teaspoon Dried oregano
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 cups half and half
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
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
- 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.
- 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.
- Pour soup into blender (you may need to do this in batches, depending on how big your blender is)
- Purée until smooth. Return to soup pot.
- 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.
Nutrition
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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!
Can I not blend it? I want a chunkier soup
Yes, that’s totally fine!
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!!!
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!
Does this freeze well?
Freeze it before adding the cream at the end. When it’s thawed and warmed, then add the cream fresh.
What would happen if I froze the soup with the cream already in it.
Would it separate or curdle?
Hi Suzanne,
The soup won’t freeze well with the cream added. When you reheat it, it will get grainy and separate!
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.
Thanks for your comment. The nutritional information is an estimation of 1 serving.
If using fresh tomatoes, how many would you use and would you just chop them and dump them in at the beginning?
Hi Lindsey, you could substitute 4 cups of diced fresh tomatoes in place of the canned tomatoes. Enjoy!
If I would use fresh garden tomatoes, would you suggest adding extra liquid?
Your garden tomatoes should have plenty of liquid in them. I would scald them to remove skin first.
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!
Thanks Stephanie! I’m so happy you liked it.
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.
This sounds like a great soup, but I don’t see basil in the ingredients?
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves chopped, (or 1 Tbsp dried basil)