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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
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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One of the best tomato soups I’ve ever had! Very easy to make.
Thanks for the high praise! I hope you get to try more of my instant pot recipes soon!
If using fresh Roma tomatoes how many would you use and does it freeze well?
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!
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!!
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.
This is a delicious recipe. I’ll use it again!
This was was easy and the results are superb!
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?
I think either would work fine.
Corn starch or tapioca starch will likely thicken better and both are also gluten free.
What could you use instead of half and half? Coconut milk in the can?
Sure, or cream, or evaporate milk.
Delicious!!!! Loved the instant pot version. Speedy with the same rich texture as stove top.
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.
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!