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.

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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4.87 from 136 votes (85 ratings without comment)
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Jana
4 years ago

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.

Glinda
4 years ago

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!

Lindsay
4 years ago

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

Kelly
4 years ago
Reply to  Lindsay

2 stars
I found the same

Darla
4 years ago

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!

John B
4 years ago

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!

Rochelle
4 years ago

Just wondering if I could sub the half and half with coconut milk?

Mandie
5 years ago

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!

Eileen
5 years ago

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.

Angela
5 years ago

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!

Eden
5 years ago

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!