Healthy Tomato Basil Soup

Delicious & healthy Tomato Basil Soup with a secret ingredient! This soup is so creamy, rich & flavorful, is vegetarian friendly and dairy free. I’ve had many different variations of tomato soup and this is by far my absolute favorite!

The most flavorful, creamy, and delicious tomato basil soup you’ll have! Made with a secret ingredient of white beans to give it creamy consistency without using dairy, and is a plant-based protein to make this soup extra hearty and satisfying. You can make this soup in a regular stainless steal pot, cast-iron dutch oven, or in instant pot/slow cooker. It’s so easy to make, only needs a handful of ingredients, and is vegan/vegetarian friendly! 

Creaminess without Dairy

No dairy? No problem. This recipe is unique by using white beans in replacement of dairy. Unexpected I know. But when white beans are pureed in any type of soup, a smooth creaminess develops. It makes this soup SO satisfying and delicious! Use navy beans, cannellini beans, or garbanzo beans for this. 

Difference Between Tomato Bisque and Tomato Soup

A traditional bisque is made with a stock of shellfish – like lobster or crab.  Bisque usually consists of a dairy cream to make it rich – regular tomato soup would be just a vegetable or chicken stock and no cream. 

How to Make Healthy Tomato Basil Soup

1. Saute onions and carrots in a large pot with olive oil until soft (about 3-5 minutes). 
2. Then add canned tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetable broth, and white beans. Season with salt and pepper. 
3. Let soup simmer for 1 hour covered (stirring occasionally). 
4. When soup is done add herbs. Use a hand puree or transfer soup to a blender – blend until creamy and smooth. Adjust flavor with salt to taste if needed. Serve with fresh basil and a side of crusty bread! 

How to Make Tomato Soup with Fresh Tomatoes

If you have fresh tomatoes for tomato soup use 3 pounds and cut tomatoes into smaller pieces. Cook cut tomatoes with all of the ingredients and follow recipe as is.

Make in an Instant Pot/Slow Cooker

I’ve made this recipe several times in an instant pot/slow cooker. For pressure cooker setting: Add all ingredients to pot (except fresh basil) and set to 40 minutes on high – puree soup at very end with fresh basil. Slow cooker instructions:  set slow cooker to either 2 hours on high or 5 hours on low – puree soup at the very end with fresh basil. 

Tips for Making Healthy Tomato Basil Soup

• How to thicken tomato soup: if tomato soup is on the thinner side use 1-2 extra tablespoons of tomato paste and less broth/liquid. 
• Add herbs at the end when soup is finished cooking – this will avoid a bitter taste that can happen when herbs cook at high heat for an extended period of time. 
• How to make tomato basil soup creamy: rather than using cream, you can add white beans to tomato soup. This will make your soup rich, creamy, and so much more satisfying.

How to Store Tomato Basil Soup

Freezing Tomato Basil Soup: Transfer soup to air tight container, let soup come to room temperature for storing in freezer. When you’re ready to cook frozen soup, remove and let thaw for about 1-2 hours then place mostly frozen soup in a pot to warm. 

Store in refrigerator: Let soup come to room temperature then store in air tight container in refrigerator for 3-5 days.

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Healthy Tomato Basil Soup

Servings 6

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Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 10 mins

Delicious & healthy Tomato Basil Soup with a secret ingredient! This soup is so creamy, rich & flavorful, is vegetarian friendly and dairy free. I've had many different variations of tomato soup and this is by far my absolute favorite!

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: easy tomato basil soup, healthy tomato soup, tomato basil soup

Calories: 327 kcal

Author: Bethany Kramer

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 28 oz canned whole plum tomatoes with juices
• 1 32 oz vegetable broth
• 1 15 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoon dried basil (1 Tablespoon for fresh basil)
• 1 teaspoon oregano (1 tTablespoon for fresh oregano)
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a large pot saute onions and carrots in olive oil until soft. Then add tomatoes, vegetable broth, cannellini beans, tomato paste, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt & pepper. 

2. Cover soup and let simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add basil and oregano. Use a hand puree to blend soup until creamy or transfer in batches to blender. Adjust salt to your preferred taste. Serve soup with fresh basil. 

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About The Author

Bethany Kramer is a home cook, recipe developer, and dog mom. She found a deep love for food and nutrition after learning to cook from her mom at eight years old. Since then she’s been developing and sharing recipes from her own kitchen that are bold in flavor and nourishing to the body!
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