Roasted Tomato Basil Soup from Garden Fresh Tomatoes
Roasted Tomato Basil Soup is the most delicious way to use those beautiful garden tomatoes! Bold rich flavor from the roasted tomatoes and garlic is blended with fresh basil and a touch of cream, perfect for grilled cheese dunking! Freeze extra tomato soup and preserve your tomato harvest all winter!
Servings: 4 to 6
Calories: 270kcal
Equipment
- blender
Ingredients
- 4 pounds tomatoes any assortment of about 12 to 18 medium to large sized tomatoes, plus some cherry tomatoes if you like
- 1 yellow onion peeled and cut in quarters
- ½ head garlic with skin left on
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 grinds fresh black pepper
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup water more or less as needed
- ½ cup fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F convection bake.
- Wash tomatoes, cut off the top stem spot and remove any bad spots, and cut them into large chunks (halves or quarters). Cherry tomatoes can be left whole. Lay them on a large sheet pan with the onion pieces and garlic head with its skin on.
- Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle evenly with salt, pepper and sugar. Toss well with your hands to coat. Spread everything evenly on the sheet pan with the cut sides facing up. Roast for 45 minutes.
- When the tomatoes are nicely roasted, remove the garlic from its skins and add everything to a blender including all the drippings from the pan and the heavy cream. This will likely need to be done in 2 or 3 batches. Blend until you reach the consistency YOU prefer, this could be anywhere from chunky or very smooth. Adjust the consistency by adding water if needed. See notes below.
- Add the basil to the soup and blend again until incorporated, again blend it as smooth or with as many green flecks as you like.
- Return the soup to a pot as you get each batch blended, set over low heat.
- Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches or crusty bread for dunking.
Notes
- If your oven does not have a convection bake setting, it is fine to just use regular bake. Convection bake just means the fan is blowing which will help dry out and intensify the flavor of the tomatoes.
- Use any combination of tomato varieties for this recipe. Plum or Roma tomatoes are nice for soup but really any kinds will work. Use about 3.5 to 4 pounds. For me this was 18 medium sized tomatoes plus a handful of cherry tomatoes. This recipe is forgiving, not using the exact amount of tomatoes will still turn out fine, you will just need to adjust the amount of water you use when blending to get the consistency you like.
- Roasting Time could vary depending on the type of tomatoes you use, your oven, and how small you cut them. If they seem to be drying out and burning, take them out early. If after 45 minutes they seem quite watery and without toasty roasted edges, go ahead and roast them a bit longer.
- Use Water to Adjust the Finished Soup - The water is used to adjust the soup to the right consistency. You may use all of it, or you may not use it at all. The amount of liquid in your tomatoes will cause this to vary. I blended all my tomatoes with the cream but without the water and transferred the soup to a pot. Then I added the half cup of water to the empty blender and blended it to clean out every last bit of tomato. I then added this tomatoey water to the soup, stirring as I added it until it was the consistency I liked (which was ½ cup of water). If you add too much water and the soup is too thin, just simmer over low heat and stir to allow the steam to escape to thicken.
- A Panini Press makes quick and easy grilled cheese sandwiches!
Nutrition
Calories: 270kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 616mg | Potassium: 1200mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 4389IU | Vitamin C: 66mg | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 2mg