Happy Monday, everyone! How many of you have a full week off!? I remember growing up wondering why they didn’t just give us off from school the whole week. It wasn’t until college, that we finally got this “fall break” we all craved in our early school year days. It really didn’t make any sense. It’s not like we got any work done during these three days before Thanksgiving, not to mention that Wednesday was always a shortened day. The days mostly consisted of watching educational movies and having 4 different kinds of Thanksgiving parties. It was fun nonetheless. I hope everyone is getting ready and excited for the big day! Today, I’m sharing a creamy tomato soup recipe, not for any particular reason except that it’s one of my go-to recipes for a quick weeknight meal: something that we all need as we prepare for Thursday’s indulgence!
Do you know what I hate about this creamy tomato soup?
PHOTOGRAPHING this creamy tomato soup. I have my strengths, but I have more weaknesses than I can count, and photographing soup is just one of them. Especially red, boring-looking soup.
I mean, how do you jazz up the look of tomato soup? Add a crouton? Not my style. I like my creamy tomato soup just as it should be, plain with a dollop of cheese and a sprinkle of parsley. I know, I’m so boring today. Anyway, if you are wondering why there are only two photos, this is why. I chucked the rest (which were about 150 photos in total – sad face).
Am I the only one that used to adore that creamy tomato soup that came out of a can? I know the ladies and gents of my generation (80s babies) know ALL ABOUT this soup. Don’t be ashamed. It was … and STILL IS … delicious.
It’s also warm, comforting and brings back wonderful memories of dipping that hunk of bread and cheese into warmed through canned tomato soup (with just a dash of milk).
This recipe is my attempt at bringing back a classic, but in a homemade way. I like my soup on the sweeter side, so I usually throw like 3 cups of sugar into the thing (not really, but it feels like that sometimes). I’m not a huge fan of the acidity. I also have a very hard time using fresh tomatoes this time of year. They just aren’t very good, especially around here. I think that your favorite can of San Marzano-style whole tomatoes does the trick just fine.
This recipe is also vegetarian, which doesn’t happen very often around Cooking and Beer!
Recipe is below along with a beer pairing! Have a great day everyone!
Easy Classic Creamy Tomato Soup
Servings:
8 bowls of soupNutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion
- salt and black pepper
- 5 gloves of garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 28-ounce cans San Marzano whole tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar more to taste
- 1 14.5-ounce can vegetable broth
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
- ricotta mascarpone or sour cream, for dolloping
- chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and stir to combine. Cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- To the pot, add the bay leaf, San Marzano tomatoes, sugar and vegetable broth. Stir to combine and crush the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for 25-30 minutes, breaking down the tomatoes as you cook.
- Remove the bay leaf and with either an immersion blender or a regular blender, puree the soup for 2-3 minutes for the creamiest soup.
- Lower the heat to low and stir in the heavy cream. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste by adding more salt and pepper, and more sugar if you find the soup to be too acidic.
- Keep warm on the stove until you are ready to serve. Serve with dollops of cheese and fresh parsley.
- Enjoy!
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4 Responses
Total comfort food! I’m the same way, plain tomato soup all the way. And a grilled cheese sammy! ;)
Thank you so much, Allie! I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving!