15-Minute Creamy Tomato Soup (Vegan) Recipe (2024)

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This soup gets a rich, creamy texture from the emulsion of olive oil and bread.

By

J. Kenji López-Alt

15-Minute Creamy Tomato Soup (Vegan) Recipe (1)

J. Kenji López-Alt

Culinary Consultant

Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.

Learn about Serious Eats'Editorial Process

Updated August 17, 2022

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15-Minute Creamy Tomato Soup (Vegan) Recipe (2)

Why It Works

  • This recipe uses pantry staples like canned tomatoes, which are reliably fresh year-round.
  • Blending bread and olive oil together gives the soup a creamy texture without any dairy.

Most of us have some sort of nostalgic idea of eating sweet, creamy, canned tomato soup with a side of grilled cheese sandwich, right? I mean, Ineverate tomato soup as a kid, but even I have nostalgia for the stuff. It's something that's just ingrained in the collective conscious as an essential part of childhood, and a flavor combination that as adults we take joy in turning back to.

Well, the canned stuff is all fine and good in my mind, but when I actually taste it these days, the nostalgia disappears in a puff of high fructose corn syrup-scented smoke. Cloyingly sweet and one-dimensional, it's a tough dish to swallow.

The good news:Making excellent tomato soup from scratch at home is almost as easy as simply opening a can, and the return on your minor time investment is significant.

This variation of a tomato soup recipe I first wrote down for Cook's Illustrated a few years ago starts with a sauté of onions, garlic, dried oregano (which, in applications like this, is just as good as fresh), and crushed red pepper in really good olive oil. I use canned tomatoes because we're cooking them anyway, and canned tomatoes are more reliably fresh year-round than actual fresh tomatoes are. Plus, the fact that they're cooked already means that you have little more do to than bring them to a boil before puréeingin a blender.

But where does the creaminess come in?

When push comes to shove, I suppose that this recipe should more aptly be entitled "hot gazpacho" rather than "dairy-free creamy tomato soup," because a hot gazpacho is exactly what it is. If you read mypiece on gazpacho, you'd know that at its heart, gazpacho is really a soup of bread and olive oil, and that's exactly what I use to make this vegan version of creamy tomato soup, well, creamy.

See, when olive oil and a water-based soup come together, they don't exactly like to mix. Oil and water and all that. If you can somehow manage to force the two to come together harmoniously, what you end up with is a creamy, rich liquid that is thicker and richer than either the soup or the olive oil on their own, much in the same way that mayonnaise is thicker than the eggs or oil that comprise it.

The key to getting the olive oil and liquid to emulsify? Sliced bread and a blender. A blender on its own will break down large oil droplets into microscopic ones that get dispersed evenly throughout the soup. But this on its own is not enough; Eventually those microscopic droplets come together and coalesce into visible droplets that turn the soup greasy.Enter bread. Sliced sandwich bread adds plenty of starch and wheat proteins to the soup. Both of these act as physical emulsifiers, both thickening the liquid, and preventing dispersed oil droplets from coalescing and separating from the mix.

A quick whizz in the blender, and you've got a soup that you couldswearhas some dairy richness to it, but with a far more intense, bright flavor than an actual cream soup.

A drizzle of olive oil, a few grinds of black pepper, a sprinkling of fresh herbs, and lunch is served.

February 10, 2012

Recipe Details

15-Minute Creamy Tomato Soup (Vegan) Recipe

Cook15 mins

Active15 mins

Total15 mins

Serves4to 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

  • 2 cloves garlic, grated on a microplane grater

  • 1 small onion, finely sliced (about 1 cup)

  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano

  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

  • 2 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into rough 1/2-inch pieces

  • 2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes packed in juice

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • Minced chives, basil, or parsley as garnish

  • Toasted bread or grilled cheese for serving

Directions

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add garlic, onions, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently until onions are softened but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add bread and tomatoes. Roughly mash tomatoes with a whisk or a potato masher. Add 2 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes.

    15-Minute Creamy Tomato Soup (Vegan) Recipe (3)

  2. Transfer half of the soup to the jar of a blender. Blend soup, starting at low speed and gradually increasing to high. With blender running on high, gradually trickle in half of remaining olive oil. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large bowl and repeat with remaining half of soup and olive oil. Ladle into individual serving bowls, top with minced herbs, drizzle with more olive oil, and serve with toast or grilled cheese.

    15-Minute Creamy Tomato Soup (Vegan) Recipe (4)

Special Equipment

Blender

Notes

Be careful starting up the blender, the soup can shoot out the top. Open the vent and hold a kitchen towel over the lid to prevent blowout.

Read More

  • Serious Entertaining: The Vegan, One Meal Convince-A-Meathead Challenge
  • Serious Entertaining: Grilled Cheese Roll-Ups for a Crowd
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
324Calories
23g Fat
26g Carbs
6g Protein

×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4to 6
Amount per serving
Calories324
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 23g30%
Saturated Fat 5g25%
Cholesterol 11mg4%
Sodium 448mg19%
Total Carbohydrate 26g9%
Dietary Fiber 4g16%
Total Sugars 10g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 66mg330%
Calcium 169mg13%
Iron 2mg11%
Potassium 799mg17%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

15-Minute Creamy Tomato Soup (Vegan) Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you thicken tomato soup without milk? ›

Start by using 1 tablespoon of cornstarch at a time, mixed with 2 tablespoons of water. More cornstarch slurry can be added, but be sure not to add too much. Only mix in a small amount of slurry at a time to ensure that your soup will thicken properly. Using corn starch is a fast, effective way to thicken soup.

How do you thicken tomato soup without heavy cream? ›

One of the simplest ways to thicken tomato soup is by adding a starchy ingredient, such as potatoes or rice. You can cook the potatoes or rice separately and add them to the soup, either mashed or whole. Both potatoes and rice contain starch, which will help thicken the soup without adding any additional ingredients.

What happens when milk is added to tomato soup? ›

Tomatoes are very acidic and milk or cream is added to them, curdling can occur. Curdling will be more likely to happen when the ratio of acid to cream increases or when mixing a cold and hot mixture. To thwart the curdling tendency, changing procedures will render a smooth tomato soup.

What's the difference between creamy tomato soup and tomato soup? ›

But what about cream of tomato soup? Any “cream of” soup, tomato included, is pureed like a normal soup but then goes through a “creaming” process, wherein cream is added to the mixture. Cream of tomato soup is actually cooked at a much lower temperature than normal tomato soup.

Is tomato soup better with milk or water? ›

You can use either depending on your taste. Water is perfectly fine but using milk will make the end product much richer. With most brands, you can use either option. Milk makes the tomato soup creamier, and it tastes better, that way.

Is it better to thicken soup with flour or cornstarch? ›

It's important to note that cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour. If you need to substitute cornstarch to thicken liquid in a recipe that calls for ¼ cup (four tablespoons) flour, you only need two tablespoons cornstarch.

What can I add to tomato soup to make it thicker? ›

You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute. For the best results, never add flour or cornstarch directly to your soup. If you do, it will clump up on top. Instead, ladle a small amount of broth into a separate bowl and let it cool.

How do you thicken tomato soup without cornstarch? ›

Whether you're making homemade tomato soup or heating up a can of store-bought soup, there are several ways to thicken it without using cornstarch. One of the simplest ways to thicken tomato soup is by adding a starchy ingredient, such as potatoes or rice.

How do you make soup creamier and thicker? ›

6 ways to thicken soup:
  1. Blend all or part of it. If you've made a broth with chunks of vegetable in it, such as minestrone soup, then pour the soup through a sieve. ...
  2. Add cream or yogurt. ...
  3. Add flour or cornflour. ...
  4. Use a butter and flour paste. ...
  5. Blend in bread. ...
  6. Add lentils or rice.

How do you add milk to tomato soup without curdling? ›

When you add baking soda to tomato soup (or sauce, or chili), it neutralizes the acid in the tomatoes. Not only will this make the tomatoes taste less acidic (good news if your tomatoes turned out more sour than you expected), but it also means that you can now add milk to your soup without risking curdling it.

How do you keep milk from curdling in cream of tomato soup? ›

Here's some tips to prevent curdling:
  1. Prepare a warm milk/flour mixture to add to hot soup.
  2. Stir some hot soup liquid into cold dairy product to temper it, then add to the soup.
  3. Do not boil the soup after adding any dairy product, especially cheese.
  4. Add acid to the milk instead of milk into the acid.
Dec 15, 2016

Can you add milk or cream to soup without curdling? ›

A common technique is to thicken your sauce or soup with roux before adding the milk. This changes the makeup of the liquid and prevents curdling.

What's in Panera tomato soup? ›

Detailed Ingredients

Tomatoes (Tomatoes, Tomato Puree, Citric Acid), Water, Heavy Cream, Onions, Contains 2% or less of: Butter (Cream, Salt), Seasoning (Sugar, Salt, Spices), Corn Starch, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Garlic and Nisin Preparation.

Is tomato bisque the same as cream of tomato soup? ›

While both are delicious, they are quite different, especially when it comes to the texture. Tomato bisque is thicker and creamier in texture, and calls for the use of milk and/or cream.

What is a bisque vs soup? ›

A "soup" can be labeled one of the following: Bisque is a rich, thick, smooth soup that's often made with shellfish, such as lobster, crab, or shrimp. Broth or Stock is a strained, thin, clear liquid in which meat, poultry, or fish has been simmered with vegetables and herbs.

What can you add to tomato soup to thicken it? ›

Add flour or cornflour

Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes to allow the starch granules to burst to thicken, and to cook out any flour flavour.

How do you thicken watery tomato soup? ›

How To Thicken Up Tomato Soup
  1. Add Tomato Paste. One of the easiest ways to thicken your tomato soup is by adding tomato paste. ...
  2. Use Flour or Cornstarch. ...
  3. Incorporate Bread. ...
  4. Utilize Heavy Cream or Yogurt. ...
  5. Blend or Puree. ...
  6. Add Vegetables or Beans. ...
  7. Simmer and Reduce.
Mar 5, 2024

What helps thicken tomato soup? ›

If your tomato soup is too thin, try adding cubed sweet potatoes, butternut squash, or other veggies to absorb some of the excess liquid. Alternatively, you can add quinoa or lentils, which will absorb water as they cook in the soup, thickening it naturally.

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