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    Home » Recipes » Vegan Soups & Stews

    Published: Nov 10, 2015 · Modified: Feb 3, 2021 by Melanie McDonald · This post contains affiliate links · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. · 182 Comments

    Easy Tomato Basil Soup

    GO TO RECIPE GO TO VIDEO PRINT RECIPE
    4.69 from 135 votes
    The easiest Tomato Basil Soup EVER and it’s so fresh & vibrant. Made with just 4 ingredients (plus salt, pepper & optional olive oil) and it only takes 10 minutes to make!

    The easiest Tomato Basil Soup EVER and it's so fresh & vibrant. Made with just 4 ingredients (plus salt, pepper & optional olive oil) and it only takes 10 minutes to make! 

    Easy Tomato Basil Soup in bowls, topped with fresh basil. A loaf of cut bread in background.

    This Easy Tomato Basil Soup is for those times when I am feeling virtuous and when I don't have much time. Just like my vegan vegetable soup, it is so incredibly easy to make and takes only about ten minutes from start to finish.

    The flavours of this Tomato Basil Soup are fresh, vibrant and untainted. The only ingredients are tomatoes, onion, garlic and basil (plus a little oil and seasoning). It's so simple!

    Jump to:
    • Low fat & Slimming World friendly
    • Are tomatoes good for you?
    • How to make tomato soup
    • Serving suggestions
    • Hungry for more?
    • 📖 Recipe
    • Comments

    I just love easy soup recipes. This and my Vegan Pea Soup are my go-to's when I need dinner or lunch on the table super quick.

    Because it is cooked so quickly the amazing fresh flavour of the tomato is retained and the pungent flavour of the basil is conserved by adding it at the very last moment before serving.

    The resulting soup is fresh, aromatic and incredibly healthy. The taste of the fresh basil is amazing! No stock, plant-milk or cashew cream is added to this soup. The liquid comes only from the tomatoes which makes the flavour so much better. Because of this, it isn't a rich, creamy tomato soup. It's a really vibrant and healthy one.

    If you want a creamy more indulgent recipe try my Instant Pot Tomato Soup and don't worry if you don't have an Instant Pot you can make it on a stove top too.

    Low fat & Slimming World friendly

    There are only about 280 calories in the entire pan of this soup and it is very low in fat. It can even be made totally fat free by omitting the olive oil and sautéing the onions and garlic in a drop of water instead.

    If you follow the Slimming World diet plan you will also be pleased to know that this soup is syn free (if you omit the oil).

    easy tomato basil soup in bowls with chunks of bread strewn around

    Are tomatoes good for you?

    Tomatoes are a great source of lycopene which protects us from destructive free radicals which can harm cells and damage DNA. Cooking your tomatoes in a little healthy fat such as olive oil helps carry the lycopene into the bloodstream so that our bodies can benefit from it so I do recommend using a little oil as stated in the recipe if you can.

    As well as being a good source of lycopene, tomatoes are full of many other vitamins and minerals. They are known to protect against heart disease, prostate cancer and asthma and they also help to ensure our bones, teeth, skin and hair stay healthy.

    So you get all of those benefits and it's so incredibly quick and easy to make. There really is no excuse not to eat a healthy meal when you can whip up something like this in such a short space of time.

    How to make tomato soup

    In just 10 minutes and a few simple steps you could be tucking into a bowl of this fresh and delicious Tomato Basil Soup. It's so quick and easy and can be super cheap to make too when tomatoes are in season, or if you have a greengrocer like mine who always has big packs of them on quick sale.

    • Step 1 - Sauté the garlic and onion
    • Step 2 - Add the tomatoes and cook until they start breaking down
    • Step 3 - Add the basil and seasoning, transfer to a blender and blend until smooth or blend it right up in the pan with an immersion blender.

    You'll notice that once the tomatoes, onion and garlic are cooked up together in a pan, they are all blended up with the fresh basil then served immediately. You can use a blender or an immersion blender. Either is fine.

    The higher-powered your blender is, the smoother the result. When I took the photos for this recipe I was using a pretty low quality one so it wasn't perfectly smooth. Now I have a Blendtec it emerges like velvet. A good blender is such a great investment if you like soups and smoothies!

    There is no need to cook the soup any longer once the basil is added. It keeps the flavours really fresh and delicious if you just blend and serve.

    Serving suggestions

    Serve this wonderful Easy Tomato Basil Soup with a drizzle of good olive oil and a sprinkle of cracked black pepper. It's also great with a scattering of vegan croutons and a dollop of vegan ricotta and plenty of fresh bread available for dipping.

    It is wonderful with my Miracle No Knead Focaccia on the side.

    If you prefer a more traditional bread recipe there is always my Light Whole Wheat Bread, which is the one you can see in the photographs of the soup (except that one has some seeds added as an extra).

    Tomato Basil Soup is also fab with grilled cheese sandwiches. Comfort food at it's finest! It's great in a Thermos for winter packed lunches too!

    Hungry for more?

    For more great vegan soup recipes check out these great options:

    1. Vegan Potato Soup
    2. Vegan Leek and Potato Soup
    3. Vegan Tortilla Soup
    4. Vegan Italian Sausage Pasta Soup
    5. Vegan Pea Soup
    6. Creamy Vegan Carrot Soup

    📖 Recipe

    Easy Tomato Basil Soup

    Author: Melanie McDonald
    4.69 from 135 votes
    Juicy, plump tomatoes & aromatic fresh basil come together beautifully in this simple, fresh and vibrant soup which takes only ten minutes to make.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe SaveSaved!
    PREP TIME: 5 minutes
    COOK TIME: 10 minutes
    TOTAL TIME: 12 minutes
    Servings: 4 - 6 servings

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 teaspoon olive oil optional, you can use a drop of water to sauté instead to keep the recipe oil free
    • 1 medium onion chopped
    • 3 large cloves of garlic chopped very finely I like lots of garlic so used 4 but adjust to suit your tastes
    • 7 cups / 1400 g of chopped fresh tomatoes see recipe notes
    • 1 handful of basil leaves and stalks are fine
    • 2 teaspoons salt adjust to taste
    • 1 teaspoon pepper adjust to taste
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    INSTRUCTIONS
     

    • Heat a pan over a medium heat and add the oil or a couple tablespons of water.
    • When hot add the onions and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes until just starting to turn golden.
    • Add the chopped tomatoes. Continue to cook over a medium heat, stirring every few minutes until the tomatoes have broken down and are soft.
    • Remove from the heat and add basil and salt and pepper then blitz in a blender or with a stick immersion blender until smooth.
    • Serve immediately.

    NOTES

    I have tried this recipe with large tomatoes and grape/cherry tomatoes and it works well with both, or even a mixture of the two.
    Leftovers will keep int he fridge for 4 to 5 days and reheat really well in a pan or in a microwave. 

    NUTRITION

    Serving: 1servingCalories: 78.9kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 4gFat: 1gSodium: 643mgFiber: 4gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1900IUVitamin C: 47.9mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 0.2mg

    Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.

    Tried this recipe?Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @avirtualvegan on Instagram and hashtag it #avirtualvegan
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    Comments

    1. Maddie M says

      December 16, 2021 at 11:24 am

      5 stars
      I just made this and it was so quick and easy! I wanted a fast vegan tomato soap but all of the others ones took more than an hour. I did not put the onions (not a big fan) and it was still amazing! This is now going to be one of my go-to recipes for soup

      Reply
    2. Kara Jueckstock says

      November 23, 2021 at 5:46 am

      5 stars
      I made this last night and was shocked!! I can't believe I have been suffering with canned tomato soup for so long when this is so easy to make and flavorful!! The thing that took me the longest was chopping everything and waiting for the tomatoes to break down, but it was a very low-effort dish that turned out delicious. I will never be buying canned tomato soup ever again!

      It was a bit thick, so I did add some chicken broth about halfway through the breakdown process and it worked out to have a really nice consistency.

      Thanks so much!

      Reply
    3. Lisa says

      September 22, 2021 at 6:58 am

      5 stars
      I roasted the ingredients except for basil, it gave it more flavour will definitely make it again

      Reply
    4. Teresa Jesionowski says

      September 08, 2021 at 11:21 am

      5 stars
      I made this soup several times this summer. It is excellent. It was especially good with a blend of heirloom tomatoes from my sister-in-law's garden. I also froze 9 cups of this soup for winter. Thanks so much for a great recipe. Also I went oil-free and used an immersion blender. Thanks again!

      Reply
    5. Nancy says

      September 02, 2021 at 9:22 am

      5 stars
      Easy and delicious. Doubled the garlic because that is what we like. Thanks for posting this recipe!

      Reply
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    Melanie McDonald

    I'm Melanie McDonald (but you can call me Mel), best-selling cookbook author and creator of A Virtual Vegan. I share well-tested, flavour-packed vegan recipes with clear, step-by-step instructions. My goal is to give you the confidence to cook amazing vegan food from scratch.

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