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!
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This Easy Tomato Basil Soup is for those times when I am feeling virtuous and when I don't have much time. It is so incredibly easy to make and takes only about ten minutes from start to finish.
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.
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!
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.
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! It makes a huge difference. This is the one I have:
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.
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.
SLIMMING WORLD FRIENDLY TOMATO SOUP!
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).
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
SEE MY VIDEO FOR A VISUAL GUIDE. FOR INGREDIENTS & FULL INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE SEE THE RECIPE CARD AT THE END OF THIS POST
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.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH TOMATO SOUP
Serve this wonderful Easy Tomato Basil Soup with a drizzle of good olive oil and a sprinkle of cracked black pepper and make sure there is plenty of fresh bread available for dipping.
It is wonderful with my Miracle No Knead Focaccia!
Don't be put off by the thought of making your own bread. This Focaccia is SO easy. It is a truly no-fail recipe.
And just look at what you get for no more effort than stirring a few things up in a bowl for a minute or two. No sweat at all and it is the most perfect accompaniment to your soup!! ????
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!
For more great vegan soup recipes check out these great options:
- Vegan Potato Soup
- Vegan Tortilla Soup
- Vegan Italian Sausage Pasta Soup
- Vegan Pea Soup
- Udon Noodle Soup
- Creamy Vegan Carrot Soup
- Instant Pot Tomato Soup
And if you love this recipe, please do check out my cookbook, and subscribe to my email list for a fabulous FREE eCookbook featuring my top 10 recipes. Being on the list means you will be first to see my new recipes and you’ll be kept in the loop on all things new and exciting too!
Easy Tomato Basil Soup
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
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
NUTRITION
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Long time vegan, creator of A Virtual Vegan & author of the book 
VJ says
Why doesn't anyone (including you) write the ingredients immediately above the recipe any more? This is not an improvement.
Melanie McDonald says
I'm not entirely sure what you mean. The ingredients are all listed immediately above the recipe instructions. I've never changed the format in the almost 5 years I've had my website.
boog says
This soup was way too thick, it needed 2 cups of broth before it had the consistency of a tomato soup. I would also recommend considerably more seasoning , oregano, basil, thyme and a little rosemary and crushed red pepper flakes.
Marge says
Plant based, no oil here. Along with my daughter and 11 year old grandson. I had my grandson taste test for me. He tested till it was gone. A winner!
Melanie McDonald says
Ha ha! Always a good sign. Glad he enjoyed it!
marjorie feiner says
This is delicious. I made it with the foccacia and the bread was perfect with this soap. What a great way to use all the tomatoes from the garden. So easy and quick and yummy.
Melanie McDonald says
I'm really pleased you enjoyed both recipes. Thank you Marjorie!
Connie Miller says
My husband love tomato basil soup. I was wondering if it could be canned. I'm going to try it because I have a lot of tomatoes.
Melanie McDonald says
I don't really have any experience of canning so can't say. Sorry!
Carrie says
Have you tired freezing this?
A Virtual Vegan says
I haven't but I think it will be fine. You will lose a bit of the fresh basil flavour but you could always add a little more when you reheat it if you wanted to.
Deena Fried says
do you peel the tomatoes?
A Virtual Vegan says
No, no need to peel them. It's a super quick and easy soup with no fussy prep. By the time they get blended up you wouldn't know the skins were there!
Erica says
Can I make this in advance and chill it? Do you think?
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes you could. Be sure to reheat it quite gently and don't allow it to boil as you'll lose the lovely fresh basil flavour otherwise.
Carolyn says
What is the measurement of one serving? I am making a large amount fir a wedding and want to make the right amount.
A Virtual Vegan says
The recipe serves about 4 - 6 people. It's impossible to be exact as it depends how juicy your tomatoes are, and a serving size of soup is so subjective. The nutritional info is based on the entire recipe serving 6.
Dominika says
Thank you so much for this recipe. It saved my day today!
Btw. I used canned tomatoes, it worked really well :)
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm glad it worked well with canned tomatoes!
Barbara says
Made this tonight, it is delicious! I roasted the onions before adding to the pot with garlic and a bit of tomato paste. Loved the consistency at the end. Thanks for sharing!
Cathy says
This is excellent, simple to make soup! Never had real Tomato soup until you have tasted this!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Cathy. I'm so pleased you enjoyed it!
Beverly A says
Oh my word this is good! I am 70 years old and have never had such good tomato basil soup. I followed the recipe to the letter and will definitely be making this again. Hubby says for him too - the best tomato basil soup he has ever had. I am gluten free, so no flours to hurt my tummy. I did not make it perfectly smooth, wanted the little "bits" in it and the basil is the cat's meow. Thank you for sharing!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm so pleased you both enjoyed it Beverly. Thank you so much for coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
Amanda says
This recipe was so easy and so delicious. It took me about ten minutes to make and then I had dinner prepped for the next few days. It was a little bit watery, but it's possible the tomatoes I got just weren't the best.
Katelyn says
Hi, could you make a big batch and freeze this?
A Virtual Vegan says
You could yes. It freezes really well.
Dawn says
I have just made this soup and it is so good. Thank you for the recipe
Beth says
When you cut up the tomatoes, do you take the skin off or the seeds out or just put the whole shabang in?
A Virtual Vegan says
It's designed to be a super quick, fuss free recipe so you just throw them all in as is. By the time you blend it all up you won't notice the skins etc anyway. You could skin them if you wanted to but for me life's too short for skinning tomatoes! ;O)
April says
This recipe was delicious! I loved the simplicity of it, but it offered so much flavor. Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm so pleased you enjoyed it April!