Do you buy cans or boxes of soup? I used to buy them all the time too until I started reading the contents more carefully. Store bought soups that tasted good to me where packed with sodium and ingredients I couldn’t pronounce, and healthier alternatives seemed watery, bland and overall lacking in flavor. Grilled cheese and tomato soup is a big winter favorite around my house and once I started making tomato soup from scratch I could never go back to the store bought.
This tomato soup takes less than 30 minutes with very little prep, and is simple to tweak to your liking!
INGREDIENTS
olive oil
28 oz. can ground peeled tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1 clove garlic
red pepper flakes
kosher salt
dried basil
ground black pepper
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons half and half (skim milk works too!)
DIRECTIONS
Set a saucepan over medium heat.
Finely mince garlic.
(I like to use a garlic press but on this day my press was missing.
I’m not complaining because that means someone else unloaded the dishwasher 🙂 )
Swirl a bit of olive oil in the pan. When the oil shimmers it is ready.
Throw in the minced garlic and stir for a minute or so.
Add the tomatoes & broth.
Add a pinch or two of red pepper flakes.
We like to grind our red pepper flakes to a finer consistency using our coffee grinder
so the spicy heat is more evenly distributed in the food.
Add a pinch of kosher salt, to taste.
Go easy because there is sodium in your chicken broth.
Add the dried basil:
shake a bit onto the palm of your hand and then crush up the flakes to release all that flavor.
Give the soup a big stir and then let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
Add a swirl of honey, to taste.
I use about a tablespoon but this is something you can play with, along with the red pepper flakes, to customize the soup to your liking.
Simmer on low until you are ready to serve.
Take the soup off the heat and stir in the half and half (or milk).
This cuts the acidity of the tomatoes and the heat of the pepper and gives the soup a hint of creaminess.
The end result is savory with a hint of sweetness and a little kick.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Grilled cheese with tomato soup – I mean really – is there is a better winter comfort food?
(PS – try a grilled cheese on a multigrain bread with your soup, so good!)
Are you joining BOTN on Friday????
I am so looking forward to seeing what you’ve been up to this month!
Have a great day lovelies!
xo
Lisa
Cassie @ Primitive & Proper says
YUM! i love tomato soup and haven't had it in a while!
alissa {33shadesofgreen} says
Yum! Your soup looks and sounds so good, Lisa! I agree – it's scary to see what is in canned soup. Pinning this right now!
Vel Criste says
Perfect for this cold day! Thanks for sharing Lisa!
Reshma Sanjeev says
Your soups is really a quick one. Thanks for sharing.
Dana Frieling says
Pinning this so I can try it out soon. Yum!
Denise Greenwood says
Yum! I love tomato soup and I am always looking for easier, and healthier alternatives! Thanks for sharing Lisa! 🙂
Kris Jarrett says
I'll definitely be giving this a try – tomato soup is one of my oldest daughter's faves. And you're so right about the ingredients in soup – some not so great stuff!
Dana Frieling says
Now that it's a toasty 85 degrees here in Texas, I'm finally getting around to making this. It's delicious! I'll think of you every time I make it, Lisa! 🙂