Easy creamy tomato basil soup uses fresh roasted tomatoes, red bell pepper, and onions for a quick and healthy yet comforting entree. A drizzle of cashew milk makes it creamy while still being completely vegan and dairy-free.
Ingredients:
- Avocado Oil
- Roma Tomatoes
- Garlic
- Onion
- Red Bell Pepper
- Salt & Pepper
- Cashew Cream (Optional; raw unsalted cashews & water, nee notes)
- Fresh Basil (Optional)
It is no news that in southern California the rainy days are far and few between. Overall, we are fortunate that our winter temps are on the lighter side, but that will never stop me from loving and craving a bowl warm soup like almost every day during the winter months.
Despite the temperature, I do enjoy a good bowl of soup most of the time. It is a great way to get your daily intake of veggies and proteins in one hearty bowl. Not to mention my favorite part of soup the side dish I get to dip into it! Grilled cheese, pressed panini, quesadilla, or just some warm fresh bread, crusty or soft, it’s all good!
The method to making this soup can be versatile. As you’ll see in the instructions I use the ONE-PAN method, because I like the look and texture of the roasted vegetables. You can roughly cut the veggies and spread them all out on a lined baking sheet. Drizzle oil and seasonings on top and bake at 400 for almost an hour, flipping the veggies half way, can roasting until they start to get a nice char on them. Throw them all into a blender until emulsified and creamy. I personally enjoy a chunky soup, not 100% creamy, so I like to leave out about a quarter of the tomatoes and let the soup simmer them down. Once the veggies are all blended add them to a large pot along with the rest of the tomatoes.
Another way to make this dish is the ONE-POT method. I like the one-pot method for easy clean up. You can chop up The bell pepper, garlic, onions, and tomatoes, and sauté them in a large pot with oil and seasonings until they become soft and translucent. With an immersion blender you can emulsify all the ingredients until creamy. If you do not have an immersion blender you can use a regular blender and then return the ingredients back to the pot.
Tips
- Tasty Tomatoes: Using roma, san marzano, plum, vine ripped tomatoes are best for flavor, try to stay away from beefsteak and other flavorless tomatoes.
- To seed or not to seed: The seeding is up to you and your preference. As well as leaving the skins on. It is a lot less hassle to leave them on, so I always do. But skin them if you prefer.
- Taste test: If soup tastes a little bland for your liking you can always add more salt and maybe even a little fresh cracked pepper to deepen the flavor.
- One Pot vs. One Pan: If you own an immersion blender you can skip roasting the vegetables and make this all in one pot. Chop up the bell pepper, garlic, tomatoes and onions, and sauté them all with oil and seasonings in a large pot. Once the veggies get soft and translucent to your liking you can emulsify all the ingredients together with the immersion blender.
- Toppings: Adding cashew cream really takes this vegetable soup to a bisque level! In stead of a cream topping some people ike a little olive oil drizzled on top, or even an infused oil (garlic, basil, balsamic are great choices). And lastly, fresh basil and buttery croutons are delicious topping additions! Voila, your soup is ready!
Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
Ingredients
- 10 Whole Roma Tomatoes (or vine ripe, or a mixture of the two)
- 1 Head of Garlic (1 large or 2 small garlic heads)
- ½ Yellow Onion
- 1 Bell Pepper
- ½ C Cashew Cream (Optional, see notes for recipe)
- 2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 1 bunch Fresh Basil
- 2 dashes Cayenne Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Avocado Oil
Instructions
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and drizzle a little oil (of choice) onto the paper.
- Slice all the tomatoes and bell pepper in half. Cut off the top of the whole garlic head(s), and slice up large slices of the yellow onion. place all the veggies onto the oiled parchment paper. Drizzle a little more oil over the top of veggies, along with sprinkles of salt and pepper.
- Bake veggies at 400 for about 40-60 minutes, turning over half way in between.
- Once the vegetables are throughly roasted and started to get a nice char on them. Add vegetables to a blender, including the juice from the roasted veggies (keep 1/4 of the tomatoes out if you’re like me, and prefer a chunky tomato soup). Blend until creamy.
- Add all the ingredients to a large pot and heat on low. The soup is ready to serve. Top with basil. For more creamy, bisque-like soup add cashew cream and mix into the soup.
