Classic Tomato and Basil Soup

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Tomato and basil soup. A classic Italian recipe and a firm favorite in our house. I serve it with cheese and chive scones which really adds to the tomato and basil soup and make it a hearty meal. Fantastic for these cold winter days. Yum!

What’s also great with this soup is that only tomato and basil soup base is made first. The finish to serve is simple by adding some milk. The base tomato and basil soup, however, is very versatile and can be kept in the fridge or frozen, or even used as the base for a pasta sauce. Add some mushrooms or pancetta. Yummy. Or even some chili, olives, capers and anchovies for a classic puttanesca recipe! Simple.

For now, though, let’s make the soup…

1. Get the ingredients together

As always, I recommend getting all of the preparation done first. There’s just a little chopping here with the carrots, onions, celery and potato, but this is only rough chopping. You’ll blend this soup once cooked, so no need for perfection here.

2. Make the soup base

To make the basic tomato and basil soup, first, simply heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan or casserole pot and add the carrots, onions, potatoes, and celery. Sweat these off until the onion is soft. Try not to burn the onion otherwise it may add a slightly bitter taste to the soup.

With the vegetables partly cooked add the tomato puree and mix thoroughly around the vegetables. The, add the tinned tomatoes, the passata, bay leaf, white wine vinegar and sugar. Stir this in well and bring to a simmer.

Once simmering, add the vegetable stock and bring to a simmer again. This now needs to be cooked through until the vegetables are soft. Around 15-20 minutes. Remember, you will blend this soup so the softer the vegetables the better.

Once the vegetables are cooked add the basil and stir in.

Once the basil has been consumed by the soup you can now finish the base tomato and basil soup by blending it in a food processor. A hand blender is fine but if you have a larger food processor use this. Blend in batches if you have made a larger quantity.

Once blended add back to the pot and mix well. Re-heat through and season to taste. There you have it. The basic tomato and basil soup.

3. Finishing the soup off

As I mentioned at the start of this post, this tomato and basil soup base will probably appear quite thick at this point. This is ok as this is the base. It is at this stage you need to decide what you want to do with it. If you want to eat the soup later in the day, or tomorrow, simply keep it in your fridge until you are ready. The same if you plan to use it for pasta.

For any time longer than 1- 2 days I recommend freezing it. It will keep for around a month. Just defrost thoroughly in the fridge before use.

When you want to finish the soup, just reheat until it simmers. Then allow it to cool for a minute or so and add the milk. Heat this through, avoiding any boiling if you can, and serve. Yum!

As you can see, I served the soup with cheese and chive scones. I actually broke them up and used them as croutons. They were fantastic. If you want to give the scones a go too just click on the photo below and it will take you to the recipe.

Well, that’s it my fine foodie friends. Classic tomato and basil soup in the bag! I hope you give it a go. Let me know if you do. I’d love to know how you get on. Also, if you want to be updated on new recipes and general posts just subscribe to the newsletter at the top of this page.

As always, many thanks for ready and until next time… Steve.

Steve Deacon

Founder & Writer

Hi, I'm Steve, founder of The Yum Yum Club. After years in the corporate rat race traveling the world, my wife Jen and I settled back in the UK to follow our true passion: great food and wine. Having worked in restaurant kitchens in my youth, I share honest home-cooked recipes, kitchen timing tips, and culinary discoveries.

View all posts by Steve Deacon →