Just carrots, onions, garlic, tomatoes, broth, and bacon are all you need for homemade tomato soup. It’s deliciously rich in flavor and comes together in just under an hour.
Hallooooo, March!
And hallo, last month of soup weather. Right? RIGHT? Although, let’s be honest – I would not be sad if I ended up eating this for 12 out of 12 months of the year. This homemade tomato soup could love me all year long.
I based this recipe off of the cream of tomato soup recipe in The New Classics cookbook by Saveur, because if you might remember, I got that book for Christmas and I’m working my way through it, reading it literally cover to cover. Reading a cookbook like this cover to cover essentially means cooking it cover to cover, which is possibly the best thing that ever did happen to me. This book has been my 2015 Cooking Energy Love Source. I’m just constantly inspired by it.
Can I blow your mind for a second? This homemade tomato soup starts with bacon. B-a-c-o-n. Tomato soup // bacon // it just works. These are the delicious ways in which Saveur inspires.
The base is made with smoky, rich bacon pieces plus the addition of carrots, onions, and garlic – and then we get the tomato paste, a pinch of flour, the broth, and the tomatoes themselves simmering all up in the pot. Ohhhmygosh, the smells that will happen. I am having a hard time imaging anything more comforting than being in my kitchen experiencing the simmer-smells of this simple homemade tomato soup in progress.
How to make our Homemade Tomato Soup (1 min):
For those of you who are interested in our Charleston trip because you’re nice and you love Charleston food –> you should know that we’re having a really lovely time in Charleston.
What I mean by that is that in our 24 hours here, we have barely left the quiet comfiness of our little condo on the beach to actually go IN to town, and when we did, last night, we were running late (it’s a lifestyle thing) and so we didn’t make it into town until after dark where we then proceeded to spend more than 30 minutes trying to find a parking spot.
I know. We just… we struggle sometimes.
But today and tomorrow we are making up for it by doing two full days in the city of Charleston itself. Like, leaving in the morning and taking advantage of everything from breakfast to shopping to coffee to lunch to walking around to touring to dinner full days.
Both Bjork and I accept the fact that we are 75 years old in spirit and therefore we WILL be firmly planting ourselves on a tour bus of some kind sometime during the next 48 hours. I’m just going to put it out there that Bjork is really really reeeeally excited about doing a tour (something about appreciating knowledge and history? I don’t get it), while I, on the other hand, may or may not spend a portion of the tour studying my restaurant notes in my planner and making maps and schedules of how we can get every possible meal out of this trip.
So far the best things I’ve eaten: shrimp and grits (!!!!!!!), fried green tomatoes, crab soup, and collard greens. Oh my gosh, those collard greens. I gushed about the collard greens at least 800 times last night and Bjork was never annoyed ever.
Alright! Today is your day to make simple homemade tomato soup. I can just feeeeeeel it.
It’s smoky, a little bit sweet, and just as creamy or not-creamy as you want it to be. It’s simple – ready in just under an hour, with MOST of that time being the part where you just gaze lovingly at the pot of simmering tomatoes and let the smells of carrots and onions and garlic and bacon wrap you up in their loveliness.
I am going to have to ask you —> please make some extremely cheesy Provolone toasts or something, because what is tomato soup without the cheesy bread for dunking? But with that being said, ultimately what is going to warm you to your toes and make you feel like a long nap on the couch is this simple homemade tomato soup. WITH BACON, remember. With bacon.
Cheers to your relaxing, comforting, hug-in-a-bowl tomato soup day!
Simple Homemade Tomato Soup
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Simple Homemade Tomato Soup with carrots, onions, garlic, tomatoes, broth, and bacon for deliciously rich flavor. Extremely easy to make!
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
- 2 carrots, chopped
- half of a yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 4 cups chicken broth (more to thin out the soup at the end as needed)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 28-ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes
- cream (optional – to add at the end as desired)
Instructions
- Fry the bacon in a large soup pot over medium low heat until bacon starts to get crispy and browned, about 5-8 minutes.
- Add the carrots, onion, and garlic to the bacon in the pan; saute for 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are very aromatic and tender.
- Add the tomato paste – stir for a few minutes until you can see/smell the tomato paste starting to brown and caramelize. Add the flour and stir for a minute or so.
- Pour the tomatoes and their juice into a bowl and crush them with your hands. Add the broth, thyme, bay leaf, and tomatoes to the soup pot. Simmer for 30 minutes. Puree in batches and return to the pot. Add cream if you want.
This tomato soup looks SOOO GOOD. I definitely want to try it!
Can we freeze this please?
Thank you.
Judy
Hi Judy! Yes, you can!
Honestly I first glanced at this post being like- oh tomato soup nice but nothing exciting BUT then I started reading bacon… carrots… and the way you wrote TOTALLY sucked me in and I can’t wait to make this!! With cheesy toasts or breadsticks of course.
Seriously guys, I make the worst tomato soup ever. Like, I’m famous for it. Makes me want to cry. Need. Intervention. Now. But bacon? I mean, I know bacon makes life 10% easier right there, but I’ve never thought to put it in tomato soup?!? Stun me again!!
What blender did you use to blend your soup? If I don’t have a high power blender (i.e. Blendtec or Vitamix) will the texture be off? I would prefer to not have to push it through a strainer, chinois, or something else. Your photography looks beautiful!
I used my Blendtec! It blends pretty easily – I would imagine any blender would do the trick. Or even a food processor.
Can I use a immersion blender.? This soup looks delicious
★★★★★
An immersion blender would work great, George!
I am sitting at my desk sooo cold right now and all I want is a big bowl of this for breakfast!!
This look really amazing. I am all about creamy soups, and love the addition of bacon.
I love it when I travel with my husband and family. We have a good mix of people who want to focus on culture/history, those who want beach/pool days and others who make sure we eat/drink well. We always end up with a good variety packed in to each trip.
I love that this tomato soup looks so substantial and hearty! You are making me crave soup at breakfast time! 🙂
I have eaten more soup in the last 5 days than I have all year. This looks amazing. Bacon is a huge plus!
I am just LOVING the recipes you are posting lately! Made the peanut chicken lettuce wraps the other night, the roasted chicken tomatillo bowls are already on next weeks meal plan and now this just make me want to go make it right now.
Thanks so much for such great healthy recipes. (I mean bacon is healthy right?!?)
Thanks Kaitlyn! Appreciate that!
Yum!! We are buried in snow in Kentucky at the moment, and this sounds like the most perfect lunch for a day like today!
What kind of cream did you use and how much?
Homemade tomato soup is one of my all time favorite lunches…paired with the perfect grilled cheese of course!
Perfection! Pinned to my tomato soup and grilled cheese board. See….I am obsessed. 🙂
Happy Thursday!
This looks so good! It was -5 this morning when I woke up in MN, and this warm bowl of soup looks perfect! I was oogling over your photo of the veggies cooking down, and was thinking, this would be good made with bacon fat…. and look at you adding bacon to the recipe! Applause! Making soon for sure!
★★★★
Saveur has taught me well.
I must must must make this. It looks deliciously amazing!
WHO KNEW that tomato soup would make me salivate like this?!?! OMG….. LOL. I know what I will be making next week! 😉
Serena @ Thrift Diving
I made this tonight and doubled it so in could take for work lunches, it turned out quite watery, any tips to fix it? Thanks 🙂
This is one beautiful soup!! Nothing better than tomato soup and grilled cheese on a cold snowy day like today! 🙂
I never realized how much I love tomato soup until I got older and tried some not out of a can. I was immediately won over. This one looks like it might become a favorite!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
Lindsay- this soup sounds so good! I am a huge fan of the blog (and loyal reader!) and I have to ask: what do you do with all the food you make? I read that you sometimes make certain recipes 4-5 times to perfect it AND you make food from cookbooks for fun/research….where does all the food go?!
Stunning soup! I’ve been looking at snow flakes falling for the past 4+ hours now (and no signs of slowing down). While that’s pretty, too, your soup definitely wins.
I am loving the addition of bacon and carrots! It seems like it would be a really flavorful jazzed-up tomato soup. Charleston is awesome – I really enjoy brunch at Poogan’s Porch (looove the chicken and waffles with spicy blueberry syrup). Hope you guys have a fantastic time!
I LOVE tomato soup and I LOVE Charleston. My husband and I got married there in April 2014! Just the most amazing, amazing place in the whole world. Like another said…you’ve definitely got to try Poogan’s Porch for breakfast. We had our Rehearsal Dinner there. And, our reception was at McCrady’s on Unity Alley – GO THERE. They are ranked as one of the Top 100 restaurants in the nation. Other foodie fun spots – Husk, 82 Queen, Hominy Grill, and for the best sandwiches – Brown Dog Deli (we went there approximately 3 times on our honeymoon). Have SO much fun!
Yes, a good tomato soup definitely needs some bacon to start with! My mum always used to make it like that too and she always topped the soup with some roasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds. I love these kind of tomato soups in all variations, and while reading your post I think I should make one myself soon. Thanks for the great inspiration!
//Valérie
http://www.globalspicedblog.tumblr.com
Yaaassssssss. This looks so delicious!! And those provolone bread sticks…yummm!!! Enjoy Charleston! What an amazing food city. Are y’all there for Charleston Wine & Food fest?
No, but we initially thought we would go… it just ended up being too much to see in too short of a time. Wahh! We’ll go back. 😉
yummy! This tomato soup looks amazing! I’m a vegetarian except for bacon so this recipe is perfect, haha! also, I want that cheesy bread right now!
Maybe try Maldon’s smoked salt instead? I had a smoky tomato soup at a teahouse in Cincinnati and it was so good.
omg…. SO SO SO delicious!!! I had a few tomatoes that we’re going bad, so I threw them into the batch. I did Parmesan/provolone crustinis brushed with garlic and herb butter! Muy bueno!! Glad you’re enjoying Chuck town.
★★★★★
So glad to hear that Maria! And Chucktown might just be the best thing I’ve heard all day.
I love that you guys are 75 years old at heart. I am the same. I travel for work and people get all excited and assume it’s always a glamorous adventure. Which, sometimes it is. 75% of the time, though, I just want to snuggle up in my hotel room with a cup of tea and relax in the silence. I think I know 75 year olds who are actually more exciting than me! Have a great time in Charleston. I was JUST thinking about making tomato soup and grilled cheese when I get home from traveling this week. Great minds think alike 🙂
So, I’ve been searching for the perfect simple tomato soup recipe for forever. Now I see the problem…clearly, they all were missing bacon 🙂
I feel really bad but I tried this and it was horrible. I never write reviews but felt like I had to comment since I read all the positive comments and saw 5 stars from 64 people on
Pinterest and felt the same way prior to making it . I’m not sure if I did something wrong (I don’t think I did) but this was the worst soup I’ve ever had. My family was really excited to try it and we ended up throwing out the whole pot. The bacon got soggy and turned to strings. When blended it didn’t break up as well and globs of bacon (It was crispy) was gross. I’m sorry! I wish I liked it! It sounded great!
I feel the same way! I was so excited to try this, it had so many great reviews! It was super bland and did not blend well. None of my family liked it either and it got thrown out 🙁
★★
Unfortunately have to agree with the negative reviews! I followed the recipe to the T and it came out incredibly bland and totally lacking in rich tomato flavor, which I thought would be opposite given the bacon fat! Trying to doctor it up so I can serve it at a dinner party tonight but not sure you can salvage tomato soup when there isn’t good tomato flavor to start with! Any thoughts?
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Hi there, Mallory! We’re so sorry to hear this soup didn’t turn out for you. We’re not totally sure why it wasn’t very tomato tasting, but you could add a bit more tomato paste next time around to help. Thanks for sharing this feedback with us – we really appreciate it!
I have to agree. This is the worst soup I’ve ever had. I just got an immersion blender and was excited for this recipe but ended up throwing out the whole pot it was disgusting. We ended up having McDonald’s.
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