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.
Hey friends! This recipe was originally published in 2015 (!!!), but we could all use a little more homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese in our lives, so we’re sharing it here again. Enjoy!
Hallooooo, fall!
And hallo, 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 (affiliate link) and yes I’ve essentially read this cookbook 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.
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.
Here’s what else we’re working with:
- Some fresh veggies and aromatics like carrots, onion, and garlic.
- Yummy herbs like thyme and bay leaf.
- Lots of tomato goodness thanks to a delicious can of (HAND-CRUSHED) San Marzano.
- Cream. Because, of course.
Ohhhmygosh, the smells that will happen. I am having a hard time imagining anything more comforting than being in my kitchen experiencing the simmer-smells of this simple homemade tomato soup in progress.
Check out our video for how to make Homemade Tomato Soup:
What to Serve With This Tomato Soup
I am going to have to ask you —> please make some extremely cheesy Provolone toasts or grilled cheese or grilled sourdough bread 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.
And if absolutely necessary to round things out a bit, here are a few green things to join the party as well:
- Brussels and Kale Caesar with Cheesy Croutons (those croutons are basically a salad topper and soup dipper in one)
- Toasted Bread and Parmesan Kale Salad (simple, zippy, cheesy, YUM)
- Bacon and Brussels Sprout Salad (MORE BACON!)
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.
Cheers to your relaxing, comforting, hug-in-a-bowl tomato soup day!
Common Questions About This Tomato Soup
The main goal here is to use higher quality tomatoes, and usually whole canned tomatoes are higher quality whereas pre-crushed tomatoes are made from bits and pieces of lower quality tomatoes. That being said, I’ve made this without hand-crushing the tomatoes (either using crushed canned tomatoes, or breaking apart the tomatoes in the pan with a spoon) and it’s still delicious.
Skip the bacon, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, and skip the cream at the end (or throw a handful of cashews into the blender with the soup to make it creamy).
Yes! It should keep in the freezer for 3-4 months.
Yes! Follow the recipe as-is using the sauté function on the Instant Pot, and then instead of simmering for 30 minutes, cook it on manual high pressure for 15 minutes with a quick release at the end. Blend, add your cream and serve!
Simple Homemade Tomato Soup
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
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)
- kosher salt to taste (I like 1-2 teaspoons)
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; sauté 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 crushed tomatoes, broth, thyme, and bay leaf to the soup pot. Simmer for 30 minutes. Puree in batches and return to the pot. Add cream if you want. Season with salt. Look at that homemade tomato soup, you champ.
Notes
The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products we use and love!
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: homemade tomato soup, tomato soup recipe, tomato soup with bacon, tomato soup, grilled cheese
Pinterest
Absolutely outstanding soup! Full of flavour, easy to make, simple, good for you ingredients. Just what was needed on a dark, grey, English November day. This one’s going in my favourites folder.
★★★★★
So glad to hear that, Bev! Thanks for the comment!
I am not a very good cook but making this soup made me appear to be a culinary genius in the eyes and tastebuds of my family. I forgot to buy fresh basil so I opted for dried. It was fine, but you know there is nothing better than fresh basil. The slightly smokey bacon flavor is the signature flavor in this soup…LOVED IT!!! I was fortunate to have a killer immersion blender and it earned it’s money. Blending the soup with the immersion blender in the pot without having to pour batches into a processor was a super time and mess saver for an amateur like me.
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed the soup, Craig! Totally agreed on the immersion blender!
This is the best tomato soup that I have tasted! And this says a lot because I love tomato soup. I used real tomatoes from the farmers market (trust me, they are so much better than grocery store tomatoes) by blanching them first (which removes the skins), chopping them into cubes and then cooking the whole soup on medium heat for 25 minutes. I also added turkey stock instead of broth and 3 tablespoons of butter. Will absolutely be making again and would suggest real tomatoes. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Thanks for the comment, Leah! So glad you enjoyed the soup!
I made this without the bacon and cream and it was still 10/10 delicious. My picky boyfriend even loved it. I will be making this again many times over winter in Michigan. Thank you!!
★★★★★
So happy to hear this, Racquel!
Hello I would love to know if I can use fresh tomatos and how to use them if possible??
★★★★
I’ve made it with fresh tomatoes! It’s delicious. I quarter tomatoes on a pan covered in foil. Drizzle olive oil over them. Back for 35-40 mins at 375 degrees or until the tomatoes start to blister. I’ve used all different types of tomatoes and it seems to work fine. I find this recipe pretty forgiving. 🙂
We haven’t tested this recipe, using fresh tomatoes. We think you could roast them and then use in the soup. If you give it a try, we’d love to hear back!
And suggestions on the amount of cream to use at the end? Otherwise, it’s delicious!
★★★★★
We’d suggest 1/4 to 1/2 cup!
I’m not much of a cook but I’m trying and this recipe sounded great. As I was reading it I thought it said I needed a 128 oz can of tomatoes! Thank goodness I puzzled it out and didn’t open 8-9 cans of 14.5 oz tomatoes.😂🤣 I’d need a bigger pot!
★★★★★
Happy to hear it all worked out!
Do you think I can can this?? I love this recipe so much and we have tomatoes coming out of our ears😂
★★★★★
We haven’t tried canning this recipe, but we think it’s worth a shot! We’d love to know how it goes!
If you water bath can this, check it’s pH first and leave out the cream.
excellent recipe
Another amazing recipe! And perfect for the start of fall…. Thanks!
I’m really excited to make this, I have made many of your recipes and they are delicious!!! I’m a big soup fan, and I just made roasted butternut squash soup, and I’m heading out now to get the above ingredients!! Thank you for your wonderful recipes!!!
We hope you like the recipe, Jay!
Tried this today and it was amazing! I sautéed the ingredients in my all in one cooker and pressure cooked it on the Soup setting. Once done, I blended it and enjoyed it with some grilled cheese. The perfect comfort dinner 🙂
★★★★★
So happy you liked the recipe and were able to make it in the pressure cooker!
I made this today and it was crazy good! My husband, 2 and 4 year olds loved it! I made a double batch and served with air fryer grilled cheese.
★★★★★
So happy you all loved it, Ericka!
I can’t wait to make this! Do you have a link to the cheese breadsticks shown in the pictures?
Hi Cary! We don’t have a recipe for the cheese bread shown in the photos, but it should be really simple to make. Butter and toast up some bread in the oven. Then sprinkle cheese over the top and return to oven to melt. I believe Lindsay used provolone. Hope that helps!
I made this recipe for my husband and in-laws and they LOVED it. It was easy and delicious. Just the right amount of bacon flavor.
★★★★★
So happy to hear that, Sarah!
Just made this and it was so good. I’m overseas so I didn’t have the canned tomatoes. I used tomato sauce and a little less broth to compensate. The bacon and veggie mixture made it delicious anyways.
★★★★★
So happy you liked the recipe, Helen!
128 ounces of tomatoes?!
I was all ready to make this and the amount of tomatoes seemed not right.
Disappointing
I was wondering the same thing about the tomatoes!! I’m glad I looked at the comments. I’m going to make this tonight.
Hi Janice! We apologize for the confusion. The recipe calls for 1 can (28 ounces) of tomatoes.
It’s 1 can of 28oz tomatoes.
I saw this too late. I used 3 28oz cans and then I thought about it and discussed with my husband. 128oz had too be incorrect! So I increased the broth and doubled the paste. Hopefully it turns out ok!
Doubled the recipe and it turned out fabulous, thanks for sharing! Used arrowroot in place of the flour with no effect on flavor and it still thickened nicely. Definitely don’t skimp on the San Marzano tomatoes!
★★★★★
I made this without bacon and it was still delicious! Added some shredded pizza cheese as a topping…yum
Glad you enjoyed it, Morgan!
Welcome Fall! This is the perfect soup for the season. It is simple, and absolutely delicious! We were practically licking our bowls clean. The only changes I made were on my added garnishes. I made some homemade croutons and cut some fresh basil. It kicked this dish up an extra notch. I would definitely recommend. Great recipe!
★★★★★
Yummm! Thanks for the comment!
It’s so Yummyyy !!!
I wanna go to the market and buy the ingredients. I really can’t wait to make this recipe.
thanks for sharing this recipes, and inspiring me. Thankss 🙂
★★★★★
This soup was DELICIOUS! We made it tonight and our kids loved it also!!!! We didn’t change anything the recipe is perfect! The cream at the end with some parm on top, was fall in a bowl! Also one of the easiest recipes!!!!
Besides being delicious, tomato soup can also be an alternative food during a pandemic like now. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
★★★★★
This was delicious! I didn’t add the salt at the end as the stock and the bacon make it quite salty already. I had this with a grilled cheese on the side – perfect 🙂
★★★★★
Do you have any thoughts on what kind of bacon would taste best? Hickory? Applewood? Or just the kind with packaging that says “bacon”? 🙂 thanks!
Any bacon is great!