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A restaurant-quality creamy tomato basil soup loaded with hidden vegetables and a velvety texture from a golden roux and cream. Easy to make on the stove, slow cooker, or Instant Pot, perfect for family dinners and leftovers.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
  • 2 carrots, finely diced (about 1 cup)
  • 1 small onion, finely diced (about 1 cup)
  • 3 ribs celery, finely diced (about 1 cup)
  • 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1½ teaspoons dried basil
  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1½ cups half and half (or whole milk)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Instructions

  1. Warm olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.
  2. Add finely diced carrots, onion, and celery and sauté until softened and aromatic.
  3. Pour in diced tomatoes with their juice, tomato paste, chicken broth, dried oregano, and dried basil; bring to a gentle boil and simmer until the vegetables are tender (about 10 minutes).
  4. Blend the soup with an immersion blender or in batches in a standard blender until smooth; return to the pot.
  5. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat, whisk in the flour, and stir constantly until the roux turns golden brown (about 10 minutes).
  6. Add a large ladle of warm soup to the roux and stir to form a paste, then slowly whisk in 2–3 more cups of soup until smooth.
  7. Pour the roux mixture back into the main soup pot and stir to combine.
  8. Stir in freshly grated Parmesan, half-and-half (or milk), salt, freshly ground black pepper, and chopped fresh basil; warm gently for a few minutes until heated through.

Notes

Slow cooker and Instant Pot methods are available but not detailed here; the stovetop method takes about 40 minutes total., For slow cooker: cook base ingredients on low 5–6 hours, prepare roux separately and combine, then puree and add dairy at the end., To freeze, omit cream and cheese, and add fresh upon reheating., Use vegetable broth for vegetarian option, gluten-free flour or cornstarch for thickening if gluten-free, and coconut milk or cashew cream for dairy-free., Roasting tomatoes or adding roasted red peppers adds depth., Soup can be made chunky by not pureeing fully or at all., Add red pepper flakes or hot sauce for heat, or basil pesto before serving for extra herbal flavor.

Find it online: https://mamapantry.com/creamy-tomato-basil-soup/