Roasted Tomato Basil Soup (Printable)

Silky smooth soup featuring oven-roasted tomatoes, sweet onions, garlic, and fresh basil blended into restaurant-quality perfection.

# What You'll Need:

→ Roasted Vegetables

01 - 3.3 lbs ripe tomatoes, halved
02 - 1 large yellow onion, quartered
03 - 6 cloves garlic, peeled
04 - 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
05 - 1 teaspoon kosher salt
06 - 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

→ Soup Base

07 - 2 cups vegetable broth, low sodium
08 - 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
09 - 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, optional
10 - 1 teaspoon sugar, optional

→ Garnish

11 - 1/4 cup heavy cream or crème fraîche, optional
12 - Fresh basil leaves
13 - Croutons or toasted bread, optional

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
02 - Arrange halved tomatoes, onion quarters, and garlic cloves on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss gently to coat evenly.
03 - Roast for 35 to 40 minutes until tomatoes are caramelized and onions are tender.
04 - Transfer roasted vegetables and accumulated juices to a large pot. Add vegetable broth and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
05 - Stir in fresh basil leaves, butter, and sugar if using. Simmer for 5 minutes to meld flavors.
06 - Use an immersion blender to puree soup until smooth. Alternatively, blend in batches using a countertop blender, then return to pot.
07 - Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. For enhanced silkiness, strain soup through a fine sieve.
08 - Ladle soup into bowls and drizzle with cream. Garnish with fresh basil leaves and croutons or toasted bread if desired. Serve immediately.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The oven does most of the heavy lifting, which means you can step away and actually enjoy your afternoon instead of stirring endlessly.
  • It tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen when honestly, the roasting does the work for you.
  • One bowl of this at the right moment can make everything feel a little more civilized and intentional.
02 -
  • Don't skip the roasting step or try to hurry it—the caramelization is where the entire flavor profile lives, and no amount of simmering can replicate what the oven does.
  • Blend the soup while it's still warm enough to be steamy, because cold soup is much harder to puree smoothly, and you'll exhaust yourself trying.
03 -
  • Always taste tomatoes before committing to roasting them—if they smell flat or mealy, they'll never develop real flavor no matter how long you roast them, so choose your tomatoes as carefully as you choose your technique.
  • Keep the soup slightly underseasoned before serving because adding cream at the end mutes salt perception, and you can always taste and adjust in the bowl rather than trying to fix oversalted soup.
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