Quick and easy creamy tomato soup {vegetarian, gluten-free}

In the years after World War II, tomato soup served with grilled cheese sandwiches became a popular school cafeteria menu combination that carried over into home kitchens everywhere. Here's the most plausible explanation I've found for why this happened: institutional food service (including school cafeterias) paired grilled cheese with tomato soup to meet the minimum school lunch requirements for sufficient Vitamin C (from the tomatoes) and protein (from the cheese). As canned soups became more available and economical, and processed cheese extended its shelf life, soup and sandwiches were a practical choice for many school systems. Today there's only one reason we eat grilled cheese and tomato soup -- because it's still the best comfort food combination around. Of course, you can fancy up the cheese and bread in your sandwich, but at the end of the day, nothing beats a basic creamy tomato soup. When it's this easy to make soup from scratch, there's no reason to default to canned soup. By the way, both of my grandsons are dunkers, just as my school friends and I used to be, and this soup makes for great dunking of melty grilled cheese sandwiches.

Quick and easy creamy tomato soup

From the pantry, you'll need: canned chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, onion, extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, fresh black pepper.

Serves 6.

Ingredients

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 28-oz boxes or cans chopped tomatoes (I like Pomi)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 cup water or vegetable broth
2-3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
3/4 cup half-and-half (don't use nonfat, which contains sugar)
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste

Directions

In a Dutch oven or heavy stock pot, heat the olive oil over low heat. Stir in the onion, and cook for a few minutes until the onion is translucent.

Pour in the tomatoes, tomato paste and water or broth. Increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Then, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.

Uncover the pot, and stir in the basil and half-and-half. Cook for a minute or so, then taste and add salt and pepper as needed (you will need both).

Give your soup a once-over with an immersion blender, or carefully transfer the soup to a standing blender and pureé until smooth.

Serve hot, with a grilled cheese sandwich for dunking. Or, let cool completely, and refrigerate or freeze.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More tomato soup ideas:
Tomato, zucchini, white bean and basil soup, from The Perfect Pantry
Slow cooker tomato herb soup, from Soup Chick
Tomato artichoke soup, from A Couple Cooks
Tomato and bread soup (pappa al pomodoro), from Simply Recipes
"Creamy" sundried tomato soup, from Love and Lemons

Need more creative ideas for using tomatoes all year round? Get 25 Tomatoes, my e-book packed with fantastic recipes, full-color photos and a fun video tutorial. With the FREE Kindle Reading app, delicious tomato recipes will always be just one click away on any computer, tablet or smart phone. Click here to learn more.

Quick and easy creamy tomato soup

From the pantry, you'll need: canned chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, onion, extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, fresh black pepper.

Serves 6.

Ingredients

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 28-oz boxes or cans chopped tomatoes (I like Pomi)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 cup water or vegetable broth
2-3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
3/4 cup half-and-half (don't use nonfat, which contains sugar)
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste

Directions

In a Dutch oven or heavy stock pot, heat the olive oil over low heat. Stir in the onion, and cook for a few minutes until the onion is translucent.

Pour in the tomatoes, tomato paste and water or broth. Increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Then, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.

Uncover the pot, and stir in the basil and half-and-half. Cook for a minute or so, then taste and add salt and pepper as needed (you will need both).

Give your soup a once-over with an immersion blender, or carefully transfer the soup to a standing blender and pureé until smooth.

Serve hot, with a grilled cheese sandwich for dunking. Or, let cool completely, and refrigerate or freeze.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More tomato soup ideas:
Tomato, zucchini, white bean and basil soup, from The Perfect Pantry
Slow cooker tomato herb soup, from Soup Chick
Tomato artichoke soup, from A Couple Cooks
Tomato and bread soup (pappa al pomodoro), from Simply Recipes
"Creamy" sundried tomato soup, from Love and Lemons

Need more creative ideas for using tomatoes all year round? Get 25 Tomatoes, my e-book packed with fantastic recipes, full-color photos and a fun video tutorial. With the FREE Kindle Reading app, delicious tomato recipes will always be just one click away on any computer, tablet or smart phone. Click here to learn more.

Comments

Would you believe I've never made homemade tomato soup, even though I did love it as a kid. And I would definitely dunk! Love the touch of basil here.

Kalyn, this is really an easy soup to make. Of course, when you have garden-fresh tomatoes, it's even more delicious!

Instant nostalgia!
When I was first married, I got one of those boxed loaves of American cheese, in the belief that it was the only one for grilled cheese sandwiches. Now I'd rather have your avocado-cheese grilled sandwich, and live a little.
Tomato soup: first thing my oldest son cooked from a recipe which he mostly made up, with delicious results. I'll send this to him - he's quite grown up and still cooking.

Susan, we never outgrow tomato soup, do we? (And yes, we all cooked with that boxed "cheese", which they can no longer call cheese but must call cheese food!)

My son's favorite comfort food is still tomato soup. I remember eating Campbell's soup growing up. After I had my first homemade tomato soup, I knew there was no going back.

Jeannette, Campbell's tomato soup was *the* favorite soup in our house, too. I can't even remember it now that I make my own, but I'm thinking it was probably more salty. My taste buds have changed!