My favorite tomato soup recipe! You wouldn’t think that three ingredients (butter, onion, and tomato) can come together to make such a velvety and delicious tomato soup, but let me tell you. They can.
Watch the video
⭐️ Try our roasted tomato soup (it’s delicious and made with fresh roasted tomatoes).
Why we love this easy tomato soup
- This tomato soup has 3 ingredients (plus water and salt).
- Everything is tossed into a pan — no browning, no hovering over a stove.
- You can use canned tomatoes — and should.
This is your new favorite weeknight meal. Our simple homemade tomato soup is quick, easy, and very delicious. It’s excellent with canned tomatoes, but you can use fresh tomatoes (tips for canned and fresh tomatoes are below). If you love quick, no-fuss recipes, this tomato soup recipe is a must-try!
Key ingredients for tomato soup
You will need three main ingredients to make this tomato soup: butter, tomatoes, and onion. These three ingredients, plus water (or broth) and salt, combine to make one of the best bowls of tomato soup we’ve made.
Our tomato soup recipe pulls inspiration from Marcella Hazan’s famous tomato sauce, a simple yet genius dish with simmered tomatoes, butter, and onion. She removes the onion before serving the sauce over pasta.
We use the same three ingredients to make this tomato soup, but add water and blend everything (including the onion) before serving. The result is a creamy, flavorful soup rivaling almost every recipe for tomato soup we’ve tried.
Our family loves serving tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich, but a slice of this rosemary focaccia bread is also an excellent idea!
How to make the best tomato soup
I’m still amazed at how easy this soup is and how delicious it turns out. If you are skeptical about such a simple recipe, read through the reviews at the bottom of this article. So many of our readers have fallen in love with this easy soup recipe. Here’s how to make the best (and easiest) tomato soup:
Add butter, half an onion cut into large wedges, and a large can of tomatoes to a large pot.
⭐️ If you want to use fresh tomatoes, you can. We’ve included tips for using them in the recipe below.
Bring everything to a low simmer and cook for 40 minutes. You can see from the photo and our video that our tomato soup becomes creamy. That’s thanks to the butter. The onions also soften, making the soup even more creamy when blended.
Blend until smooth. An immersion blender is helpful, but a blender works perfectly fine.
Adjust the soup with salt and pepper, then grab a bowl and that grilled cheese sandwich I mentioned. This tomato soup is also excellent, topped with homemade croutons or served next to this easy buttery garlic bread.
What tomatoes should I use for soup?
I love making this tomato soup with canned tomatoes. They are available year-round, which means we can enjoy delicious soup anytime. I reach for whole peeled or crushed San Marzano tomatoes and am always pleased with tomatoes from Muir Glen.
If you have access to fresh ripe tomatoes, you can use them in this soup recipe. You will need 10 to 12 whole tomatoes (about 2 pounds). I do not peel them for this soup (you can, but I like to keep things easy).
How to make vegan tomato soup
For vegan tomato soup, swap the butter in our recipe for plant-based butter or use extra-virgin olive oil. You can also use coconut oil. The light coconut flavor with onion/tomatoes is pretty delicious.
Can I add basil?
For a tomato basil soup, just before blending your soup, add a handful of fresh basil leaves. Or, use 1/4 teaspoon of dried basil.
Can I make creamy tomato soup?
As written, this soup does have a creamy texture (thanks to the butter). Add a splash of cream after blending for an extra creamy, rich tomato soup.
Can you make tomato soup in advance?
Yes, this tomato soup recipe is perfect for making ahead of time. Store homemade tomato soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days or freeze for up to three months.
More easy soup recipes
We have many soup recipes on Inspired Taste. Here are a few favorites:
- For more tomato-based soups, take a look at our cold tomato soup (Gazpacho) or this roasted tomato soup with lemon.
- I love creamy soups. Two of the most popular creamy soups on the blog are this creamy veggie soup and this simple homemade potato soup.
- We love our easy homemade chicken noodle soup. It is healthy, satisfying, and tastes incredible. It’s faster to make than the traditional version, too!
- I love this broccoli cheddar soup! It’s creamy and so delicious.
Easy 3 Ingredient Tomato Soup
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
You only need three base ingredients to make this velvety, rich tomato soup recipe. This soup is your new favorite weeknight meal.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 large onion, cut into large wedges
1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes, we prefer to use whole peeled or crushed, see notes for fresh tomatoes
1 ½ cups water, low sodium vegetable stock, or chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, or more to taste
Directions
1Melt the butter over medium heat in a Dutch oven or large saucepan.
2Add onion wedges, water, tomatoes with their juices, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
3Bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for about 40 minutes. Stir occasionally and add additional salt as needed.
4Blend the soup, and then season to taste. The soup doesn’t need to be ultra-smooth; some texture is nice. An immersion blender does make quick work of this, or you can use a blender. If you use a regular blender, it is best to blend in batches and fill the blender less than you usually would since the soup is so hot. We like to remove the lid’s center insert and cover it with a kitchen towel while blending — this helps release some of the steam and prevents the blender lid from popping off (which can be a big, hot mess).
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Fresh tomatoes: Use 10 to 12 medium tomatoes (2 pounds). You can peel them, but we skip this step since we will blend the soup anyway.
- Vegan substitution: Substitute the butter for plant-based butter or extra-virgin olive oil.
- Fresh basil: Add a handful of fresh basil before blending the soup.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values. We have omitted salt since you will need to add to your tastes.
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I have made this twice. Second time better than the first. I also made a double batch. I used unsalted butter, unsalted tomatos AND unsalted chicken broth. To actually add flavor I added parm. cheese, basil, garlic pepper and heavy whipping cream. To cut the acidic kick to it I added a couple tablespoons of sugar. Used an immersion blender. This one was Amazing! Made some grilled cheeses with Havarti & Provolone, ooie gooie deliciousness. Shared the recipe with several friends and family. I told everyone this recipe is stupid easy 🙂 Don’t be intimidated, anyone can make this soup ROCK!
Amazing!
Delicious and SO EASY!! I really need simple-yet-nutritious recipes for days when ability is limited and this recipe certainly fits the criteria. This will be a regular rotation in our menu. Also noticed the “Our Favorite Roasted Tomato Soup” recipe which looks fantastic for when the garden is producing. Can’t wait to try it too!
Easy-peasy. I’m hooked.
Oh My! So delicious, easy and simple. Husband added Dungeness crab to his bolw. I went with croutons and parmesan. I can’t ever use “canned store-bought” soup again.
I have never made tomato soup before. This was amazing soup and so easy to make.
I made this soup using crushed tomatoes and added extra virgin olive oil, basil (and/or spinach), sour cream, and half & half to the soup for a creamy texture. I made fresh garlic bread with four (4) cheese melted on top in the oven. It was an incredible hearty meal!
omg, I wish I’d seen your comment before making mine just now! Made it according to directions and served with grilled cheese sandwiches (which was very very good), but your modifications sound fantastic!
Has anyone tried making this in a slow cooker on low??
Best tomato soup I’ve ever had. So many things can be added to enhance the already fabulous soup. Super easy recipe. Perfect use for my garden tomatoes. Thank you!
This came out so perfect using water (not broth) and vegan butter. I’d love to try this over pasta, I bet it would make a delicious marinara sauce as well!
Such an easy recipe, so tasty using chicken stock passata and fresh basil.
This recipe is quite versatile. I appreciated the tips on adjusting the soup’s thickness and experimenting with spices. I added a dash of hot sauce for a bit of heat, which worked wonderfully.
I tried this recipe to use up some of the abundance of tomatoes I have from my garden even after sharing with family, friends and neighbors. My husband and I really loved it and it was really simple. It paired well with our grilled cheese on some fresh homemade bread I had made the day before. I had doubled the recipe and froze a few individual servings to pull out as the weather turns colder. I will be using this recipe again.