This easy tomato soup recipe makes one of the best bowls of soup I’ve made. It’s shockingly simple and calls for only three main ingredients (butter, onion, and tomatoes). Don’t let the short ingredient list fool you, this soup is absolutely delicious!
Marcella Hazan’s famous tomato sauce inspires this easy tomato soup recipe. You might not think three ingredients can combine to make such a velvety and delicious soup, but they can. Our readers have called this “the easiest soup I’ve ever made,” “amazing,” “so easy, and just so delicious.”
This tomato soup is truly one of my favorite soup recipes on Inspired Taste. Canned tomatoes are excellent for this (although I have shared tips for using fresh below). If you love roasted tomatoes, see our roasted tomato soup recipe. Or for a summery chilled soup, I love our tomato gazpacho.
Key Ingredients
- Tomatoes: I love canned tomatoes for this soup. They’re always in season, so I can enjoy this recipe year-round. San Marzano or Muir Glen are my go-to. If you have fresh tomatoes, you’ll need about 10 to 12 medium (or 2 pounds). There is no need to peel them. Everything is blended in the end, anyway!
- Onion: I cut half a large onion into large wedges and then allow them to simmer with the tomatoes until it’s sweet and soft. The onion adds a lovely flavor and makes the soup creamy.
- Butter: I don’t add cream or milk to my tomato soup but use butter. The butter simmers with the tomatoes and onion, which flavors the soup and makes it taste rich and creamy.
How to Make Homemade Tomato Soup
To make this extra easy tomato soup, add butter, onion, a large can of tomatoes, and water to a large pot. (I usually use water in this soup, but stock or broth work, too). Remember, you can use fresh tomatoes – tips for using them are in the recipe below.
Bring everything to a low simmer and cook for 40 minutes. The photo and video show that our tomato soup becomes super creamy. That’s thanks to the butter. The onions also soften, which adds to the creaminess of our soup when blended.
Blend the soup until smooth. I typically use an immersion blender, but a regular blender works perfectly fine. Adjust the soup with salt and pepper, then grab a bowl and enjoy!
Our family loves serving tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich. This tomato soup is also excellent, topped with homemade croutons or served next to a slice of homemade focaccia or buttery garlic bread. I also love serving soup next to fresh salads like this easy chopped salad or homemade Caesar salad.
Easy Three Ingredient Tomato Soup
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
This is the easiest and tastiest tomato soup I’ve made. I love serving with grilled cheese sandwiches, but this is also wonderful with crusty bread or homemade garlic bread on the side.
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 whole peeled tomatoes or crushed
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. When using a regular blender, work in smaller batches, and don’t fill it too high – hot soup expands! For safety, remove the lid’s center insert and cover the opening with a kitchen towel while blending. This releases steam and prevents messy splatters.
5Store homemade tomato soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days or freeze for up to three months.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Fresh tomatoes: Use 10 to 12 medium tomatoes (2 pounds). No need to peel them, everything is blended in the end.
- Vegan tomato soup: Substitute the butter for plant-based butter or extra-virgin olive oil.
- For tomato basil soup: Add a handful of fresh basil before blending the soup.
- Make creamy tomato soup: After blending, add a splash of cream for an extra creamy tomato soup.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have omitted salt since you will need to add to your tastes.
I genuinely did not have high hopes for this soup but I was more than pleasantly surprised. It’s probably the most delicious tomato soup I have ever made from scratch and far and away the easiest. I used a can of Aldi plum tomatoes so nothing fancy, two small onions because I didn’t have a large onion (I was a bit worried there might be too much onion but it was perfect). I only had my regular butter, not unsalted, so I used that but left out the salt in the recipe. It made enough for three bowls ( roughly 225g each).
Wow! This recipe is awesome. the tomato soup is buttery and creamy, Eat it every as a side with bread for lunch! Me and my wife enjoy this recipe
Delicious! I make it all the time. It’s so easy.
Delicious but I use shallots instead and yummy.
I made this for lunch today and it is perfection! It’s so simple and comes together in no time! Thank you for another great recipe!!
So happy you enjoyed it!
I grew up on Campbells tomato soup and this recipe is absolutely perfect! It’s an even better version of my favorite comfort food! Last time I made it – a couple weeks ago! – I added a 14.5 ounce can of fire roasted tomatoes, too. Will be making it again tomorrow – I always like to make sure I have a few quarts in the freezer! Thanks so much for this fabulous recipe!
Yay! We are so happy that you loved your soup 🙂
This recipe is THE best! I always have canned tomatoes and onions in the pantry and this is so easy to make whenever I get a hankering for tomato soup. No weird ingredients or complicated directions. Simple straight forward easy to make goodness!
Yay! Glad you loved it! We have made this recipe hundreds of times and we are always blown away with how much flavor this soup has for having so few ingredients.