Leggi questo post in: Italiano
It’s cold and dark, rainy and snowy, stormy and windy. It’s winter, folks, which means that we all need some serious comfort food. And that means: hot soup. So today I’m sharing with you my all-time, most-loved winter comfort food that everyone- and I mean EVERYONE- loves. I’m talking about the best tomato soup recipe EVER.
If your past experience with tomato soup has been limited to Campbell’s soup from a can, get ready for your world to be rocked. Any time that we have guests or we are invited to someone’s home for a meal, and soup is seasonally appropriate, I make this tomato soup. And I am not exaggerating when I tell you that EVERY SINGLE TIME, it is greedily gobbled up and everyone asks me for the recipe. I’m talking kids, teenagers and adults. One of the last times I made this, a 15-year-old boy declared that he would like to eat just this for the rest of his life. How much better of a compliment can you get than that?!
For years I hated tomato soup. When I was little, I’d tried it at a friend’s house, liked it and asked my mother to make it. No offense to my mom (who is actually an amazing cook), but hers was disgusting, but she made me sit there at the table for hours until I finished it all. I was traumatized and wouldn’t touch it for years.
Then 9 years or so ago I found this recipe for tomato soup at Angry Chicken. I had to admit that it looked really good. So I tried it. And I was hooked. Because this isn’t your ordinary tomato soup, but has some special ingredients that make it just spectacular and a more modern take on the classical American comfort food.
You are probably skeptical. Most people are. But then they try it, and they, too, get hooked, and ask me specifically to make it.
Over the years I’ve tweaked the original recipe and made it my own. So what follows is my own version of the very best tomato soup recipe that I have ever tasted.
Ingredients:
For 3 full servings:
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- about 1 Tb. olive oil
- 2 standard-sized cans (or 1 larger double-sized can) of peeled plum tomatoes
- 1½ cups whole milk
- 1 Tb. pesto (preferably homemade. See my failproof basil pesto recipe here. If you freeze extra pesto in ice cube trays, you can just use one or two cubes without even thawing them.)
- 1½ tsp. honey
- 1½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. ground pepper
Instructions:
- Sauté the chopped onion and garlic in olive oil for 10 minutes in a pot.
- Pour in the plum tomatoes and cover with a little extra water to cover the tomatoes. I usually just put a bit of water in the cans to rinse them out and dump that water in the pot.
- Break up the tomatoes a bit with a wooden spoon. When it comes to boiling, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook on low heat for 45 minutes.
- Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender. Add the milk, pesto, honey, salt and pepper.
- Stir and cook another little bit at a low heat so that the flavors can meld better.
Now comes the best part: tasting it! Isn’t that amazing?!
You can eat it plain or with toasted bread, croutons, rice, small pasta, or the typical southern Italian fresella, a twice-baked bread. Or be super traditional and eat a grilled cheese sandwich with it.
I just love the sweetness of the honey combined with the herbs of the pesto. This is one really good soup. And it is so easy and quick to make (besides the time it takes simmering, which is time you can spend paying no attention to it at all). Which is why, given the massive positive feedback it’s gotten over the years, I have no qualms about calling it the best tomato soup recipe ever!
If you love cooking classic American recipes, check out my Instant Pancakes in a Jar! It’s my own personalized dry pancake mix to put in a jar. Just print out the downloadable labels and you’ll have a great gift for someone who loves eating good things as much as you!
Don’t forget to Pin this recipe so you’ll know what to cook the next cold, winter day, or the next time you have to bring something to a potluck dinner!
Greetings from one expat to another. I have added this to my list of recipes I want to make. I love tomato soup and am ever searching for a homemade tomato soup recipe that is just perfect and this one looks so promising! Any recipe I have tried in the past always seemed to be missing something and at the same time was very acidic in flavor. A dear Italian friend of mine told me she uses a small amount of baking soda to take away the acidity. I tried it, but still would prefer a recipe where that would not be necessary. I am hoping yours will be my rescue! 🙂
Hello, my fellow expat! I know that you understand the expat pain of craving foods from your original country that you just can’t get in your new country! Obviously the quality of the tomatoes is important in getting non acidic soup, but the milk and other flavors take away from acidity, too. The baking soda tip is interesting, but I really suggest you try this recipe because it is so. Good. Period. Let me know if you try it! 🙂
Oh, yes! The cravings of certain foods was really difficult for me when I first moved away from home. But since then and over 30 years later, it is not a problem anymore. I have acquired a taste for foods from many different areas and the Mediterranean kitchen has become my favorite. I enjoy trying out new recipes and that is how I discovered yours. 😀 I plan on cooking it next week and am so anxious for it. I can just taste the creaminess already when I see your images! I just need to get fresh basil, pine nuts and cheese for your fresh pesto recipe and I will be ready. The rest for the soup I already have. It is funny with the baking soda. It causes the soup to “foam or bubble” for a few seconds after it gets added. I guess that shows that it was effective. I did not know that milk also takes away from the acidity. None of the recipes I have tried in the past had milk in them, so I am glad to read that! 🙂 I will definitely let you know how it turns out!
It’s interesting, isn’t it, Sibyl, how emotions can be invoked by foods! I also have aquired a taste for foods from Italy (which tend to be much more simple and with less seasoning than in the States), but sometimes I just really, really want an American comfort food!
I look forward to hearing how you like the recipe! 🙂
It is definitely interesting about food and emotions! I know what you mean about American comfort food. I found a homemade maccaroni and cheese recipe that satisfies my craving for that dish now. My grandmother used to make it and I have warm memories of being with her every time I eat it. I also crave fried okra sometimes. I have never found okra here in this country or I would have been making it all along. I grew up as a military brat but my mom is southern and made it a lot. Whenever I am in the US, that is one of the things I always will eat.
I LOVE Italian food. I am vegetarian so I stick to the vegetable, pizza and pasta recipes and there are plenty of good ones out there. I have an Italian cook book that I use often. There is one pizza recipe “Pizza Capricciosa” that I make at least 2-3 times a month. I leave off the ham and make the rest as written in the cook book. The homemade dough always turns out just perfect and my husband loves it. Because it is so delicious, we hardly go out to eat pizza anymore. He says he craves mine, more. lol
I just purchased the remaining ingredients for the soup and plan on making it tomorrow for lunch! The store did not have the pecorino romano, but instead, pecorino sardo. I took it anyway in the hopes it will also work fine. I am sure I will love the soup and will let you know! 🙂
Thank you very much, Lisa, for this soup recipe! <3 I made this for our lunch today and both my husband and I were so pleased how wonderful it tasted! When I told him this morning I was making a new tomato soup recipe, he was also looking forward to it. He enjoys tasty soups and finally after looking so long, I have a tomato soup recipe that I can make and know everyone will love. I followed your recipe exactly as written and also made the homemade pesto for it. Both recipes were so easy to make, too. 🙂
I have written up a page here: https://www.craftideas.info/html/tomato_soup_recipe_p.html and hope some of my readers will find this recipe, too.
Oh, Sibyl, I’m so glad that you loved both recipes! I’ll admit that sometimes, when I run out of pesto, I just buy storebought, but it’s never as good as using homemade pesto! Thank you for writing up the review on your website! I really appreciate it! 🙂
Your’re very welcome! It was my pleasure to write that! 🙂
Up until now, I have only used store bought pesto for recipes until I saw your recipe for it. When I read how it all could be made with the immersion blender, I was happy. That I have. I always thought one needed a pestle and mortar (which I don’t have). It is good to know though, that store bought works, as well… in case I have less time and still want that delicious soup. Like now… It snowed overnight and a hot tomato soup sounds just perfect at the moment… though it is 9:07 a.m. lol
Oh goodness, I could never be bothered with a pestle and mortar! That would take way too much time for my liking!! I’m always for quick things, at least as far as cooking is concerned! Haha!
Ooops… I meant “you’re”… I do need a second cup of coffee! 😀