Healthy Homemade Tomato Bisque Soup Recipe

We are coming into soup season! This healthy tomato bisque recipe is loaded with flavor and made with fresh tomatoes, garlic, a splash of milk, simmered onions, and seasonings to taste. Served with fresh basil, parmesan cheese, and homemade crunchy croutons it is my favorite comfort food.

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Every year I have an abundance of tomatoes growing in our garden and am determined not to waste any of them. Tomatoes just take over my garden half of the time because life gets busy and I forget to prune. Some tomatoes get left behind in the green jungle underneath my pine board garden boxes my husband built for me years ago. Take a look at the video below if you are interested in seeing my full garden tour.

I am light years away from being a professional gardener but I have learned a thing or two over the years. I love a few different tomato varieties in the garden to make different foods with them all.

I love cherry tomatoes for snacking and bruschetta, and Roma tomatoes for soups and salsas. The best lesson I have learned while gardening is to grow what you love to eat. Forget the rest.

When you are swimming in fresh garden tomatoes in the middle of the season you need to make this tomato soup recipe. It is an easy recipe with a slightly creamy texture to please most pallets.

When it comes to comparison, this healthy tomato soup tastes entirely different from the canned version. I am not a fan of canned soups and think homemade is always so much better.

If you can’t make this bisque out of fresh summer tomatoes the San Marzano tomatoes are the next best option! You can find them at most grocery stores.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TOMATO BISQUE AND SOUP?

Traditionally a bisque is made with broth from a shellfish and thickened with cream an vegetables.

However, when it comes to a tomato-based soup the main difference between a soup and a bisque is the thickening agents used. For a bisque, you can thicken it with heavy cream, milk, flour, or even a potato.

With regular soup, the consistency is supposed to be runny therefore it does not need to be thick and creamy.

TOOLS TO MAKE A HEALTHY TOMATO BISQUE RECIPE

You will need a countertop blender or an immersion blender of some sort to ensure the soup has a silky smooth texture leaving out all of the possible chunks. If I am making a large batch of creamy tomato bisque I will use my dutch oven or large soup pot. If I am only making a small batch I will use a medium saucepan.

I also like to have an air-tight container on hand in case I have any leftovers. I know many people like roasted tomatoes but in this recipe, you will not need any roasting tools! You will also need a knife and cutting board as well as serving bowls and utensils.

This is by far the best tomato soup or I should say “bisque” that I have ever made so I am excited to share the recipe with you. Let’s get into what ingredients you will need to have on hand to make this homemade soup.

CREAMY TOMATO SOUP INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED

• Ripe Tomatoes
• Celery and Carrots
• Olive Oil
• Black Pepper
• Chicken Broth (vegetable broth works too)
• Garlic cloves
• Italian seasoning
• Medium onion
• Butter
• Milk or cream
• Crunchy croutons
• Kosher salt
• Parmesan and Fresh basil for garnish

This small handful of ingredients are pantry staples leaving this easy tomato soup recipe very doable to make even on a busy weekday or night. It serves as a great lunch paired with a fresh salad and slice of artisan bread.

One of the best things about having a garden is the amount of creativity it ensues. I constantly feel encouraged to try new recipes and cook with the foods that we grow. I also love gifting fresh vegetables to friends and neighbors. It gives me the ultimate fuzzy feeling.

HOW TO MAKE THIS HOMEMADE TOMATO SOUP RECIPE

In a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat add in your diced onions, carrots, celery, and olive oil to simmer, and cook until fragrant. I like to wait until the onions are translucent maybe a little brown to give even more flavor to this bisque. Right around 5-7 minutes. Then add in minced garlic to the pot and cook for a few minutes.

Add in Italian seasoning and stir evenly throughout the pot. Do not burn the garlic so keep a close eye on it right now!

If you are thickening with flour, go ahead and sprinkle it over the sautéed veggie mixture now. If you are using heavy cream or milk simply add this in after you add in your tomatoes.

Add your chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, black pepper, and salt. Bring it all to a simmer. This will take roughly 15 minutes. If you are thickening with milk or cream to create your bisque now is the time to add it in.

Once all of the ingredients are added together to the pot let the flavors meld together on medium heat for about 5 more minutes. At this point, you can take your immersion blender or your countertop blender and blend the soup until it is completely smooth and creamy.

You can now ladle and serve the tomato bisque into separate bowls and garnish with fresh chopped basil, croutons, and parmesan cheese.

HOW TO MAKE SIMPLE HOMEMADE CROUTONS

Take any bread you have on hand (yes even sandwich bread works great). My favorite is either a baguette, sourdough loaf, or dutch oven artisan bread. Chop up the bread into little square pieces and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Put your oven broiler on high heat and scatter your bread pieces onto a cookie sheet evenly. Pop them into the oven until crunchy and golden brown. It takes around 5-7 minutes. You can also give them croutons more flavor by brushing them with garlic or different seasonings!