Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup (Printable Version)

Vibrant roasted tomato soup with cream and crispy croutons. Perfect comfort food ready in under an hour.

# What You Need:

→ For the Soup

01 - 1.5 lbs ripe tomatoes, halved
02 - 1 large onion, quartered
03 - 4 cloves garlic, peeled
04 - 2 tbsp olive oil
05 - 1 tsp salt
06 - 0.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper
07 - 0.5 tsp smoked paprika
08 - 2 cups vegetable broth
09 - 1 tbsp tomato paste
10 - 1 tsp sugar
11 - 0.5 cup heavy cream, plus more for garnish
12 - 2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish

→ For the Homemade Croutons

13 - 2 cups day-old bread, cut into 0.5-inch cubes
14 - 2 tbsp olive oil
15 - 0.5 tsp garlic powder
16 - 0.25 tsp salt
17 - 0.25 tsp dried oregano

# How to Make:

01 - Preheat your oven to 425°F.
02 - Arrange tomatoes with cut side up, onion quarters, and garlic cloves on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.
03 - Roast for 25 to 30 minutes until tomatoes are caramelized and tender.
04 - Toss bread cubes with olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and oregano. Spread on a separate baking sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes until golden and crisp. Set aside.
05 - Transfer roasted vegetables to a large pot. Add vegetable broth and tomato paste. Bring to a gentle simmer for 5 minutes.
06 - Add basil leaves, then blend the soup using an immersion blender until smooth. Alternatively, carefully transfer to a blender in batches.
07 - Return soup to the pot. Stir in heavy cream and sugar if needed. Taste and adjust seasoning. Heat gently without boiling.
08 - Ladle soup into bowls. Swirl with extra cream, sprinkle with croutons, and garnish with fresh basil.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The roasting step does all the heavy lifting—those charred edges bring a depth that makes store-bought versions taste flat by comparison.
  • It's endlessly forgiving, adapting to whatever tomatoes or cream alternatives you have on hand without losing its soul.
  • One pot, minimal cleanup, and somehow it tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen when you really didn't.
02 -
  • The moment you add cream, lower your heat—boiling splits it and ruins the velvety texture you worked for, turning it grainy and sad.
  • Taste the soup before the cream and adjust seasoning then, because once cream is in, salt reads differently and you might oversalt trying to compensate.
03 -
  • Cut tomatoes in half and roast them cut-side down first for 10 minutes to build color, then flip and finish—this creates deeper caramelization than doing it all one way.
  • If your soup tastes slightly acidic at the end, a pinch of sugar or butter works better than salt to round out the sharpness, so taste carefully before adjusting.
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