Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup with Pan-Crisped Croutons

Deeply flavourful, savoury, bright, and flecked with herbs, Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup with Pan-Crisped Croutons may just be at the pinnacle of comforting soup eating bliss. Mounded with pan-crisped croutons, and sprinkled with optional grated cheese (dairy or vegan), and you have the heavenly love child of grilled cheese and tomato soup all in one bowl! Need I say more ?

The inspiration: Oven Roasted Tomatoes!

This soup recipe was inspired by my recipe for Oven Roasted Tomatoes, which I often make in batches and freeze for future use in a variety of recipes from soups to stews. So if you happen to have half a batch of Oven Roasted Tomatoes on hand, this soup will be even more of a snap, but if you don’t, not to worry, only a modest amount of extra, mostly hands off, cooking time will get you to the same delicious place.

What makes a great tomato soup?

I love tomato soup, although admittedly I expect a lot out of a great tomato soup. I want a comforting, familiar flavour that doesn’t taste like it is out of a can, with a flavour profile that is nice and bright, while also being herbaceous, earthy, slightly sweet, and umami at the same time. For the record, I do not like basil in my tomato soup; I don’t want my tomato soup to taste like anything resembling pasta sauce. If this list of criteria isn't asking enough, I also want to be able to load in some other easy and delicious toppings to make my soup a meal in and of itself if I am so inspired. If you don’t mind me saying, this soup truly fits the bill!

Ingredients

Made with both roasted tomatoes, cooked with lots of garlic and herbs, and canned tomatoes provides just the right flavour profile to meet all of my tomato soup needs; the deeply roasted, savoury, caramelized, sweet, and umami notes of roasted tomato, garlic, and golden onions, complemented by the brighter and lighter acidic flavours of canned tomatoes.

How to make Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup

While the fresh tomatoes, garlic, and herbs roast in the oven, a roughly chopped onion is sautéed in a large soup pot on the stove, then the canned tomatoes and the vegetable broth are added in. Once the roasted tomatoes are cooked, and the woody herb stems picked out, the roasted tomatoes, garlic and all the remaining juices from the roasting pan are tumbled into the soup pot. After a few more minutes of cooking to let everything meld together, the entire batch of soup is puréed smooth, ready to be cooled and stored for later use, or garnished with a mound of delicious toppings for your immediate eating pleasure.

A note on broth, salt, and soup

As I regularly use commercially prepared vegetarian broth when time is an issue, I find that salting the soup before it is done can lead to overly salty results, as many broths are generously salted. Unless you are using homemade broth, or salt free broth, make sure to salt the soup at the end of the cooking process, so you can control exactly how much you need to season the soup to your taste preference.

A note of caution about blending hot soups

A word of caution: theoretically, you are not supposed to blend hot liquids, but I often do. I start my blender slowly, and am extra careful when opening the lid to the blender otherwise the hot liquid can splash upwards. Taking the lid off quite slowly lessens the chance of this happening, and I guess I like to live on the edge because I do blend the soup while it is still hot. If sensible minds prevail and you prefer not to blend a hot liquid, let the soup cool to room temperature, blend as desired, and then reheat the soup before garnishing and serving, or use an immersion blender while the soup is still in the pot.

Pan-crisped croutons turn a delicious soup into an exceptional meal

The extra step of making the pan-crisped croutons is more than worth it and can easily be done while the soup finishes cooking. Unlike traditional croutons that are dry and crunchy, these croutons use cubes of fresh(ish) bread briefly pan-crisped on the stove in some butter (dairy or vegan as is your choice). The result is slightly softer and chewier but still browned, toasty, and buttery croutons that tumble gratefully into the soup bowl, waiting to be scooped up into your eager mouth (ok, my eager mouth!).

Added toppings take things even further into the depths of moreish deliciousness; grated cheddar (vegan or dairy) melts into the soup and onto the croutons making the whole affair akin to the edible love child of a grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup. A sprinkle of dried chili flakes and some fresh herbs for garnish adds a zesty hit that brings everything together. Soup eating heaven if you ask me!

Substitutions

Substituting any called for butter or cheese in this recipe with readily available vegan alternatives makes this recipe completely plant-based!

An even easier soup making process!

This recipe is the ideal way to use already prepared Oven Roasted Tomatoes, which I often freeze in advance in two 500ml containers especially for this soup recipe. Half a batch of pre-roasted tomatoes (one 500ml container) makes enough for a batch of this soup and will cut the cooking time down by about half an hour.

Storage

Cooled soup can be decanted into containers to store in the fridge for eating later in the week, or freezes well in glass jars for those days when making anything seems like a chore.

Need more cozy recipe inspiration?

Print Recipe

Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup with Pan-Crisped Croutons

Deeply flavourful, savoury, bright, and flecked with herbs, Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup with Pan-Crisped Croutons may just be at the pinnacle of comforting soup eating bliss. Mounded with pan-crisped croutons, and sprinkled with optional grated cheese (dairy or vegan), and you have the heavenly love child of grilled cheese and tomato soup all in one bowl!

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

For the roasted tomatoes:

(Note: If using previously cooked Oven Roasted Tomatoes, skip to the following section)

• 750 grams Roma tomatoes (that's about 1.5 lbs or 8 roma tomatoes) cut into rough chunks (don’t bother coring)
• 1 small head garlic (about 8-10 cloves) cloves separated and peeled
• 1 handful mixed woody herbs of your choice such as rosemary, oregano, and thyme (don’t bother to stem the herbs), a little bit reserved for garnish
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste See note.

To complete the soup:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small small sweet or white onion roughly chopped (about 1 heaping cup)
• 500 ml canned peeled tomatoes
• 750 ml vegetable stock plus extra for adjusting soup consistency

For the croutons:

• 1 slice per person of a sturdy bread of your choice, such as sourdough, cut into medium sized cubes
• 1 tablespoon butter dairy or vegan, or substitute olive oil

To garnish the soup before serving

• Grated cheddar dairy or vegan
• Chilli flakes to taste for garnish

Instructions

Make the oven roasted tomatoes:

(If using previously cooked Oven Roasted Tomatoes, skip to the next group of instructions)

• Preheat the oven to 450 ℉.
• Line a roasting pan with parchment paper.
• To the roasting pan add the tomato chunks, garlic cloves, and scatter over the herbs. Drizzle generously with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes.

To complete the soup:

• While the tomatoes are roasting (or if you have already cooked Oven Roasted Tomatoes), place a heavy bottomed soup pot on medium heat. Add the olive oil, the onion, and sauté until nice and soft with golden edges, about 15 minutes.
• Add in the canned tomatoes and vegetable broth, and let things cook until the roasted tomatoes are done.
• Once the roasted tomatoes are done, remove any large woody stems or especially blackened herb bits and discard in the compost, and scrape the roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic cloves, remaining herbs and juices carefully into the soup pot. Let cook on medium high heat for another 10-15 minutes to let the flavours meld.
• Blend the entire contents of the soup pot in a high speed blender until smooth. See note. Add in extra broth as needed to achieve your desired consistency and adjust the seasoning by adding salt and pepper as needed.

To make the pan-crisped croutons:

• While the soup finishes cooking, take one thick slice of bread per person, and cut into medium size cubes (no bigger than what you can cram onto a big spoon).
• Heat a pan on the stove over medium heat, and add the butter or oil. Once sizzling, add the bread and pan-crisp until browned, stirring often, working in batches if needed, and adding more butter or oil if you feel you need it. When browned to your satisfaction - I love a bit of dark brown char on my croutons - turn the heat off and reserve in the warm pan until ready for serving.

Garnish and serve:

• Laddle out portions of the soup, topping with generous heaps of pan-crisped croutons, grated cheddar, a sprinkle of fresh herbs, a grind of fresh black pepper, and a pinch of dried chilli flakes to taste. Enjoy!

Notes

A word of caution: theoretically, you are not supposed to blend hot liquids, but I often do. I start my blender slowly, and am extra careful when opening the lid to the blender otherwise the hot liquid can splash upwards. Taking the lid off quite slowly lessens the chance of this happening, and I guess I like to live on the edge because I do blend the soup while it is still hot. If you prefer not to blend a hot liquid, let the soup cool to room temperature, blend as desired, and then reheat the soup before garnishing and serving, or use an immersion blender while the soup is still in the pot.

As I regularly use commercially prepared vegetarian broth when time is an issue, I find that salting the soup before it is done can lead to overly salty results, as many broths are generously salted. Unless you are using homemade broth, or salt free broth, make sure to salt the soup at the end of the cooking process, so you can control exactly how much you need to season the soup to your taste preference.