This Garlic Roasted Tomato Soup is my favorite easy comfort food to make with garden-fresh tomatoes. Juicy tomatoes are roasted in the oven with flavorful onion and garlic, then blended into the creamiest bowl of soup!
The BEST tomato soup with garden tomatoes!
Did you grow up on canned tomato soup? Because I most definitely did. It didn’t even occur to me that this was something you could make from scratch until well into my twenties, ha! It was an absolute delight when I had my first bowl of homemade tomato soup, and now it’s a staple in my house as soon as the temperature starts dropping in late summer.
The most mind-blowing thing about this recipe is how easy it is: You cut your tomatoes into quarters, roughly chop a red bell pepper, cut an onion into a few wedges and peel some garlic. Toss this on a sheet pan with oil and seasoning, then roast in the oven for about 30 minutes. Blend, add broth/cream/seasoning to taste and your soup is done!
Honestly, the hardest part of this recipe to me is not to burn the grilled cheese 🤣 I always have basil growing like a weed in my garden in the summer, so I throw some of that on top for serving as well!
Notes on the ingredients I use
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
- Tomatoes: I like using Roma tomatoes for this recipe, but any fresh tomatoes will do!
- Red bell pepper: If you don’t have this on hand, feel free to skip. I like to add it because it deepens the red color of the soup – it’s mostly cosmetic though, so it won’t alter the recipe much to leave it out.
- Broth: Either chicken broth or vegetable broth work here. Water + bouillon is totally fine, too. If you like a very rich and creamy tomato soup, you can use evaporated milk in place of the broth.
- Heavy cream: If you want to make this dairy free, the cream is entirely optional. I only add ¼ cup, just to make it a little silkier and richer.
Don’t have fresh tomatoes on hand?
If you’re in the mood for tomato soup but don’t have any fresh tomatoes on hand, you can make soup with canned tomatoes! My recipe for easy tomato soup is perfect for that 🙂
How to make Garlic Roasted Tomato Soup
Let’s walk through the recipe, so I can share all my tips to make sure your soup turns out like the pictures the first time you make it!
Recipe walk-through/cooking tips
- Vegetable cutting: There’s no need to spend extra time chopping the vegetables small! We will blend it in the end, so the only goal when cutting up the vegetables is to get them to roast evenly. I quarter my tomatoes, roughly cut up the pepper and cut the onion into ~10 wedges. The garlic I leave whole!
- Roasting: Make sure to toss the vegetables well with the oil and seasoning. When you roast them, keep them on the middle rack or slightly higher. I roast the vegetables for about 30 minutes. If you want to get some color and deep roasting flavor on them, you can roast them longer or put them on the top rack for the last few minutes, or broil for a couple of minutes at the end. Just watch closely so the vegetables only char, but don’t burn to a crisp!
- Blending: Always always read the instructions from your blender’s manufacturer for blending hot liquids! You can use a stick blender if you prefer, again, take precautions so you don’t get hot soup splatters on yourself, and read your blender’s manual! I also like to let the vegetables cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring to the blender, so they’re not blazing hot anymore.
- Finish the soup: Once your soup is blended and in your soup pot, thin it out with as much broth as you like. I also throw in a handful of fresh basil just for the flavor (I remove it before serving and garnish with fresh basil), and a touch of heavy cream. Then just warm through gently and serve!
Freezer/storage tips
If you have a lot of tomatoes and want to preserve them in the freezer as soup, this soup freezes well if you leave out the heavy cream! Freeze the cooled soup in a freezer bag or container for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat to 165°F on the stove, then finish with a little cream if you like!
Just FYI, even if you want to make/freeze this in bulk, I would still recommend to only roast one sheet pan at a time.
If you just have leftovers, keep them covered in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheat fully to 165°F before serving.
Does tomato soup really need a section about side dishes?
Because I’m 99% sure we all just serve grilled cheese with tomato soup – right?! And I don’t know about you, but I don’t add anything else. This is the sacred combination 🤣
Let me instead share my workflow for getting hot soup AND crispy-fresh and melty grilled cheese on the table at the same time:
- I assemble my grilled cheeses while the vegetables are in the oven – butter one side of the bread, sandwich with shredded mozzarella and cheddar, with the buttered sides facing outward. Then I keep them on a sheet pan, ready to be “grilled”.
- Once the vegetables are done roasting, I leave the oven on!
- Blend the soup, and once it’s in the pot ready to warm through, I put the sheet pan with the grilled cheese sandwiches in the oven. 5-6 minutes later, both the soup and the sandwiches are ready.
Winner winner, tomato soup dinner!
Garlic Roasted Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 3 pounds tomatoes (quartered)
- 1 red bell pepper (seeded and roughly diced)
- 1 small-medium onion (sliced)
- 4-8 cloves garlic (peeled)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- cracked black pepper (to taste)
- 1 – 2 cups broth (OR evaporated milk for an extra-creamy soup)
- ¼ cup heavy cream (optional)
- 1 teaspoon sugar (add more/less depending on how acidic your tomatoes are)
- 1 handful fresh basil
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 425°F.
- Roast vegetables: Place the tomatoes, bell pepper, onion and garlic on a rimmed sheet pan. Toss with olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Roast at 425°F for 20-30 minutes, until softened, fragrant and starting to brown.3 pounds tomatoes, 1 red bell pepper, 1 small-medium onion, 4-8 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, cracked black pepper
- Blend: Let the roasted vegetables cool for 5-10 minutes, then place in a blender and process until smooth (please ALWAYS check manufacturer's instructions for blending hot ingredients; e.g. Vitamix recommends to leave the lid open in the middle and to cover with a tea towel to allow for the steam to escape).
- Finish soup: Add the blended vegetables to a large soup pot. Stir in enough broth or evaporated milk to reach your desired consistency. Add heavy cream, if you like, then season with sugar, fresh basil and additional salt/pepper to taste. Warm through for a few minutes, then remove the basil before serving hot.1 – 2 cups broth, ¼ cup heavy cream, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 handful fresh basil
Video
Notes
I first published this recipe on 09/08/2019. It has been updated on 09/14/2026 with new photos, text and very slight recipe improvements (nothing major, just clearer instructions.)
More easy soup recipes to try
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Cabbage Roll Soup
- Creamy Potato Soup
- Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Italian Sausage Gnocchi Soup
- Easy Taco Soup
Andrew says
This worked exactly as written, thanks!
Joyce says
I had 12 pounds of home grown tomatoes that I was going to can up but I tried this recipe and well the rest of the tomatoes were made into more of this soup, portioned into bowls for quick meals. I only used chicken bone broth and no dairy. It was so creamy, and because of your notes (thank you) I can put it in the freezer. PS we ate it with grilled cheese sandwiches on fresh sourdough bread. Next time I’ll add the basil to my bowl of soup. My husband isn’t a fan 😳of basil, but he grows three big pots of it for meeeeee!
Thank you for such a delicious recipe!
PS I roasted a Red Fresno chili and blended it up with 1/2 cup of the soup for my husband to add to his bowl… he ate the left over chile soup blend with some corn chips today. He said this would be great to simmer some meat in too!!!
Thank you again
Tracy says
I’m not a fan of tomato soup, however this was so amazing , creamy and satisfying
Kristen says
This turned out amazing! I used fresh tomatoes from my garden and followed the exact recipe. So easy and delicious!
Kiki says
Perfectly easy and delicious soup!!
Kat says
Awesome & easy!! New favorite soup!!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Kat!
Kat says
Best ez tomato soup!! Added dried basil. Roasted :45min, poured inti sauce pan, added 1/2c chicken stock, used immersion blender & reheated. Amazing!!!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Kat!
Bolder KW says
Great soup with heirloom homegrown tomatoes. Used French herb spices and some heavy cream. Served with Rosemary/Garlic sour dough bread.
Nora says
That sounds so incredibly delicious!
BJ says
Very easy to make and delicious! I did not use any milk/ cream this time around.
Kathy says
Wonderful and tasty!
TerryF says
Excellent soup! Thank you!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Terry!
Ellen says
I made this soup with our garden tomatoes and basil and it turned out well. The fragrance from the roasting vegetables was so good! I only used 1 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning because I didn’t want it to overpower the tomato taste. I used 1% milk because I didn’t have broth or evaporated milk on hand. It all worked together very well although my husband said he’d like it a bit creamier, so I’ll use 1/4 cup cream for some of the milk. We sprinkled the soup with a bit of Parmesan cheese and paired it with Grilled Cheese Sandwiches – what else? I may try to freeze the soup in the future without adding the dairy until it is warmed for serving. That should work, right? Thanks so much for a great fresh tomato recipe!
Nora says
That sounds absolutely delicious, Ellen! I do think freezing the soup without dairy added would work well.
Kristin says
Such a lovely recipe, thank you so much! The first time I made it, I roasted everything the day before while I was roasting something else to save myself some time and then just put everything in the fridge once it cooled. It made whizzing it up in the blender the next day a breeze, I feel like the flavors had a great chance to meld and mellow overnight. Warmed the puree up and it made the “finish soup” part of the recipe easy peasy. I got a bunch of perfectly “imperfect” tomatoes at my farmer’s market to roast this weekend just for this recipe so that I can have some in the freezer. Many thanks! <3
Nora says
That’s so smart, Kristin! Thank you for sharing, I will remember this for next year’s tomato season for sure.
Wilda says
Love it and super easy!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Wilda!
Sherry says
This is so good!! Thanks for the recipe!!
Pam L says
This soup was so easy to make and so delicious! Im making it again as I write this!
Christin says
Excellent soup !! My kids , pickiest eaters , loved it ! Thank you !
Barbara Golden says
Five Star Tomato Soup!!! The best. And so easy! I just transferred the vegetables to a pot after roasting and used my immersion blender. This recipe is the only one you need.
Shonda says
Lots of flavor in this soup. I did add eggplant, along with the rest of the veggies and basil from my garden. I’ll be making this again.
Connie says
Is this a spicy red pepper or a red bell pepper?
Nora says
It’s a sweet red pepper, but it’s a heirloom variety my husband grows, so it’s long and pointy. But definitely sweet 🙂
Mary says
This soup was wonderful! Easy to make, deliciously fragrant while roasting and delicious to eat. Thank you!
Nora Rusev says
Mary, I’m so glad! Thanks again for bringing the lack of pepper in the recipe to my attention, and thank you for your review. I appreciate your time so very much.
Mary says
Just a question. I’d like to make this soup but I gave a question about the red pepper. It’s discussed in the beginning but not listed in ingredients. Is it used in this recipe or not?
Please advise. Thank you!
Nora Rusev says
Mary, you are right! I completely missed the pepper in the recipe – and it’s even in the photos. Oops! So sorry about that. Fixed!
Mary says
Thank you so much!