Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup (Printer-friendly)

Silky smooth soup featuring caramelized roasted tomatoes swirled with cream and crispy croutons.

# What You'll Need:

→ For the Soup

01 - 1.5 lbs ripe tomatoes, halved
02 - 1 large onion, quartered
03 - 4 cloves garlic, peeled
04 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
05 - 1 teaspoon salt
06 - 0.5 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
07 - 0.5 teaspoon smoked paprika
08 - 2 cups vegetable broth
09 - 1 tablespoon tomato paste
10 - 1 teaspoon sugar
11 - 0.5 cup heavy cream, plus more for garnish
12 - 2 tablespoons 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 tablespoons olive oil
15 - 0.5 teaspoon garlic powder
16 - 0.25 teaspoon salt
17 - 0.25 teaspoon dried oregano

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 425°F.
02 - Arrange tomato halves cut side up, onion quarters, and garlic cloves on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, then 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 fresh basil leaves, then blend using an immersion blender until smooth. Alternatively, carefully transfer to a blender in batches.
07 - Return soup to 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 Advice:

01 -
  • It tastes like you've been cooking all day, but honestly you're done in under an hour.
  • Roasting the tomatoes instead of boiling them gives you this deep, almost jammy sweetness that canned soup could never touch.
  • The croutons add a textural surprise that transforms a simple soup into something people actually want to eat.
02 -
  • Don't skip the roasting step and just boil everything—roasting creates this deep caramel note that boiling simply cannot achieve, and it's literally the whole point.
  • Add the cream off heat and stir it in gently, because boiling cream can cause it to separate and break, which ruins the velvety texture you've worked for.
03 -
  • Use tomatoes that smell fragrant and ripe—mealy winter tomatoes will make mealy soup, so if you can't find good fresh ones, quality canned are genuinely better.
  • Don't blend the soup into oblivion; you want it silky but with just a tiny bit of texture remaining, which means stopping the blender before it becomes completely uniform.
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