Tomato Soup with Basil Pesto (Printable)

Velvety tomato soup with a fresh basil pesto swirl. Comforting, aromatic, and ready in under an hour.

# What You'll Need:

→ Soup

01 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
02 - 1 medium onion, finely chopped
03 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
04 - 2.2 pounds ripe tomatoes, chopped or 2 cans (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes
05 - 2 tablespoons tomato paste
06 - 3 cups vegetable broth
07 - 1 teaspoon sugar
08 - 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
09 - ¼ teaspoon black pepper
10 - ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

→ Basil Pesto

11 - 1 cup fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
12 - ¼ cup pine nuts or walnuts
13 - 1 small garlic clove
14 - ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
15 - ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
16 - Pinch of salt

# How to Make It:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent, approximately 5 minutes.
02 - Stir in minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Add chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
04 - Pour in vegetable broth and add sugar, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
05 - While soup simmers, combine basil, pine nuts, garlic, and Parmesan in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. With motor running, drizzle in olive oil until smooth. Season with salt.
06 - Once soup is cooked, blend until smooth using an immersion blender or in batches with a countertop blender.
07 - Stir in heavy cream. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Warm through but do not boil.
08 - Ladle soup into bowls and drizzle each serving with a swirl of basil pesto. Serve immediately.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The pesto transforms ordinary tomato soup into something that feels restaurant-fancy but takes less than an hour.
  • It freezes beautifully without the cream, so you can make a big batch and have comfort waiting in your freezer.
  • Every spoonful tastes like summer, even when its cold and grey outside.
  • The balance between creamy tomato and bright basil never gets old, no matter how many times you make it.
02 -
  • Add the cream after blending and keep the heat low, because boiling it can make the soup grainy and split.
  • If your tomatoes are very acidic, add an extra half teaspoon of sugar to balance the tartness without making it taste sweet.
  • Blend the pesto until it's smooth but not so long that it turns dark and bitter from the heat of the motor.
03 -
  • Make a double batch of pesto and freeze it in ice cube trays so you always have some ready to swirl into soups, pasta, or scrambled eggs.
  • If you're using canned tomatoes, crush them by hand as you add them to the pot for a rustic texture that blends beautifully.
  • Taste the soup before adding the cream because sometimes it doesn't need as much as you think, and you can always add more.
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