Roasted Tomato Soup with Canned Tomatoes

The Ingredients

Simplicity is the name of the game for tomato soup. Good ingredients will yield great results. This is what you need:

For soup

• Tomatoes: The recipe calls for a 28-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes. Then you slice them in half lengthwise before you put them on the sheet pan. The juices from the can eventually make it in when you puree the soup, so nothing goes to waste. 
• Onions: I cut a white onion or a yellow onion and cut it into 8 wedges. I do try to keep them together as much as possible because I don’t want a thin slice to be on its own or then it is more likely to burn.
• Dried seasonings: I use a blend of dried oregano, thyme and red pepper flakes along with kosher salt and black pepper for the soup.
• Garlic: Roasting mellows out the intensity of garlic, so don’t worry if you think 4 cloves sounds like a lot. The goals is to layer in ingredients and flavors that all work together as a team.
• Olive oil: This is a simple recipe with a short ingredient list, so I prefer a high-quality extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
• Vegetable broth: To control the salt, use low-sodium broth. If you don’t need the soup to be plant-based, you can substitute with chicken broth. 

For croutons

• Bread: Skip the soft sandwich bread. You want sourdough or country bread that has a good crust to make croutons.
• Olive oil: I go with the same olive oil that I use for the soup.
• Kosher salt & black pepper season the bread pieces before you toast them.

For serving

• Parmesan cheese: I like to take a sharp knife or a vegetable peeler to cut thin shavings from the block.
• Pesto: I swirl in basil pesto to get that fresh herb taste throughout a bowl of soup. This works better than fresh basil leaves.

Leftovers & Storage

You can store the soup in an airtight container up to 3 days in the fridge. To save it longer, you can freeze it up to 1 month. If you are going to keep it in the freezer, divide it into smaller portions rather than one big container to make it easier to thaw. Warm it in the microwave or on the stovetop.

Put extra croutons in an airtight container and let that sit in your kitchen, so they are at room temperature. You can also toss them into salads.

Recipe Tips

Use premium canned tomatoes. I know everyone has their preferences. My biggest recommendation is to pick a quality brand of tomatoes. Wirecutter did a review of multiple different canned tomatoes that I found really helpful.

Keep an eye on the tomatoes and onions while they roast. This doesn’t mean you should open the oven door, but if you see the an onion wedge or garlic clove is browning too fast, then use tongs to take it off the baking sheet and let everything else continue roasting.

You can add more vegetable broth if you want. This comes down to personal preference. Some people like thicker tomato soup while others want it thinner because they don’t want it make them think of tomato sauce. If you feel like you poured in too much broth and want to thicken it up again, just simmer it a bit longer till you get to your desired consistency.

If you like your soup to have a kick, increase the amount of red pepper flakes in the dried spice mixture. They are such an easy way to make homemade tomato soup spicy.