Homemade Roasted Tomato Soup with Herbs

Make the most out of fresh, seasonal tomatoes and cook up this glorious roasted tomato soup recipe. Roasting tomatoes for soup deepens the flavor, and pairing it with roasted garlic, herbs and caramelized onions makes it the ultimate healthy comfort food.

 

 

Tomatoes are so much better during the summer. Like wayy better. I love the slice them up and serve with mayo on some good homemade bread, or making a huge batch fresh tomato salad to accommodate spicy food. However, trying to grow your own - impossible. I've tried two years in a row now, and seems like I've got no success this time either. But that's what great farmers' markets are for.

 

And if tomatoes aren't in season, you can use canned tomatoes in this super simple tomato and white bean soup! Still very delicious, and it goes much quicker. However, the best tomatoes should be used in this roasted tomato soup, the flavors develop so much more!

 

 

The smell of tomatoes is so incredible. They almost smell like basil too, have you noticed that? So you could naturally swap out the thyme in this recipe for some delicious fresh basil. It's all about what you've got on hand.

 

Why summer should also be soup season

 

Well, yes, you may get hotter by eating soup. You could by all means eat this cold as well. But because tomatoes are definitely best during the summer, it is obvious that this is the time for tomato soup, roasted tomato soup even better. The better the tomatoes, the better the soup, it is actually really that simple. So quit not making soup for summer and make this asap!

 

 

Roasting Tomatoes for Soup is so much easier than you think

 

So it sounds like there's an extra step to making roasted tomato soup. And while that may be true, the amount of extra flavor you get is just so.worth.it. I like to use a variation of tomatoes, some small and some larger. We are baking these beyond 'finished' so the various sizes doesn't matter much.

 

But you could chop up the larger ones if you feel like it. Halving is enough. Leave cherry tomatoes as they are. Dump them all on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil, garlic cloves, fresh thyme and some sea salt and you are ready.

 

You can just as well use basil for this roasted tomato soup, as I mentioned, it's just what I had on hand and it happened to be really delicious with thyme. I think any Italian herb would go well here.

 

 

I use this method for my halloumi quinoa salad and spaghetti bolognese as well. I like to serve it with some extra cherry tomatoes, because roasted tomatoes are one of the best things about Summer. They turn out so sweet and deep in flavor it's hard to resist. Especially when it's that easy.

 

Bake the tomatoes at 350F (175C) for about 1 hour. Turning halfway through. The longer they bake, the more flavor you get. You could of course quit after 30 minutes, but why bother when you are just out sunbathing with an iced tea in your hand anyway.

 

 

How to Caramelize Onions

 

Yay for even more flavor! You don't really haave to caramelize the onions, but the flavor is again so much better if you do. And you don't really need to check on them much either. In a large skillet or saucepan, add butter and oil (or just oil for vegan/dairy free).

 

I like to use both butter and oil to caramelize onions. This is because butter tastes amazing, but oil has a higher smoking point. You can use just oil if you wish, making the entire dish vegan and dairy free.

 

 

On low heat, add sliced onion to the fat (1). Stirring occasionally, let it cook for about 30 minutes, adding in salt after 10 minutes. You could even go longer if you want to. Or shorter if that's needed. You don't need to keep your eyes on it at all times, I usually go check on it every 7-10 minutes. But make sure it's on low (to medium). If you are more around, stirring every other minute, increasing the temp works too to make it caramelize quicker.

 

We don't want to burn it, just dark and sweet. If you feel it gets too dry, you can add in some water or chicken broth (a small shot at a time).

 

At the end, there may be some burnt stuff in the bottom of the pan. Don't worry, there's a lot of great flavor in there. You can then deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar and white wine. Just pour a tiny amount in and stir the brown pieces to release. Optional, but delicious step.

 

How to Make Roasted Tomato Soup with Herbs

 

So you have both roasted the tomatoes and caramelized the onions. Blend all the stuff from the baking sheet; tomatoes, herbs, garlic along with the caramelized onions in a blender (2 + 4). Add in sun-dried tomato pesto (optional, if you'd like another level of tomato flavor - you could also use tomato puree), dried oregano and a few chili flakes for some extra heat. Blend until smooth (5).

 

 

When all is well and blended, add it to a saucepan to re-heat a little. Add in balsamic vinegar and add as much chicken or vegetable stock to reach your desired thickness. I used about 2 ½ cups. Simmer for 10 minutes to blend all the flavors together (6).

 

 

Serve This Tomato Soup with...

 

The perfect pairings with this roasted tomato soups are these everything spice parmesan grilled cheese, bacon and cheese dinner rolls or whole wheat bread rolls. YES, we always need bread with soup. The quickest at the time is the of course the grilled cheese, but both rolls can be frozen and re-heated as needed.

 

 

I also love to serve tomato soup with any kind of pasta! While I usually use macaroni, this time opted for some beautiful pastas I don't even know the name of. I sprinkled on some extra chili flakes, more fresh thyme and I'm ready to dig in.

 

 

How to Make this Roasted Tomato Soup Vegan

 

In case you didn't read through it all, but to make this roasted tomato soup vegan, all you do is to not add butter to the onions. Add a touch more olive oil (not extra virgin), and go about doing all the same things as the rest of the recipe. This would naturally also make it dairy free. If you wanted to make my sun-dried tomato pesto as well, that does include parmesan cheese, but I know there do exist some vegan subs for that too. If you don't have that, but still want the extra umami - use tomato puree!

 

Don't worry, we will still have a ton of flavor from the roasted tomatoes and garlic, thyme and delicious onions.

 

I know you'll enjoy this roasted tomato soup as much as I do, even though it's raging a heatwave outside. Remember that when the tomatoes are best, this soup is also best!

 

 

More Wonderful Vegetables

 

• Halloumi Quinoa Salad with Roasted Garlic Vegetables
• Turkey Gravy Cauliflower Soup (turkey gravy can be subbed for any kind of broth)
• Wild Mushroom Ravioli
• Honey Balsamic Baked Brussels Sprouts
• Middle Eastern Tabbouleh with Quinoa
• Caramelized Onion, Mushroom and Apple Puffs
• Ukrainian Borscht (Beet Soup)

 

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Comment below or tag me @thegingerwithspice on Instagram. And don’t forget to Pin it for later!

 

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