Creamy Tomato Basil Soup Made in a Slow Cooker
By: Merritt
Tomato basil soup is one of my favorite soups of all time! Full of herby flavor from fresh basil and dried oregano, this soup is comforting, easy, and one of the best dinners for a chilly evening. The best part of this tomato basil soup recipe is that it can be assembled all in a slow cooker! This means you can be hands off with this recipe while it simmers, making it such an easy soup recipe to make during the week.
This tomato basil soup uses canned crushed tomatoes, which are canned at peak freshness, so they bring a ton of flavor to your soup. I also throw in a container of cherry tomatoes since they make your soup bright red and add a little extra tomato flavor. My favorite part of this tomato basil soup is all of the fresh basil!
The basil leaves simmer with the tomatoes until everything melds to have incredible flavor. Paired with cheddar croutons (seen below) or your favorite grilled cheese, its hard to go wrong with this cozy tomato basil soup!
Common Questions:
What is Tomato Basil Soup Made of?
Similar to tomato soup, tomato basil soup includes stock, tomatoes, onion, and herbs. The difference is the addition of a ton of fresh basil! You can also add in cheese, extra herbs, or fresh micro greens!
I also add a little coconut milk to my tomato basil soup to make it lightly creamy and to counteract the acidity of the tomatoes.
What Makes Tomato Basil Soup Taste Better?
Making great tomato basil soup should start with great tasting ingredients. A good quality stock and tomatoes will go a long way in making your soup taste great. I love chicken stock paste as I can easily make my stock stronger. I use San Marzano tomatoes as they are a good quality brand.
Other ways to make your soup taste better is to add some extra herbs like garlic, basil, oregano, or thyme. Salt and pepper can add a lot of flavor and will help enhance any herbs you add. Add a pinch of sugar to help balance your acids in your tomato basil soup. A tablespoon of white sugar, maple syrup, or honey will help make your soup taste better by balancing the strong acid from the tomatoes.
Serve with cheese or cream. Adding fat from cheese, coconut cream or regular cream, will balance out your soup and will help elevate its flavors.
How Do You Make Tomato Basil Soup Thick and Creamy?
To thicken tomato basil soup you can let it simmer with the lid off of your slow cooker when you are close to serving. This will encourage water evaporation, which in turn will thicken your soup.
You can swirl in coconut cream instead of milk. I use coconut milk in my tomato basil soup, but using cream will help increase how thick the soup is.
Tomato basil soup is creamy from the addition of fat. I use coconut milk in my tomato basil soup but any cream or milk will work. You can use coconut cream, regular cream, or even half and half.
Other options are any milk or milk alternative you want to add. Keep in mind that what helps make the tomato basil soup creamy is the addition of fat so if you add a fat free milk it may not be as creamy!
What Goes With Tomato Basil Soup?
There are so many pairings that go with tomato basil soup! I have listed some different options to try below!
Cheddar sourdough croutons (described below) are a crunchy, cheesy addition that go so well with this soup!
Toasted crusty bread of choice. Nothing beats toasted bread that you dip into soup! The textures of crunchy bread with the soup is just so good. Try toasting my Challah bread recipe and dipping it in your soup!
Salad is a great contrast to soup and makes for a really delicious dinner! My Toasted chickpea salad is a hearty salad that would go really well.
How To Store Tomato Basil Soup?
You can store this soup in the fridge for about 1 week in a sealed container. To reheat, just microwave in minute increments until warm all the way through.
You can freeze this tomato basil soup in a freezer safe container for about 3 months. When ready to eat, defrost in the fridge and then reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
How To Make Cheddar Baked Sourdough Croutons?
Nothing beats cheese, bread, and tomato soup. I love making cheddar croutons with sourdough bread! It is so easy and a little lighter alternative to eating a whole grilled cheese sandwich. To make the croutons I have shown in my pictures:
Preheat the oven to 300 F
Cut some day old sourdough or bread of choice into cubes.
Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper
Bake for 10 minutes or until just starting to be crispy. Remove and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
Return to the oven until the cheese is all melted. Remove and stir with a spatula to bring the cheese off the cookie sheet and onto the bread. Add more cheddar cheese and bake one more time until all the cheese is melted. Remove and serve with tomato basil soup!
Baking times will vary based on how old your bread is. Fresh bread will take longer to crisp and toast!
Ingredients And Equipment for Tomato Basil Soup:
Recipe for Tomato Basil Soup
- (1) 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, unseasoned. You can also use peeled tomatoes as everything gets blended! Look for unseasoned tomaotes. Since we add a lot of flavors, it is best to start with plain tomatoes.
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 cup fresh basil, packed + more for serving
- 3 Tbs olive oil
- 6 cups chicken or any type of stock
- (2) bay leaves
- 1 Tbs dried oregano
- 1 Tbs of sugar or maple syrup: this balances out the acicidy of the tomatoes!
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, to taste
- salt to taste
- sourdough, for serving
Equipment:
- Crosk pot or slow cooker.
- Immersion blender or blender
Directions and Details For Tomato Basil Soup:
Add the Ingredients to The Crock Pot
Rough chop your red onion and garlic, add it to your crock pot. the rough chop helps blend the onions and garlic easier after cooking.
Add the cherry tomatoes, can of crushed tomatoes, the bay leaves, oregano, fresh basil, chicken stock, and sugar. We will add the olive oil in later along with the cream
Cover and let cook on low heat for 2 to 2.5 hours.
Remove the lid and blend with an immersion blender. If you prefer to remove the bay leaf at this step you can. Bay leaf is not toxic and you will not notice it if you blend it into your soup.
Taste and adjust for salt, garlic, basil, or sugar. I always add more basil here because I love it! Having torn basil adds texture to your soup.
Add in the olive oil and stir to combine. The olive oil adds smoothness to your soup, along with a slight peppery taste.
Let the soup simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes. You can also leave the soup in the crock pot for longer on the warm setting! This allows you to make the soup hours ahead and then have warm soup ready for dinner when you need it!
Add The Coconut Milk And Serve
When ready to serve, stir in the coconut milk. You can leave the coconut milk out all together or add in extra with each bowl. I love how the coconut milk makes the soup creamy and little sweeter.
Stir together and top with fresh basil! See notes above if you would like to serve with cheddar baked sourdough croutons!
Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Soup
Ingredients
- (2) 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 cup fresh basil, packed + more for serving
- 3 Tbs olive oil
- 1 cup chicken or mushroom stock
- (2) bay leaves
- 1 Tbs dried oregano
- 1 Tbs of sugar or maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, to taste
- salt to taste
- sourdough, for serving
Instructions
Notes
Cook time is completed in the slow cooker and is hands free!
Prep time includes pre and post simmer time.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
133Carbs
16 gFat
8 gSugar
9 gProtein
3 gNote: Nutritional information is an estimate only. Exact values will vary based on specific ingredients used.
