Name: Roasted Tomato Soup with Basil
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 3 lb plum tomatoes, halved; 1 yellow onion, quartered; 6 cloves garlic, unpeeled; ¼ cup olive oil; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 3 cups vegetable stock; ½ cup heavy cream; ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, torn; 2 tbsp unsalted butter; Salt and pepper, to taste; To finish grated Parmesan

Roasted Tomato Soup with Basil

Plum tomatoes roasted until charred and jammy, then blended with broth and cream — the classic dunking partner for a grilled cheese.

Serves

Prep

15 min

Cook

45 min

Written

August 5, 2026

Method

Heat the oven to 425°F. Toss the tomatoes, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on a sheet pan.

Roast until the tomatoes have collapsed and the skins are charred in spots, about 35 minutes.

Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins and discard the skins.

Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat, stir in the tomato paste, and cook until it darkens a shade, about 1 minute.

Scrape in the roasted tomatoes, onion, and garlic along with the stock, and bring to a simmer.

Simmer for 10 minutes, then puree with an immersion blender until completely smooth.

Stir in the cream and basil, and season with salt and pepper.

Ladle into bowls and finish with grated Parmesan.

Notes

Roasting the tomatoes first is what separates this from the can — 35 minutes in a hot oven drives off water and turns the sugars, so the soup comes out sweeter and less sharp without a spoonful of sugar to fix it. Canned whole tomatoes work in winter; just skip straight to the pot and simmer them longer to make up for the roast you’re skipping.

Blend it as smooth as your machine allows — tomato skins that don’t fully break down turn up as flecks, which is fine in a rustic soup but not what you want here. Ladle it next to a grilled cheese for dipping and call it dinner.