As soon as the weather turns cool, I crave soup in all forms.
I break out my slow cooker or stock pot, throw some quality broth in, and then whatever else I feel like. Sometimes it’s all the vegetables, sometimes it’s meat filled, sometimes it’s thick with beans or lentils. It really is hard to go wrong with a good soup.
So frugal. So delicious.
This creamy tomato soup is one that I have been making for years. I love it because it is made with ingredients that I always have on hand. Carrots, onion, celery, diced tomatoes, and broth are staple items in my house. To make me love this soup even more, it is cooked all day in the slow cooker and then pureed with cream at the end to thicken it and give it a delicious rich taste.
Because I grew up with Campbell’s tomato soup and grilled cheese, I always have to pair this homemade version with a homemade grilled cheese sandwich made with sourdough bread, cheddar cheese, and if I’m feeling fancy, some bacon or pesto. Sometimes the budget doesn’t allow for the fancy, and the plain is just as good.
Don’t forget to dunk!
- 28 oz. diced tomatoes
- 1 small onion diced
- 1-2 stalks of celery diced
- 1-2 large carrots diced
- 4 cups chicken broth (homemade is best)
- 1 T basil or to taste. Fresh basil will be better tasting, but dried can be used as well.
- 8oz cream, half and half, or unsweetened coconut milk
- 1- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese for topping
- Combine tomatoes, onion, celery, carrots and chicken broth in crockpot.
- Cook on low 8 hours or high for 5 until veggies are soft.
- Puree with an immersion blender or in a blender until smooth.
- Add basil, cream and salt.
- Cook for another hour.
- Top with a generous portion of grated parmesan cheese when serving.
Made this for tonight’s dinner (minus the celery & carrots, had none)….
unfortunately the cream curdled upon impact with the tomato mixture 🙁
Seeing the curdled cream bits was pretty unappetizing, but after topping with the parmesan cheese, we didn’t pay attention to that, cuz it tasted SO DELICIOUS!!
Will definitely be making this ALOT now, because we have SUCH an abundance of tomatoes this year.
On the side, I served stuffed baked tomatoes (stuffed with a mixture of chopped mushrooms, sausage, seasoned GF bread crumbs & butter, topped with finely shredded cheese)
How can i keep the cream from curdling next time??
So sorry to hear that it curdled. I’m glad it still tasted good. I’ve never had it curdle on me before. Maybe try tempering your cream. With your cream in a bowl, slowly pour a little of the tomato mixture in it while whisking. Then pour the whole thing into the tomato soup. Cream is more likely to curdle in very acidic conditions. I wonder if the celery, carrots, etc that are in the recipe reduce the acidity of the tomatoes, and without them the cream is more likely to curdle. I’m not sure. It would probably take some experimenting to find out for sure.