Tomato soup
See this recipe step by step

Tomato soup

To make the tastiest tomato soup you’ll ever experience wait until the tomatoes are at their most ripe and juicy, around September

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4 for lunch or 6 as a starter

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Vegetarian Freezable

Vegetarian, Vegan, Low-fat

Method

  1. Firstly, prepare your vegetables. You need 1-1.25kg/2lb 4oz-2lb 12oz ripe tomatoes. If the tomatoes are on their vines, pull them off. The green stalky bits should come off at the same time, but if they don't, just pull or twist them off afterwards. Throw the vines and green bits away and wash the tomatoes. Now cut each tomato into quarters and slice off any hard cores (they don't soften during cooking and you'd get hard bits in the soup at the end). Peel 1 medium onion and 1 small carrot and chop them into small pieces. Chop 1 celery stick roughly the same size.
  2. Spoon 2 tbsp olive oil into a large heavy-based pan and heat it over a low heat. Hold your hand over the pan until you can feel the heat rising from the oil, then tip in the onion, carrot and celery and mix them together with a wooden spoon. Still with the heat low, cook the vegetables until they're soft and faintly coloured. This should take about 10 minutes and you should stir them two or three times so they cook evenly and don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
  3. Holding the tube over the pan, squirt in about 2 tsp of tomato purée, then stir it around so it turns the vegetables red. Shoot the tomatoes in off the chopping board, sprinkle in a good pinch of sugar and grind in a little black pepper. Tear 2 bay leaves into a few pieces and throw them into the pan. Stir to mix everything together, put the lid on the pan and let the tomatoes stew over a low heat for 10 minutes until they shrink down in the pan and their juices flow nicely. From time to time, give the pan a good shake - this will keep everything well mixed.
  4. Slowly pour in the 1.2 litres/ 2 pints of hot stock (made with boiling water and 4 rounded tsp bouillon powder or 2 stock cubes), stirring at the same time to mix it with the vegetables. Turn up the heat as high as it will go and wait until everything is bubbling, then turn the heat down to low again and put the lid back on the pan. Cook gently for 25 minutes, stirring a couple of times. At the end of cooking the tomatoes will have broken down and be very slushy looking.
  5. Remove the pan from the heat, take the lid off and stand back for a few seconds or so while the steam escapes, then fish out the pieces of bay leaf and throw them away. Ladle the soup into your blender until it's about three-quarters full, fit the lid on tightly and turn the machine on full. Blitz until the soup's smooth (stop the machine and lift the lid to check after about 30 seconds), then pour the puréed soup into a large bowl. Repeat with the soup that's left in the pan. (The soup may now be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost before reheating.)
  6. Pour the puréed soup back into the pan and reheat it over a medium heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally until you can see bubbles breaking gently on the surface. Taste a spoonful and add a pinch or two of salt if you think the soup needs it, plus more pepper and sugar if you like. If the colour's not a deep enough red for you, plop in another teaspoon of tomato purée and stir until it dissolves. Ladle into bowls and serve. Or sieve and serve chilled with some cream swirled in. For other serving suggestions, see opposite.
Try

Choosing the best tomatoes

The best British tomatoes for making soup are Elegance, a deep-red classic tomato (often sold on the vine) with a thin skin and sweet, juicy flesh. Aranca are good on-the-vine cocktail tomatoes with a superb flavour and aroma, but if you prefer the larger beefsteak variety, go for Jack Hawkins. Plum tomatoes to watch out for include Santa, Jester, Mona Lisa and Baby Sweetheart.

Nutrition per serving for four

123 kcalories, protein 4g, carbohydrate 13g, fat 7 g, saturated fat 1g, fibre 4g, sugar 1g, salt 1.08 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, September 2002.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 101-120

  • Binder photo SueSant

    16 September 2010

    SueSant rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is the most brilliant tomato soup recipe. Only made tom soup for first time 3 days ago having loads of ripe tomatoes. Froze 3 portions. Defrosted one portion for my starter tonight, so easy, and it tastes so lip-smacking. Looking forward to it.

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  • Binder photo Ken Smith

    16 September 2010

    Ken Smith rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Excellent for those surplus toms will use again.

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  • Binder photo maria

    17 September 2010

    maria commented on this recipe

    I used tis recipe to avoid wasting a glut of home grown tomatoes. Very nice it was too. Even the junk food addict son scoffed it!

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  • Binder photo mellymoola

    21 September 2010

    mellymoola rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    we all love tomatoes in our house (inc 2 small boys) and they lurve Heinz Tom soup?! I have previously made tom soup by skinning & de-seeding the toms (what a faff!!!) and it put me right off because the end result was so bland. This recipe, however, was a huge hit in our house - so tasty. And even better; quick, easy and cheap to make. I would also serve it for friends for dinner with some rustic bread. Delicious! The toms do need to be really plump and ripe though, I made it a 2nd time with slightly fewer and less ripe toms from the garden, and although it was still tasty, not as good as before

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  • Binder photo Binns

    26 September 2010

    Binns commented on this recipe

    Lovely soup. I have made a batch to freeze. My hubby, who is not a soup lover, thought it was delicious!!

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  • Binder photo FieldChooks

    28 September 2010

    FieldChooks commented on this recipe

    As a rule a hate tomato soup but I had a glut of tomatoes in the greenhouse that were going to waste so decided to make this for the family. Am I pleased I did, this is the best tomato soup I have ever tasted! Having read the recipe I thought it wouldn't be thick enough so I only used 500ml of stock and I used 1 chicken oxo cube and the same amount of bouillon. It was just the right consistency and absolutely delicious! I can't wait to make the next batch!

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  • Binder photo Cramps

    29 September 2010

    Cramps rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I would add some roasted garlic to the dish and roast the tomatoes in the oven for 1 1/2 hours,remove the skins off the tomatoes first then add the garlic whole to the tomatoes last 30 min of cooking. :)

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  • Binder photo Golden Girl

    02 October 2010

    Golden Girl rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    My daughter made this recipe and I tried it at her house it was delicious so made it myself. I would recommend it to all!

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  • Binder photo Kelly

    23 October 2010

    Kelly rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I thought this was awesome! Used my remaining tomatoes from the garden, I left out the paste the more I let it sit the better it tasted. Even forgot the bay leaves. And yes, carrot makes all the difference to cut the acidity of tomatoes! Good stuff!

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  • Binder photo Wendy

    10 November 2010

    Wendy rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    really delicious and tasty - the most 'tomatoey soup' I have ever tasted. Freezes very well too.

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  • Binder photo feastham

    13 November 2010

    feastham commented on this recipe

    Simple to make and was really good!!!!!! Even my hubby (who isn't really in to 'whole tomatoes') enjoyed it.

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  • Binder photo Richard Williams

    15 December 2010

    Richard Williams rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Absolute dynamite this one. Also made a batch with some fresh chillies in - very warming on a winter evening. This recipe is in my 'till I die' cookbook.

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  • Binder photo LAURA

    16 December 2010

    LAURA rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I have made this a few times for family and it always goes down well. If Im in a rush sometimes I will use tinned tomatoes.

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  • Binder photo feastham

    03 January 2011

    feastham rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Just made this for the second time... still as delicious!

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  • Binder photo Clairelawrence

    06 January 2011

    Clairelawrence rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I love this soup!!!!! I have always hated homemade soup, but decided to try and make some. I've been converted and now love homemade soup because of this recipe. Not sure I agree with previous comments about it being vegetable soup as there is only 1 onion and 1 carrot. I make a few slight changes. I don't put celery in as I don't like it, I put more tomatoes in, and I put 3 stock cubes in rather than 2. It comes out lovely. I've made it twice now, and everyone who has eaten it completely agree. Top recipe!

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  • Binder photo Zelda x

    12 January 2011

    Zelda x rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Love love love this recipe. Its so full of goodness and so tasty, you must try it. It freezes really well too if you want to save some. It does make a large pan full and its well worth the effort. I sometimes add a red chilli and a couple of cloves of garlic with the onions just to spice it up a little if I feel like it with a bit of a kick :)

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  • Binder photo Cherry968

    12 January 2011

    Cherry968 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    A soup-erb recipe (sorry), I cooked a huge pot of this soup when my neices came to stay over the xmas break. I served it with fresh crusty bread and home made potatoe wedges, there were eight children at the table (three of which are the pickiest eaters i've ever met) and not only did they all clean their bowls but four of them had a second helping. Spot on!

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  • Binder photo katy

    13 January 2011

    katy commented on this recipe

    I made this soup with two tins of chopped tomatos and only used 1 litre of vegatable stock and it was just as nice! Im a very fussy eater and I love this soup

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  • Binder photo Lee Denchfield

    18 January 2011

    Lee Denchfield rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    The soup tastes nice, I only used around 600ml of water though, and that was plenty, 1.2l would have resulted in a very watery soup, apart from that, top notch!

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  • Binder photo steved3v

    19 January 2011

    steved3v rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I just made this soup and it is delicious,by farthe best home made soup i have ever made/tasted!the fact it is freezable as well means i wont have to by a tin of tomato soup for a while aswell,if i can stop eating it that is!

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4 for lunch or 6 as a starter

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Vegetarian Freezable

Vegetarian, Vegan, Low-fat

Ingredients

  • 1-1.25kg/2lb 4oz-2lb 12oz ripe tomatoes
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 small carrot
  • 1 celery stick
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 squirts of tomato purée (about 2 tsp)
  • a good pinch of sugar
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1.2 litres/ 2 pints hot vegetable stock (made with boiling water and 4 rounded tsp bouillon powder or 2 stock cubes)
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Nutrition per serving for four

123 kcalories, protein 4g, carbohydrate 13g, fat 7 g, saturated fat 1g, fibre 4g, sugar 1g, salt 1.08 g

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