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 4.0g, carbohydrate 13.0g, fat 7.0 g, saturated fat 1.0g, fibre 4.0g, sugar 1.0g, salt 1.08 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, September 2002.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 121-140

  • Binder photo Emmy

    26 January 2011

    Emmy rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I have just made this for the first time, and found it very easy, and tasted lovely!!! I too found it alittle watery but I had pre-empted that from the previous comments and didn�t put as much stock in. Yummy!

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  • Binder photo aspiringamateurchef

    05 February 2011

    aspiringamateurchef commented on this recipe

    Making it now with 3 bay leaves but not all with aggro of seven types of fresh tomato. Sometimes I think GFM wants us to spend loadsa money on ingredients just to keep a few Corporates happy. I feel this is 'Tomato Sauce Soup' only liquidised.

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  • Binder photo aspiringamateurchef

    05 February 2011

    aspiringamateurchef commented on this recipe

    Just made it now with carrot juice cooking water as veggie stock and mirepoix as above with 3 bayleaves.

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  • Binder photo aspiringamateurchef

    06 February 2011

    aspiringamateurchef rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made with two tins of tomatoes which I imagine is one's usual route in Tomato Soup making. Very nice, I like the fact that it is in effect a 'Tomato Sauce' Soup with flavourings of the mirepoix of carrots, onion and celery making the soup, in itself very tasty without the addition of basil and or oregano. Butter is a must for the recipe.

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  • Binder photo the wicked witch

    02 March 2011

    the wicked witch rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    made this soup exactly to recipe and it was the best have made yet.

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  • Binder photo Zelda x

    05 March 2011

    Zelda x commented on this recipe

    Have made this recipe so many times now. Its such a fresh tasty soup, I would certainly recommend it. It does make quite a large amount so I simply pop some in soup freezer bags and take out when needed to slowly defrost. Very easy to make too!

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  • Binder photo ehoo

    22 March 2011

    ehoo rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    so easy and so yummy!

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  • Binder photo Binns

    14 April 2011

    Binns rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    What a fantastic soup. Tasted so much better than shop bought tin soup. So easy to make and the compliments kept flooding in. Highly recommended.

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  • Binder photo messyjessie86

    18 May 2011

    messyjessie86 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Fresh and deliciouss. It's definitely worth investing in the best tomatoes you can find, as it makes a big difference to the flavour.

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  • Binder photo Ree2210

    18 May 2011

    Ree2210 commented on this recipe

    This soup is divine. I took some to work for everyone to try and have now passed the recipe on to several of my colleagues who all loved it. I didn't have any bay leaves so they were omitted but it still tastes fantastic.

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  • Binder photo aspiringamateurchef

    19 May 2011

    aspiringamateurchef commented on this recipe

    Please can we have a canned tomato version and versions using Basil on it's own, Oregano on it's own and the classic mirepoix of onion, carrot and celery and bayleaves. It would be more helpful as I have no idea how to measure the equivalent in fresh tomatos in terms of tinned. Thanks in advance. Butter is always nice as well and not just olive oil. Also veg stock has to be good. I always end up using Kallo Organic Chicken Stock but need excellent veg stock options maybe a recipe for homemade?

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  • Binder photo old_but_still_a_child

    08 June 2011

    old_but_still_a_child commented on this recipe

    A lovely, simple soup with a nice creamy texture despite the absence of cream! At 123kcal per serving I will definitely make this again. I halved the recipe and it made two bowls of soup. Perfect for myself and my fiancé.

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  • Binder photo Julie Bahrain

    08 June 2011

    Julie Bahrain rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I brought a load of tomatoes because they were cheap then didn't know what to do with them, so decided to make soup. This recipe was straight forward and had the added bonus of using extra vegetables. I didn't have any bay leaves but I did add a fat clove of garlic. The soup was tasty and was even enjoyed by my teenage daughter who usually only eats Heinz tomato soup.

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  • Binder photo Cas95

    07 July 2011

    Cas95 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    delicious!

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  • Binder photo Kylie

    24 July 2011

    Kylie rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I am making this soup for the second time as the first batch went down a storm!

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  • Binder photo JonSykes

    30 July 2011

    JonSykes rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Very easy. Very tasty. I add hot chilli powder for a warm kick :)

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  • Binder photo bridget

    01 August 2011

    bridget commented on this recipe

    it never fails - fantastic

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  • Binder photo Tracey

    19 August 2011

    Tracey commented on this recipe

    this is a great recipe so easy and the family loved it

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  • Binder photo jackie

    26 August 2011

    jackie commented on this recipe

    Never made fresh tomato soup.It was very easy to make and went down a threat with my family.Very proud of myself

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  • Binder photo Bex

    05 September 2011

    Bex rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Perfection!! Tasty and healthy!! I would recommend using 'very ripe' tomatoes for a stronger flavour, and a splash of tabasco or some dried chilli flakes for those who like it hot!

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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 4.0g, carbohydrate 13.0g, fat 7.0 g, saturated fat 1.0g, fibre 4.0g, sugar 1.0g, salt 1.08 g

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