It's so easy to make delicious vegan tomato soup at home! This yummy recipe has 10 simple ingredients and is comforting and rich in flavour. Try this creamy tomato soup for a quick and cozy meal at any time of year.
Vegan tomato soup is not a complicated thing to make. And we've made it even easier with this simple recipe that is also full of bold flavour!
We use canned chopped tomatoes for convenience and reliable results. But we will also tell you how to adapt the recipe to use fresh tomatoes! Perfect if you grow your own tomatoes and have a glut of them!
If you are looking for more recipes to use up tomatoes, why not try gazpacho, which is a refreshing cold soup made from tomato and cucumber. If you're looking for something more robust, our roasted red pepper and tomato sauce is for you.
Read on for ingredient tips and to find out how easy it is to make vegan tomato soup at home.
Table of Contents
Ingredient tips
Here's all you will need to make this easy vegan tomato soup:
Tomatoes - We use canned tomatoes so you can make this soup year-round. San Marzano tomatoes are an excellent variety for soup if you can get them. Both chopped or crushed and whole peeled cans of plum tomatoes will work great as well!
If you want to try using fresh tomatoes for this recipe, choose the ripest and most flavourful tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes and homegrown tomatoes are the best bet if you don't live in a Mediterranean climate. You can find tips on how to tweak this recipe using fresh tomatoes in the section on variations below!
Top Tip
While it's intuitive to think that fresh tomatoes are preferable to preserved tomatoes, this isn't always the case.
Canned tomatoes are typically grown in Mediterranean climates, and harvested and canned in the summer when they are ripe and full of flavour. They deliver reliable results and taste great the whole year round.
In winter and colder climates, canned tomatoes are the better choice over storebought fresh tomatoes, which are often grown in a glasshouse and lack in flavour and nutritional value.
Sugar - This is added to cut through the acidity of the tomatoes and bring a more balanced flavour. You may wish to adjust the amount depending on how ripe and sweet your tomatoes are, especially if using fresh. Taste the soup and adjust to your preference.
Basil - We've tested this recipe with both dried and fresh basil. Use fresh basil for a more, well, fresh taste, or dried basil for a slightly more mild, full-bodied note if you prefer. However, we actually really like a mix of the two!
Vegan cream - We recommend a storebought vegan double cream / heavy cream, such as Oatly, as it has a more neutral flavour than using full-fat coconut milk.
Step by step pictures
Here's a visual guide on how to make this yummy homemade vegan tomato soup. For the full, adjustable and printable recipe, see the recipe card at the end of the post.
Step 1 - Heat olive oil in a large pan and saute the onion and garlic for 5 minutes until starting to brown.
Step 2 - Add vegetable broth, chopped tomatoes and sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer covered with a lid, on low-medium heat for 10 minutes.
Step 3 - Add fresh basil and season with salt and pepper.
Step 4 - Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth.
Step 5 - Stir in vegan cream.
Substitutions and variations
To add a bit of extra flavour, saute some added carrot and celery alongside the onions and garlic.
Leave out the basil for a plain tomato soup.
You can also vary the herbs and use dried oregano or fresh parsley instead of basil, or as an addition.
Using fresh tomatoes
Although this recipe is optimised for using canned tomatoes, you can make it with fresh tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes vary in flavour and sweetness, so you might have to tweak the recipe a bit.
Like mentioned before, you'll get the best results from the most flavourful and ripe tomatoes, like homegrown or cherry tomatoes.
If your fresh tomatoes are particularly sweet, you might be able to leave out the sugar - cook the soup without and adjust to taste at the end.
On the other hand, if your fresh tomatoes - especially storebought ones - are not the most flavourful and sweet kind, you can tweak the recipe to still get a decent tomato soup.
To fix a bland tomato soup, blend in a couple of tablespoons tomato paste/puree and double the sugar as a start. If the soup still lacks in depth of flavour, try adding a small amount of apple cider or balsamic vinegar.
To prep fresh tomatoes to use in this soup recipe, the easiest way is to just wash and dice them. I also like to remoce the green bit where the stalk was attached by halving the tomato and then cutting the stalky part out with two angled cuts.
When cooking tomatoes, their skin can curl up into tough bits that can persist after blending. So if you prefer to peel the tomatoes, the easiest way is to blanch them first.
Serving
This soup goes really well with crusty white bread, such as baguette, ciabatta, or sourdough.
For a more substantial side dish, you could serve it with a vegan grilled cheese or sandwich.
Or why not try our recipes for Red Lentil Flatbreads, Vegan Crackers or Potato Scones for even more deliciousness!
The way I always had tomato soup as a kid was with small pasta in the soup, such as elbow macaroni or little shell pasta. Vegan tortellini would also make this soup a more filling meal.
Storage
Store: When cool, transfer the soup to a covered container and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 - 4 days.
Reheat: Place soup in a pan on the stove on medium heat, stirring frequently, until thoroughly hot, but not boiling. Or heat in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring each time.
Freeze: You can freeze this soup in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, or with the defrost setting on a microwave.
More vegan soup recipes
Try these other delicious soup recipes from Vegan on Board...
📖 Recipe
Vegan Tomato Soup
Equipment
- Stick Blender
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 cups (720 ml) vegetable stock
- 2 400g / 14oz cans chopped tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ cup (10 g) fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried, or both
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup (60 ml) vegan cream
Instructions
- Heat up olive oil in a saucepan over low medium heat. Add prepped onion and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes until soft.1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 medium onion, 3 cloves garlic
- Add vegetable stock, chopped tomatoes, sugar, and dried basil if using. Bring to a boil and simmer covered with a lid on low-medium heat for 10 minutes.3 cups (720 ml) vegetable stock, 2 400g / 14oz cans chopped tomatoes, 1 teaspoon sugar
- Wash and roughly chop the basil and add it to the soup along with the salt and pepper.½ cup (10 g) fresh basil, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Puree with a stick blender until completely smooth.
- Stir in the vegan cream. Serve with a little swirl of extra vegan cream and a few fresh leaves of basil for garnish, and a slice of white bread.¼ cup (60 ml) vegan cream
Notes
Nutrition
This information is calculated per serving and is an estimate only.
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