Description
Simple roasted tomato soup recipe that’s naturally vegan and gluten-free. Roasted tomatoes, fresh basil, and aromatic spices create incredible depth of flavor in just 45 minutes.
Ingredients
For the Roasted Tomatoes:
- 3½ lbs ripe small- to medium-sized tomatoes (cherry, grape, Roma, or on-the-vine work beautifully), quartered or halved
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
For the Soup Base:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large white or yellow onion, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (add more if you love that gentle heat!)
- 2½ cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth if not keeping it vegan)
- ½ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
Optional Toppings (but honestly, why skip them?):
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Heavy cream or olive oil drizzle
- Croutons or my favorite – grilled cheese croutons!
- Sour cream
- Extra fresh basil leaves
Instructions
Heat oven to 450°F and actually wait for it to get there. I use an oven thermometer because mine runs cold and I spent years wondering why my food looked nothing like the pictures online.
Cut tomatoes however – halves, quarters, chunks. Don’t stress about making them match. Life’s too short for perfect tomato geometry. Spread on big baking sheet cut side up with space between them. Crowded tomatoes steam instead of roast and steamed tomatoes are sad.
Drizzle 2 tablespoons oil over everything in squiggly lines. Sprinkle salt and pepper like you mean it. Use more than seems right because some stays on the pan.
Stick in oven and set timer for 30 minutes. Don’t peek before then or you lose heat and mess up the roasting. They’re done when they’re shrunky and have brown crispy edges – some might look burned but that’s perfect. Kitchen will smell like Italian heaven.
While tomatoes roast, heat last tablespoon oil in your biggest pot over medium heat. Not high or you’ll burn stuff and ruin everything. Medium gives you control.
Add chopped onion and cook till soft and see-through – takes 5-7 minutes depending how small you chopped. Don’t rush this. Proper cooked onions are sweet and mellow. Raw-ish onions make soup taste sharp and wrong.
Add garlic, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes. Stir constantly for exactly 2 minutes – I set a timer because garlic burns fast and bitter garlic ruins everything. Kitchen smells incredible now and everyone starts wandering over asking what’s for dinner.
Paprika blooms in the oil and turns everything reddish. That’s what you want. Don’t let anything stick or burn.
When timer goes off, tomatoes should look shriveled and caramelized and smell amazing. Scrape every single tomato into the pot with all the pan juices – those brown bits are flavor gold you can’t make any other way.
Add broth and basil. Looks chunky and gross right now, totally normal. Don’t panic.
Blend everything smooth with immersion blender – takes 2-3 minutes moving it around to get all chunks. Regular blender works but let soup cool first and do small batches. Fill halfway max and hold lid down with kitchen towel.
Taste it. Needs salt, guaranteed. Probably way more than you think. Tomatoes are acidic and need salt to balance. Start with a teaspoon, taste, keep adding till it’s right.
Maybe add more smoked paprika – I usually do because I’m obsessed. Too acidic? Add teaspoon sugar. Too thick? Add more broth. Too thin? Simmer uncovered 10 minutes.
Notes
Temperature matters: Wait for full 450°F preheat or tomatoes won’t caramelize right. I use oven thermometer because mine lies. Proper heat makes those crispy edges that create the flavor.
Hot soup danger: Regular blender with hot soup can explode. Hot liquid expands and blows lids off – painted my ceiling once. Let cool 10 minutes, fill halfway max, hold lid with towel.
Basil timing: Add right before blending to keep bright green and fresh. Too early and it turns brown and tastes cooked instead of fresh.
Salt gradually: Start less than you think, taste, adjust. Can always add more but can’t take it back. Every tomato batch needs different amounts.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: American