Creamy tomato basil soup is a cold-weather must-have recipe. It’s unbelievably easy and so delicious.
This recipe is a perfect weeknight meal. You will even have time to make grill cheese sandwiches to dip in the soup.
In our house, the perfect comfort food is a grill cheese sandwich with tomato soup. Really! We won’t even consider eating tomato soup without one.
Crazy, I know.
Try our Bread Pudding!
Creamy Tomato Basil Soup Video
How To Make Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

This recipe requires very few ingredients. Wash dry the basil, dice the shallot and press the garlic. Oh yeah, open the cans of tomato.
Check out our Peanut Butter Balls!

In a large pot over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil. Add shallot and saute until translucent.
Add garlic and saute another 30 seconds.
Add crushed tomatoes (juice and all), chicken stock (or chicken broth), oregano, sugar, salt, and pepper.

Reduce the heat and bring to a low simmer. Cook uncovered stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until it has thickened.
Add the half and half, fresh basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
We love this recipe and the texture but if it’s not smooth enough for you just use an immersion blender to imulsive it to you liking.
Try our popular Thick and Hearty Chili!
Creamy Tomato Basil Soup Recipe
Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 large Shallot, diced
- 56 oz Crushed Tomatoes 2 – 28 oz cans
- 1 1/2 cup Chicken Stock or vegetable stock
- 1 Tbsp Sugar
- 1/2 Tsp Dried Oregano
- 2 Tsp Kosher Salt
- Several grinds of Pepper to taste
- 1 Cup Half and Half
- 12 – 15 large Fresh Basil leaves, chopped
Instructions
- In a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add shallot and saute until translucent.
- Add garlic and saute another 30 seconds.
- Add crushed tomatoes (juice and all), chicken stock, oregano, sugar, salt, and pepper.
- Bring to a low simmer. Cook uncovered, for 15 minutes or until it has thickened.
- Add the half and half, basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Comments
Jenny
November 17, 2015Tomato soup is one of my fave winter soups to go to and so comforting. The creaminess of this one looks amazing I always strive for creamy but haven’t perfected the tomato soup yet. Thank you ever so much for linking up to Share With Me. I hope to see you again tomorrow for another great round! #sharewithme
DSTR
November 17, 2015Thank you!
Kristin
October 6, 2016Delicious! I just made this. I used petite diced tomatoes instead of crushed and used an immersion blend. I think my guests will enjoy it!
DSTR
October 7, 2016I’m so happy you enjoy the soup! Thanks for coming by to tell me, Kristin! 🙂
Marcy
January 7, 2017Will this be too thin if I use tomato sauce instead of crushed tomatoes? It is a snow day here and I would really like to make tomato soup for dinner but tomato sauce is all I have! Maybe if I throw in tomato paste too?
DSTR
January 9, 2017Marcy, I’m sorry if I’m too late to answer this question. Did you try it with the tomato sauce? I wouldn’t think it would be too thin. I have just always used the crushed tomatoes for some texture to the soup.
Nancy
July 6, 2017Can I make this recipe without the 1/2 and 1/2? Can’t have dairy
DSTR
July 7, 2017You could but the taste will be different. No longer “creamy” tomato basil soup. Please let us know how it turns out. Thank you so much for coming by!
Sarah G
February 9, 2018in your last paragraph of instructions you say to add BAY leaves and half & half. Did you mean add BASIL leaves? might want to correct that paragraph!
DSTR
February 10, 2018Wow, thanks, Sarah! I really appreciate you bringing this to our attention.
Laura
March 12, 2018This soup was wonderful and very simple! I only had one can of crushed tomatoes so I used tomato sauce as a replacement for the other, the texture probably wasn’t as thick as yours but we liked it. We are dairy free so I used coconut milk instead of half and half it helped to give the creamy texture. I’m excited to try it again, thanks for sharing!
DSTR
March 13, 2018Hi, Laura! Thank you so much for coming by to tell us you enjoyed the soup!!!
Andy
July 3, 2018So delicious! I had most ingredients on hand. Had to purchase tomatoes and basil, cost less than $8. So creamy and bold. Love it. Wish I had nutritional information.
DSTR
July 5, 2018Hi, Andy! So glad you enjoyed the soup. I have added the nutritional information to the recipe. Thanks so much for coming by!