A recent cool front accompanied with an all day rain shower had me really craving something toasty and extra comforting. I knew I wanted soup, and originally considered making some sort of chicken noodle soup out of things in my pantry and fridge. Then suddenly, I’m staring down two forgotten cans of tomatoes, and it hits me – and just like that, a new recipe is born, my friends – homemade Tomato Basil Soup!

No tomatoes? CLICK HERE. My Previous Tip Tuesday can help!

What You Need

There are two things that will make this recipe (and others I am bound to share later) much easier throw together. Not to mention the flavor and fun they add. The first you need is a large pot or one of my favorite kitchen tools–my Dutch oven. This pot gets so hot all the way around, and it’s heavy lid just really knows how to make food taste like it’s been cooking all day.

The second item you should have, if you don’t, is a hand blender. The brand I have is cuisinart. It actually comes with another attachment for a small food processor. [Another staple that would be good for you to have. Believe me. I’ll explain more in another post.] So, the hand blender is the only way to get this smooth, unless you have big food processor somewhere, but still you’re risking spilling all of this glorious soup on yourself or the floor.

I paired this soup with some thinly sliced sour dough bread with a thick layer of cheddar cheese & grilled it to perfection in butter! YUM!

Print Recipe

Savory Tomato Basil Soup

Fresh soup with Summer ingredients. Good for the soul any day, year round.

Cook Time1

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: basil, easy, fresh, freshherbs, lunch, soup, tomato, tomatosoup

Servings: 5 servings

Author: LittleBit

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
½ sweet onion quartered or diced
1 clove garlic
1½ cups chicken or veggie broth
2 12 oz. cans – Diced tomatoes
¼ tsp Italian seasoning
Dash crushed red pepper
salt & pepper to taste
3 fresh Basil leaves
¼ tsp agave nectar OR pinch of sugar
1 dollop sour cream

Instructions

In Dutch oven/stock pot, add first 3 ingredients & cook on medium until almost translucent. Add Italian seasoning, salt & pepper, crushed red pepp. Add broth, bring to a boil; Then add tomatoes. Pulse/blend all together to desired consistency. Add agave/sugar, basil leaves, & pulse again. Simmer on medium/low heat for about 20-30 min. Stir in a dollop of sour cream for extra richness.

More Info

I wanted to share some information about the products I’ve linked for you all above. To me, I’m only doing half of my job by leading you to these awesome products. You also need to know why else they will be useful, outside of this one recipe.

This stock pot is by Calphalon. This is a great cooking too for evenly browning, searing, and sautéing. They also can be found in various sizes for your different culinary needs. Traditionally they are used to create stocks or broths. Aside from soup-like foods, they are great for boiling almost anything. Think steaming shellfish or a seafood boil! It works on any stove top surface and is oven compatible up to 450 degrees.

The Dutch oven is one of those items I never knew I needed so much. It is truly something you could use every single day. It is great on the stove top, and also loves to be used in the oven as well! If you take care of it, it will basically last a lifetime, too. It can add that “cooked all day” taste to dishes in under an hour at times. Le Creuset, nother brand, a little more pricey but totally worth it if it fits your budget.

Lastly, this Cuisinart Smart Stick is the perfect kitchen tool. I have this exact one. It has a small food processor: great for chopping or blending veggies, or making salad dressings or marinades at home! It even has a little whisk attachment and a measuring cup. This recipe, I only used the hand blender attachment. I use this also when making my vodka sauce!