Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
Warm up with a bowl of this quick and easy Creamy Tomato Basil Soup. Made with diced tomatoes, cream, fresh basil, parmesan, and a surprise ingredient!
I think for a lot of people, soup weather is just around the corner. It’s still pretty sweltering out here on Oahu and should continue to be that way for a little while longer. Even when it’s winter time, though, we don’t really ever get “soup weather,” which is something I really miss from back home.
And while we may not ever have soup weather, we definitely have our fair share of hurricane weather! When the hurricanes blow through and drop avalanches of rain on us, I tend to want to just stay inside and cook up something warm and toasty. And that’s how this soup came about!
See, the weather a couple of weeks ago got pretty nasty. We were literally surrounded by hurricanes. See photo below:
Nothing major happened aside from TONS of rain, and flooding in some areas.
Flooding is kind of a regular thing here, though. My phone was constantly blowing up with flood warnings that week, and we get them other times as well.
With all that time spent cooped up inside, I decided to try my hand (once again) at making one of my chilly weather favorites, Tomato Basil Soup.
There is a local place here called Aloha Salads that makes the best Tomato Basil Soup I’ve ever eaten. It’s creamy and delicious, and I have tried probably a dozen different recipes in hopes of recreating it at home.
None of them have done it for me, until this one. It’s still not an exact replica, but it’s pretty darn close!
There is one special ingredient in here that really makes it good. Are you ready for this? Marinara sauce!
Crazy, right? But it works! And it’s a perfect base. Try and use a good quality marinara if you can because it will just add to the flavor. I like Rao’s sauce, but it can be expensive.
I also used to LOVE the sauces by Giada de Laurentis that were sold at Target. My heart felt like it broke into a million little pieces when they stopped carrying them last year. Any marinara would really work here, though, homemade included!
In addition to the marinara, you’ll add in some chicken broth, a can of italian diced tomatoes, cream, basil, parmesan cheese, and some seasonings. It’s ready for you in under 30 minutes! Can’t beat that!
Enjoy the soup y’all and have a great weekend!
If you like this Creamy Tomato Basil Soup, then you might also like:
Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup
Recipe: Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 (24 oz) jar marinara sauce
- 1 (14 oz) can italian diced tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 3/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 handful fresh basil,, chopped
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese,, plus more for topping
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- In a large sauce pan, combine marinara sauce, diced tomatoes, chicken stock, oregano, dried basil, pepper, salt, and garlic powder over medium-high heat. Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat to medium-low.
- Stir in heavy cream, grated parmesan, and chopped fresh basil. Stir until smooth and cheese is melted. Allow to cook over low heat for 5-10 more minutes to allow flavors to blend. Taste and adjust seasonings. Enjoy!
Ah! this is the classic soup that I return to time and again! Can’t get over the simple combination of tomato and basil. I have never cooked the soup with marinara sauce though.. have to definitely try it!
Thanks for sharing.
Such a great flavor combination. My husband is sure to love this soup.
This is my favourite type of soup. Such a classic and SO comforting.
Tomato soup is always a delicious favourite for us, too. This looks delicious!
I’d love a big bowl of this creamy tomato soup right now. It’s still super hot where I live, but I’ll take this soup any day. Thanks for sharing the secret ingredient too. So good!
What a genius idea to use marinara sauce. Now all I need is a grilled cheese sandwich to go with this soup!!
I am sooooo excited to try this!!! I lived on Oahu for 4 years, and I was there during that crazy year with all those storms swirling around!!! One thing I miss most from Hawaii is ALOHA SALAD because of that soup!!!!! I’m so excited to try it! Thank you so much for making it!
Hope you enjoy it, Lauren! We moved from Oahu this summer and I am missing it desperately, especially Aloha Salads! This soup comes pretty close, I think! Hope you enjoy it!!
The recipe really is spot on. The only thing it’s missing for flavor in my opinion is butter. I added some the last time I made this and it was exactly like aloha salad!!!
Ooooh good to know!!
I’m making this now because I’m craving tomato soup and a grilled havarti, but only have one ripe tomato. So I am subbing the canned tomato for fresh, the heavy cream for half and half and adding a little cayenne. It looks and smells so good! I can’t wait until it’s ready. Thanks for the recipe!
Oh yum, love the idea of the cayenne! Hope you enjoyed it!
YUM and YUM!! I love Tomato soup and adding basil is genius!!
What a perfect Fall meal! Absolutely love it.
Yum!! Tomato basil is one of my favorite kinds of soup. I cannot wait for soup season. Loving the addition of parmesan on top of this one!
Marinara sauce makes total sense to me, can’t wait to try this when it cools off around here!
This sound absolutely delicious! I think tomato and basil is the perfect combination in soup.
Andd… now I was tomato soup and grilled cheese for dinner! My favorite comfort food meal and this tomato soup looks so creamy! YUM!
I’m glad you made it through those hurricanes okay! This soup would be just the thing to comfort and warm us up on those chilly fall evenings we’re starting to see.
It’s totally tomato soup and grilled cheese weather! This makes me so happy!