Name: Fresh Tomato and Basil Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1kg /2.25lbs of fresh ripe tomatoes (I used the roma variety, peeled and roughly chopped), but works well with a variety of types also.; 4 shallots or one medium sized onion, finely chopped; 2 medium stalks of celery, chopped; 4 cloves of garlic crushed; handful of basil, chopped (reserve some for garnish); 4.5 cups (1.1 litres) of vegetable stock; 2 tablespoons of tomato paste; 1/3 cup (80ml) of coconut milk (or can use whole milk); salt and black pepper to season; 1 tablespoon of olive oil - or use olive oil spray to reduce the calories here

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Fresh Tomato and Basil Soup - Enjoy a bowl of this delicious Tomato and Basil Soup which uses fresh ingredients for the ultimate taste.

Fresh Tomato and Basil Soup in wooden handled cast iron saucepan with bowl of soup and fresh tomatoes in background

Tomato Basil Soup

For my birthday a friend took me to a lovely little Italian cafe, where they had the most delicious Tomato and Basil soup on the menu, which we both ordered for lunch.

It was so fresh and flavourful, that as soon as I got home I was determined to recreate all those amazing flavours.

Using Fresh Tomatoes

Sometimes we are tempted to just open and can and dump it in a saucepan when we want a quick meal on the table, and while this is definitely nothing wrong with that, for this soup I do recommend using fresh tomatoes, as you just will not get that same beautiful taste with canned.

I always have a few tomatoes plants in my garden and so this is the perfect soup to make with my last batch of fresh tomatoes for the year.

As well as using fresh tomatoes, I recommend making sure you use fresh basil instead of dried for that amazing basil taste in every mouthful.

Fresh Tomato and Basil Soup in wooden handled cast iron saucepan

Peeling Fresh Tomatoes

One of the things that puts many off using fresh tomatoes, is removing the skin. For some tomatoes I don't even bother, but when you do need to remove the skin, the easiest and quickest method, is using a serrated peeler like this Kuhn Serrated Peeler on Amazon.

If you do not own a serrated peeler, you can score the top of the tomatoes, blanch in some boiling hot water for about 30 seconds to a minute and it will soften the skin, making it easy to remove.

Best Type of Tomatoes to use for Soup

The best type of tomato is ones that are great for sauce and are meatier, like roma for example. Which is a Popular Italian tomatoes and the perfect choice for this Fresh Tomato and Basil Soup.

My neighbour who is Sicilian, buys big boxes of them at the end of their season to turn into jars and jars of sauce perfect for all kinds of thing from soup, to sauces, and bolognese.

However I have also made this with a variety of different fresh tomatoes, as I grow a few different varieties in my garden each year and that worked perfectly too. I even did a mixture of roma, cherry, grape and on the vine.

Blender for Soups

You don't need a fancy or expensive blender for this soup, just a stick blender will work perfectly if that's what you have. I like some chunks of fresh tomatoes and the onion/celery to remain in the soup, so I very roughly blend. But you can also blend it until completely smooth if that is how you prefer your soup.

white bowl of Fresh Tomato and Basil Soup with spoon with wooden style handle, garnished with fresh basil leaves

Can I freeze this Tomato and Basil Soup?

You sure can, it's a great one for batch cooking, by doubling or tripling up the recipe to make a large amount, you can either freeze in one big container or freeze in smaller singler portion containers.

Just defrost and heat in a pan or the microwave.

Ideas for Leftovers?

Got some leftover soup and wondering what you can do with it? It's delicious over some cooked pasta with a little grated parmesan, you can even add in some protein like chicken or a low calorie sausage. So yummy!!!

More Soup Recipes

looking for some other delicious soup recipes? Check out these:

or head on over to my Full Recipe Index with over 900 delicious Slimming Eats and Weight Watchers friendly recipes all fully searchable by meal type, ingredients, value and smart points etc

close up of white bowl of Fresh Tomato and Basil Soup with spoon with wooden style handle, garnished with fresh basil leaves

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Recipe Card

Yield: SERVES 6

Fresh Tomato and Basil Soup

Fresh Tomato and Basil Soup - Enjoy a bowl of this delicious Tomato and Basil Soup which uses fresh ingredients for the ultimate taste.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

1kg /2.25lbs of fresh ripe tomatoes (I used the roma variety, peeled and roughly chopped), but works well with a variety of types also.
4 shallots or one medium sized onion, finely chopped
2 medium stalks of celery, chopped
4 cloves of garlic crushed
handful of basil, chopped (reserve some for garnish)
4.5 cups (1.1 litres) of vegetable stock
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
⅓ cup (80ml) of coconut milk (or can use whole milk)
salt and black pepper to season
1 tablespoon of olive oil - or use olive oil spray to reduce the calories here

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over a medium heat
Add the onion and celery and fry to soften.
Add the garlic and tomatoes and continue to cook, until the tomatoes start to break down.
Add the tomato stock, tomato paste and basil and stir well. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for approx 30 mins.
Roughly blend with a stick blender (or can blend completely smooth if you prefer)
Stir in the coconut milk and continue to simmer for another 5 mins.
Taste and season as needed with salt and black pepper.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh chopped basil.
Enjoy!!

Notes

Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:

Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
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