Homemade Tomato Soup with Thyme
This simple Homemade Tomato Soup with Thyme was creamy, hot, and comforting. It’s the perfect cold-weather lunch. Paired with grilled cheese fingers made a deliciously satisfying meal!
As a bonus, there is NO cream in this Tomato Soup Recipe. I’ll let you in on the secret.
Why You Must Make
- This is a Creamy Tomato Soup yet there’s no heavy cream or half-and-half in the recipe.
- It’s flavored with aromatics, herbs and paired with gourmet “croutons.”
- This is an updated version of the classic pairing of grilled cheese and tomato soup.
Ingredient Notes
- Kitchen Staples – Olive Oil, Butter, Sugar, Salt, Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Flour – I like to use Wondra Flour as it doesn’t form lumps like AP flour
- Onion – White or Yellow, finely chopped
- Garlic – Minced
- Chicken Broth – I use Pacific Brand, others can be too salty
- Canned Tomatoes – 2 28-ounce cans of plum tomatoes and juice, pureed.
- Fresh Thyme
- Grilled Cheese Fingers – Cut grilled cheese into 4 strips, to serve, optional. I like using Muenster and Cheddar Cheese.
Recipe Tips
- Using garden tomatoes would be a delicious option. Remove skins and seeds before using.
- I enjoy thyme in tomato soup but other herbs like basil, oregano, rosemary, etc. would also work well.
- Since tomatoes are acidic, don’t cook them in a reactive pan but instead stainless steel or non-stick pans. Reactive pans include those made with aluminum, copper, or cast iron. See more info in the frequently asked questions below.
- If your soup seems too acidic when sampling a spoonful, add a pinch of baking soda which will help neutralize the pH.
How to Make
You’d never guess this easy tomato soup wasn’t loaded with cream. The secret is to use a blender to puree the smithereens out of the contents of your stock pot before serving.
Nearly silky smooth, it was nice to focus the calories on a thick layer of cheese in my sandwich. A gooey Muenster and sharp cheddar melted together deliciously. An excellent pairing, I’d say! But use your favorite cheeses when you make your version.
- Cook the onions are garlic until soft.
- Add the rest of the soup ingredients, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat stirring occasionally so the bottom does not burn.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes.
- Remove the thyme sprig, cool briefly, and puree.
- Reheat if needed to serve. Taste, adjust seasonings if needed, and serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have you ever seen a warning not to use a reactive pan in certain recipes? Did you wonder if you owned one and what would happen if you used it?
Most of us own stainless steel cookware which is nonreactive. Reactive pans include copper, aluminum, and cast iron (unless it has an enamel finish).
Acidic ingredients like tomatoes, citrus, and wine can react with metal. If this happens, it can damage the pan’s surface transferring metal, at a microscopic level, to your food.
Generally, the peels will disintegrate during the cooking and pureeing process, so you can leave them on if you’d like. When using canned tomatoes, like in this recipe, it’s very easy to remove the skins, so that’s my preference.
To remove the peel when using fresh tomatoes, slice a shallow X on the non-stem end of the tomatoes, drop them in boiling water for about a minute, then plunge them into a bowl of cold water (I add ice). Once cool enough, remove them from the water and use your fingers or a knife to peel off the skins.
Yes! Since tomatoes are full of lycopene, flavenoids, Vitamins C, E, and A, there are lots of health benefits from eating tomato soup. If the recipe is full of heavy cream or half and half, though, it will not be as healthy due to the addition of saturated fat.
Add aromatics like onions and garlic to boost the flavor. Herbs like thyme or basil are delicious, too. Garnishes of toasted nuts or seeds provide texture and a swirl of flavored oil or cream is tasty.
Besides onions, a sprinkle of parmesan cheese will contribute to umami. And if your soup tastes flat, make sure you’ve added enough salt.
You May Also Like:
- Easy Hamburger Soup from Spend with Pennies
- Chicken Matzoh Ball Soup AKA Jewish Penicillin
- Rustic Farro Soup
- White Chicken Chili
- More of my Best Soup Recipes
Homemade Tomato Soup with Thyme
A Classic Tomato Soup flavored with thyme adapted from Fine Cooking.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 large white onion, finely chopped
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons flour (all purpose is fine, but I like using Wondra because it doesn't lump)
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 28-ounce can whole peeled plum tomatoes, puréed (include the juice)
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh thyme sprigs to garnish, optional
- Grilled cheese fingers (cut grilled cheese into 4 strips), to serve, optional
Instructions
- In a nonreactive 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven, heat the oil and butter over medium-low heat until the butter melts. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft but not browned, about 8 minutes.
- Add the flour, stir, and cook for a minute to get rid of the raw flour flavor.
- Slowly whisk in the broth, then add the tomatoes, sugar, thyme, and about ¼ teaspoon of both salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat stirring occasionally so the bottom does not burn.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes.
- Remove the thyme sprig. Let cool a bit, then add to blender to puree in small batches.
- Reheat if needed to serve. Taste for seasonings and add salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve with a small sprig of thyme and grilled cheese fingers if desired.
Notes
May use fresh or frozen garden tomatoes if desired. Blanch, then add to a bowl of ice water to remove the skin, if desired.
To make grilled cheese fingers, make 2 grilled cheese sandwiches in a skillet (butter the bread so it browns nicely). When the cheese is melty and the bread toasted, cut each into 4 narrow slices and serve them with the soup.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1 bowlAmount Per Serving: Calories: 131Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 511mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gProtein: 3g
31 Comments on “Homemade Tomato Soup with Thyme”
When do you add the flour? Am I missing it?
Thanks for catching my omission, Carolina. You’ll add the flour after you cook the onions and garlic. Stir and cook it for a minute to remove the raw flour flavor. Then slowly whisk in the broth, etc. I’ve fixed the recipe card. Hope you enjoy!!
I love all the flavors in this soup! So amazing!!
Can you puree tomatoes first?
I am making now…I didn’t see that I was supposed to puree at the end.
I used tomato from garden (3 =1 can) and blanched and took skin off & pureed first.
Does this freeze well…
Will be tasting shortly 😉
Hi, Judy! I think it will be fine! I bet it will be scrumptious with garden tomatoes. It should freeze well. Hope you enjoy!
It could be upward of 90 degrees and I would still make this. Grilled Cheese Fingers, yes, yes, yes!
So glad you finally found the awesome treat of grilled cheese and tomato soup! There’s a local restaurant that I frequent and always order this. It’s awesome and looks just like yours. Whoops…I think the restaurant just lost a customer. Why pay for it when I can make it at home, Thanks Liz!
I actually ate this with the cheese fingers at a wedding at midnight! It was better than the regular meal! Now I’ll make my own!
There were some awesome Roma tomatoes at my grocer the week we returned from Arizona, so I bought a bunch and oven roasted them for soup, boy was it tasty. Love that you combined the soup with thyme, that is a wonderful flavour combo. The grilled cheese fingers just escalate the soup to the next level. I can just imagine how tasty this recipe is.
Amazing that you don’t use cream in this recipe. Perfect for my dairy sensitive husband…I can always use his raw butter for the butter bit…Confession: I always loved the canned tomato soup with grilled cheese. It was sooo Americana =)