This Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup is incredibly easy to make and really flavorful. You can make it fully vegan or add some cream to make it extra smooth and creamy. Serve the soup as a starter or for lunch with toasted bread or grilled cheese. It's also freezer-friendly and great for meal prep!

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Why This Recipe Works
Light and fresh - This is the perfect soup to make at the end of the summer when tomatoes are in season and the weather is getting colder but not cold enough for heavier cream-focused soups. The roasted tomatoes caramelize in the oven and fresh basil gives it lots of flavor.
Easy and simple - All you need to do is chop everything up and let it roast in the oven. In the end, you'll blend everything together and you have soup! It really couldn't be more simple. There are only a few easy steps and the recipe is totally foolproof.
Freezer-friendly - Just like most soups, you can easily freeze it if you need to store your leftovers for longer. You can make a double batch so that you always have soup on hand for busy weekday lunches.
Lunch or dinner - This soup makes a great lunch or light dinner served with homemade croutons or a grilled cheese sandwich. It's also light enough to be served as a starter for dinner.
Ingredients
- Tomatoes - Roma tomatoes and garden tomatoes while they're in season are ideal for this soup. The better the tomatoes, the better the soup will be.
- Garlic - You'll need 1-2 whole heads of garlic. It sounds like a lot but roasting the garlic gives it a sweet mellow flavor and makes it much less pungent than raw garlic. If you don't add all of it, you can freeze the rest for later! It's great on toast.
- Onion - Yellow onion, white onion, or shallots are the best choice for this soup.
- Vegetable broth - I went with veggie broth here to keep the soup vegan but you can use chicken broth as well.
- Fresh basil - Fresh basil adds a ton of flavor to the soup but you can use dried basil too if you don't have fresh.
- Avocado oil - Oil is used for roasting the garlic. You can use avocado or olive oil depending on your preference.
Variations and Substitutions
- Cream - You can add heavy cream or vegan cream for a more classic tomato soup.
- Red onion - If you don't have any yellow onion, you can use red onion. I prefer shallots, white, and yellow onion, but use whatever you have on hand, they'll all yield a similar flavor.
- Different broth - Use chicken stock or beef stock if you prefer or if you don't have vegetable stock.
- Extra seasoning - You can season the tomatoes with Italian seasoning for added flavor and add crushed red pepper flakes to the soup for extra heat.
- Balsamic Vinegar - Add a small splash of balsamic vinegar to the soup for a little added flavor. You can't really taste it but it just adds that little something. Add 1 tablespoon.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425F (215C).
- Slice the tomatoes into halves or quarters based on how big they are and lay them out on a large, rimmed baking sheet with a quartered onion.
- Cut the tops off the garlic bulbs and carefully peel off some of the outer layers without breaking up the garlic.
- Place the garlic bulbs into aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap with the foil and add to the baking sheet.
- Roast for 30-40 minutes. You can take out the tomatoes and onion a little earlier if they’re getting too dark and roast the garlic for a little longer until golden and caramelized.
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- Transfer the roasted tomatoes and onion to a large soup pot or a Dutch oven.
- Squeeze out the roasted garlic into the pot and add vegetable broth, tomato paste, dried oregano, sea salt, black pepper, and fresh basil.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth.
- Warm up over medium heat until warmed through.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve the tomato soup with various toppings like fresh basil, homemade croutons, a drizzle of cream or yogurt, or some parmesan cheese.
Aside from the extra toppings, I highly recommend serving it either with grilled cheese or some crusty bread to dip into the soup.
For grilled cheese, you can either double up on the tomato flavor with this Heirloom Tomato Grilled Cheese with Fresh Basil or serve it with this Goat Grilled Cheese with Pear and Sage for a more fall and winter flavor.
Storing
Fridge: Store any leftovers in an airtight container or a jar in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Reheat the soup over medium heat stirring often until warmed through.
Freezer: Transfer the soup to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 3-4 months. Defrost it in the fridge overnight before reheating or cook it from frozen with a splash of water. I like using soup freezer cubes for easy storage and portion control.
FAQs
Yes, you just need to be very careful when blending hot liquids in any high-speed blender. Make sure the small lid in the middle isn't fully closed to avoid the lid flying off due to the pressure from hot steam. You could also blend it in a food processor but again, make sure it's not fully closed so the hot steam can escape.
You can add heavy cream or vegan heavy cream. Alternatively, you can also add coconut milk.
You should always use very ripe tomatoes. The better the tomatoes, the better the soup. If it's not tomato season, add more tomato paste to enhance the tomato flavor.
Other Soup Recipes
If you're looking for other delicious and easy-to-make soups, definitely check out the four linked below! The tomato and green pea soups are great for spring and summer while the other three are perfect for fall and winter.
- White Bean Tomato Soup
- Green Pea Soup
- Cream of Broccoli Soup with Roasted Broccoli Croutons
- Potato Leek and Lentil Soup with Caraway Seeds
- Vegan Lentil Soup
- Vegan Cauliflower Soup with Garlic Croutons
📖 Recipe
Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup is incredibly easy to make, simple, and really flavorful. Serve on its own or with grilled cheese!
Ingredients
- 3 lb Roma tomatoes (or any tomatoes you have)
- 2 garlic bulbs
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut into quarters
- 4 cups vegetable broth (add more or less based on desired consistency)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- Small handful of fresh basil
- For serving: fresh basil, croutons, cream, yogurt, or parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425F (215C).
- Slice the tomatoes into halves or quarters based on how big they are and lay them out on a large, rimmed baking sheet with a quartered onion.
- Cut the tops off the garlic bulbs and carefully peel off some of the outer layers without breaking up the garlic.
- Place the garlic bulbs into aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap with the foil and add to the baking sheet.
- Roast for 30-40 minutes. You can take out the tomatoes and onion a little earlier if they’re getting too dark and roast the garlic for a little longer until golden and caramelized.
- Transfer the roasted tomatoes and onion to a large soup pot.
- Squeeze out the roasted garlic into the pot and add vegetable broth, tomato paste, dried oregano, sea salt, black pepper, and fresh basil.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth.
- Warm up over medium heat until warmed through.
- Serve with more fresh basil, croutons, a drizzle of cream or yogurt, or some parmesan cheese.
Notes
Fridge: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Freezer: Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 3-4 months.
Yu says
This roasted tomato and garlic soup is flavorful and simple to prepare. The most fabulous combination is with grilled cheese! Delicious!
Marta says
This roasted tomato garlic soup was so tasty and super easy to make. I made a grilled cheese sandwich to go with it and it was perfection.
Colleen says
We love tomato soup and homemade is the best. Thank you for this delicious and easy recipe!
Bernice says
With the temperatures dropping below -30 C this week... I'm in full on soup mode! Thank you for this classic tomato soup recipe!
Lauren Harris says
I just love homemade tomato soup. This paired deliciously with grilled cheese sandwiches!
Jacqueline Debono says
This soup is so good. I just loved the combo of roasted tomatoes, garlic and onion! Can't wait for summer so I can make it with my homegrown tomatoes! I wonder if it would be good as a cold soup too!
Erin says
This was perfect for this insanely cold weather! I loved it and am actually looking forwards to leftovers for once.
Tammy says
I love creamy tomato soup and this sure hits the spot! Homemade is best and with some crusty bread! Craving a bowl of this right now ^_^
amy says
My husband and I are huge soup fans in the winter months. This tomato had so much flavor from roasting the tomatoes. I added a splash of heavy cream too.
Jenny says
A great recipe. Nothing beats a good tomato soup. And I love roasting the garlic with avocado oil. Great idea! Thank you so much.