FALL IS IN THE FREAKING AIR. Literally unpacking all the pumpkins, my fall scented candles, and whipping out my crockpot for all the fall goodies. As much as I’m anticipating all that comes with the best season of all, it comes with busy schedules, and no one has time to run out and grocery shop, then wait an hour to make dinner. Believe me, we are all in this together on that front. I need QUICK and I need EASY.
The now fiance (going to milk that title for as long as I can), loves a good Tomato Basil Soup with grilled cheese, and I dramatically scoff when he suggests getting CANNED soup and “just heating it up”. What are we, peasants?? I reminded him how easy it is to do this from scratch, which is where the making of this soup came in…sometimes it’s worth being right.
The ingredients are minimal and cheap and you’ll have leftovers–win win situation here. The best part? Tomato Basil Soup is freaking amazing as leftovers. DO NOT be lazy and buy canned soup! There’s so much junk in there and you’ll feel so much more satisfied to just DIY.
P R E P
Get everything chopped and ready to go! There’s little to no prep with this dish (just chopping onions and garlic), but I like to have the tomatoes opened and ready to go, and the blender out so I can just jump right in.
What you’ll need
- 1 large stockpot.
- 1 blender (whatever size you have is fine).
- 4 tablespoons of Olive Oil.
- 1 small yellow onion, diced.
- 4 garlic cloves, finely diced or minced.
- 2 28 oz cans of diced tomatoes. I use marzano tomatoes.
- 2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth.
- 1 tablespoon of sugar.
- 1 tablespoon of salt. You can add more at the end if you need more.
- 1/2 tablespoon of pepper.
- 5-7 fresh basil leaves. Keep a couple extra for garnish.
- 1 container (about 1/2 cup) of nonfat greek yogurt.
- Optional: I like to add the following for a bit more flavor:
- 1 teaspoon of dried thyme.
- 1/2 teaspoon of oregano.
- 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (you can do less if you can’t handle the heat).
Total Prep Time: 5 minutes.
Total Cooking Time: 30 minutes.
Servings: 5-6.
Directions
- Using your large stockpot, add olive oil at medium heat. Once hot, add garlic and onions and stir to combine.
- Allow onions and garlic to cook for about 5 minutes until soft. Make sure you’re continuously stirring so that you don’t burn/overcook the onions. You can reduce the heat if necessary.
- While the onions are cooking, open up both cans of tomatoes and pour into your blender. Once the onions are done cooking, turn stove off.
- I have a small blender and so I had to do this in batches (which is fine), but if you can fit everything into your blender, than that’s the ideal way. If your blender is too small, I did the following:
- Batch 1: Combine 1 can of the diced tomatoes, 1 cup of the chicken broth, garlic/onion mixture, the sugar, and the basil. Blend until smooth and add into the stockpot.
- Batch 2: Combine the second can of tomatoes, 1 cup of chicken broth, salt and pepper. Blend and add into stockpot.
- If your blender can fit all the ingredients, combine it all at once, and add back to the stockpot.
*If you prefer a more “chunky” tomato and basil soup, you don’t need to blend it. Up to you!*
- Turn your stove back on to medium heat, and bring soup to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and allow all the flavors to soak up for a minimum of 5 minutes. I allowed mine to simmer for about 30 minutes, but that’s not necessary.
- Add *almost* all of the greek yogurt to the soup and stir to combine. Remove from heat.
- Spoon into bowls and top of a little fresh pepper and fresh basil leaves. Using the rest of the greek yogurt in the tub, add a little bit of water to the tub and stir to combine. Drizzle over the soup for a little extra flare!
- Serve HOT–enjoy!
POST COOKING NOTES
- I’ve made various versions of this soup, and my favorite has been this healthier version. If you want more of a creamier texture, use heavy cream instead of greek yogurt for that extra heartiness.
- I also love to add a little Parmesan or Gruyere on top if you want some cheesy flavor goin’ on!
- As I mentioned, this soup is amazing as leftovers; I store mine in mason jars and continue to eat throughout the week.
- If you end up trying this, make sure to tag me on Instagram at Basickneadss (with TWO S’s!).
Basic Kneads 