A childhood favourite was tomato soup, but now in Adulthood I like to make it CREAMY VEGAN TOMATO BASIL SOUP with crusty garlic croutons. An upgrade, you see.
My mum made the ‘Big Red’ recipe when we were kids. I t was, I’, sure, the thing she grabbed when she really couldn’t be bothered cooking. You opened the can of concentrated tomato glue, added milk and BOOM- dinner for 7 in 5 minutes flat. We loved it all the same. Back then we had our soup served in Loony Toons novelty mugs and with a side of cheesy toast and it is one of those memories I don’t think I’ll ever forgot. It was the epitome of winter comfort.
Since then though, I’ve not has tomato soup. I never bothered to learn how to cook it, and I wasn’t prepared to open the can of ‘Big Red’ in adulthood. I am quite sure it would ruin the nostalgia of my childhood. Well, this winter i thought it was high time I embraced a dish I loved so dearly when I was younger.
Here is what you will need to make creamy vegan tomato basil soup
If it is summer, and you have a surplus of fresh tomatoes I would highly recommend subbing these if for the tinned, peeled tomatoes. Likewise, you might store your excess Summer tomatoes in the freezer- like I do- and of course you can sub those it too, but they will need to be peeled ones.
- Extra virgin olive oil– my favourite oil to pair with tomatoes, and of course I am not original there. The Italians know best.
- Onion, garlic and salt-I don’t do soup without both
- Tomato paste– I like to use one with minimal ingredients (only tomato and salt). It adds a flavour intensity to the soup that I love. I used this one.
- Peeled tomatoes
- Carrot
- Fresh thyme– or dried.
- Vegetable stock or broth, whatever you have. I like the Nutra organics Veggie broth powders, but Massal make vegan ones, as do a few others. Even better, homemade if you have it.
- Almond milk– or you can sub for a different plant based milk (but I cant’t vouch for the flavour. I like it with almond milk)
- Butter beans– this makes the creamy vegan tomato basil soup extra CREAMY
- Fresh basil. If it is our of season you can omit it, but it does add a nice extra flavour.
Why you will love this Creamy vegan tomato basil soup
First and foremost, it is absolutely delicious– especially if you go the extra step with the crunchy, garlic croutons. This soup is so easy to make, creamy, robust in flavour, wintery and garlic-y. It is also healthy, made from whole foods, contains plant based protein from the butter beans and can easily be made grain free/paleo if you omit the bread.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. As always, we welcome any feedback in teh comments section as we love to hear your reviews.
If you are looking for other cosy vegan dinner recipes, you might like our:
Creamy vegan tomato basil soup with croutons
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Mains
- Method: Soup
- Cuisine: Italian inspired
Description
This creamy vegan tomato basil soup with crusty croutons is the perfect healthy family dinner recipe for winter. Made from wholefood ingredients.
Ingredients
Creamy vegan tomato basil soup
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 brown onion, finely diced
- 1 tsp fine ground salt
- 1 large carrot, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 Tbsp double concentrate tomato paste
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 2 x 400g peeled tomatoes
- 2 cups (500ml) veggie broth, hot *(see notes)
- 1 cup (250ml) almond milk, room temp
- 1/2 cup cooked butter beans
- 20 basil leaves, plus extra to serve
- Black pepper, to taste
Crusty garlic croutons
- 1/2 loaf sourdough, cut into 2cm squares * (see notes)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic granules
Instructions
Make the creamy vegan tomato basil soup
- Heat a soup pot over a medium flame. Once hot pour in the oil, and heat for 30 seconds or until the oil becomes simmery. Add onion and salt and cook over a low flame for 3 mins, or until the onion becomes soft and trasnlucent. Next, add sliced carrot and cook a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomato paste and garlic, and cook a further 1 minute- stir the whole time here, so that you don’t burn the paste.
- Pour hot stock, tomatoes and thyme into the pot. Bring to the boil then simmer for 30 minutes. You should have the lid slightly ajar or your a lid with steam holes in you have one.
Make the croutons
- Meanwhile, get the croutons ready. Add all ingredients to a bowl, and your your hands to mix it very well. I like to scrunch with my hands to really get the oil in there. Spread bread out in a single layer on a baking tray. Preheat the oven to180 C (350F). Once the soup has been simmering for 20 mins, put the croutons in the oven and bake for 15 mins.
- Once the soup has cooked, transfer to a heat-proof blender and add beans, almond milk, basil and black pepper to taste. Wizz until completely smooth, then transfer back to the soup pot to reheat.
Serve immediately, topped with crunchy croutons and basil.
Notes
- The stock should be hot to help look after your pot (adding cold stock to a hot pan should be avoided). Simply add cold stock/broth to a second pot and bring to the boil while you’re cooking the onion and carrot. If you are using a stock power, oil the jug and measure out 500ml into a heat proof jug then stir in powder.
- You can use whatever bread you have, but a crusty loaf will work best. I like sourdough, but pana de casa, baguette, foccassia, cob or similar will also work.
Keywords: vegan, soup, tomato soup, basil, mains,