Tomato Soup with Basil Pesto (Printable)

Velvety tomato soup crowned with fresh basil pesto. A simple, elegant Italian dish ready in under an hour.

# What You Need:

→ Soup

01 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
02 - 1 medium onion, finely chopped
03 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
04 - 2.2 lbs ripe tomatoes, chopped or 2 cans (28 oz) whole peeled tomatoes
05 - 2 tablespoons tomato paste
06 - 3 cups vegetable broth
07 - 1 teaspoon sugar
08 - 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
09 - ¼ teaspoon black pepper
10 - ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

→ Basil Pesto

11 - 1 cup fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
12 - ¼ cup pine nuts or walnuts
13 - 1 small garlic clove
14 - ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
15 - ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
16 - Pinch of salt

# Directions:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until soft and translucent, approximately 5 minutes.
02 - Stir in minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Add chopped tomatoes and tomato paste, stirring well. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
04 - Pour in vegetable broth and add sugar, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
05 - While the soup simmers, combine basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic clove, and Parmesan cheese in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. With the motor running, drizzle in extra virgin olive oil until achieving a smooth consistency. Season with salt to taste.
06 - Once the soup has simmered, blend until smooth using an immersion blender or in batches with a countertop blender.
07 - Stir in heavy cream and taste for seasoning adjustments. Warm through but do not allow to boil.
08 - Ladle soup into individual bowls and drizzle each serving with a swirl of basil pesto. Serve immediately.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It tastes like you spent hours simmering it, but it's done in under an hour.
  • The pesto turns a simple bowl into something you'd order at a cafe.
  • You can make it with canned tomatoes when fresh ones aren't around.
  • It freezes beautifully, so you can keep some stashed for lazy nights.
02 -
  • Don't skip the sugar, it cuts the acidity and makes the tomatoes taste sweeter without being obvious.
  • Blend the soup in batches if using a countertop blender, and leave the lid slightly cracked with a towel over it so steam can escape.
  • Add the cream off the heat or on very low, boiling it can make the soup look grainy.
  • Make the pesto fresh if you can, it only takes five minutes and tastes a hundred times better than store-bought.
03 -
  • Taste the soup before adding cream, sometimes it needs more salt or a squeeze of lemon to brighten it up first.
  • If your pesto looks too thick, thin it with a spoonful of the hot soup before drizzling, it'll swirl more easily.
  • Use the ripest tomatoes you can find, or add an extra tablespoon of tomato paste if they're bland.
  • A tiny pinch of smoked paprika in the soup adds depth without making it taste smoky.
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