Rustic Creamy Tomato Soup. A spectacular soup, using premium San Marzano tomatoes for BIG tomato flavour. A recipe I’ve made so many times in the professional kitchen, because it’s a BIG seller. Fresh, chunky and fantastic.
This recipe is proof that great soup doesn’t need to simmer all afternoon to taste like it did. It’s bold, fast, and deeply tomato-forward — the kind of soup that earns its place on a menu and keeps the kitchen hopping because people ask for it again and again… and again.
This is my rendition of that recipe. I formulated a version that I could replicate, without a recipe, based on ratios. “One can of this + two cans of that + one can of that.” It’s easily to calculate and multiply. I regularly crave this soup, on cold winter days. An homage to the many years of looking forward to tomato soup and cheese toast at staff lunch!
And a salad. Chef always insisted on a salad.
Let’s Talk About San Marzano Tomatoes
Prepare yourself, because we’re using canned tomatoes. (I can hear the collective gasp from the internet!) I’m a big believer in making the most of any ingredient, but some ingredients really do stand out. Many chefs (and most Italians) will tell you that premium, San Marzano, tomatoes are worth every, single penny. They’re my choice of tomato for this soup, any tomato forward sauce and Gazpacho.
Yes, even in tomato season. Why? Because they’re ripe! They’re blanched. And the taste is extraordinary.
Larder / Shopping Checklist:
- 1 large yellow onion
- 1 can tomato paste
- dried oregano
- dried basil
- dried thyme
- chili flakes
- sugar
- 2 cans San Marzano tomatoes
- heavy cream
- fresh basil
- olive oil
- salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
Rustic Creamy Tomato Soup with San Marzano Tomatoes
The secret is focus. This is a fast soup, which means all your flavour work happens up front, with the onions. They’re cooked slowly in good olive oil until soft and aromatic, then layered with oregano, basil, thyme, a touch of sugar, and tomato paste. Then we let that tomato paste cook down just enough to deepen and sweeten — this builds the backbone of the entire recipe.
Premium San Marzano tomatoes do the rest. Lightly crushed, they bring natural sweetness and big tomato flavour without needing much help.
Chunky Creamy Tomato Soup with Fresh Basil
Once the soup comes to a boil, we immediately pull it from the heat and rest it for about five to ten minutes. This pause isn’t optional — it protects the cream from splitting and keeps the fresh basil vibrant and sweet rather than dark and bitter.
First, we add the basil. Now, if you wanted, you could stop right there; a beautiful Italian Style Tomato Basil Soup. Be we want it creamy and glorious, to go with our grilled cheese, don’t we? We want the kids to dive in and warm up! So we add our cream, off the boil, off the heat. It’s still steaming hot, but not so hot that you’ll curdle the whole pot.
That residual heat cooks the cream just enough for the fat to disperse and make our soup smooth, but bright, chunky, and clean-tasting. The texture is rustic, not blended smooth, with soft pieces of tomato and onion that feel intentional rather than unfinished.
Compare the colour in the top shot, just after I’ve added the cream to the shot below. That’s the residual heat at work. Slowly cooking that cream.
Classic Tomato Soup Straight from the Pro Kitchen
This is the kind of soup that works everywhere — weeknight dinner, casual lunch, or as a starter that quietly steals the show. Serve it with a classic grilled cheese, savoury scones, grilled bread, a simple salad, or a sandwich – and call it done.
It’s fast, it’s reliable, and consistently good. Every single time. Because good tomatoes make a GREAT soup.
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Rustic Creamy Tomato Soup
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Rustic Creamy Tomato Soup made with premium San Marzano tomatoes, fresh basil, and cream. A fast, homemade soup with big tomato flavor and a chunky, country-style texture.
Ingredients
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 can tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes (optional)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 cans San Marzano tomatoes, lightly crushed by hand
- 1 can of water
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Add onion, season with salt and pepper. Then add oregano, basil, thyme, and sugar and cook gently until soft and fragrant, about 8 to 10 minutes. Do not brown.
3. Stir in tomato paste. Cook 3 to 5 minutes until the paste darkens slightly and smells rich.
4. Add San Marzano tomatoes, lightly crushed. Then add one tomato can of water. Stir and bring to a hard boil, until you have a light slick of foam on top.
5. Immediately remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes to 10 minutes.
6. Stir in fresh basil and cream. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Serve warm, chunky, and fresh.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Lunch
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: North American
