Tomato soup is one of those classic comfort foods that you never outgrow. That doesn’t mean you can’t dress it up a bit though! Our version of tomato soup comes as a bisque, rich and thick, packed with spicy flavor! We roast the vegetables to get a deeper flavor, then simmer those veggies on the stove with fresh basil and a little cream, giving you a fresh taste that is filling enough to be a main dish. We then top it off with delicious crunchy grilled cheese croutons that are so good you might want to double up because they are primed for snacking!
Servings: 8 Bowls
Calories: 276kcal
Ingredients
Tomato Bisque
- 2 carrots large
- 12 Roma tomatoes 3-3½ lbs
- 10 cloves garlic peeled
- 2 oz jalapenos about 4
- 8 oz yellow onion approximately 1 large
- 2½ oz shallot approximately 1 large
- ⅔ cup basil fresh, thinly sliced
- 4 tsp olive oil
- 10 sprig thyme left on stem
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/8 tsp pepper freshly ground
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper
- 3½ cups vegetable broth
- 4 oz cream
Grilled Cheese Croutons
- 8 slices bread
- 4 slices cheddar cheese
- 4 tsp butter
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp granulated garlic
Instructions
Tomato Bisque
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut carrots in about 3" lengths, then cut those sections in quarters, length wise (making carrot sticks). Put carrots on baking sheet and mix with 1 tsp oil, ¼ tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper. Spread carrots out and bake for 15 minutes.
- While carrots are baking, prepare the other vegetables. Cut Roma tomatoes in quarters, removing the top portion where stem was attached and put in a large mixing bowl. Peel onion and cut into quarters and peel shallot, cutting in half and adding to the tomatoes. Add garlic, jalapenos (stems removed), thyme sprigs, 1 tbsp olive oil, ¾ tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper and gently mix well.
- Once carrots have been baking for 15 minutes, remove sheet pan from oven and add the rest of the vegetables. Spread evenly and bake for an 1 hour or until vegetables start to brown and tomato skins start to wrinkle. Remove from the oven and discard all thyme springs.
- Put all the vegetables in to a large stock pot and add 3½ cups of vegetable broth and crushed red pepper. Let simmer on medium high heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and blend well with either a blender or hand blender (use caution as soup will be hot). Return to pot and add basil and cream. Stir well and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste if necessary.
Grilled Cheese Croutons
- Make 4 cheese sandwiches and spread butter evenly on each side of the outside of the bread. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and granulated garlic. Grill in a skillet on medium high heat, allowing each side to brown (about 3-4 minutes per side) and cheese to melt. Remove from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes. It is important to wait so the cheese has a chance to cool down, so that the crouton pieces will stay together and the cheese wont run out the sides.
- Preheat oven to 325°F and lightly spray a baking sheet. Cut grilled cheese sandwiches into 6 slices, then turn and repeat. This will give you 36 "croutons" per sandwich (about ⅓" cubes). Put croutons on baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 20 minutes, or until the bread has dried out.
Time to Eat!
- Portion soup into bowls and top with croutons! Enjoy!
Notes
This soup is on the spicy side, but if you want to reduce the heat you can seed the jalapenos prior to adding them to the stock pot or eliminate the crushed red pepper.
Make sure the croutons are completely cooled prior to storing in the refrigerator or the condensation will make them soggy.
If you don’t have vegetable broth on hand you can substitute with chicken broth. You can also used dried herbs instead of fresh (just divide the fresh amount by 3), though we highly recommend using fresh.
Nutrition
Serving: 8oz | Calories: 276kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 1053mg | Potassium: 467mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 4270IU | Vitamin C: 28.4mg | Calcium: 188mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!