This easy tomato soup recipe makes one of the best bowls of soup I’ve made. It’s shockingly simple and calls for only three main ingredients (butter, onion, and tomatoes). Don’t let the short ingredient list fool you, this soup is absolutely delicious!
Marcella Hazan’s famous tomato sauce inspires this easy tomato soup recipe. You might not think three ingredients can combine to make such a velvety and delicious soup, but they can.
This tomato soup is truly one of my favorite soup recipes on Inspired Taste. Canned tomatoes are excellent for this (although I have shared tips for using fresh below). If you love roasted tomatoes, see our roasted tomato soup recipe. Or for a summery chilled soup, I love our tomato gazpacho.
Key Ingredients
- Tomatoes: I love canned tomatoes for this soup. They’re always in season, so I can enjoy this recipe year-round. San Marzano or Muir Glen are my go-to. If you have fresh tomatoes, you’ll need about 10 to 12 medium (or 2 pounds). There is no need to peel them. Everything is blended in the end, anyway!
- Onion: I cut half a large onion into large wedges and then allow them to simmer with the tomatoes until it’s sweet and soft. The onion adds a lovely flavor and makes the soup creamy.
- Butter: I don’t add cream or milk to my tomato soup but use butter. The butter simmers with the tomatoes and onion, which flavors the soup and makes it taste rich and creamy.
How to Make Homemade Tomato Soup
To make this extra easy tomato soup, add butter, onion, a large can of tomatoes, and water to a large pot. (I usually use water in this soup, but stock or broth work, too). Remember, you can use fresh tomatoes – tips for using them are in the recipe below.
Bring everything to a low simmer and cook for 40 minutes. The photo and video show that our tomato soup becomes super creamy. That’s thanks to the butter. The onions also soften, which adds to the creaminess of our soup when blended.
Blend the soup until smooth. I typically use an immersion blender, but a regular blender works perfectly fine. Adjust the soup with salt and pepper, then grab a bowl and enjoy!
What to Serve with Tomato Soup
Our family loves serving tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich. This tomato soup is also excellent, topped with homemade croutons or served next to a slice of homemade focaccia or buttery garlic bread.
I also love serving soup next to fresh salads. Try our easy chopped salad, tahini kale salad, or homemade Caesar salad.
Easy Three Ingredient Tomato Soup Recipe
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
This is the easiest and tastiest tomato soup I’ve made. I love serving with grilled cheese sandwiches, but this is also wonderful with crusty bread or garlic bread on the side.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 large onion, cut into large wedges
1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes, we prefer to use whole peeled or crushed, see notes for fresh tomatoes
1 ½ cups water, low sodium vegetable stock, or chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, or more to taste
Directions
1Melt the butter over medium heat in a Dutch oven or large saucepan.
2Add onion wedges, water, tomatoes with their juices, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
3Bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for about 40 minutes. Stir occasionally and add additional salt as needed.
4Blend the soup, and then season to taste. The soup doesn’t need to be ultra-smooth; some texture is nice. An immersion blender does make quick work of this, or you can use a blender. When using a regular blender, work in smaller batches, and don’t fill it too high – hot soup expands! For safety, remove the lid’s center insert and cover the opening with a kitchen towel while blending. This releases steam and prevents messy splatters.
5Store homemade tomato soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days or freeze for up to three months.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Fresh tomatoes: Use 10 to 12 medium tomatoes (2 pounds). No need to peel them, everything is blended in the end.
- Vegan tomato soup: Substitute the butter for plant-based butter or extra-virgin olive oil.
- For tomato basil soup: Add a handful of fresh basil before blending the soup.
- Make creamy tomato soup: After blending, add a splash of cream for an extra creamy tomato soup.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have omitted salt since you will need to add to your tastes.
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I made this today! I had too many tomaoes-on-the-vine (10) and used 1/2 a humongous red onion….cooked it down, used my immersion blender…worked perfectly!
I don’t usually leave comments on these pages but I have just made the easy, three ingredient tomato soup, using fresh tomatoes. WOW! So easy, so tasty and delicious. It looks pretty elegant too. Definitely making this again and again.
This was excellent. I will never, ever use a canned tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches again! Relish!
No matter how tired you are, you can open a can of tomatoes, cut half an onion into wedges and get a half a cube of butter and one and a half cups of water together. No one can believe this soup is so easy. I also add several cloves of garlic and add some yogurt or crème fraîche when I serve it. Parmesan cheese is good too. You must make this soup!
We completely agree! We make this recipe when we need a really easy comforting soup. Love the additions 🙂
This recipe is fantastic and such an easy way to use up older frozen tomatoes. I do add garlic and then a couple carrots for sweetness. My garden tomatoes are a bit waterier than the store’s so I didn’t have to add any liquids. We just love this!
Oh, I forgot to mention in my previous review, I browned the butter first, then cooked the onions in the brown butter until soft. Brown butter has such a lovely flavor that I wanted to try it in this recipe. It was perfect!
Soup was pretty good but I did have to doctor it up a bit with some seasoning: italian seasoning and a touch of basil and garlic. Oh, I did add a slice of apple (peeled of cours, 16 grams to be exact) to cut back on the acidity. Also, I’m watching my calories so I reduced the butter to 2 tablespoons. Super easy to make and way better than canned soup. Will definitely make again. Serving it to the Mister tonight for dinner (It was my lunch) with a GC sandwich so I’m anxious to see what he says. Thanks!
For such a simple recipe we were blown away by how amazing this soup turned out! We’ve made several complicated tomato soup recipes before and this one blew them out of the water. We used canned crushed tomatoes, buoillon powder with water in place of broth, then added a spoon full of jarred garlic and added some fresh basil and a pinch of italian seasoning. SO so good and everyone was so impressed and couldn’t believe how much depth of flavor this simple soup had. Going in the favorite recipe binder for sure!
Tried this tonight with a grilled cheese sandwich. Recipe is delicious. Easy to make. I added a bit of cream right before serving. Will be making again.
Yum! Thanks for coming back, Lori!
Just made it for the first time and it’s delicious! So simple but so full of flavour. I did add fresh basil leaves before blending and would higly recommend. Will be my new go to tomato soup for family and company, it’s that good!
Such wonderful news, Kathleen. Fresh basil is a great idea! Thanks for coming back.
My ‘go to’ soup recipe. I have never had a failure in three years. Very versatile for make changes. Y U M M m m m m !!!!.
Wonderful! So happy you enjoy it, Brian!
I have made this soup so many times! My family loves it and it is unbelievably easy to make! I am actually making it right now, 8:15pm on a Thursday night! Add a little cream and a French baguette and dinner will be on the table in under 30 minutes! Thank you so much for this great recipe!
Love this recipe. I had canned canned seasoned Dei Fratellt diced tomatoes in cupboard. They are an Ohio Local brand from Toledo, Ohio. They are excellent.
Wonderful, I have not tried those tomatoes before, but how wonderful that you have access to a local brand! Thanks for sharing.
I was wanting Tomato Soup no cans in the Cupboard then found this simple easy and extemely delicious recipe. Boy it’s so yummy considering it’s only a few ingredients no cans for me ever again. Thank you
It is surprising how only a few simple ingredients can come together to make this soup. So happy you loved it 🙂
I don’t usually leave reviews often but had to here. My husband literally said this was the best soup he’s ever had!!! I did add a bit more salt, added the suggested basil leaves and sprinkled a little cheese on top. But honestly, tasted great even without these and it was delicious. So simple, so good.
Yay! Thank you so much for coming back to leave a review 🙂