A velvety, Creamy Tomato Soup that’s simple to prepare and warms the soul. You will never open a can again. Serve with some crusty bread or a grilled cheese sandwich, and you’ve reached comfort food heaven.

Being Italian and Peruvian, there’s never a shortage of cans of tomatoes in my house because it’s used in so many dishes: Sauce, soups, stews, you name it. In the summer, I’m inundated with tomatoes from our garden and trust me, I’m not complaining. In the fall I peel them, crush them, strain them, then freeze or can them.

Therefore, it’s no surprise that tomato soup would be on the menu every now and then. Actually, it’s been some time since I’ve made this and my son has been hounding me to make it. It’s creamy without using heavy cream, flavorful from the spices, loads of garlic, sweet onions, and some Vermouth to take it over the edge. Yes, this is some good stuff here.

If you happen to have cans of San Marzano tomatoes, you’ll even take it further because these are the cream of the crop. They’re sweet, firm, have less seeds, and are grown with specific standards. I love that. When buying cans of San Marzano tomatoes, make sure it has an official DOP - Denominazione di Origine Protetta or Protected Designation of Origin - which makes it an authentic San Marzano tomato. Those letters tell you where and how they were grown, color, size, etc.

Instead of heavy cream, I use evaporated milk to make this soup rich and creamy. It’s the same for when I make my Peruvian shrimp soup. The canned milk mixed with the water and vermouth in the soup makes it perfectly creamy.

I add some sugar to balance nicely with the crushed red pepper. If you don’t want to add it or want to add less, that’s fine. A recipe is only a guideline.

Don’t forget to salt the soup. I put my recommendation but of course, add to your liking.

Tools you’ll need to make this creamy, velvety tomato soup:

If you want to use butter instead of the extra virgin olive oil, you will have a richer soup. It’s all good. You can even use a combination if you like.

If you love soups, try:

Life is too short for mediocre food.

This post contains affiliate links for the products I use in my kitchen.

Creamy Tomato Soup

PRINT PIN SAVE

A velvety, creamy, tomato soup that’s simple to prepare and delicious to eat. You will never open a can again. Serve with some crusty bread or a grilled cheese sandwich, and you’ve reached comfort food heaven.

Serves 6 - 8

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 40

Total Time: 50

Author: Natalie Gregory

Ingredients

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil OR 4 tablespoons butter*
1 large sweet onion diced
4 - 6 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon kosher salt plus more for adjusting to your taste
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ - ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper or you could substitute with black pepper
¼ teaspoon oregano
½ cup Vermouth or white wine
2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled plum tomatoes San Marzano is recommended**
2 cups water
1 12 ounce can evaporated milk

Instructions

In a large pot, over medium high heat, sauté onions until translucent. Add garlic and stir until fragrant.
Stir in salt, sugar, crushed red pepper, and oregano.
Add vermouth and stir until it starts to bubble.
Add tomatoes and water. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Puree using immersion blender or ladle into blender in batches and blend.
Stir in milk and heat through.

Notes

*You can use either extra virgin olive oil, butter, or a combination of the two.

**I recommend using San Marzano tomatoes but good quality whole peeled plum tomatoes will do fine.

Soup can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. I’ve had it a week and it was fine. Just keep in an airtight container. Warm over low heat until hot. Soup can be frozen.

Did you make this recipe? Tag @thegeneticchef and use #thegeneticchef and tell me all about it!