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Post Update: When I was on vacation in July, I decided that I needed to try my favorite recipe of all time in my new kitchen appliance. You will find further Instant Pot instructions below
Tomato soup is my all-time favorite thing to eat. In fact, there was a time where it was the only thing I knew how to make. My first time living on my own- if a summer subleasing an apartment during college counts- I ate the same thing for dinner every night. Tomato Soup.
The tomato soup I ate during college was canned- not homemade. ( Ewwww can you imagine all that sodium?) I still love canned tomato soup every once in a while, but what I look forward to every year is getting boxes of tomatoes from my in-laws at the end of the summer so I can make homemade tomato soup.
I love making creamy soups. I make carrot-parsnip soup all the time. I love using my immersion blender
So, I bet you’re wondering what this secret ingredient is in my tomato soup. Well, let me explain. I love cooking with tomatoes- especially homemade Italian food. Many Italian tomato sauce recipes call for sugar; otherwise, you get too much tomato-garlic flavor, and the taste is just too acidic. But do you know what the secret ingredient is in tomato sauce- that adds a natural sweetness AND removes the acidity from all those tomatoes?
Carrots. They are magic to any red tomato sauce or any tomato soup.
Many homemade tomato soup recipes call for 1-2 carrots. I added eight carrots. They added such a natural sweetness. I loved this soup so much.
If you don’t have fresh garden tomatoes, your soup can still be fantastic. Find tomatoes at your local farmers market, the store. Or I guess you can use canned tomatoes too- make sure they’re good ones.
I am hooked on the tomatoes growing in our garden, but I still asked my mother-in-law for some of her tomatoes too. I wanted to make lots of soup. I used everything she gave me.
Homemade Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 10-12 tomatoes
- 8 carrots
- 1 medium onion
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 basil leaves
- 16 ounces vegetable stock or chicken stock
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1-2 cups milk or cream optional
Instructions
Stovetop instructions
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In a pot, saute chopped onion, minced garlic and chopped carrots in olive oil until the onions are transparent.
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Add chopped tomatoes, vegetable stock, and basil leaves. Turn the heat down to low and let the flavors simmer for 30 plus minutes- stirring every few minutes.
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Turn off heat and let cool a little. Using your immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth and add milk or cream if desired.
Instant Pot Option
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Set Instant Pot to the saute setting and add olive oil and onion. Saute until the onion is transparent.
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Add tomatoes, carrots, tomatoes, garlic, basil, and stock.
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Close the Instant Pot lid and push the “Soup” setting, or cook for 12 minutes on high pressure.
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Let the pressure naturally release. Blend soup with an immersion blender. Add the desired amount of milk or cream as you are about to eat it.
I love this soup. Using fresh tomatoes from the garden in homemade tomato soup is just so amazing! I love getting some teeny seeds on my spoon, and just realizing that what I am eating is garden fresh!
I loved this soup in my Instant Pot. It was so much easier making this again without tomatoes splattering everywhere.
Check out all of my Instant Pot Recipes!
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