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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 new 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 really 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 to quickly blend my creamy soups.
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 tomato red sauce or to any tomato soup.
Many homemade tomato soup recipes call for 1-2 carrots. I added 8 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- just 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 Garden Tomato Soup – Makes about 1 gallon of soup
Ingredients
10-12 tomatoes
8 carrots
1 medium onion
4 cloves of garlic
6 basil leaves
16 ounces of vegetable stock -or chicken stock
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil – you can use butter too
2 cups of milk or 1 cup of cream ( optional)
Method: In a pot, saute chopped onion, minced garlic and chopped carrots in olive oil until the onions are transparent. 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. Turn off heat and let cool a little. Using your immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth and add milk or cream if desired.
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!
Instant Pot option:
Set Instant Pot to the saute setting and add olive oil and onion. Saute until the onion is transparent. Add tomatoes, carrots, tomatoes, garlic, basil, and stock. Close the Instant Pot lid and push the “Soup” setting, or cook for 12 minutes on high pressure. 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 actually 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!
That soup looks so good! Carrots are a great secret ingredient with tomatoes. I agree that their natural sweetness is perfect to balance the acidity.
Thanks! love love love.
I do have to say, my grandma makes the best tomato soup ever 😉 I have tried to recreate it, but it never tastes the same.
THIS SOUP LOOKS FABULOUS! I LOVE THAT YOU ADD CARROTS. I THINK THAT IS BRILLIANT. I WILL BE MAKING THIS SOON.
I love trying new recipes
if immersion blender used, what are the solids that appear in the picture? looks like shredded cheese or julienned carrots with avocados? or what?
I topped my soup with some smoked cheddar cheese and cheese crackers. But now that you mention avocados, that sounds really good.
Do you peel the tomatoes?
You can. But I didn’t.
Can this soup be frozen for later use?
YES! You can freeze it in pyrex or even in a freezer friendly zip loc bag.