Tomato Bisque is a super silky smooth version of the classic tomato soup we all love so much! Ready in an hour with no babysitting the pot.
Soup season is rushing in, and I’m all about cozy Soup Recipes to keep me warm. Some of my other favorites bisques around here are Lobster Bisque and Crawfish Bisque.
Why You’ll Love This Bisque?
- Creamy, flavorful bisque made in only an hour that the whole family will love.
- Can be made with all of those fresh garden tomatoes or canned diced tomato.
Sabrina’s Tomato Bisque Recipe
If you’re a fan of Tomato Soup you are probably picturing a mostly smooth but hearty soup that stands up to Grilled Cheese dipping. Don’t worry you can still do that! But, in this case, you have a silky, luxurious soup with added cream to make it extra rich and flavorful. Serve this to a delighted and impressed crowd of people. This bisque is perfect to eat on a cold afternoon or would make the perfect starter to a Holiday meal.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion , diced
- 2 stalks celery , diced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 pinch cayenne
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon parsley
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion, celery, salt, pepper, cayenne and basil for about 5-6 minutes or until the onions are translucent.
- Add in the garlic and stir an additional 45 seconds before adding in the broth, tomatoes, and sugar.
- Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 30-40 minutes before blending until perfectly smooth with an immersion blender.
- Add in the heavy cream, mix well and serve using more heavy cream and parsley as garnishes.
Nutrition
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Sabrina’s Tips
Using fresh tomatoes can make a delicious dish, but first you should ask yourself if the tomatoes are flavorful enough. You want gorgeous, maybe slightly too ripe or soft tomatoes that are still delicious. To prepare them for the recipe, boil them for 60 seconds, then shock them in ice water before peeling; de-seed the tomatoes before adding them to the recipe.
Table of contents
About this Recipe
This creamy bisque is perfect to make when the weather starts to cool down and the crop of garden tomatoes is coming to an end. This recipe uses a good-quality crushed tomatoes to save time, but if your garden is over flowing with tomatoes, this is a great time to use them all up. The tomatoes are added to some sautéd aromatics, simple seasonings and finished off with heavy cream to make this bisque extra decadent. Serve your bowl with a little extra swirl of cream on top since it’s sweater season and calories don’t count! Right?
Can this be made ahead of time?
Yes, you can easily make this soup ahead of time since it will stay good for 4 days. Simply reheat it and serve when you are ready to eat. You could even plan to make a few batches of this soup to keep in your freezer for a quick and easy meal when you need one. Just hold off on adding the cream if you plan to freeze the soup and add it when you are serving it.
Serving Ideas
Top your soup off with some croutons, Parmesan Crisps, or some crispy, crumbled Bacon. When serving, you can add a touch of heavy cream or Basil Pesto in a circular pattern to enhance the visual appeal. If you want to make it even more fun, use a toothpick to make designs through swirl. I usually make figure 8s.
How to Store
- Store: Don’t leave your creamy bisque out for more than 2 hours. Once it’s cooled, store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Reheat: You can easily reheat this soup on medium-low heat on the stove. You could also reheat it in the microwave in 30 second intervals until it is heated to your desired consistency.
- Freeze: It is not recommended to freeze this soup as the dairy will separate in it once it freezes. If you want to freeze it, don’t add the cream. Freeze for up to 4 months and then add the cream after it’s reheated.
Slow Cooker Method
- Add oil to a pan and sauté the onions, celery, garlic and seasonings until onions are translucent.
- Note: If you are short on time, or don’t want to dirty an extra pan, just throw everything in the slow cooker. However, sautéing everything first will add to the depth of flavor, so I do recommend it.
- Add the veggies to the slow cooker. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, and sugar.
- Cook on Low for 5-6 hours or High for 3-4 hours.
- Blend the soup with an immersion blender.
- Add heavy cream and top with parsley. Enjoy!
Frequent Questions
In the most classic version to call it a bisque you’d need to use a stock from shellfish, but in current incarnations the difference can be the texture in addition to the use of heavy cream in the soup.
You will need about 2-2.5 pounds of tomatoes to replace the diced tomato in this bisque.
You can easily blend this bisque in a regular blender but you are going to need to do it in batches so it doesn’t overflow when you are blending it. Also, make sure to remove the plastic lid so that the heat can escape. Just use a kitchen towel to cover the hole gently so that soup doesn’t splash out on you.
Variations
- Vegan: If you want to make a lighter tomato bisque, or even a vegan one, you can swap out the heavy cream for coconut milk and use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth.
- Mix-ins: Add some Rotisserie Chicken, tortellinis, spinach or kale, or Parmesan Cheese if you want a little extra texture and flavor.
Roasted Tomato Bisque
- If you want to make the flavors bolder and you’re using fresh tomatoes you can roast them before adding them to the soup.
- First cut them in half and de-seed them.
- Toss them with olive oil and kosher salt and roast them at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
- When they’re done roasting peel off the skin before adding them to the soup and continuing the recipe as described.
Related Recipes
More Creamy Soup Recipes
Photos used in previous versions of the post:
Made this for Bunco ladies and it was loved by all, had to give out the recipe. Bunco time again, and this soup was requested.
Best compliment ever…when someone asks for the recipe! Thanks Beverly and thanks for the five star review.