Tomato Bisque is super silky smooth version of the classic tomato soup we all love with a finishing touch of heavy cream in less than an hour and no babysitting the pot!
Soup season is rushing in and along with our Slow Cooker Pot Roast we are ALL about soups. Favorites around here are Slow Cooker Beef Stew,Slow Cooker Vegetable Beef Soup and Clam Chowder.
Tomato Bisque
Why tomato bisque right? 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. In this case you have a silky, creamy soup that is so luxurious you can serve this to a delighted and impressed crowd of people.
What is the difference between tomato soup and tomato bisque? 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.
As the weather starts to cool down and the crop of garden tomatoes comes to an end and I’ve got you covered. This soup uses canned crushed tomatoes. And with a good quality crushed tomato like these you will have all the flavors of fresh tomatoes.
If you want to make a healthy tomato bisque or even a vegan tomato bisque you can swap out the heavy cream for coconut milk.
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.
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tomato bisque with fresh tomatoes:
If you’d like to use fresh tomatoes first ask yourself if the tomatoes are flavorful enough. You want gorgeous maybe slightly too ripe or soft tomatoes that are still delicious. Then you’re going to boil them for 60 seconds then shock them in ice water before peeling. Then de-seed the tomatoes before adding them to the recipe.
When serving you can add a touch of heavy cream in a circle pattern to up the plating style of the soup since is a smooth pink color. If you want to make it even more fun use a toothpick to make designs through the heavy cream swirl. I usually make figure 8s through the cream.
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
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
Do you think if I add some pesto at the end it will make up for my lack of basil? The soup has great flavor and I love it, but it could use a little basil.
Sounds yummy – let us know how it turned out!
This is a great base to modify as you like. I added carrot, extra celery, onion, garlic and stuck to just basil and oregano. Using roasted cherry tomatoes drizzled in honey, balsalmic and OO upped the flavour profile imo. So I omitted the sugar. Used some veggie stock. Garnish with Italian parsley is lovely. I actually tried it 6 ways (all with same pot). Not puréed / puréed with/without heavy cream each. And my favourite was 2/3 puréed with some veg held back for texture and generous cream. I also tried adding lemon zest to this variation and it brought it next level too. My second favourite was actually completely unpureeed and it was lovely with or without the cream. So your vegans I think will like this especially if you make it with a mirepoix to make it a little more hearty. Will definitely make again!
This has to be the best tomato bisque recipe. It’s simple and my kids love it…win.win
Made this soup for dinner today. It was delicious! Definitely a keeper and so easy to prepare.
Made this for my daughter and I. The recipe was easy to follow and very good. It is important to let it simmer for 30 to 40 minutes to thicken up and incorporate the flavors. Since we like our soups spicy, I added extra cayenne, a dash of smoked paprika, extra basil and omitted the sugar. Goes great with a grilled cheese sandwich. This has become a staple in our weekly soup making for this time of year.
This was a simple and good bisque. As others….I would have liked it a bit thicker but mine thickened up more when I used a counter top blender. It was great with a bacon grilled cheese sandwich. Thanks for sharing.
I’m pretty sure the people who are complaining about the soup being too watery aren’t simmering for the 30-40 mins or using a high enough heat for the simmer.
I’ve made this many times and it’s always a hit, absolutely no need it excuse to make canned tomato soup ever again.
For those who are saying it’s too watery, not sure what you’re talking about as mine comes out just fine. The only amendment I do is due to my lack of an immersion blender, I’ll let the soup cool once it’s ready to be blended, then add to my counter-top blender, blend, then re-add to the pot and reheat before serving. This could possibly contribute to mine being slightly thicker but I couldn’t say. All in all it’s a fantastic and simple recipe I’ve used time and again and won’t be replacing any time soon.
It was not bad but was not the bisque I was looking for it was too watery for me and it lacked flavor.
This bisque is an annual tradition for Shark Week. I made a triple batch (freeze some for later) and make Shark fin shaped grill cheese sandwiches to stand up in the soup. My family goes crazy over it. We also love it on a cool Fall or cold Winter night. This is an absolute family favorite. I do spice it up a bit with chipotle sea salt, but be careful not to use too much because it is very strong.
sabrina you are wonderful. when looking for direction you are my go to thank you
After reading some of the comments, people complained about it being to watery, so I cut the chicken broth in half, did two cups instead. Then the other complaint was it was bland, which was another valid complaint, so I added a little more sugar and some garlic all seasoning and all season salt. It came out nice and creamy and delicious.
Love! This soup is delicious and easy to make!
Sabrina, I heard your tomato bisque one of my friends made it and I was hooked on it, he told me where to find it and I just wanted to let you know one terrific soup for me. My name
I tried this recipe last night. It’s excellent, though I didn’t mulch the soup at the end. Mostly due to not wanting to break out the blender, but I think keeping the diced veggies gives it a bit more thickness. I actually like how it came out in the end. I used a sweet onion instead of yellow. I also didn’t use garlic because mine were expired. I generally don’t like garlic anyways. The soup still came out great.
This soup is so flavorless and watery. Tastes nothing like a bisque.
Holy chicken broth. This soup just tastes like chicken broth. Really thin. Compared to every other recipe online this one has like 3x more chicken broth.
My frist time to make from scratch. Flavor is very good. Serving grilled cheese sandwiches on the side.
Yummy
Yum!
Incredible!! I used roasted fresh tomatoes and roasted garlic. I recommend adding a cup of crushed for a more intense tomato flavor. But everyone loved this! Thank you!
This recipe has become a favorite for my husband and I. We love the flavor of the roasted tomatoes and the velvety richness of the cream. For some added texture, we top it with some homemade croutons. Yum!
Wonderful recipe! I doubled and it was just perfect.
This soup was outstanding! Crunched for time, I started the soup and threw together a salad. Although I didn’t cook the soup for the full 30 minutes, (probably only 15) it still turned out great with an amazing depth of flavor.
This soup was outstanding! Crunched for time, I started the soup and threw together a salad. Although I didn’t cook the soup for the full 30 minutes, (probably only 15) it still turned out great with an amazing depth of flavor.
Just made this today and it was really good! I made a few changes (omitted the celery but added an extra diced onion as neither I nor my partner care for celery, increased the garlic, cayenne pepper and basil, and added just a touch more sugar) because my household likes things heavily seasoned but I think it would have been quite good without them.
As much as I enjoyed this tomato bisque soup it was too thin for me. I had cornstarch to it and blended it. Then it was perfect!
Good recipe. I roasted 2 while bulbs of garlic for this recipe. I found that after the blending there was incredibly undesirable strings from the celery that were like plastic threads. I actually did think it was plastic. I had to really think hard about what the hell it could be. I had to strain the soup through cheese cloth to get rid of it all.
I want to add ground beef and elbow macaroni and some veggies to this soup. Ideas??
Experimenting is half the fun!
Tried this recipe, was very disappointed, watery and lacked flavor. Next day I doctored it by adding I small can of tomato paste, 1/3 cup cream, 1/4 cup sugar, more basil, salt, pepper. Also sautéed zucchini, onions, kidney beans in butterand added as well. This was amazing! Tasted like real tomato bisque.
It’s not really bisque. Bisque is supposed to be thick and sweet and this “bisque” really isn’t at all. I had to add a lot more sugar to make it edible. I will not be making this again.
Hi. This is the definition of bisque – a rich, creamy soup typically made with shellfish, especially lobster.
My new favorite tomato bisque recipe! So easy to make. Creamy and delicious! This is one the whole family enjoys.
Recipe was perfect. Delish. I had to substitute cream cheese for heavy cream. It worked out.
Sabrina! I’m super excited to make this recipe tomorrow with my garden tomatoes that I just picked. I love a good bisque!!!
Yay! I hope you love it!
This is the second time I’ve made this recipe in the last three weeks. I love it! It is a bit thin so this time I took the suggestion to add a bit of cornstarch. I also added fresh grated parmesan cheese to thicken it up. In addition to the the spices in the recipe, I added a little cinnamon and it is like the secret ingredient! I garnished with fresh basil and parsley, a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and a few red pepper flakes for a touch more heat! So so yummy!!
Excellent Tomato bisque recipe. It’s an easy receipe. Quick to prepare and a wonderful first course to any autumn or winter meal.
You can substitute sour cream in place of heavy cream and add oregano & dried red peppers for a delicious spark, too.
Excellent, easy receipt. Quick to prepare and a wonderful first course to any autumn or winter meal.
You can substitute sour cream in place of heavy cream and add oregano & red peppers for a delicious spark, too.
Apparently you don’t know what the recipe is because you don’t want to show it.
Wonderful flavor – right combination of basil, garlic and celery . Well written instructions and great picture – I
wanted to make it immediately. I have already sent photos to family and friends.
Thank you Christine!
This is NOT vegetarian!!!!!!!!!!
Renee, this is not said to be a vegetarian dish. But if you read the blog post we do offer a way to have it vegan.
I didn’t see anything saying it was but I’m sure you can adjust
There’s a local restaurant that is known for their tomato bisque soup with Asiago toasts. This wonderful soup rivals it. The real upside is this is not loaded with sodium. I’m absolutely thankful to have this.
Wow, thanks for the compliment. I’m so glad you love it so much.
Good recepie, I would say it’s more of a guideline like all recepies and you can adjust to your taste. I doubled the garlic, pepper and made it vegan with dairy free cream and veggie broth.
A bit under-seasoned. I added more basil and sugar and it made it more bisque-y 🙂 thanks for sharing!
I tried this. Very bland . Great if your health conscious. But a very bland soup. Does not taste like other tomato bisque’s I’ve had before.
You can always adjust the seasoning to fit more to your liking.
I made this tonight using the roasted tomato method and it was great. I used fresh basil and doubled the garlic.
Thanks for the 5 stars, Rob.
OMG!! This was seriously restaurant quality! The only thing I changed is I added 1/2 a shallot and I sautés some fresh basil and a handful of grape tomatoes then I used a handheld blender. And a touch more garlic, because why not? One of my most favorite soups I have ever made. Thank you for the recipe!!!
GREAT soup. I made it as written, only thing was I added two pinches of cayenne rather than one. That made it a bit too spicy, my fault for using two pinches, but given I will save this recipe as a regular in my rotation of meals, I will know next time to only use one pinch of cayenne. The other flavors and textures were perfect. This soup could have been on the menu of a restaurant. As it was, I guess with mine being a bit too spicy, a restaurant could have called it “spicy tomato bisque.” LOL. Thanks for a great recipe to use over and over again!
This is the BEST tomato soup recipe EVER!??. I did improvise by adding about 1/3 c. fresh chopped basil, 1/2 tsp oregano, went with only 2/3 onion, and added about 14 oz extra crushed tomatoes because I like a lot of tomato flavor. Any one who says this recipe wasn’t good, did not follow the recipe or didn’t use an immersion blender to create a nice, smooth tomato soup consistency. Will definitely make this again ?. Thank. you so much for sharing!
Thanks for the kind words, Patti.
hi! i’m excited to try this recipe this weekend! if i wanted to add parmesan cheese, how much do you think i should add and should it go in before or after serving?
I would just add it before serving. Enjoy!
I’ m sorry , the question mark at tge end of my pist was a typo . I meant to say…..
I make this recipe all the time. I fill a thermos full for my husband when he goes fishing with his buddies. I like to add white wine as part of the liquid portion (1/2 a cup.) Thank you again. It is delicious.
I make this recipe all the time. I fill a thermos full for my husband when he goes fishing with his buddies. I like to add white wine as part of the liquid portion (1/2 a cup.) Thank you again. It is delicious. ?
This was delicious and my 8 year old who doesn’t eat any soup and is not a fan of tomatoes loved it too! I followed the recipe exactly. Thank you!
I love it when that happens. Thanks for coming back to let me know, Randi.
I made this soup twice in the past week. It is so good and so easy. I was intimidated to make this until I saw your recipe. It is awesome! Thank you for a wonderful and delicious soup.
Good overall flavor. But it’s not thick like I would expect from a bisque and it doesn’t have depth to it. Wish it would have advise to either get a can of crushed tomatoes or given direction on how to manually crush in the recipe. I bought 28 oz of cherry tomatoes and then had to find instructions for how to crush them, which is quite laborious prep work.
The recipe calls for a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
Michelle, the recipe literally calls for crushed tomatoes. These reviews are wild. People paying zero attention or others who have completely changed the recipe. You made your own recipe because you read wrong and then want to blame the chef.
What a wonderful, easy recipe! I added some tomato paste and bag leaf; then finished off with a little sherry. I almost missed the immersion blender step – so glad I didn’t! What a game changer! I can absolutely see how this could be even more next level of crab and shrimp were added!
Thanks for this simple, yet wonderful recipe. I used ripe Early Girl tomatoes straight off of my garden vine, skipped the use of the cream, and it was still heavenly. Went great with “non-fancy, non-grown-up” grilled cheese sandwiches!
This recipe is perfect JUST the way it is! I have tried so many tomato bisque recipes in the past that have been too runny and had either too much garlic, too much salt, or lacked a tomato flavor, but this one is creamy and all the flavors are perfectly balanced.
This has been my go to recipe, and I have it memorized by heart! These days, I add a tablespoon of uncooked rice because I like my bisque to have a “meatier” thicker consistency when it’s puréed.
You are too kind, Susan. I’m so happy you love it so much!
This soup tasted like water. I followed the directions to a T. It looked good but it did NOT taste good.
This soup is delicious!
Thanks, Jenny!
How large is a single serving and about how many cups of soup does this make?
A single serving is about 1 cup. It makes about 12 cups of soup. Enjoy!
Wondering if this can be frozen? It’s delicious and I’d like to make a big batch! Thank you
Absolutely! It is delicious thawed. To keep it tasting as fresh as possible it would taste best if you add the heavy cream in right before serving. If you can’t do that don’t worry it’ll still be delicious.
One of my friends is now a vegan, and I’m starting to gather some recipes that would suit her diet when she comes to visit. I love tomato soup during cold weather and was wondering if substituting vegetable broth for chicken would alter the taste greatly. Also, is your recipe easily adjustable for fewer servings? Some recipes taste different when adjusted.
You can easily substitute with vegetable broth.
Love this recipe! I like to add some shrimp or imitation crab to it at the very end of preparation – it has been a big hit at family gatherings!
Sounds amazing!
Absolutely delish! I used an immersion blender & left just a bit of texture to the carrots & onions. Also, I thought I had cayenne, but I didn’t. So I subbed with a bit of harissa.
This soup is the perfect comfort food. Thanks so much for this!
Sorry – to the CELERY & onions. ACK!!! 🙂
So yummy and so easy! Thank you!!
You’re welcome, Emily!
What quantity of fresh tomatoes for roasting?
You’ll need enough to equal 28 ounces once pureed.
Could using a hand mixer substitute for an immersion blender?
No, you’re better off using a blender or food processor to get the smooth texture.
So I have to say, I was skeptical that may children, seven and five years old would like this, and I was skeptical that I would screw something up, since I am not a regular cook. My seven year old boy went to Midieval Times and had the Tomato Bisque Soup there and really liked it. He is not much of a soup person either. SO the recipe listed seemed simple enough. I wasn’t sure if it would be sweet enough since it only had a teaspoon of sugar. It turned out excellent. Both my children loved helping out, from putting the ingredients in the pot, to putting the hot vegetable soup in the blender before adding the cream. Tasted really good. Came out creamy. The teaspoon of sugar was just enough as well, and with all of the seasoning, it was extremely tasty.
Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know. I know how hard it can be to please everyone, especially kids.
Great recipe thanks! I made it and it’s delicious. The only thing I would tweak is to add some carrots in place of sugar, half the amount of cream and more of each spice ?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I made this last night with fancy grown up grilled cheese sandwiches. It was AMAZING!! I have always been a Campbells girl for tomato soup and I’ll never be able to go back now. This recipe is definitely going in the rotation.
Oooh grown up grilled cheese – love to know what those were!
Thanks for the review and happy to hear you enjoyed so much!
Haha!! We got crusty sourdough bread from the bakery and filled it with Havarti, Gruyere, and Gouda. It was the perfect compliment to the soup!
Sounds amazing!
Can you substitute plain yogurt for the Heavy cream?
You can, but you will want to temper the yogurt and not add it cold all at once or it will curdle.
At first I thought it was just OK until I tweaked it by adding some paprika and extra cream and sugar. Up until then, it was a bit bitter which was probably from the tomatoes. So feel free to add more sugar as not all tomatoes are the same ;o)
So glad you were able to make it fit your taste! Tomato soup is great because it can take on so many flavors! 🙂
Was looking for a smooth bisque. This was absolutely delicious. I ended up making this my main course.
It very easily becomes a main… especially when I’m the only one around and can have as many bowls as I want 😀
I am just curious. Can I make the base of the soup earlier in the day and reheat it before adding the cream or should I just add the cream and then reheat it for dinner later?
Personally I would add the cream after reheating, since it will store/reheat better without the cream added.
This bisque provides a fantastic, full flavor…perfect with a grilled pimento cheese sandwich!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it and um, grilled pimento cheese?? Yes, please!
Tender, juicy and good flavor! Big hit with our family. Quick and easy preparation. Will definitely make again.
This is my favourite soup!! Thanks so much. I use coconut milk and I wanted to know if this soup will freeze well?
Yes 🙂
so yummy!!!! made this the other day, mom and sis tasted it and and said tastes even better than famoso’s tomato bisque. my bf is again requesting for this tonight. thanks for sharing
Yay, sounds like a winner! Thanks for the 5 stars.
Absolutely delicious! Both hubby and I are obsessed! ?
How much chicken bullion (instead of chicken broth) can we use ?
You can use 4 teaspoons of chicken bouillon base disolved in 32 oz of boiling water to equal the 4 cups of broth you’ll need. Hope this helps!
This was so yummy!! I don’t have an immersion blender so used my regular blender – in small batches (messy if over-filled). Served with grilled cheese sandwiches. Great recipe!
Thanks for dropping by to let me know! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
can you use half and half instead of cream for this soup.
You can but it’ll be thinner.
Love this! Added a bit of parmesean cheese to take it over the top!
Made the Tomato Bisque Soup tonight. I’m a guy who just wanted to see if I could and boy did it turn out great! Can’t wait to try more recipes!
Yay!! So glad you decided to try!
I don’t have an immersion blender could just use regular blender, and at what point do I do this step?
You could use a blender but you’d have to be very carfeful not to over fill it. Also, there needs to be a place for the steam to escape while you’re blending it. Good luck!
Did you use Better than Bouillon Chicken base or just boxed chicken broth?
I used the Better than Bouillon base to make my broth. You can use whatever way you prefer. Enjoy!
Hello! So you said in the most classic version of a bisque they use stock from shellfish, does that mean we can substitute that instead of the chicken broth? Would that taste good?
I haven’t tried it but I think it sounds amazing!
So easy to make and just delicious! Thank you, Sabrina!
You’re welcome! Thanks for the 5 star rating!
Hi, I was thinking of throwing a few fire roasted bell peppers in this. Would that turn out all right?
Sounds delicious!
So, what then, is the difference between cream of tomato and tomato bisque?
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.
I noticed it makes 12 servings….are those 1 cup servings? Sorry if I missed that somewhere. Looks delicious! 🙂
Yes, 1 cup servings. I hope you enjoy it!
This looks super tasty and easy to make!
I hope you enjoy it!
This is my kind of comfort food! Love the creamy flavors of tomato bisque, it’s great as soup and as a pasta sauce, too!
I love a good tomato bisque, your’s looks perfect!
Thanks Tanya!
Tomato bisque is my very favorite type of tomato soup. Looks delicious!
This is one of my favorite soups. Also..heavy cream makes everything better.
Totally agree!!
I have fresh tomatoes. Would they substitute in for this recipe?
Yes!
Fabulous. Just made. Love, love, love
So glad you enjoyed it, Barbara!
How creamy and delicious does this look?!? We love tomato based soups and this is something that is going on our menu right away. Yum!
I hope you enjoy it!