This delicious 20-Minute Creamy Tomato & Basil Soup is classic comfort food with 2 special ingredients. This truly is the best ever tomato soup.
This soup is perfectly creamy, flavorful, and delicious. I personally love how fast and easy it is to serve.

Mouthwatering & insanely easy to make, this soup is my favorite to-go-to meal.
This 20-Minute Creamy Tomato Basil Soup because it reminds me of my childhood because I pretty much grew up on grilled cheese and tomato soup. It wasn’t until I made homemade tomato soup that I fell in love with this traditional combination. I mean, I thought tomato soup was okay, but I never thought it was amazingly delicious.
When I made this recipe for my family and my parents, I found out that my mom hates tomato soup. I served her a bowl of this deliciousness and was so excited for her to try it. When she told me she hated tomato soup I literally almost gasped out loud. I was like, but we ate it all the time and then she told me how it really went and well basically my memory was flawed.
My mom said that it was my dad who loves tomato soup and she only made it for him, that she never actually had the soup. What?! You see, my parents (regardless of what we were eating) always made us have a “no thank you” helping. Whether we hated the dish or not, we had to eat it; in fact, we stayed at the table until we ate it. So while I wasn’t the biggest fan of tomato soup, I ate it because of the “no thank you” helping rule.
While my mom hated tomato soup, she tried mine. I think because she felt bad that I was so excited for her to try it. Well, guess what friends? She loved it!

Cheesy bread is my favorite thing to serve with this Tomato Basil Soup.
I love this soup too. Completely blows any other soup out of the water for our family, or well at least a close second to my Chicken Pot Pie Soup. Typically I would say the best part is the 20-minutes that you make it in. But it’s not. The best part of the soup is the sautéed garlic and shallots combined with broken up whole tomatoes, gives this soup a rustic feel and robust flavor.

My daughter Jojo says, “more cheese = more smiles”.
And for the grilled cheese friends. Oh, grilled cheese. Cheese and bread, wait, make that melted cheese and toasted bread.
To me there are two key ingredients used in making the best ever grilled cheese: bread and mayo. I know you are probably a little disturbed right now, but a thin layer of mayo on the outside of the bread, oh..my..heavens. So crispy, delicious and downright amazing.
One evening I was out of bread, so I grabbed some leftover flatbread, we love the Stonefire Flatbreads from Costco and surprisingly this was the best way to make a grilled cheese. In fact, I will never make grilled cheese any other way. As for the cheese, pull out your favorite. I made mine with a combination of shredded white cheddar, Parmesan, and Asiago.

Our favorite sandwich for this Tomato Soup is grilled naan with fresh mozzarella.
How to make 20-Minute Creamy Tomato Basil Soup:
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In a medium to large saucepan add olive oil over medium heat, sauté garlic and shallots for 3 minutes or until shallots are translucent. Stir in the crushed tomatoes.
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Add in the whole tomatoes one at a time, breaking them up by squeezing them as you put them into the pan, make sure to stir in the juice from the cans as well.
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Stir in chicken stock, salt, pepper, and sugar until combined then allow it to cook over medium for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Once it has cooked for 10 minutes reduce heat to low and stir in heavy cream and chopped basil. Simmer for a few minutes, then serve.
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Optional toppings like parmesan cheese, grilled cheese, toasted bread, and chopped basil make great additions.
Simple meals like this Tomato Basil Soup are a lifesaver during the busy weeknights. Here are some other easy recipes that make serving dinner a breeze.
- Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Slow Cooker Tomato Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Chili
- Broccoli Chicken Curry Casserole
- Little Hen Casserole {Chicken, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy}
So whether it is cold outside or you are just looking for a quick and easy meal, try this 20-Minute Creamy Tomato Basil Soup.
Enjoy friends! XOXO San
Don’t forget to pin this recipe for 20-Minute Creamy Tomato Basil Soup to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
20-Minute Creamy Tomato & Basil Soup
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons minced yellow onion or shallots
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 14 ounces whole tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup heavy cream or half-n-half
- 4 tablespoons fresh basil julienned
- parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a medium to large saucepan add olive oil over medium heat, sauté garlic and shallots for 3 minutes or until shallots are translucent. Stir in the crushed tomatoes.
- Add in the whole tomatoes one at a time, breaking them up by squeezing them as you put them into the pan, make sure to stir in the juice from the cans as well.
- Stir in chicken stock, salt, pepper, and sugar until combined then allow it to cook over medium for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once it has cooked for 10 minutes reduce heat to low and stir in heavy cream and chopped basil. Simmer for a few minutes, then serve.
- Optional toppings like parmesan cheese, grilled cheese, toasted bread, and chopped basil make great additions.
Nutrition
This post was recently updated from original post date of January 2016.
Oh my gosh, this looks every so yummy. I’m making this tomorrow! Love the pics too!
Thank you!
Hi old neighbor! I just love your blog and this was delicious! Probably the best tomato soup I’ve ever tasted. This is going to quickly become a staple in our house 🙂
How many servings does this soup recipe make?
Love this, the soup looks spicy and yum!
I just made this for my wife and substituted a can of diced tomatoes instead of whole. I also pureed it in our Vitamix blender. This is by far the best tomato basil bisque we have ever eaten.
Great ideas. Thanks!
I made this soup tonight for dinner and found the recipe super easy to follow for someone who is cooking challenged! I took one of the commenters suggestions and added a little extra heavy cream. it was delicious! Next time, I’m making a double batch.
Extra heavy cream never hurts, so glad you like the soup!
This is one of my favorite recipes! I made this creamy tomato basil soup probably thousands of times. It offers tremendous texture and is as simple as soups get. Plus, it tastes perfect even on day 2 and day 3. My kiddos prefer to pour a little soup into a mug and microwave it to have a light meal.
Thank you a lot for sharing this fab recipe. Highly recommend everyone to give this a try.
p.s. I love your blog! Look forward to your new awesome ideas.
Love this recipe. I’ve made it a half dozen times for various people and everyone has loved it every time. So good. Never buy tomato soup again – make it yourself every time.
I’m so glad you enjoy the soup! I totally agree, it beats canned tomato soup any day. Thanks!
I am a real LOVER of tomato soup. This is BETTER than what I get at my favorite restaurant !!! Thank you!!
I’m so glad to hear that!