Winter Tomato Soup

One of the great pleasures of winter? Tomato soup! This recipe starts with canned tomatoes that are first oven-roasted then slow-cooked on the stove, in the oven (my favorite) or in a slow cooker to draw out deep, intense tomato flavor. It's the recipe to choose during cold weather and the many months when fresh tomatoes just aren't worth time or money. And my recommendation? Grab some bread and cheese too because homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese are a special winter-worthy combination!

Memorable Homestyle Whole Food, "Plain" But Perfect. Hearty & Filling, Rich Color & Texture. A New Addition to The Homemade Pantry, a Kitchen Parade Specialty. Budget Friendly. Great for Meal Prep. Perfect When Cooking for One or Two. Easy DIY. Weight Watchers Friendly. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real. Whole30 Friendly. Rave Reviews. So Good!!

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COMPLIMENTS!

• "My family loves this soup. I am making it every week, sometimes twice!" ~ Kim

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Bounty May Be Overrated

Last winter after a big snow, the dog attached me to her leash and took me for a walk through Tower Grove Park, a Victorian jewel here in St. Louis and a four-season mid-city modern oasis turned silent beneath a winter muffle.

Just days before, it had been unseasonably warm – 70s in January?! – so with new cold, the open water around the fountain was shrinking, constricting the resident ducks who nevertheless quacked with apparent content.

So too is our winter food supply constricted although — this is a certainty — imports from the southern hemisphere's summer disguise the fact.

In the void that is winter fresh food, we turn to our pantries and our freezers, happy to lighten the load on their shelves and our waistlines.

Bounty may be overrated. Some times, fewer choices are worth a quack of contentment.

Homemade Tomato Soup: It's a Thing.

Is tomato soup made from scratch really a thing? It is in my kitchen! Yours, too?

Over the years, I've collected several tomato soup recipes, all slightly different, all demanding grilled cheese sandwiches on the side, wink wink.

• FOR WINTER, WITH CANNED TOMATOES Winter Tomato Soup (recipe below), roasting and slow-cooking draw out summer flavors from canned tomatoes
• FOR SUMMER, WITH RIPE GARDEN TOMATOES Summer's Tomato Soup, a completely different soup, for those in the southern hemisphere!
• YEAR-ROUND, WITH FRESH BASIL Rustic Tomato Basil Soup, tomato basil with chunky vegetables.
• WHEN YOU NEED SOUP, NOW Two-Can Ten-Minute Homemade Tomato Soup, is it really homemade? I say yes, yes, yes.
• WITH SLOW-ROASTED TOMATOES Slow-Roasted Tomato Soup, deep, dusky slow-roasted flavor.
• WITH MARCELLA HAZAN'S FAMOUS TOMATO-ONION SAUCE Tomato Bisque, just four ingredients, dreamy good.

Roasted & Slow-Cooked Tomatoes: The Secret

In winter, the trick to homemade tomato soup is to start with canned tomatoes, then to roast them with a pinch of sugar to draw out bold tomato flavor. Then the soup needs to simmer for three hours, on the stove, in the oven, even in a slow cooker.

Yes, it's that easy!

I prefer Winter Tomato Soup's when it starts off with diced tomatoes. The tomatoes stay a little firmer, adding to the rustic texture.

But really, if you start off with whole tomatoes, nobody but nobody will be complaining. Just mash the tomatoes before roasting them in the oven.

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Recipe Overview: Winter Tomato Soup

• Winter Tomato Soup is a revelation: its tomato flavors are deep and rich and earthy. It starts with canned tomatoes which are briefly roasted with a little sugar in the oven, then cooked briefly on the stove with a few other ingredients and then, finally, slowly cooked either on the stove, in the oven (always my favorite) or in a slow cooker. Its name came about to contrast with Summer's Tomato Soup which uses ripe, juicy summer tomatoes and is, plainly, an entirely different soup.

• When to Serve = It's a good, hearty soup for supper or a nice cup of soup for lunch. I'd definitely serve this for company but probably as a starter, say.
• Diet Needs & Choices = The soup's base is vegan. I usually serve it vegan the first night, then add cream (thus now vegetarian) or cream and orange another night.
• Distinctive Ingredients = Canned Tomatoes
• Short Ingredient List = just the above + brown sugar + butter or olive oil + leeks or onion + tomato paste + nutmeg + flour + a liquid such as vegetable stock
• For Garnish = A small splash of cream is pretty.
• Kitchen Tools = A Roasting Pan + a Dutch Oven
• Hands-On Time = It takes about a half hour for hands-on cooking.
• Slow Cooking Time = It takes about 3 hours to finish the soup, either at a bare simmer on the stove or in the oven (always my favorite) or in a slow cooker.
• Total Time = This is ready for the table in under four hours but it may also may be made ahead of time for serving tomorrow.
• Appearance = The color is deeply, darkly tomato red.
• Texture = The texture is rustic, with bites of tomato in every spoonful.
• Taste = The taste is rich and tomato-y, not at all like canned tomato soup. It's easy to lighten the taste with some cream: it's still not like canned tomato soup but it's not quite so tomato-y.
• Techniques = Two techniques are used here. The first is roasting canned tomatoes sprinkled with a little sugar in the oven. The second is slow-cooking the soup, either on the stove or in the oven or in a slow cooker.
• Shop Your Pantry = This is a pantry-friendly recipe. You may well already have all the ingredients on hand!
• Watching Our Waistlines = This is a calorie-friendly recipe, just 116 calories per cup. That's before adding cream, of course!
• Staying Cost Conscious = This is a budget-friendly recipe, just a few ingredients, all easy to keep on hand.
• Makes = As written, the recipe makes about six cups of soup. My husband usually wants two cups for his serving, I'm always happy with a single cup for mine.
• Small Households = This recipe works especially well for those Cooking for One or Two.
• So good! I hope you love it!


• If you like making tomato soup, in summer be sure to check out an entirely different soup, Summer's Tomato Soup.
• Not quite what you're looking for? Check out my other soup recipes.

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Why I Love This Recipe & You Might Too

• ... it's all about technique, drawing so much flavor from so few ingredients
• ... it's so pantry-friendly, I can make it on a whim without running to the store
• ... it's so versatile, I'm especially smitten with the version with cream and a touch of orange-juice concentrate
• Ready to get started? Here's your recipe!

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WINTER TOMATO SOUP

Hands-on time: 30 minutes
Time to table: 4 hours
Makes 6 cups

TOMATOES
• 56 or 58 ounces (2 large 28-ounce cans or 4 small 14.5-ounce cans) canned diced tomatoes (save the tomato liquid, you'll use it later)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

SOUP
• 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil (for vegan)
• 2 leeks, white and green parts only, trimmed, halved lengthwise, washed well, sliced into half moons (for a photo tutorial, see how to clean leeks) or a medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste (see TIPS)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups liquid (vegetable stock such as No-Big-Deal Vegetable Stock for the Slow Cooker or another stock or water)
• Roasted Tomatoes
• Tomato Liquid saved when draining the tomatoes before roasting

ROAST THE TOMATOES Set the oven to 475F/250C. Drain the tomatoes in a colander, reserving the juice. Arrange the tomatoes in single layer on a rimmed baking sheet (see TIPS) or a roasting pan. Sprinkle the tomatoes with brown sugar and roast for 20 minutes plus whatever preheating time remains.

START THE SOUP ON THE STOVE While the tomatoes roast, melt the butter on medium heat in a large pot or Dutch oven, make sure it's oven-proof if finishing the soup in the oven. Add the leeks and sauté until golden, stirring often. Stir in the tomato paste, nutmeg and flour; cook for a minute to cook off the floury taste, stirring all the while. Slowly add the liquid a tablespoon at a time at first, stirring to incorporate each addition before adding more. Stir in the Roasted Tomatoes and the Tomato Liquid you put aside. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Decide how to finish the soup.

FINISH ON THE STOVE Cover and let barely simmer for 3 hours.

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FINISH IN THE OVEN Reduce the oven temperature to 350F/180C. Cover and cook for 3 hours. This is my favorite method, the soup cooks itself!

~ or ~

FINISH IN A CROCKPOT Transfer to a slow cooker. Cover and cook on High for 3 hours. Do watch the temperature, slow cookers are so finicky for temperature control. The soup should barely simmer but you really don't want it to boil hard and risk burning.

ALANNA's TIPS For tomatoes, I really do prefer diced canned tomatoes, It's picky, I know, but I just like the rustic shape of the tomatoes in the soup a bit better. That said, I've made it with whole tomatoes (specifically, the canned whole tomatoes from Trader Joe's) and used a potato masher to smash / break down the tomatoes before roasting. All worked fine! Leeks? Their flavor is subtle and lovely but at least in my kitchen, not something I keep on hand. So. Trader Joe's frozen leeks do work quite well, they just need to be chopped up a bit. (Dang, I see that Trader Joe's has discontinued its frozen leeks. What a shame.) But really, if you don't have leeks, just use a medium-size onion and dice it up. No one'll complain. What cook doesn’t lose leftover tomato paste in the back of the fridge where it eventually turns into a furry science experiment? Instead, watch for tomato paste in toothpaste-like tubes. Just squeeze out what you need, refrigerate the tube: no waste! Another way to save leftover paste? Freeze it in small spoonfuls. Here's How to Freeze Tomato Paste! If your baking sheets are, like mine (affiliate link) made with aluminum, you'll definitely want to line the pan very well with parchment or foil or to look for another roasting pan. That's because the acidity in the tomatoes will discolor the baking sheet: it won't harm its usefulness, just its appearance. So will running one through the dishwasher, by the way! In summer, when fresh tomatoes are bountiful, you'll want to try Summer's Tomato Soup. It's an entirely different soup that only really works with wonderful very ripe summer tomatoes.

FOR MORE INFO If you "skipped straight to the recipe," please scroll back to the top of this page for ingredient information, ingredient substitutions, tips and more. If you print this recipe, you'll want to check the recipe online for even more tips and extra information about ingredient substitutions, best results and more. See https://www.kitchenparade.com/2009/01/winter-tomato-soup.php .

So Many Variations!
CREAM of TOMATO SOUP Winter Tomato Soup is a hearty and intensely tomato-flavored soup. For something more delicate, stir in some milk or cream.
CREAMY TOMATO-ORANGE SOUP For a fruity variation, stir in a half cup of cream and a cup of orange juice. Alternatively, stir in some cream and then, for every cup of the soup, stir in 2 tablespoons of frozen orange juice concentrate. Every so often, I buy a can of frozen orange juice and move it to a glass jar to leave frozen in the freezer, ready to dole out intense orange flavor a spoonful at a time.
CREAMY TOMATO-COCONUT SOUP For Thai-style flavor, stir in a can of coconut milk then, optionally, to add a bit of curry heat, mix a dab of Thai red or green curry paste into some of the liquid before adding.
PASTA SAUCE? Yes! The soup is thick enough and rich enough to substitute for pasta sauce. One night, I seared a few pieces of sirloin, then stirred in leftover Winter Tomato Soup and some cooked pasta, then topped it all with grated romano. So good!

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Cup: 116 Calories; 4g Tot Fat; 3g Sat Fat; 10mg Cholesterol; 416mg Sodium; 19g Carb; 3g Fiber; 10g Sugar; 3g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 2 & PointsPlus 3 & SmartPoints 5 & Freestyle 3 & myWW green 3 & blue 3 & purple 3 (but heads up, 2 cups of Winter Tomato Soup is only 5 points) & future WW points

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If you like Kitchen Parade's recipes, you'll love A Veggie Venture, my food blog about vegetables with more from-scratch recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, home to the famous Alphabet of Vegetables and vegetables in every course, seasonal to staples, savory to sweet, salads to sides, soups to supper, simple to special.

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More Winter-Friendly Vegetable Soups

more
~ Soup Recipes ~

• THE RECIPE Vichyssoise A simple leek & potato soup. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Potato Soup Lightened with cauliflower.

• THE RECIPE Spinach Soup with Perfect Hard-Cooked Eggs A soup flushed with spring. (PIN This)
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Shop Your Pantry First

(helping home cooks save money on groceries)

~ recipes using tomatoes ~
~ recipes using leeks ~
~ recipes using orange juice concentrate (scroll down a bit) ~

~ All Recipes, By Ingredient ~
~ How to Save Money on Groceries ~

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, for more scratch cooking recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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