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This 3 ingredient tomato soup with canned tomatoes is total comfort food! It's super creamy, savory, and packed with flavor. With simple ingredients and minimal effort, this is the easiest tomato soup that your whole family will love!
Homemade soup is like a warm hug! I love making soup year round because it's so easy, can be customized in a variety of ways, and is typically a one pot meal.
If you're looking for the fastest way to make a delicious tomato soup, then this easy 3 ingredient tomato soup recipe is for you! Using canned tomatoes, this recipe is a cinch to make and is ready with minimal prep time.
This easy three ingredient tomato soup recipe is made with pantry staples that most people will already have on hand. The ingredients are inexpensive and easy to find, which makes this recipe perfect for days when you're short on time but still want a satisfying meal.
I love using canned tomatoes in recipes, because not only do they cut down on prep time, but I find them to be even more flavorful than fresh tomatoes. And thanks to this star ingredient, you'll end up with a velvety, flavor packed soup that will make you and your family keep coming back for more!
This tomato soup with diced tomatoes is a classic comfort food that can be enjoyed year-round (even when it's not soup season), and is great for an easy lunch or simple dinner. Enjoy this homemade quick tomato soup with our grilled cheese sandwich with pickles or this sourdough grilled cheese!
🍅 Are Canned Tomatoes Better For Soup?
Yes! There are a few reasons why canned tomatoes are better for soup than fresh tomatoes:
- Consistency And Flavor: Canned tomatoes are processed and canned at their peak ripeness, ensuring consistent quality and flavor. This means that you can guarantee great tomato flavor year round, even when it's not tomato season.
- Convenience And Prep: Canned tomatoes are a great way to cut down on prep time! No peeling or chopping or seeding - just open the can and dump them in!
- Versatile: Canned tomatoes come in all kinds of varieties - whole, crushed, diced, pureed, or even fire roasted. So you can choose what works for your recipe. For this tomato soup with 3 ingredients, I recommend using either diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes.
Now, if you have access to high-quality, ripe tomatoes, and don't need to cut down on prep time, you can certainly use them in this recipe. But I recommend canned tomatoes because they are a convenient, reliable, flavorful option for making delicious tomato any time of year!
👩🏽🍳 Why This Recipe Works
- Super easy recipe, made with simple ingredients
- Great for busy weeknights
- Perfect comfort food
- Great addition to a sandwich for a heartier meal
- Can be frozen, works for meal prep
- Vegan and gluten free
- Ready in about 30 minutes
- Best tomato soup recipe ever!
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🥘 Ingredients
This easy tomato soup recipe needs only 3 ingredients (other than olive oil, salt and pepper - which you likely already have in your pantry!) You can find the full instructions for how to make easy homemade tomato soup from canned tomatoes in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Diced Onion: You could use a white or yellow onion for this recipe. Yellow will give you a more sweet flavor, while white will have a bit more of a pungent flavor.
- Canned Diced Tomatoes: An unseasoned can of tomatoes is what this quick tomato soup recipe with canned tomatoes calls for, but you can opt for additional seasonings if you prefer.
- Vegetable Stock: Veggie stock is the base of this soup. You could also use vegan chicken broth or water.
- Olive Oil, Kosher Salt & Black Pepper: Extra-virgin olive oil is used for sautéing the onions in this tomato soup recipe with 3 ingredients. This oil adds to the overall flavor of the soup and helps to caramelize the onions, but if you are oil-free you can use water or veggie broth for sautéing. Vegan butter would also work here. Salt & pepper are all you need to build flavor in this recipe. Technically you could leave them out completely and let people add them to their own servings as needed.
🔪 How To Make Tomato Soup With Canned Tomatoes
This tomato soup canned tomatoes recipe comes together quickly and easily and still has a deep tomato flavor. Here's how you make it:
Saute Onions: Heat oil in a large saucepan, pot, or dutch oven, and sauté the diced onion for 3-4 minutes or until softened and slightly golden brown.
Add Wet Ingredients: Add the canned diced tomatoes and vegetable broth to the sauteed onions, and mix to combine.
Cook: Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cover with a lid. Cook, covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent this canned tomato soup from burning.
Cool: Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a countertop blender to blend until smooth. Alternatively, use an immersion blender to blend until smooth, adjust thickness by adding more broth if needed.
Season & Serve: Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve this vegan tomato soup with canned tomatoes hot with some crusty fresh bread or sandwich, a sprinkle of dried red pepper flakes or a drizzle of cream or coconut cream.
💭 Expert Tips
- Add a little sugar to this simple tomato soup to reduce the acidity of the tomatoes. Sometimes when you're making a homemade tomato soup with canned tomatoes, it may be a little too acidic. A teaspoon of sugar or a pinch of baking powder will help reduce the acidity.
- Adjust seasonings to taste. Don't skip the salt and pepper in this recipe! They're essential for building flavor. Once you add them in, feel free to simmer the soup for an additional 10 minutes so the seasonings cook for a little while with the soup.
- Adjust the thickness of the soup by adding water after blending until desired thickness is achieved.
📖 Variations
- How To Make Tomato Soup With Fresh Tomatoes: You can use fresh tomatoes instead of canned tomatoes in this recipe. Use fresh plum or roma tomatoes in this 3-ingredient soup for the best flavor. You'll need about 4 cups of diced fresh tomatoes for this recipe. You can leave the skins on if you have a powerful blender that will completely break down the skins, otherwise I recommend peeling your tomatoes.
- Cream of Tomato Soup With Canned Tomatoes: If you prefer super creamy soups or a tomato bisque type consistency, add vegan heavy cream, coconut cream, unsweetened oat milk or full fat coconut milk, regular whole milk, or regular heavy cream and enjoy the best creamy tomato soup recipe with the least effort! Make sure to add the cream in once the soup has been blended and cooled slightly, so that your cream doesn't curdle.
- Add Protein: Feel free to add in white beans or great northern beans instead of cream for a creamy soup with added protein and no cream!
- Spicy Tomato Soup: Add some heat to this base recipe! Sriracha, hot sauce, crushed red pepper, or even diced green chiles or salsa would taste great in this soup.
- Roasted Tomato Soup: Instead of using canned tomatoes, try using roasted tomatoes! First roast your tomatoes in the oven, then follow the rest of the steps in this recipe.
- Tomato And Vegetable Soup: This soup is a great base for getting rid of any extra veggies you have in the fridge! Make this a veggie packed soup by adding in carrots, celery, red bell pepper, butternut squash, baby spinach or any other leafy greens. You can add them in as a small dice, or just blend them into the soup entirely with the tomatoes.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
This easy homemade tomato soup recipe is best served hot, topped with fresh basil paired with your favorite sandwiches or side dishes. Here are some of our favorite ways to serve this soup:
- With Mix-Ins: Try this soup with a drizzle of coconut cream or sour cream on top, or for a different flavor profile try a drizzle of olive oil, basil oil, chili oil, or basil pesto. You can also make it with other fresh herbs or spices blended in like rosemary, thyme, sage, bay leaf, garlic cloves, or oregano. Add some crushed red pepper or hot sauce for more spice, or cumin for some warm heat. You can also sprinkle some dried Italian seasoning on top as a garnish!
- Grilled Cheese Sandwiches: Tomato soup and grilled cheese is a classic pairing! Try it with our garlic bread grilled cheese or this goat cheese grilled cheese for a fun twist!
- Crusty Bread Or Crunchy Toppings: Our vegan garlic bread, bruschetta burrata, biscuits without baking powder, or vegan bruschetta are the perfect accompaniment to hot soup. For a bit of crunch, feel free to add croutons, pumpkin seeds, toasted nuts, or even pretzels or crackers as a topping!
- Veggie Sides: A refreshing salad or roasted veggies pair well with this soup. Try it with this keto Greek salad, this tomato avocado cucumber salad, or this roasted cauliflower salad!
🫙 Storage And Freezing Directions
In The Fridge: Let the soup cool completely. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
To Freeze: Transfer the cooled soup to an airtight freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until defrosted and warmed through.
❓Recipe FAQs
What type of canned tomatoes are best for soup?
Canned diced tomatoes, whole tomatoes or crushed tomatoes all work well in soup. Which one you choose depends on your preference and the desired texture of your soup. If you enjoy a chunkier soup, go for whole peeled or diced tomatoes. For a smoother soup, use crushed tomatoes. In terms of types of tomatoes, I love San Marzano because they are rich in flavor.
Note: I don't recommend tomato puree as it tends to be more watery, or stewed tomatoes (as they tend to be sweeter and may be mixed with other spices), or tomato sauce as it has no texture.
DO YOU DRAIN CANNED TOMATOES FOR SOUP?
No, don't drain canned tomatoes for this soup! You should use both the tomatoes and the liquid in this 3-ingredient tomato soup with canned tomatoes. However, in soups that require a thicker texture and call for diced tomatoes, you may want to drain the liquid for those recipes.
WHAT CAN I ADD TO TOMATO SOUP FOR FLAVOR?
Add spices like garlic and oregano for extra flavor for a delicious soup! Make it a tomato basil soup recipe with canned tomatoes just by adding that fresh basil or buying canned diced tomatoes that are already seasoned with basil.
CAN YOU MAKE TOMATO SOUP IN ADVANCE?
Yes, making this healthy tomato soup using canned tomatoes in advance actually gives the ingredients even more time to meld and creates an even more flavorful soup! This classic recipe is great for meal prep and will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days and in the freezer for up to 2 months, making it a perfect make ahead meal.