What kind of tomatoes should I use?

Fresh tomatoes may be perfect on a vegan BLT. But for a quick & easy soup, I recommend using canned tomatoes for this recipe.

Scoring, boiling, and blanching tomatoes to remove their skins before making soup is really fussy.

And who wants to be inside by a hot stove when you could have tomato soup in hand from start to finish in about thirty minutes?

I recommend using peeled whole tomatoes for this recipe.

While I love chopped fire-roasted tomatoes for things like vegan three bean chili, it can give too much of a burnt taste for a subtly sweet soup. So I prefer to opt for whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes.

Taste your canned tomatoes before using and make sure they don’t have a tinny taste, because if they do, that will stand out in a tomato soup where it’s all about the tomato flavor.

Even in canned tomatoes, tomato sweetness varies. So I’ve given a range of amounts of agave syrup for the soup.

If your tomatoes are very sweet, you may not need any at all. And if they are less sweet, feel free to add up to a couple teaspoons full.

That little bit of added sweetness also balances the acidity of the tomatoes.

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you will need to make this recipe.

Oil: Any neutral-flavored cooking oil can be used to sauté onions and garlic. Avocado oil is my go-to.

Onion: Yellow onion is my preference, but any color will work.

Garlic: Freshly minced garlic has the best, most robust flavor. But it can be replaced with ⅛ teaspoon of garlic powder. If using powdered garlic, add it at the same time as the other seasonings.

Canned whole peeled tomatoes: You’ll need the juices as well as the tomatoes. San Marzano is my favorite.

Bouillon: Use a vegetable bouillon cube or 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon no chicken base.

Water + bouillon can be replaced with ½ cup of vegetable broth.

Seasonings: Dried oregano, dried basil, salt, and pepper.

Nutritional yeast flakes: This inactive yeast adds cheesiness and umami. Look for it in natural grocery stores or Trader Joe’s.

You can read more about it in this post, “What is nutritional yeast?“

Tomato paste: This adds a punch of tomato flavor. You can find it in jars or tubes in the center aisles of the grocery store.

Sun-dried tomatoes: This adds a wonderful depth of flavor. Look for the kind packed in oil.

Non-dairy milk: You can use any kind of non-dairy milk you enjoy, like cashew milk, almond milk, or soy milk.

Agave syrup: This optional ingredient adds a little sweetness, and offsets the acidity of canned tomatoes.

Step by step instructions

Here’s how to make this recipe at a glance. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.

Start by sautéing onions & garlic in a soup pot until fragrant.

Then add the following:

28-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes with juices
Water
Bouillon
Dried oregano
Dried basil
Salt
Black pepper
Nutritional yeast flakes
Tomato paste
Sun-dried tomatoes

Cook for 8 to 10 minutes on a medium heat.

Then blend with an immersion blender until smooth.

(Or carefully transfer to a standard blender, blend, and return to the soup pot.)

Stir in non-dairy milk, as well as agave syrup if additional sweetness is needed.

Cook for 5 to 10 minutes more.

Then ladle the soup into bowls. And drizzle with sun-dried tomato oil.

Serve with vegan grilled cheese sandwiches. Or finish the soup with croutons for crunch.

More family-friendly soups you’ll love

Hands holding grilled cheese sandwich over bowl of soup.

For even more family-friendly soups, check out these delicious options.

Vegan tortilla soup with black beans
Creamy gnocchi soup with sausage & kale
Sweet potato peanut stew with chickpeas
Vegan split pea soup

Bowl of vegan tomato soup with fresh basil by sandwich.

📖 Recipe

Content updated March 28, 2023. Originally posted May 14, 2018.

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