A creamy parmesan basil tomato soup that practically cooks itself for you! Just add theingredients into the slow cooker and watch thedelicious smells of tomatoes and herbs waft through your whole house!
Top of the morning to ya!
Is it cold or chilly where you live? This soup is begging to be dinner tonight.
I feel like after the Thanksgiving holiday I just cannot grab a hold of time. Anyone else with me on that? So much on my plate at the moment and it becomes a little hard to balance everything. I’m sure a lot of you can relate, this time of the year is definitely stressful! I knowI’ve got several projects all going on at once– exciting things for sure. And I cannot wait to share with you here in the next couple of weeks! Totop it all off, it’sbeen nothing but sad, dreary weather here in Houston lately.
You know what that means right? Dinnerin the slow cooker and comfort food it is!
This past week, Anees and I celebrated our one year houseaversary.
WHAT. Yes, a whole year just snuckby and amidst celebrating, the reality of a half decorated house slowly kicked in. Then panic stuck. And frantic web searches for a chandelier followed. And before I knew it, I found myself in the thick of decoratingwithout any actual time to do it in. There I went, spreading myself even thinner.
But with a to-do list that was just piling up without me having a chance to cross much off, I knew something had to give. Cooking is one of my favorite things to do but I really just don’t enjoy it when I’m rushed. And dishes, ouf! Yuck.
So a slow cooker tomato soup was exactly what my lunches and dinners needed. A little grilled cheese action on the side and voila! A warm and comforting meal that would bring all the chaos around me to a crashing halt, if only for a few minutes. It was my favorite comfort food growing up. And albeit, I wasn’t as picky back then. Campbell’s was a winner and grilled cheese was all about that cheddar.
The creamy, parmesan and basil tomato soup is totally worth it. Every bite of it.
Anees and I love warm soup on Thursday evenings when he comes back into town after being away for work for a few days. It’s starting to become somewhat of a weekly routine. He gets home around 9:30 or so and with a late dinner time like that, we like to keep things light. Tomato soup with a sammy on the side iscozy, warm and kinda perfect for a late night meal.
I have another roasted tomato basil soup recipe on the blog here and everyone that has made it isforever a fan. It does require a bit of time though as you slow roast the tomatoes, onions, garlic, and carrots in the oven. This clearly isn’t an option if you’re looking for a easier soup recipe.
So i’ve reworked my favorite tomato soup recipe to bring you this slow cooker version that requires very little hands on time but provides you the same warm, hearty flavor.
It all starts with a little butter, a cup of chopped onions, and 2 large diced carrots. I promise, this is the only part where you actually have to do any “cooking”. Melt the butter in a skillet and just sauté the onions until they are soft, add the carrots and let them go for another 1-2 minutes. Dump this mixture into the slow cooker. You’ll also need good quality tomatoes, roasted garlic cloves, dried basil, Italian seasoning, vegetable or chicken broth, a parmesan rind, bay leaf,a little sugar, balsamic vinegar, basil pesto, and some sun-dried tomatoes into the slow cooker. Basil pesto has become a staple ingredient for my homemade tomato basil soups.
Since we aren’t stopping to roast our own tomatoes, i’m using sun-dried tomatoes to really help boost that tomato flavor. When the soup is done, I like to use an immersion blender to just blend the soup to my desired consistency. But before I blend it, I add in a whole handful of fresh basil leaves. The flavor of the fresh basil blended into the soup is so much better. Trust me on this. With every bite you can smell that glorious, bright basil. And half of what you taste is the smell right?
So let the slow cooker make you tomato soup for dinner tonight and just catch up on a few things from your list. And whatever you do, don’t skip the grilled cheese sandwich.
This soupwas made for it.
Yield: 8-10 large servings
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time6 hours 10 minutes
Total Time6 hours 15 minutes
A creamy parmesan basil tomato soup that practically cooks itself for you! Just add the ingredients into the slow cooker and watch the delicious smells of tomatoes and herbs waft through your whole house!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 2 diced carrots
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 2 (28 ounce) cans san marzano tomatoes
- ¼ cup EACH roasted garlic cloves AND sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon italian seasoning
- 4 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)
- 1 parmesan rind (optional)
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 tablespoons basil pesto
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
- 1-2 cups half and half
- parmesan cheese + grilled cheese sandwich, to serve
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they start to turn translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add the carrots and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes, stir them around so they cook evenly.
- Transfer the cooked veggies into a 6 quart slow cooker or larger. Add the tomato sauce, tomatoes, roasted garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, sugar, dried basil, italian seasoning, broth, parmesan rind, bay leaf, basil pesto, and balsamic vinegar. Cover and cook on the low setting for 6-8 hours for the best flavor or 3-4 on the high setting for a quicker meal.
- Fish out the bay leaf and parmesan rind. Add the basil leaves to the slow cooker, stir to combine and using an immersion blender, blend the soup till smooth or to your desired consistency. If you don't have a stick blender, transfer the soup in batches into a blender and blend. Stir in 1 cup of half and half and taste. If desired add more half and half to preference. We like it with 1 cup but you can certainly add more to your preference.
- Top bowls with parmesan cheese and serve with grilled cheese or cheese croutons.
For a dairy-free alternative try:
secret ingredient tomato basil soup
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