Creamy Tomato Bisque (Printable)
A rich, creamy tomato bisque infused with herbs for a warm, comforting experience.
# What You'll Need:
→ Vegetables
01 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
02 - 1 medium yellow onion, diced
03 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
04 - 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
05 - 1 celery stalk, chopped
06 - 28 ounces chopped ripe tomatoes (or one 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, drained)
→ Liquids & Dairy
07 - 2 cups vegetable broth
08 - 1/2 cup heavy cream
09 - 1 tablespoon tomato paste
→ Seasonings
10 - 1 teaspoon sugar
11 - 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
12 - 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
13 - 1 bay leaf
14 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
→ Garnish (optional)
15 - Fresh basil leaves
16 - Additional cream for drizzling
17 - Croutons
# Directions:
01 - Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, carrot, and celery. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes until the vegetables are softened and aromatic.
02 - Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute to deepen the flavor.
03 - Add chopped tomatoes, vegetable broth, sugar, thyme, basil, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
04 - Remove the bay leaf. Blend the soup until smooth using an immersion blender or a stand blender in batches.
05 - Return the soup to low heat. Stir in heavy cream, season with salt and pepper, and warm gently without boiling.
06 - Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with fresh basil, a drizzle of cream, and croutons as desired.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- Ready in 40 minutes from stove to spoon, no fussing required.
- The cream makes it feel restaurant-fancy even though it's genuinely simple to pull together.
- It tastes like it simmered for hours, but your secret is efficiency and good tomatoes.
02 -
- Don't skip draining canned tomatoes—the extra liquid waters down all your work and you'll taste the difference.
- Immersion blenders make this recipe feel less like cooking and more like magic, but if you're using a stand blender, let the hot soup cool for a few minutes and blend in careful batches to avoid hot liquid disasters.
- The cream goes in last and on low heat because high heat can make it break and separate, leaving you with a broken emulsion instead of that silky finish.
03 -
- Buy the best tomatoes or canned tomatoes you can find—this soup lives or dies by tomato quality, and it's the only real ingredient investment it asks for.
- If your soup tastes too acidic, add a pinch more sugar rather than more salt; if it tastes thin and watery, let it simmer a few extra minutes to concentrate the flavors naturally.