Name: Pesto Tomato Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon unsalted butter; 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced; 1 medium carrot, finely diced; 3 medium cloves garlic, minced; 1 tablespoon tomato paste; 2 cans (28 oz each) whole peeled tomatoes, undrained; 2 cups chicken broth; 4 teaspoons granulated sugar; 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream; 1/3 cup basil pesto; Salt and pepper to taste; Fresh basil, grated Parmesan cheese, and croutons for topping

Swirled with fresh basil pesto, this creamy pesto tomato soup is made completely from scratch and the ultimate grilled cheese sidekick!

We’re giving a comfort food classic a little revamp today! *pesto has entered the chat*.

Turns out that swirling a little fresh basil pesto into homemade tomato soup is the best thing you could ever do and kicks all the flavors up to 10, who would’ve thought??

Anyways, we’re done thinking now. It’s time to go live in a pot of this tomato soup forever.

We’re keeping things so simple today because homemade tomato soup is SO easy to make at home and you won’t need more than 30 minutes and a handful of basic pantry ingredients to make a pot of this goodness!

Don’t even get me started on how well this tomato soup pairs with a good grilled cheese. Absolutely ungodly good.

This Tomato Soup features…

A rich and creamy texture
An incredible herby flavor from basil pesto
Ready in minutes and freezes great

Making the Tomato Soup

(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)

Ingredients You Will Need

Yellow onion
Carrot
Garlic
Tomato paste
Whole peeled tomatoes
Chicken broth
Granulated sugar
Heavy whipping cream
Basil pesto

Choosing Your Tomatoes

I recommend using 2 (28 oz each) cans of whole peeled tomatoes for this soup. These tomatoes break down wonderfully into a creamy soup and have a strong tomato flavor.

Can I use fresh tomatoes? Yes, you can but you may need to adjust the amount of chicken broth you use to get a creamy texture. You will need about 3.5 lbs fresh tomatoes and I would recommend roasting tomatoes to soften and remove the skins/excessive seeds before adding to soup.

Tips for Perfect Tomato Soup

Saute onion and carrot – this builds a flavor base for the soup.
Simmer soup 10-15 minutes – this simmer time will break down and soften the tomatoes and vegetables.
Blend soup – you can use a regular blender or an immersion blender for this step.
Add sugar to soup – 4 teaspoons sugar will help balance the acidic tomato flavors.
Add heavy cream and pesto at end of cooking – adding these ingredients at the end will keep the soup from breaking and keep the herby flavors fresh.

Recipe Variations

Try these ideas for a different twist on this soup.

Make it dairy-free – replace the heavy cream with full-fat coconut milk.
Make it vegetarian – replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth.
Add gnocchi or pasta – cook 8 oz pasta or 1 lb gnocchi according to package instructions and add to soup after simmering.
Spice it up – add your favorite hot sauce or red pepper flakes to taste for a spicy soup.

Storing and Freezing Soup

This soup stores well in refrigerator up to 6 days. You can reheat individual servings 2-3 minutes in the microwave or heat larger quantities in a pot on the stovetop until soup registers 165F.

To freeze soup, allow to cool completely then transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze up to 2 months. Allow soup to thaw in refrigerator, then reheat on stovetop or in microwave.

This soup just ticks all the comfort food boxes. It’s so perfectly creamy and the basil pesto, wow, it adds the most incredible pop of herby flavor that blends so well with the rich tomatoes.

Meet your grilled cheese’s new BFF!

Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.

Watch this soup made step-by-step on Google web stories.

More cozy soups to cook up next!

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