San Marzano Tomato Soup
San Marzano tomato soup is a classic tomato soup recipe prepared with mostly pantry ingredients. It’s so simple yet so flavorful.
Why You’ll Love Making Tomato Soup Using Canned Tomatoes
Looking for a recipe that will change your cooking game forever? Try our tomato soup recipe. It was passed down from our Italian neighbor years ago and we’ve been making it ever since. It’s by far better than any other variety of tomato soup as it’s sweeter and less acidic, comes together with canned tomatoes and cooks in a single pot!
Not to mention, it’s ready in just over 30 minutes, it’s smooth, creamy, and perfect for pairing with a grilled cheese sandwich. Even better, leftovers store and reheat well so you can cook once and enjoy nutritious, flavorful meals throughout the week.
Keep this recipe in your back pocket for rainy days, cold weather, or when you need a simple meal the whole family will agree on.
San Marzano Tomato Soup
Tomato soup is a classic and this one could not be any simpler to make with canned San Marzano tomatoes, sautéing some aromatic vegetables, and blending it all together.
Serve it with freshly made Sourdough Croutons for some crunch and a touch of richness. Best of all, you can enjoy a bowl of this soup in just 30 minutes!
Why Use San Marzano Tomatoes?
San Marzano tomato is a type of plum tomato, and it’s thinner and more pointed. The flesh is much thicker with fewer seeds, and the taste is stronger, sweeter, and less acidic.
Most major grocery stores will have San Marzano tomatoes. I found mine at my local Costco.
Substitute for San Marzano tomatoes? Whole peeled canned tomatoes can be used in their place. The texture will be the same but the taste will be slightly different.
Tomato Soup Ingredients
You’ll need the following ingredients for this tomato soup:
- butter
- yellow onion
- garlic
- dried thyme
- red chili flakes
- canned San Marzano tomatoes
- chicken or vegetable broth
- sugar
- dried bay leaves
- salt and black pepper
You’ll also need an immersion blender or a high-speed blender for pureeing the soup.
How to Make Homemade Tomato Soup with Canned Tomatoes
In a dutch oven or a soup pot, heat butter over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft. Stir in garlic, thyme, and chili flakes, and cook until fragrant.
Add tomatoes, broth, sugar, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
Discard bay leaves. Remove the soup from the heat and using an immersion blender, blend the soup into a smooth consistency.
San Marzano Tomato Soup Substitutions and Variations
Feel free to mix and match different ingredients to make this recipe your own:
- San Marzano Tomatoes: If you can’t find San Marzano tomatoes, canned plum or Roma tomatoes will also work.
- Sugar: Substitute the sugar with honey, or omit it completely if you don’t mind a slightly acidic taste.
- Herbs: Add to the thyme with fresh herbs such as fresh basil or Italian parsley.
- Parmesan: Add a slightly cheesy taste by stirring parmesan cheese into the soup and letting it simmer with a parmesan rind.
- Heavy Cream: Stir in a tablespoon or so of heavy cream for extra richness and a thicker consistency. Half and half or full-fat canned coconut milk will also work.
Tips For making This Tomato Soup Recipe With Canned Tomatoes
- Use a nonreactive soup pot, such as stainless steel, ceramic, or metal with an enamel coating for cooking the soup since it’s acidic.
- For a smoother consistency, use a high–speed blender instead of an immersion blender for blending the soup.
- Do not cover the soup when simmering or it will be runny.
- Add more flavor to the soup by stirring in fresh basil, half and half, or freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- Use best-quality canned tomatoes, such as San Marzano.
- For less heat, use 1/8 teaspoon of chili flakes.
What to Serve With Tomato Soup from Canned Tomatoes
Serve tomato soup with these easy side dishes:
Storing leftover Tomato Soup With Canned Tomatoes
Leftover tomato soup will last in the refrigerator for 3-4 days when stored in an airtight container or freezer for up to 3 months.
Reheating Tomato Soup
Reheat leftover soup in a pot covered with a lid over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Or, warm individual portions in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds or so until heated through.
Variations of Tomato Soup
Love tomato soup? Try these other variations of tomato soup:
Tomato Soup Using Canned Tomatoes
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: American
Description
Classic tomato soup with San Marzano tomatoes is going to become your go-to recipe! It’s so simple yet so flavorful.
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp. butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme or 2 tsp. fresh thyme
- 1/4 tsp. red chili flakes
- 1 (28 oz.) can whole San Marzano tomatoes in their juice
- 3 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
- Black pepper, to taste
To Serve
Instructions
- In a 4-quart nonreactive dutch oven or soup pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in garlic, thyme, and chili flakes. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds while stirring constantly.
- Add tomatoes, including their juice, broth, sugar, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Bring to simmer. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. The soup will slightly reduce.
- Discard the bay leaves. Remove soup from heat. Blend the soup with an immersion blender or with a high-speed blender into a smooth consistency.
Notes
- Tomatoes: Use best quality tomatoes, such as San Marzano. If you can’t find San Marzano tomatoes, any other canned whole peeled tomatoes will work. The taste will be slightly different but the texture the same.
- Spiciness: This soup has a slight bite to it. For less spiciness, use 1/8 teaspoon of chili flakes.
- For More Flavor: For more flavor, serve the soup with fresh basil, cream, or grated Parmesan cheese.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 117
- Sugar: 4.8 g
- Sodium: 982.7 mg
- Fat: 9.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 7.8 g
- Protein: 2.2 g
- Cholesterol: 26.6 mg
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Hi! I'm Katya -- a former corporate paralegal turned full-time recipe developer and blogger behind Little Broken. Here you'll find family-friendly and seasonal recipes made from real ingredients.
Awesome Tomato soup. I let the onion get some decent color a bit longer and added shaved Parmesan and a touch of cream. I love how simple and delicious this was.
Delicious and easy! Made exactly as described using chicken broth. Had everything on hand (thanks to always stock piling San Marzanos). Nice level of kick. Paired perfectly with grilled cheese made on yesterday’s homemade sourdough bread.
Thanks!!
I doubled the recipe added basil and just used a tiny splash of cream still used chicken broth …. It’s great! I served with rustic Italian bread. I’d have this every day! Added parsley on top Bedford see by ing very pretty dish
Holy delicious!
Great, easy recipe! Nice level of spiciness, too. I replaced 1/2 cup of broth with cream, served with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
This was delicious! I doubled the recipe and substituted 1 1/2 cups heavy cream for chicken broth. Exactly what we were looking for now that Fall has arrived. Thank you!
Thank you! I’m so glad to hear that.
This is best recipe! All the picky eaters and even the family members who make their own tomato soup loved it.
Wow! Thanks so much for the feedback.
finally a really good recipe for tomato soup. easy to prepare, and it was delicious. thanks so much.????
Stumbled upon this lovely blog in my search for a flourless tomato soup. I made this recipe and it’s special flavours has made it a favourite with my family. It was so simple to prepare. Thank you so much Katy’s, I’m going to subscribe to the newsletter and follow your boards on Pinterest
Thank you Fiona! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe.
Thanks for the classic tomato soup.