Easy creamy Tomato Bisque is the perfect comfort food on a chilly day. A savory fusion of tomatoes and aromatic vegetables with the slightest whisper of crushed red pepper heat, blended until smooth and finished with cream and a scatter of crispy croutons. So quick and easy to prepare! You'll be enjoying a bowl in less than 30 minutes.
You might be surprised to see water instead of broth in this recipe, but I promise it makes a better soup. So many delicious soups are made with a broth or stock base (like French Onion Soup), but in this soup, as with Caldo Verde and Albondigas Soup, water in the right quantity allows flavors to shine where broth might compete.
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Ingredients You Need to Make Tomato Bisque
For the Soup
- Butter: salted butter or unsalted (whatever you have on hand)
- Olive oil: ideally extra-virgin olive oil
- Onion: yellow onion, white onion or sweet onion
- Carrot: peeled or unpeeled, your choice
- Celery: use an inner celery rib for the best flavor and texture
- Garlic: fresh cloves that are firm with smooth skin
- Canned Whole Tomatoes: be sure to use the juice as well
- Dried Basil: or twice the amount of fresh basil if you have it on hand
- Heavy Cream: a little goes a long way to give this bisque its rich and silky flavor
- Crushed Red Pepper: just a pinch for a very gentle heat
For the Croutons
- Bread: sourdough or other crusty loaf with the crust removed
- Olive oil: ideally extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher Salt
What goes well with tomato bisque?
Though it's hearty enough to be a meal on its own, this Tomato Bisque soup pairs well with almost any main dish (we often serve it with my favorite Turkey Meatloaf). At lunch, it's delicious with a classic Jambon-Beurre sandwich, a grilled cheese sandwich or, even better, Welsh Rarebit or Savory Scones. Or skip the toasted croutons replacing them with grilled cheese 'croutons' instead, just a grilled cheese sandwich cut into bite size pieces.
FAQ
You may think of a seafood stock when you hear the word 'bisque' and though that is the heritage of the term, modern use often refers to a blended soup that includes cream, often red pepper, squash, mushroom and, of course, tomato!
Though the terms are often used interchangeably (along with Cream of Tomato Soup), bisque is typically creamier and has a splash (or more) of added cream.
More Vegetarian Soups to Try
How to Make Tomato Bisque
In a large saucepan, cook onion, carrot, celery and garlic in butter and olive oil until tender. Add tomatoes, water and spices. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
Remove soup from heat and stir in cream; blend with an immersion blender or in batches in a traditional blender (using a towel to cover the pitcher instead of the lid). Return soup to pan and season to taste with salt and pepper, reheat to simmer if needed.
Meanwhile make the croutons: Preheat oven to 400˚F. Toss fresh bread cubes with olive oil and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Season to taste with kosher salt. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside. Serve soup hot topped with croutons.
Recipe Video
Tomato Bisque
Ingredients
Soup
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced small
- 1 large carrot diced small and peeled if desired
- 1 large rib celery diced small
- 2 cloves garlic smashed and peeled
- 28 ounce can whole tomatoes with juice
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- pinch crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Croutons
- 5 ounces sourdough bread crust removed and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until sizzling. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic; cook and stir until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, water, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and basil. Stir and bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
- To finish the soup, remove from heat and stir in cream; blend in the pan with an immersion blender or blend in batches in a traditional blender. (Important note: Blending hot liquids in a traditional blender will blow the lid off which will make a mess and could burn you. Instead, use a towel to cover the top of of the pitcher while blending instead of the lid. )
- Return blended soup to pan and season to taste with salt and pepper; reheat to simmer if needed.
- Meanwhile make the croutons: Preheat oven to 400˚F. Add bread cubes to a medium bowl and drizzle with olive oil; toss to coat. Spread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and season to taste with kosher salt. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until golden and crisp. Remove from oven and set aside.
- Serve soup hot topped with croutons.
Going to try tonight with a truffle finishing butter. 🙂
Sounds like a nice touch, Ginny! I hope you'll love it.
Wonderful! Wonderfully easy, wonderfully tasty!
Thank you
My pleasure, GC! So glad you enjoyed it!
I just made this to take to my church’s potluck tomorrow. I sampled it and wow! It’s phenomenal.
If you want a crock pot’s worth, quadrupole the recipe.
Thanks for the towel/blender tip!
Hi Christina! I'm so glad you like the soup! Great tip on making a group-size portion (portable and easy to keep warm that way too).
Excellent!!
So glad you enjoyed it, Annette!
Can this be made with 2% milk instead of cream?
Hi Karen! Sure. The soup won't be as creamy, but it will still be delicious.
Easy and delicious. * I added a squirt of anchovy paste.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Julie! Anchovy paste is a great way to add a bit of umami!
I love this recipe! So delicious and easy.
I'm so glad you're enjoying it, Jena!
Made this tonight super easy and so so good!!!
So glad you enjoyed it, Elizabeth!
Delicious. I’m not a tomato soup person. However, I made this recipe and just love it. Definitely will make it again.
I love to hear this, Kathy! Thank you for taking the time to let me know.
I tried making this tomato bisque for the first time with guests over for dinner. It was a huge hit - everyone had seconds but me - there wasn't any left! I can't wait to make it again. Thank you for a great vegetarian recipe!
That's wonderful, Margie! Thank you so much for coming back to let me know.
This was great and easy! Made it exactly as the recipe and my husband had 3 bowls! I loved there was no sugar in it. I did skip the croutons and had mini grilled cheese squares. We are definitely saving this recipe!!
I love to hear this, Megan! Mini grilled cheese squares are the perfect partner for this soup.
THIS…IS…THE…BEST!!!!! I used to purchase my Tomato Bisque from a company that’s packaged & “homemade in minutes,” but this FAR surpasses it. I did use fire roasted tomatoes & it added that extra flavor. I sure will be passing this recipe to everyone I know. If I could give this 100+ stars, that wouldn’t be enough.👍👍👍👍
I love to hear this, Karyn! So glad you're enjoying the recipe!
Perfect for this rainy, Sunday in Seattle tonight with a nice grilled cheese sandwich. Yummy comfort food! 😋
Thanks for the easy recipe!
My pleasure, Angela! So glad you enjoyed it.
So cozy and delicious! I'm intrigued by using water instead of broth!
I made the recipe exactly as written, in a rush for a last minute Saturday night supper addition to have with our grilled cheeses, and it was GREAT! Hit the spot! So easy and quick, and tastes great. My family loved it!
This is wonderful to hear, Reenee! I'm so happy the soup was hit with you and your family.
Wow this is excellent! I love tomato bisque at restaurants but have never made one nearly as good- this recipe is certainly restaurant quality! It is so delicious! I used the tomatoes I canned from my garden last summer. I doubled the recipe but still feel like it won't be enough for my hungry family of 6. I also made the coutons with some stale cheddar jalapeno sourdough bread I made a few days ago. Thanks for sharing this recipe- I know it will become a family favorite.
So glad you're enjoying the recipe, Lisa. Even better with home grown tomatoes!
Made it "my own" and reduced the calories by using 3/4 cup water and 1/2 whole milk (also skipped the croutons). Delicious!! Thanks!
So glad you're enjoying the recipe!
Used crushed tomatoes to save time and low-fat half n' half and didn't notice any difference in taste but cut the calories of the heavy cream.
So glad you enjoyed this, Rachel and that you made it your own!
This is by far the best tomato bisque recipe ever!! However, I did change 2 things, instead of water I use chicken broth and I add an additional can of fire roasted tomatoes to it!! I also make your croutons too. Thank you so much for sharing!!
So glad you're enjoying this and that you made it your own!
Absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe!!
My pleasure, Joellen! So glad you enjoyed it!