I’m so not ready for it to be Monday already, yet here we are on tax day—my favorite day of the year. I suppose I can’t complain too much because I don’t handle my taxes. Contrary to popular belief, I’m not that great with numbers, and I’m worse at managing my finances. I’m just glad that I can shove those responsibilities to someone else.
I only deal with food. Let’s move on to things that are slightly more in my wheelhouse.
I’ve been having serious cravings for tomato soup lately, and the only way I know how to deal with them is to make it myself. This recipe is lightly adapted from a tomato soup recipe I found on Chowhound. I made quite a number of modifications here, but the most significant one would be swapping heavy cream for light coconut milk. I had my doubts about whether the coconut milk would work, but you don’t actually taste it at all! If you don’t have coconut milk lying around, soy milk or almond milk will work, too.
Only 30 minutes stand between you and delicious and creamy vegan tomato soup. It’s tangy, creamy, and perfect as an appetizer or a meal on its own with some croutons.
COOKING NOTES FOR THE TOMATO SOUP
- Be careful with the tomatoes: In the directions, I ask that you break up the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Be careful, though! The tomatoes are incredibly squirty (<—probably not a real adjective, but you get the picture).
- Try to use a blender to mix the soup: Normally, I would use an immersion blender to blend soups right in the pot, but in this case, I highly recommend using a blender. The tomatoes squirt everywhere, and you’ll just create a huge mess if you use an immersion blender.
- Cashew Cream: If you want to make cashew cream for topping the soup, soak 1/2 cup of cashews with boiling water for about an hour. Reserve 1/2 cup of the liquid, and drain the rest. Blend cashews with the water until smooth. You can also a bigger batch of cashew cream. Just remember you want a 1:1 cashew cream to water ration.
By the way, is it just me, or does the cashew cream drizzle on this soup look a bit like Bob Marley?
Vegan Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 28-ounce (800g) can of whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 cup (240ml) water
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, regular sweet paprika works, too
- kosher salt to taste
- 1/3 cup (80ml) light coconut milk
Optional toppings
- freshly ground black pepper
- basil leaves, julienned
- cashew cream
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot, over medium-low heat. When the pot is hot, add onions and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the onions are soft. Stir often to keep the onions from burning.
- Add the entire can of whole tomatoes, including the liquid, and 1 cup of water. Using the back of a wooden spoon, gently smash the tomatoes. Add dried oregano, dried basil, paprika, and a pinch of kosher salt. Raise the heat to medium and bring everything to boil. Let soup simmer for 8 to 10 minutes. Turn off heat. Let the soup cool off for 5 minutes before transferring to a blender to blend.
- Return soup to pot and stir in coconut milk.
- Serve in bowls with black pepper, basil leaves, and cashew cream, if you like.
Erin @ The Almond Eater says
Tomato soup is the only pureed soup I enjoy–but I don’t just enjoy it, I LOVE it. It’s so creamy and comforting. Pinned!
Lisa Lin says
Thanks, Erin! Tomato soup is the best!
Lexie says
How many calories would be in one serving?
Whitney @ Sweet Cayenne says
I’ve definitely been “squirted” by tomatoes on many occasions – pesky little things that they are! Lovely soup 🙂
Lisa Lin says
Haha, they are!!
Izzy @ She Likes Food says
Tax day is no fun even if you have someone else do the dirty work lol! But it definitely makes it way less fun if you have to do them yourself! This soup looks like the perfect thing to take my mind off all tax related stuff though! I love how creamy it looks! Now I just need a big grilled cheese to go with it 🙂
Lisa Lin says
Oh man, a grilled cheese would have gone so well with the soup!
lauryn says
Can you freeze this?
Grace | eat, write + explore says
This soup looks heavenly! And Bob Marley isn’t looking too bad either (I totally see it.)
Lisa Lin says
Hah, thanks, Grace!
Mel @ The Refreshanista says
This soup looks amazing! I love the photos 🙂 and that cashew cream makes for the perfect topping!
Lisa Lin says
Thanks, Mel!!
Alexandra Caspero says
Haha, I totally see Bob Marley. Too perfect!
Lisa Lin says
Hehe, thanks, Alex!
Judith says
I have to try this soup asap – I am feeling hungry just by looking at the beautiful pics! Great blog!
Lisa Lin says
Thank you so much, Judith! Let me know how it goes!
EDIE says
Can you freeze this soup and for how long
Lisa Lin says
Yes, and I usually try to eat frozen things within 6 months (before food gets freezer burn).
Edie p Gardner says
thank y0u
Crystal says
Can we use almond milk instead?
Lisa Lin says
Absolutely, Crystal! Thanks for your question!
Sandra Hong says
I made this last night and wanted to let you know that it was delicious! I made a few modifications, based on my preferences – I added garlic, roasted red pepper, tomato paste, used vegetable stock instead of water and omitted any milk. Actually quite a few modifications, but I used your recipe to guide me through the steps. And it was even better than I expected, super tasty, warm, comforting, a little tangy! I will probably make this again, and I am curious to try the cashew cream, it looks really good. Thanks for sharing!
Lisa Lin says
Sandra, thank you so much for trying my recipe and for taking the time to leave me a comment! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and I love the idea of adding roasted red peppers.
Kristen says
This is a great recipe. Blows Campbell’s out of the water and is super easy. I used almond milk in place of water for extra creaminess and full fat coconut milk. Also I had diced canned rather than whole tomatoes and that worked just fine.
Amanda says
Most fire tomatoe soup I’ve ever had ????????
Lisa Lin says
Thank you!!
Juliet says
Made this soup with full fat coconut milk. Was going to post picks on Instagram but says user not found ☹️
Lisa Lin says
Hi Juliet! I am now @hellolisalin on Instagram. Thanks for making the recipe!
Sophia Rhum says
Made this tonight with Vegan Grilled Cheese sandwiches…it was delish!!!! I had one bowl and my husband finished off the rest of the pot. Definitely a hit in this house!!
Lisa Lin says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it!
Rachel says
This is such a great recipe. It’s so simple and quick to put together, but also delicious and comforting. I’ve made it twice this week (with vegan gf grilled cheese) and will make it many more times this winter, I’m sure!
For the record, I used leeks instead of onions and pureed it with my immersion blender. It was a bit splattery, but less so when I doubled the recipe (which everyone should do anyway since it’s so yummy).
Lisa Lin says
Rachel, thanks for making this! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!
Elizabeth says
This recipe was super easy and very tasty! I swapped in almond milk for the water and added just a splash more of the coconut milk along with fresh ground black pepper right into the soup. The smoked paprika is a flavorful addition that I wouldn’t skip! I enjoyed my bowl with a (vegan) grilled cheese sandwich. Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Lisa Lin says
Thanks for trying it, Elizabeth! So glad you enjoyed it!
Barb says
A great simple and tasty recipe! I used maple syrup to cut some of the acidity.
Amanda says
The coconut milk is definitely key!! I’ve made other vegan tomato soups that were just blah- I wanted the creamy version and was disappointed when I thought there wasn’t a way to vegan-ize it. This is definitely the best version I’ve tried!!
Michelle Henderson says
Made this just now. It’s delicious!!! Changes I made: Used vegetable stock instead of water, added garlic powder, used full fat coconut milk. Added 1 can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. Delicious!!!!
Lisa Lin says
Thanks for trying this tomato soup, Michelle! Loved the modifications you made!
Lee says
I was going to ask about using fire-roasted tomatoes, so thank you.
sally fox says
What kind of coconut milk did you use? Canned or carton?
Lisa Lin says
Canned. I always used canned coconut milk because it has better flavor.
Alice says
Hello, this looks GREAT. How long do you think it will last refrigerated?
Lisa Lin says
I would say about 4 to 5 days. There may be some separation as you leave it in the fridge for longer, but just stir everything up before reheating.
Tiff says
This was AMAZING!! I absolutely love how simply and easy this was to make, and served about 4 large bowls of soup! Thank you!
Steph says
I just made this soup and it was so easy to make. Next time I will add more flavour as I found it quite bland. One comment said the put garlic, red pepper and tomato paste, sounds tasty. I think some sun dried tomatoes as well will be tasty.
Thanks for the recipe 😍
Lisa Lin says
Thanks for the note, Steph! I have started to add smoked paprika to the soup, and it’s great! I need to rewrite this recipe some time soon…
Natasha says
This is the best tomato soup that I made. Thanks for the recipe!!!
Lisa Lin says
Thanks for trying the recipe, Natasha!
lina says
Hello, can i use fresh tomatoes instead of canned?
Lisa Lin says
Yes! You might want to blend the tomatoes so that they are more runny for the soup.
Sanjana says
Can I substitute the coconut milk with Oat milk?
Lisa Lin says
You can. Oat milk isn’t as rich, so it might not enhance the flavor of the soup as well, but it is doable!
Annemarie says
I made this today, and it was soooooo good! I also loved that I only had to chop one thing and that it was quick to put together!
Lee says
My partner just asked me about making cream of tomato or tomato bisque soup. He’s not vegan, but this should suit both of us. Except for the two dried herbs, I’ve already got everything in my pantry. He’s the chief cook, I’m the bottle washer, as the saying goes, but I like trying new dishes when the mood hits me.
Emily says
Hi, this looks so amazing I have been craving tomato soup lately! I’m going to try this later but I was wondering if fire roasted tomato were ok to use?
Lisa Lin says
Thanks, Emily!
Sunmeet Gill says
This recipe was wonderful and easy to follow, especially for a clumsy novice like me. I meal preped it and the soup was perfect in the fridge for a whole week. It would’ve lasted longer if I hadn’t eaten it all. Way more flavorful and less sodium content than soups at an average franchise *cough cough* (don’t want to name names but you know who I’m talking about).
Thank you Lisa.
Kindly,
Sunmeet
Lisa Lin says
Thanks for trying the recipe, Sunmeet!
Lee Kaplan says
I had all the ingredients available (or some form of them). I subbed canned crushed tomatoes, and Vidalia onion, and added a jar of roasted red pepper. Effortless and addictively delicious!
Jinit says
Bob Marley! 🙂