Roasted Garlic Tomato Basil (Printable Format)
Creamy soup made with roasted garlic, ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, and topped with crisp golden croutons.
# What You Need:
→ Soup
01 - 8 ripe tomatoes (about 1.5 lbs), quartered
02 - 1 large head garlic
03 - 1 large onion, chopped
04 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
05 - 3 cups vegetable broth
06 - 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
07 - 1 teaspoon sugar, optional
08 - 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
09 - 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 - 1/2 cup heavy cream or full-fat coconut milk, optional
→ Croutons
11 - 2 cups day-old bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
12 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
13 - 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herbs, optional
14 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
# How-To Steps:
01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut the top off the garlic head, drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil, wrap in foil, and place on a baking tray with quartered tomatoes. Drizzle tomatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes until tomatoes are soft and garlic is golden.
02 - Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté chopped onion for 5 to 7 minutes until translucent.
03 - Toss bread cubes with 2 tablespoons olive oil, Italian herbs, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Spread on a baking sheet and bake in oven for 10 to 12 minutes, tossing once, until golden and crisp. Set aside.
04 - Squeeze roasted garlic cloves from skins. Add garlic and roasted tomatoes with their juices to the pot with onions. Stir in vegetable broth and bring mixture to a simmer for 10 minutes.
05 - Stir in fresh basil leaves and sugar if using. Remove pot from heat.
06 - Use an immersion blender or transfer in batches to a blender and puree soup until smooth. For a silkier texture, strain through a fine mesh sieve.
07 - Stir in heavy cream or coconut milk if desired. Adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper to taste.
08 - Ladle soup into bowls, top with croutons and extra fresh basil leaves.
# Expert Suggestions:
01 -
- The roasting transforms garlic into something sweet and mellow, so even garlic skeptics ask for seconds.
- Homemade croutons make it feel restaurant-quality with almost no extra effort.
- It's naturally vegetarian but tastes rich enough to satisfy anyone, cream or no cream.
02 -
- Don't skip the roasting step or rush it—that 35–40 minutes of oven time is what makes this soup taste nothing like canned tomato soup and everything like something you're proud to serve.
- Blend when the soup is slightly cooled, not piping hot, so you avoid splatters and have better control over texture.
- Fresh basil added at the end tastes like basil; basil cooked for 40 minutes tastes like regret.
03 -
- Buy tomatoes at their peak ripeness or roast them a little longer to deepen their natural sweetness—avoid pale, mealy tomatoes that will never taste right no matter how long they roast.
- Taste the soup before adding any sugar, because depending on your tomatoes and broth, you might need nothing, a pinch, or a tiny spoonful, and adding too much makes it taste processed.