Based on Panera Bread’s popular Vegetarian Creamy Tomato Soup, this healthy-in-a-hurry version has a short ingredients list and it comes together in 5 minutes.
The recipe is inspired by Panera Bread’s Vegetarian Creamy Tomato Soup. Their philosophy centers around Good Goes In. Good and wholesome ingredients going in, good and wholesome soup going out.
I have fond memories of Panera because it was a regular lunch spot for my co-workers and I years ago when I was living in Chicago. With those brutal winters, nothing hit the spot better than a warm bowl of soup. Or their warm cookies. It was 90F in Aruba when I made this soup, but that didn’t stop my family from devouring the whole batch the same day.
Here in Aruba, obtaining anything from instant pudding mix to a fresh zucchini can be challenging. Therefore, the ingredient list for the soup is very short and focuses on readily available ingredients. I’ve read too many soup recipes that call for a dash of this and a pinch of that and before you know it, there’s twenty pinches and umpteen different spices needed that I don’t keep around. This isn’t that kind of recipe.
The soup is vegan, gluten-free, and comes together by way of a blender and a microwave, perfect for anyone with limited kitchen equipment, or limited time to devote. Healthy and homemade-in-a-hurry.
To make the soup, I blended two 14-5-ounces cans of Del Monte Stewed Tomatoes with Cajun flavors with a handful of raw baby carrots, a drizzle of olive oil, Old Bay Seasoning, and black pepper. I omitted adding salt, because the tomatoes are already salted, and we watch our sodium intake, but salt to taste if desired.
The canned tomatoes get their Cajun name from the addition of green peppers, garlic, onion, celery, and Cajun spices. Between those spices and adding a bit of Old Bay, the soup didn’t need anything else. There’s a tiny bit of heat, and if you’re a heat seeker, add a pinch of red pepper flakes, cayenne, or chili powder to taste.
The creamy factor comes by way of adding, you guessed it, cream. However, real cream is not necessary and two percent milk or milk-alternatives are fine. In order to keep the soup vegan, use almond, soy, or cashew milk, which can be made by soaking one-half cup of raw cashews for an hour and blending them with one about cup of water. Cashew milk is creamier than real cream. Because there’s very little fat in the soup, I don’t mind adding cream or a rich nut-milk or for both flavor, richness, and to feel satiated.
After blending the soup to a smooth texture, transfer it to a microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup, cover with plasticwrap, and warm it. I topped the soup with grated cheese and garnished with a bit of cilantro, which was the singular fresh herb available at the market here. My five-year-old said she liked the mini-trees with fluffy leaves I put in the soup. Rosemary, basil, or oregano would also work well.
Generally, I like a little food with my dip and a little soup with my crackers, and they’re a must-have. I served the soup with mini-toasts, or try croutons, pita bread, breadsticks, or oyster crackers. Some people like dipping cookies in milk, but I take greater pleasure in dipping crackers in soup.
The soup is hearty and filling but not heavy. I just love tomatoes and the soup reminds me of summer tomato season. The acidity of the tomatoes was quieted from the carrots, which add a bit of bulk and heft to the body of the soup, as well as provide a hint of natural sweetness. Some people add a pinch of sugar to their tomato soup but I didn’t find it necessary.
The beauty of soup-making is that there’s plenty of flexibility. In this soup, most any variety of stewed, crushed, fire-roasted, or canned tomato medley may be used. Of course, roasting tomatoes and pureeing them is an option, but it takes longer. And if I would have had a fresh red pepper I would have tossed that into the blender canister as well, like I did in this soup.
The soup is perfect for occasions when I crave something warm and comforting but don’t have the time or desire for complicated or long recipes. Busy weeknights with hungry mouths to feed aren’t the time to simmer anything for hours. This simple soup was such a hit with both my five year old and husband, and he triple-checked with me that I can recreate this recipe when we’re back home San Diego.
Yes, I sure can. In about five minutes, actually.
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Creamy Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 2 14.5- ounce cans stewed tomatoes (I used Del Monte Stewed in Cajon flavor
- 10 baby carrots or 2 regular carrots, peeled and trimmed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
- ½ cup+ cream or milk, I used 2/3 cup, use vegan milk to keep vegan
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- salt, optional and to taste
- fresh cilantro for garnishing, optional (rosemary, basil, oregano may be substituted)
- shredded cheese, or vegan cheese, for garnishing, optional
- Optional variations to taste: fresh or roasted red peppers; red pepper flakes, chili powder, cayenne pepper; onion, onion powder, garlic, garlic powder, favorite seasoning blend; fresh or dried herbs
Instructions
- Add tomatoes, carrots, oil, OId Bay, pepper, optional salt, and optional variation ingredients to the canister of a blender and blend until smooth. Add the cream until desired consistency and flavor is achieved.
- Transfer soup to microwave-safe bowl or glass measuring cup, and heat on high power to warm, about 2 minutes. Garnish soup with cheese, sour cream, or herbs, and serve immediately. Soup will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or can be frozen for up to 3 months.
- Take care all ingredients used are suitable for your dietary needs, selecting vegan milk and cheese products, or using gluten-free crackers, as necessary.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Related Recipes:
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Baked Parsnip Fries with Creamy Balsamic Reduction Dip (vegan, gluten-free) – Parsnips are ideal soup-making vegetables, but here I baked them as fries. They have a subtle kick and bite, are are served with an easy cool and creamy dip. Just as tasty and much healthier than fries made from white potatoes
Corn and Double Cheese Dip (vegan, GF, fat free, serve warm or cold) – The dip comes together in less than five minutes and the flavors would work perfectly as a blended soup. Diced tomatoes, green chilis, corn, and cheese could easily be blended for a fast and creamy soup
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As part of the DailyBuzz Food Tastemaker program, I received a stipend to try Panera Bread soups. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Do you have a favorite soup recipe?
Feel free to leave links to your favorites.
Love that you vegefied this and gluten free too! I can’t wait to try this because I love that tomato soup from panera but since cutting out meat and dairy I can’t eat it.
Glad it will work for you!
OHHH I have been looking for a Creamy Tomato Soup! I know what I am getting ready this weekend!
OK, now we have something else in common – tomato soup. My fav coming next month. X0 Happy Christmas, Liz
Healthy in a hurry, now that’s just my kind of meal!
This soup recipe looks so delicious! I like that it only uses 1/2 cup of dairy, Perfect recipe for a cold winter night!
And you can keep that vegan, too! Soy/almond/cashew milk, etc!
I have a couple favourite soup recipes. One is an old family recipe that my great grandma came up with during the depression, another is Pioneer Woman’s cauliflower soup. I could list more favourites … I looooove soup probably more than any other food.
PW’s Cauliflower Soup sounds amazing!
That looks like the perfect comfort food. Yum! Happy Holidays :)
Perfect—I need real food real bad. I’ve been over-dosing on sweets, barks, cookies and take out pizza. This is exactly what I need.
Savory food never has the WOW factor that sweets do on a blog but in real life, even I have to cry uncle with all the sweets this time of year!
INteresting touch with the Old Bay! I am a HUGE fan of that spice. Throw some shrimpies in there, and I’d dive in headfirst.
There is nothing as soothing and comforting as tomoato soup. Even from a can with the red and white label, it is just great.
My soups come from emptying out half empty frozen veggie bags and other freezer leftovers usually but 2 regular favorites are your Sweet Potato Red Pepper and this new one I made this fall where I went a little crazy with the yellow veggies https://wp.me/p26wpj-17G.
I love soup any time of year but especially on rainy nights and with a big chunk of crusty bread!
My husband spent hours making a homemade tomato a few years ago and was too tired / frustrated after to even enjoy it. I think this one of yours will make a lot more practical version. Thanks for sharing it
:)
That’s awesome that my Sweet Potato Red Pepper Soup is in frequent rotation – thanks for LMK :)
There’s nothing better than a creamy tomato soup wit a home made pasta. Cheese is a very interesting addition, I’ve never tried it with a tomato soup.
Averie, we are SO on the same page today. I made cream of broccoli soup last night! I wish mine tastes as good as Panera Bread’s creamy broccoli cheese soup! I can only imagine how perfect this soup is and I am dying for a huge bowl of it. It’s so cold here this week! I was going to make a butternut squash soup next, but I think this one may be first. The carrots, the tomatoes, the cream (essential, yes!), and the ease of this recipe makes it a winner. You are all about easy recipes when you are in Aruba and I am loving it. I love your overhead shot and the bowls!
I have to say I’d put my version of soup up against Panera’s or one of my other alltime fave’s is the Nordstrom Cafe’s creamy tomato basil. I discovered that Nord even HAD a cafe AND that they had soup when I was pregnant and I lived on saltines & their soup for months :)
The bowl was a $2.25 find at the local market. They had no fresh herbs but they had a singular bowl that I knew would be perfect with the soup :) Easy recipes – yes, by default!
How funny. I just made roasted red pepper and tomato soup last night. I needed something healthy and comforting on a particularly chilly night here. This recipe sounds great! My all time favorite soup is my Curried Carrot Coconut and Almond soup. It’s amazeballs and tastes great this time of year! https://afarmerinthedell.com/2012/12/10/curried-carrot-coconut-and-almond-soup/
The roasted red pepper and carrot soup I linked in the post is great, too! But it involves roasting and we were…already roasting here :) And I used coconut milk in it! Great minds think alike!
Such a lovely rustic soup Averie ~ the color is so pretty too!
And thanks for all those pins on your pinboards – was trolling around your boards last night and realized you have oodles of my stuff pinnned. Thank you! Sometimes I get an email alert when people pin things using my name and other times I don’t. So I was in the dark on all of those – but thank you!! :)
Good timing, I’m making tomato soup tonight! Wasn’t thinking creamy, but you’ve now got me thinking in that direction…
This is absolutely beautiful! I like the idea of using cashew milk instead of cream. So you’re not a stranger to mid-western winters! (I never understood why Illinois and Michigan are called the Midwest. Aren’t we more in the upper-middle?) :P At any rate, this soup will be needed in the coming days…we’re in for a huge storm! *Thankfully I have my Captain Morgan for good luck and warm thoughts of pirate days* :D
Kale chip coating mix = soaked cashews and BEST dip/coating ever – old pics but the recipe still works :)
https://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2009/10/raw-vegan-kale-chips.html
And I say just put the Captain INTO the soup :)
Thanks for the link! I have a feeling the Captain would love this soup too. :D