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We are at the very tail end of tomato season here in N.C. (thanks to the warm fall weather we’ve been having) so we did use fresh tomatoes, but this tomato bisque recipe can easily be made with canned tomatoes as well. (For a tomato bisque with fresh tomatoes, aim for roughly 10 of them in lieu of the canned version we use for this recipe).
Easy Tomato Bisque Soup Recipe
I should also mention that my kids (who are not even tomato fans other than spaghetti and pizza sauce) loved this dish! They even asked for seconds. Tomato bisque is a great way to sneak some more veggies into your family’s diet! The creamy and delicious soup is packed with flavor, and seriously stands as an entire meal on its own. So enjoy and don’t forget to freeze the leftovers!
Below, find our recipe for making Tomato Bisque from scratch including all of the hearty ingredients and step-by-step directions!
Creamy Homemade Tomato Bisque
This is a great opportunity to use up some extra tomatoes from the garden, and a must-try easy to make soup recipe if you’re new to the game! I intentionally created this recipe with nutrition and ingredient quality in mind. Unlike the canned stuff, there’s no hidden sodium or sugars. That makes this bisque a comfort-style meal your whole family can enjoy without sacrificing your commitment to real food.
How to Make This an Even More Creamy Tomato Bisque
True to this recipe, it’s really easy to make it this tomato bisque even creamier! The secret isn’t in the hearty whole wheat roux, but instead the heavy cream. Whether you’re using organic or regular cream, you can simply adjust the creaminess of this tomato bisque by adding more or less. Pairing it with a grilled cheese? You might want it to be a bit on the creamy side so it’s perfect for dipping!
Tip: If you don’t have any heavy cream on hand, whole milk can be substituted, but of course wont’ be as thick. Add it a little at a time to get the texture and taste combination you’re looking for.
Can you Freeze Tomato Bisque?
This tomato bisque recipe is ideal for freezing! In fact, I recommend doubling the batch so your next soup night can be an easy one. Whether you’re saving your leftovers for another meal or cooking a batch of this ahead of time, you’ll find it freezes exceptionally well. To freeze this bisque, pour the completely cooled soup into freezer proof jars up to the fill line, screw on the top, and add a label with date. We use a mix of 8 oz jelly jars (for individual servings) and 16 oz wide mouth mason jars at our house.
*I suggest consuming the frozen soup within a year for best flavor and consistency, however there is no safety issue if you wait longer.
How to Reheat Bisque:
Place the freezer container under some warm water momentarily to help dislodge the frozen bisque if need be. Next, place the frozen soup in a pot and cook it on low to medium temperature to melt and then begin reheating.
Alternatively, you could freeze it in smaller portions and reheat it in the microwave for work or school lunches! Open the container and set the lid aside (no metal in the microwave!), place a folded piece of paper towel on top to avoid splatters, and microwave it on the reheat setting until it’s steaming and heated through.
More Soup Recipes
I have many more soup recipes for you to try. Enjoy!
Tomato Bisque
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter (we used unsalted)
- 1 onion (diced)
- 2 slices bacon (proscuitto, or ham, minced)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 5 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
- 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 28-oz can peeled tomatoes ((with liquid))
- 3 sprigs parsley
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup heavy cream (or less if desired)
- 1 teaspoon salt (or more if you are using unsalted homemade broth)
- pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and cook for about 5–6 minutes or until it starts to get soft.
- Add the bacon (or other meat) and the garlic and stir for another minute or two or until the meat gets crisp.
- Add the flour and stir vigorously for 2–3 minutes.
- Pour in the broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil while whisking constantly.
- Throw in the herbs and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes.
- Remove the herbs and puree the soup either in a blender (in batches) or with a handheld immersion blender (if you like to make soups this is a great tool to have by the way!)
- Stir in the desired amount of heavy cream and salt & pepper to taste. Serve warm.
Notes
- You may need to adjust the amount of salt depending on whether you used canned tomatoes (try to avoid varieties with added salt and sugar!) or fresh and also what type of broth you use (homemade, canned, or low-sodium canned). As with any recipe, it’s best to start light on the salt and adjust to taste. You can always add more, but you can’t take it out.
Love it !
This soup was very easy and tastes great, with the exception of being a little salty for my tastes. I used homemade broth that I salted, but I think in combination with the butter and prosciutto, it was a little too much. I’ll have to be sure to use unsalted butter next time. I also like the idea of adding a tiny can of tomato paste, but to give it some extra rich tomato flavor. I only used about 3/4 cup of heavy cream, adding and tasting it as I went. I love how easy and simple this is, and I immediately portioned it out and put it in the freezer! I’ll be so happy on a rainy day :)
Hi Megan. You could do it either way. :)
Thanks Amy; I can’t wait to start getting tomatoes in my CSA box to try this!
I’ve seen this soup in lunch round up posts with whole wheat noodles added. Do you add those before you freeze this, or after you have reheated it? Thanks!
Made this as part of my lazy day freezer meal stock and used a can of pureed white beans instead of cream. Delicious. Have to cook it a little longer to make sure it’s blended, but tastes exactly the same. Love this recipe.
Made this recipe for the first time tonight. I am new to making soups from scratch so was a little nervous but it turned out great. We are new to the clean eating lifestyle and my boys are hard to please. This was a hit.
Had a request from my 10 year old for tomato soup and grilled cheese. Tried this one with canned tomatoes from my garden last year. It was delicious. I omitted the bacon, but subbed bacon fat for the butter as I didn’t want to open a package of bacon for just a couple of slices. I also omitted the flour and added a small can of tomato paste so it had a bit more tomato flavor. I also used whole milk instead of cream (again what I had in the fridge) Everyone loved it and I think my son is disappointed he won’t have any to take for lunch tomorrow. The soup was still pretty thick after blending it without the flour. This is a great basic recipe that can easily be tweaked to what you have on hand or want to leave out.
great recipe!
hi, made this 2 days ago…big hit! couple of questions, when adding the flour it said to whisk for 2 minutes…but it all went to this dry paste…did I do something wrong…once I added the chicken stock it was fine, but certainly seemed odd. And I put througth the blender but still had little pieces of proscuitto in the finished soup – is that normal? And finally, how long would this keep in the fridge?
Hi Sue. The mixture should be somewhat thick before you add the broth. The overall texture will depend upon to what degree you puree. If you puree in batches, it might be a little more smooth. ~Amy
I make this at least twice a month (same as the broccoli cheese soup) and it’s a huge hit in our house. I am using your suggestion to double up batches and freeze in mason jars. Wonderful for lunch on a cold (seems like endless cold..) day!Thanks for all the awesome recipes!
I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for a while now, since I’ve been following you for several months. I was JUST able to make it yesterday and it was SO good! We don’t eat a lot of bisque here in CO, so it tasted really good to me. I used about 1/2 of the cream which was perfect. Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes, you have made my life easier and my family thinks I’m the best cook! :)
This was soooo good! This will definitely be making it on my menu frequently
I know this is probably a dumb question, but do you warm the cream before adding it? Seems cold cream would make the soup not warm enough.
Hi Sammie. I usually sit my cream out when first beginning to cook my soup and it is less cold when I add it. ~Amy
I asked for an immersion blender for Valentine’s Day. So glad I got it because this bisque ROCKS! My 3 year old loved it. Such a comfort food and easy to make!
Delish! I just hope my 2-yr old likes it, she’s the reason I tried this recipe
Made this tonight and it was AWESOME! Even my super picky 19 month old couldn’t get enough of it. I didn’t have any fresh thyme though, but it was still fabulous.
I JUST made this and it is devine!!!
Also, just tasted it post blending. It’s not as “tomotoey” as the canned tomato soup. Suggestions?
Hi Christy. You could experiment with going heavier on the tomato but you would need to adjust other ingredients as well. ~Amy
Hi everyone! With the frezing cold temps, I’m wanting to make some soups this week! :)
Quick question, has anyone subbed coconut milk for the heavy cream? If so, how did it turn out? I have a dairy allergy but would love to give this a try! :)
Thanks!
Denise
While we haven’t, I’ve heard it works fine. – Nicole
Hi Christy. So says Martha Stewart: http://www.marthastewart.com/270213/ratio-of-fresh-herbs-to-dry-herbs. :) ~Amy
I’ve got parsley flakes and ground thyme..how much of each should I use instead of the sprigs of parsley and thyme?
Hello Christy. The rule of thumb is 1 tsp of dried is equal to 21 Tbs of fresh. :) ~Amy
Made this tonight for my family! They loved it. My 2 year old even ate an entire bowl. Thanks for sharing!
Excellent!!
I’ve made this and absolutely love it! However, my husband has high cholesterol, do you think there is anything I can replace the heavy cream with?
Hi Natalie. You could replace it with an alternative type of milk but the richness and consistency will definitely be changed. ~Amy
This soup was so tasty and popular at our house. I don’t usually leave comments on websites, but I wanted you to know how much I appreciated it. I have a very picky 2 year old and not-so-picky 5 year old and everyone ate it! I called it “soup bar” and had bowls of different toppings to put in the soup: leftover grilled chicken, cheese, fish crackers, and cooked pasta shells. The kids had fun mixing the toppings and scooping them out.
I’ll look for more tasty recipes to help my picky eater on your site!
I made this tonight with everything out of my garden except the bay leaf, garlic, cream, bacon, salt, pepper. I first blended the very last of my tomatoes… this recipe took a little time, but the end result was well worth it :) Even my husband liked it… he does not eat Tomatoes! I might cut back to 2 sprigs of the rosemary next time, it seems right out of the garden is really strong. Once I dipped out the sprigs of herbs I Used my immersion blender, Always love recipes that call for the use of that :) Love Love Loved it!
I forgot to mention I don’t use double cream.
whenever a recipe states this, I use light cream cheese instead.
Just make sure you mix a bit of the hot soup into a separate bowl with the cheese before adding it to the soup, otherwise it will curdle.
Christy
O, I nearly forgot to mention, I dont use double cream. Whenever a recipe states cream, I use a light cream cheese instead. Make sure you first add a bit of the hot (warm) soup into a bowl with the cream cheese before adding it into the pan, as it will curdle otherwise (cold into hot)
O, my!
This is so delicious!!
We had this with your mac n cheese and salad on the side.
I find this an excellent “base”/ “broth-type” for seafood too! add a few large prawns (shrimps) or fancy langoustines at the end and voila a very posh fancy soup; excellent for a dinner party fit for a king (or queen)!!
Thank you!
Christy (UK)
I forgot to mention I don’t use double cream.
Whenever a recipe mention this, I use light cream cheese instead.
Just make sure you mix a bit of the hot soup into a separate bowl with the cheese, otherwise it will curdle.
Christy
The recipe calls for canned tomatoes but what if you want to use fresh tomatoes? Do you roast and peel them first? Chop them up and measure out 28oz?
I made your tomato bisque last night to accompany grilled cheese sandwiches as dinner for my boyfriend, stepson, and myself. It was a huge hit! We usually do the Trader Joe’s low sodium creamy tomato soup, but this was much tastier and not really much more work. My cream had gone bad, so we used half-and-half (organic/pastured/local), and I also subbed dried herbs for fresh. It came out thick and creamy, perfect for dipping our sandwiches into. The immersion blender worked beautifully for most of the soup, but I did have to run the whole canned tomatoes through the blender. While it was simmering, my stepson walked in and asked, “What is that amaaaaaaing smell?!” :)
Hi! I love your website and have been working hard to cut the processed foods in our house. We don’t have a “perfect” pantry, but are getting there. Thank you so much for all your info. But that is not why I am writing today. I was wondering if you have any suggestions that may help my friend and I, we are starting a program for our local schools that we are calling Feeding our Kids, where we provide shelf stable, kid friendly food over the weekend to kids that are food insecure. And the problem I am having is trying to be balance what we can afford with the most nutritionally packed foods we can afford! I was trying to find a peanut butter small enough that they can carry it easily and yet not be full of sugar… do you have any suggestions? I feel like there are some compromises that we are having to make because of liability restrictions and financial restrictions. So, I am putting this out there to try to get as much info and as many ideas from people as I can!
Sorry this post got so long. Feel free to email me directly!
Thanks,
ann :)
Hi Ann. Shelf stable is tough. Single serving is tough, too…both for affordability and limited healthy selections. Justin’s has single serving nut butters that do not have added sugar: http://www.minimus.biz/Justins-Natural-Classic-Peanut-Butter-F06-0158504-1200CL.aspx. Of course Smuckers, too, has single servings but they are loaded with added sugar. This thread might help, too: http://www.sparkpeople.com/ma/What-are-some-shelf-stable-healthy-foods?/7/1/25962682. ~Amy
ok so I have some silly beginner cooker questions. I so want to try this but funds are limited and trying to use what I have on hand plus to get fresh things in this town is hit and miss. OK so questions, I have no clue what sprigs are but I have dried parsley and thyme, can that be used? and do I still need to remove them after cooking before eating? I know silly please don’t laugh. and then second question was the after we blend do we return to pot and add the heavy cream then at that time? and do we add all at once or slowly pour in to avoid it curdling? third question is that I do not have wheat flour yet just the white could I still use the white and is there a different measurement for the white than the wheat? I know I know silly. Thanks in advance. O and will add that I am loving all these new healthy ideals. Kids are loving changing to healthy options.
Hi Melissa. :) You’ve likely already made this dish but to address your questions: If you use dried rather than fresh herbs, there will be nothing to remove. :) If you use an immersion blender, you do not need to remove the soup from the pot. You then stir in the amount of cream you would like. We have not used white flour in this recipe but the amount should stay the same if you do. ~Amy
My husband can’t do things with heavy cream. Any ideas on subs? Could I just use regular milk? Or I saw the other persons suggestion on coconut milk which sounds good.
Hi Laura. We have not made substitutions in this recipe. Please let us know how it turns out if you do. ~Amy
LOVE this soup! I made some earlier this week and we devoured it. Last night I made a double batch so some will make it to the freezer.
Just made this and it was delicious!!! First time I’ve made a soup too. I’ll keep a look out for more recipes!
I only discovered your website 2 days ago and can’t seem to do put my iPad down! Amazing stuff! I just made this soup… O, my! I substitute the cream with Philidelphia light cream cheese for a lighter option. Just make sure you mix a bit of the spread with a few spoons of warm soup first before putting it all in the pot as it will curdle otherwise.
Thanks so much and we will be having this soup with your Mac ‘n Cheese and salad tonight!
Delicious! I made this today and loved it! Helpful tip: I stuffed the herbs into a tea ball to make it easier to fish them out. Thanks for the great recipe.
I made this following everything to the T. I added the garlic as it is since it did not say ‘minced’. It got blended anyway. But no one liked it. They all said it tasted bland and no flavor.
Though I truly may have burnt the onion or garlic or both, my 7yo loves it. I’m a little skeptical as I’m not sure if it’s ‘right’. It is good but I’m doubting if it’s the way it should be. I didn’t time when I put in the flour as my 2mo was crying and so I was in a hurry. Thinking it maybe should be thick? I removed the cloves of garlic before blending because I just wasn’t sure about the big chunks. Hope to try more things soon. Thank you!
Hi Karrie. The garlic should be minced. :) ~Amy
I am making now. First time cooking… Don’t laugh. Should the garlic and be whole or minced? I think I burnt the garlic or maybe the onions as now that I’m whisking with the broth and tomatoes there are black things floating at the top?