Behold, the beauty of homemade tomato soup. I’ll admit, I have a fierce devotion to the stuff in a can, but this Crock Pot Creamy Tomato Soup? It’s in a whole other league.
It starts with sauteed vegetables, a fact I will adamantly deny if you tell my kids, and ends with fancy cheeses. It has basil and thyme, milk and tomatoes, and everything comes together perfectly.
Did I serve it with grilled cheese? Of course I did. Around here, we call a grilled cheese sandwich a GC-dub, which is short for GCW, which is short for grilled cheese on white (or wheat). GC-dubs were my go to as a college freshman, and I liked mine with a side of french fries. I was committed to gaining my freshman fifteen, and I knew just how to make it happen.
These days, I still like a grilled cheese sandwich, but I take them with a bowl of tomato soup instead of a side of fries. I’m heavy into the dipping, and this soup is excellent on that front.
This recipe is easiest to prepare if you have an immersion blender, but can be done without one. Do you have an immersion blender? I had no idea what I was missing the years I spent transferring small batches of soups to my blender when it called for blending. If you are holding out like I did for far too long, now is the time. Get yourself an immersion blender today, and go crazy blending soups. It’s really fun.
I don’t get out much.
Crock Pot Creamy Tomato Soup
INGREDIENTS
1 TBSP olive oil
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup onions, diced
28 oz can whole plum tomatoes, undrained
1 tsp thyme
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 bay leaf
3 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
Parmesan or Romano cheese rind (optional, but recommended)
2 TBSP unsalted butter
2 TBSP flour
1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 3/4 cups 2% milk, warm
salt and pepper, to taste
additional grated cheese and croutons for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a skillet over medium heat, add olive oil, celery, carrot, and onion. Cook for about five minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften. Transfer to the slow cooker.
- Add the tomatoes with juice, and crush gently to break up the tomatoes.
- Add thyme, basil, bay leaf, chicken (or vegetable) broth, and cheese rind. Stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on LOW 6 to 7 hours or HIGH 4 to 5 hours.
- Remove the cheese rind, and using an immersion blender, blend the soup to desired consistency. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can transfer the soup in batches to a regular blender.
- In a pan on the stove, melt the butter and add the flour, using a whisk to combine.
Continue stirring for a few minutes, and add about a cup of the soup to the pan. Continue stirring, and slowly stir in the milk. - Return the milk mixture to the slow cooker, and stir well.
- Add the grated Pecorino Romano cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Cover again, and cook for another 30 minutes or so, or until the cheese is melted.
- Serve with additional cheese on top and croutons for garnish.
Creamy Crock Pot Tomato Soup
The deep, rich flavors of the vegetables and cheeses make this soup a winner!
Ingredients
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- 1 cup onions, diced
- 28 oz can whole plum tomatoes, undrained
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- Parmesan or Romano cheese rind (optional, but recommended)
- 2 TBSP unsalted butter
- 2 TBSP flour
- 1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 1 3/4 cups 2% milk, warm
- salt and pepper, to taste
- additional grated cheese and croutons for garnish
Instructions
- In a skillet over medium heat, add olive oil, celery, carrot, and onion. Cook for about five minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften. Transfer to the slow cooker.
- Add the tomatoes with juice, and crush gently to break up the tomatoes.
- Add thyme, basil, bay leaf, chicken (or vegetable) broth, and cheese rind. Stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours.
- Remove the cheese rind, and using an immersion blender, blend the soup to desired consistency. (If you don't have an immersion blender, you can transfer the soup in batches to a regular blender.)
- In a pan on the stove, melt the butter and add the flour, using a whisk to combine.
- Continue stirring for a few minutes, and add about a cup of the soup to the pan. Continue stirring, and slowly stir in the milk.
- Return the milk mixture to the slow cooker, and stir well.
- Add the grated Pecorino Romano cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Cover again, and cook for another 30 minutes or so, or until the cheese is melted.
- Serve with additional cheese on top and croutons for garnish.
FEEDBACK
Kim
This was really good. I added a little extra brown sugar to cut the acidity and salt at the end. We couldn’t find Pecorino at our local store so I just used Parmesan. This was creamy, flavorful and perfect with grilled cheese. Would definitely make again.
Linda
We all loved this soup! I made it exactly like the recipe, but I used a Romano/Parmesan/Asiago cheese blend. I served it with cheese filled bread sticks, and it was perfect. This will go in my soup repertoire for sure.
Sarah
The adults in our family thought that this soup was perfect for dipping a grilled cheese into. The kids could not be persuaded to try it. I haven’t been able to locate my immersion blender since we moved, so I had to use a blender. It was a messy mess to clean up. If you have an immersion blender use it! If you don’t, buy one! It may help you enjoy this soup a little more. We couldn’t find any special cheeses or rind and still thought this soup was good, and perfect for hot weather since it pairs so nicely with a sandwich.
Me
I love all tomato soups, so I’m not the best person to rate this recipe. My husband is a tougher critic of soups, though, and he gave this one and a half thumbs up. For him, that’s high soup praise.
Tomato soup is my FAVORITE. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
I hope you love it as much as I do, Jackie!