Instant Pot Creamy Tomato Soup is a delicious and comforting soup recipe made with fresh tomatoes, carrots, bell pepper, onion, and basil, garnished with cream, and served with crunchy croutons, making a perfect lunch/dinner!
Growing up, tomato soup, masala papad, gobi manchurian, and tandoori paneer tikka were must-have appetizers whenever we visited restaurants. Even today, these classic starters remain my favorites and bring back fond memories!
Tomato soup is quite popular around the world and has different variations. Today I am sharing a creamy tomato soup made with tomatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, bell peppers and dried basil. This is our favorite family soup and is easy to make in a pressure cooker. You may also like my sweet potato soup and sweet corn soup.
If you like this recipe, then check out more Tomato Recipes
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Ingredients for Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
- Tomatoes: use fresh, ripened, and juicy tomatoes for the best taste, flavor, and color in the soup. Roma tomatoes or Red Vine Tomatoes work best. You can also use canned fire-roasted or diced tomatoes.
- Vegetables: I used carrots, red bell peppers, onions, and garlic. These veggies can be diced or finely chopped.
- Olive oil (or Butter): For the best flavor, use either olive oil (or unsalted butter).
- Vegetable broth (or water): use low-sodium vegetable broth to reduce salt content. If you don't have one, you can use water.
- Basil: you can use either 2 teaspoons of dried basil or 2-3 tablespoons of fresh, roughly torn basil.
- Toppings: Fresh basil, bread croutons, shredded cheese – parmesan, cheddar, mozzarella, cream, or any combination of these.
How to Make the Best Tomato Soup in Instant Pot
Firstly, press SAUTE on the Instant Pot. Next, add 1 tablespoon olive oil (or butter), and once it's hot, add 1 bay leaf and 3 garlic cloves (minced) and saute for 30 seconds.
Next, add 1 medium onion (sliced thinly) and saute until they soften.
Then add 1 large carrot (about ½ cup), ½ medium red bell pepper (about ½ cup), 5 large diced tomatoes (about 3 cups), 2 cups vegetable broth (water), black pepper powder, and salt.
The carrot adds creamy texture, sweetness, and brings bright color to the dish. Red bell pepper adds a nice smoky flavor and color to the soup, but it's optional. You can also use celery for this recipe. I also like to add a small piece of beetroot to get a red color.
Close the lid securely, and turn the vent to "SEALING". Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL (High Pressure) setting and set the cooking time to 6 minutes.
When the instant pot beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally before removing the lid.
Remove the bay leaf and puree the soup until smooth using an immersion blender. ( Or transfer the mixture to a high-speed blender in batches and puree until smooth).
Then strain the puree using a fine mesh sieve and discard the residue, but this step is optional.
Add 2 teaspoons dried basil (or fresh basil), ¼ cup heavy cream (or milk or half and a half), and stir well. It is entirely up to you which of these three you want to use; remember that the higher the fat content, the creamier the soup. Adjust seasoning at this stage.
If you think the soup is too thick, you can add water or milk and simmer it for 2 minutes.
Serve this Instant Pot cream of tomato soup hot and top with bread croutons and a drizzle of heavy cream.
Stovetop Pot Method
- Follow the same steps as the Instant Pot for the Stovetop method; instead of pressure cooking here, you can cover the pot and simmer until the tomatoes and other vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes, and blend.
Serving Suggestions
Creamy tomato soup makes a perfect Thanksgiving or Christmas Holiday appetizer or first course. Serve with:
- Bread: Homemade bread like stuffed garlic bread, veg chili cheese toast, or focaccia.
- Salads: Pair this soup with a light salad like avocado cucumber salad, or mango black bean salad.
- Sandwich: Pair with a grilled cheese sandwich, or spinach corn sandwich.
- Pasta: You can pair it with fettuccini aldredo, or mac and cheese.
Variations
- Extra Creamy Texture: For a richer, creamy tomato soup, I have added heavy cream to the soup. You can substitute it with cream cheese, sour cream, greek yogurt, or parmesan cheese.
- Vegan: You can substitute heavy cream with coconut cream, full-fat coconut milk, or almond milk to make vegan tomato soup.
- Herbs: If you don't have basil, try adding different dried or fresh herbs like Italian seasoning, thyme, chives, etc.
- Other Veggies: You can also add diced celery, and beetroot to this soup to make it extra nutritious.
Expert Tips
- Dice Veggies into the same size: Dice the tomatoes and other veggies roughly the same size (about 1-inch cubes) for even cooking.
- Saute the Aromatics: Be sure to sauté the aromatics, like onion and garlic, in a little olive oil or butter first, it will help to elevate the soup flavors.
- Canned Tomatoes: You can also use canned diced, or crushed tomatoes instead of fresh ones.
- Roasting Tomatoes: You can also roast the fresh tomatoes in the oven or air fryer before using them in the soup.
Storage Suggestions
- Make ahead: This soup is great for meal prepping. You can make it a day before and store it in the refrigerator.
- Refrigerator: Leftovers will keep for up to 2-3 days in the refrigerator when stored in an airtight container.
- Freezer: Once soup cools down, transfer it into freezer-resistant containers or Ziploc freezer bags and freeze for up to 2 months without adding the heavy cream/milk. Add dairy (cream or milk) just before serving. This is because soup with dairy does not freeze well.
- Reheat: Reheat the soup in a microwave oven or stovetop on medium-low heat until warmed through. If frozen, Defrost the soup in the fridge overnight, then reheat it on the stovetop or microwave until smooth again. Add the cream (or milk) just before serving, and adjust the seasonings as needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Don't worry if you are on a weight loss goal or ran out of cream! You can still enjoy a bowl of this Tomato Soup to warm you!
You can substitute the heavy cream for milk, almond milk, coconut milk, or vegetable broth. You can also whisk in 1.5 tablespoons of cornstarch to water and add slurry to the soup, in the end, to add more body to the soup.
Both fresh and canned tomatoes work well in this soup. But I prefer making it with fresh tomatoes. Roma, San Marzano, or Red Vine Tomato varieties are great options for this recipe.
I have made this recipe with heavy cream, which is optional. However, sometimes the tomatoes can be very tart (depending on the variety), so adding extra cream or ½ teaspoon of sugar can help smooth out the flavor.
Instant Pot Creamy Tomato Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 large tomatoes (about 3 cups)
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 large carrot diced (about ½ cup)
- ½ medium red bell pepper diced (about ½ cup)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon butter (or olive oil)
- 1 bay leaf (optional)
- 2 teaspoons dried basil (or 2 tablespoons of fresh basil chopped)
- salt + black pepper powder to taste
- 2 cups vegetable broth (or water)
- ¼ cup heavy cream (or milk or half and half)
Garnish:
- few bread croutons
- extra cream
Instructions
Instant Pot Method:
- Firstly, press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Next, add Olive oil (or butter) and once it's hot, add bay leaf and minced garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
- Next, add onions and saute until they soften.
- Then add carrots, red bell pepper, diced tomatoes, vegetable broth (water), black pepper powder, and salt. Carrot adds creamy texture, sweetness and brings bright color to the dish.
- Red bell pepper gives a nice smoky flavor and color to the soup. But it's optional. You can also use celery for this recipe.
- Close the lid securely, and turn the vent to "SEALING". Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL (High Pressure) setting and set the cooking time to 6 minutes.When the instant pot beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally before removing the lid.
- Remove the Bay leaf and puree the soup until smooth using an immersion blender. ( Or transfer the mixture to a traditional blender in batches and puree until smooth).Then strain the puree using fine mesh sieve and discard the residue, but this step is optional.
- Add dried basil, black pepper powder, heavy cream (or milk or half and a half), and stir well. It is entirely up to you which of these three you want to use; remember that the higher the fat content, the creamier the soup. Adjust seasoning at this stage.
- If you think the soup is too thick, you can add water or milk and simmer it for 2 minutes.
- Serve hot and top with croutons and a drizzle of heavy cream.
Stovetop Pot Method:
- Follow the same steps as above for STOVETOP, instead of pressure cooking here we have to cover the pot and simmer until the tomatoes and other vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes and blend.
Video
Notes
Tips to Make the Best Tomato Soup
- Dice Veggies into the same size: Dice the tomatoes and other veggies roughly the same size (about 1-inch cubes) for even cooking.
- Saute the Aromatics: Be sure to sauté the aromatics, like onion and garlic, in a little olive oil or butter first, it will help to elevate the soup flavors.
- Canned Tomatoes: You can also use canned diced, or crushed tomatoes instead of fresh ones.
- Roasting Tomatoes: You can also roast the fresh tomatoes in the oven or air fryer before using them in the soup.
Variations
- Extra Creamy Texture: For a richer, creamy tomato soup, I have added heavy cream to the soup. You can substitute it with cream cheese, sour cream, greek yogurt, or Parmesan cheese.
- Vegan: You can substitute heavy cream with coconut cream, full-fat coconut milk, or almond milk to make vegan tomato soup.
- Herbs: If you don't have basil, try adding different dried or fresh herbs like Italian seasoning, thyme, chives, etc.
- Other Veggies: You can also add diced celery, and beetroot to this soup to make it extra nutritious.
Nutrition
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Mary Perez
If I don't have canned or fresh tomatoes, I sub out with a 46 oz. can of tomato juice and a small can of tomato sauce. Thin with a little chicken broth if needed and for flavor. This recipe is soooo much better than canned tomato soup!
Bhavana Patil
Thank you so much.
Ramya
Awesome taste. Creamy.
bhavana
thanks ramya
Anonymous
Very nice recipe
bhavana
Thank you