This Roasted Tomato & Garlic Soup is proof that you can make delicious food with basic ingredients and minimal effort! Simply roast fresh tomatoes and garlic then blend with sautéd onions and vegetable broth until smooth and enjoy.
Roasted Garlic & Tomato Soup at A Glance
- It’s made with fresh tomatoes:
- Roast the tomatoes are tender and lightly caramelized around the edges. Roasting brings out their natural sweetness which makes for a deeper, richer, more flavorful soup.
- TWO whole heads of garlic inside:
- This might sound like a lot, but roasting transforms the naturally sharp and punchy garlic into a softer, creamier, more mellow tasting flavor.
- It’s dairy free:
- Instead of milk or cream, use veggie broth to soften and blend everything together until smooth.
How to Make Roasted Garlic & Tomato Soup
Summed up into bite-sized steps:
- roast garlic & tomatoes in the oven
- sauté onion in a big pot on the stove top
- add roasted veggies and stock/broth the onions & blend
Roast the Tomatoes
- Tomato type: Variety doesn’t matter, just make sure they’re ripe.
- Amount needed: About 3-4 lbs
- FYI: If you’re using small tomato varieties like grape or cherry tomatoes, aim for 4 lbs. If you’re using medium or large varieties you’ll be fine with closer to 3 lbs, but there’s not problem if you use more than that.
- Baking pan: Use 1-2 large, rimmed baking sheets or roasting pans.
- How to cut the tomatoes: Quarter large tomatoes, halve medium tomatoes and leave small tomatoes in tact.
- Cut side-up: After tossing in oil & spice, arrange the tomatoes so the fleshy, side is facing up. This allows the excess water to steam/escape. Less water = sweeter, more intense flavor.
Roast the Garlic
- Leave the bulbs in tact and remove the most outer, papery skin only:
- Simply peel off the papery outside layers leaving the thin skin on the inner cloves still attached to the rooted bottom.
- Cut off the top end of the garlic head. The goal is to remove the tips just enough to expose the top parts of the garlic cloves (about 1/4-inch).
- Season & wrap: Place both heads in the middle of a large piece of baking paper. Rub with oil, salt & pepper then wrap up in the baking paper. Wrap with a piece of foil to keep the paper shut tight.
- Roast & cool: Place in the oven and roast for about 40 minutes until the cloves are soft and slightly golden. Open up the foil/paper and set the garlic aside to cool down a bit so they’re cool enough to handle before adding to the soup.
Onions & Blending
- Sauté onions. Start sautéing the onions around the time you remove the garlic from the oven. Cook about 10 minutes or so until soft.
- Add vegetable stock. Stir in to the pot with the onions, cover and keep warm over a low heat until it’s time to blend everything.
- Add tomatoes & garlic. Tip the roasted tomatoes (along with the pan juices) into the pot with the peeled garlic cloves then blend together with a hand-held stick blender until smooth.
Tip for Using a Regular Blender instead of a Stick blender
- Don’t add the stock/broth until after blending.
- Stir it into the pot after you’ve blended the sautéd & roasted veggies. The less hot liquid you have to move around the better.
- Let the roasted tomatoes cool a bit before blending.
- You don’t want piping hot liquids splashing around while you transfer things from pot to blender. You can always warm it back up again on the stove top if needed.
- Blend in batches.
- To avoid overflow, don’t fill the blender more than about halfway full.
- After blending, open the blender lid facing away from your face.
- Speaking from experience, hot soup-steam to the face is something you want to avoid.
Soup Toppings: Add some texture to your soup with crunchy croutons, crispy crackers or roasted pepitas. Stir in an extra savory flavor with fried shallots, grated parmesan (or a sprinkling of vegan parm!) or a herby pesto.
More Cozy Dairy Free Soup Recipes to Try
Enjoy!
Let me know if you try this Roasted Garlic & Tomato Soup recipe! Leave a comment and review with your thoughts. I always appreciate the feedback and serving suggestions that you come up with!
Yield: 6 cups
Roasted Garlic & Tomato Soup Recipe
No Ratings
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour
Total Time
1 hour 20 minutes
This roasted tomato soup is made with fresh tomatoes, garlic and sautéed onions blended with vegetable broth until thick and smooth.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs tomatoes - quarter large tomatoes but leave cherry-sized varieties whole
- 2 whole heads of garlic - leave the head intact with the cloves attached
- 4 tbsp olive oil, divided - add more if needed
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 large onion, diced - red, white or yellow
- 1 ½ cup vegetable stock (360ml)
- small handful fresh basil, plus more for serving
Need help converting to weights? Check out my cups to grams Conversion Guide.
Instructions
- Oven prep: Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C). Grease 2 large baking sheet.
- Tomato prep: Add the tomatoes to the prepared baking sheets with 2 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss together until the tomatoes are evenly covered in oil and spice then spread across each pan in a single layer with cut side facing up.
- Garlic prep: Use a sharp knife to cut off about 1/4-inch off the top of each garlic head to expose the cloves. Place both heads in the middle of a piece of parchment paper and/or foil and drizzle with oil (about 1 tbsp). Season with salt and pepper. Use your fingers to spread the oil and spice all over the garlic. Place the garlic bundle on one of the baking sheets.
- Roast tomatoes & garlic: Transfer baking sheets to the preheated oven. Roast the garlic heads for 40 minutes then remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Roast the tomatoes for 50 minutes until the edges are lightly caramelized and the tomatoes very tender.
- Sauté onions: After removing the garlic from the oven, warm a large pot over a medium heat with 1-2 tbsp olive oil. Add the onions and cook about 10 minutes or so until soft then add the vegetable stock and fresh basil. Cover with a lid and reduce the temperature down to medium-low until you're ready to add the tomatoes and garlic.
- Peel Garlic: After the garlic is cool enough to handle, remove the cloves from the skin. Pinch from the bottom of each clove and pull up - the garlic should pop or squeeze easily out.
- Combine: Add the peeled cloves to the pot along with the roasted tomatoes (pan juices included). Stir everything together. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until it smooth and creamy.
- Adjust as needed: Taste and season your soup, seasoning as you see fit with more salt, pepper etc. Add your preferred soup toppings and garnishes - fresh herbs, red pepper flakes, grated parmesan cheese, vegan parmesan, a drizzle of heavy cream or olive, etc.
- Leftovers: Cool soup to room temperature then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 4 days.
Notes
- Tomato Type: Use any variety - just make sure they're ripe. If you plan on using small tomato varieties (like cherry or grape) aim for about 3.5-4 lbs tomatoes.
- Stock/Broth: You can also use chicken stock instead of vegetable stock if you don't need this soup to be vegan or vegetarian.
- A Note on Blending: If you blend this in a blender or food processor - blend the soup in batches only filling the blender halfway full at most. Please be careful not to overfill the blender or the heat and pressure force the lid off. Also make sure to open the lid away from your face so the steam doesn't hit you.
- Freeze: Cool soup completely then store in a freezer-safe, airtight container or bag. Leave room in the bag/container for the soup to expand as it freezes. Let defrost over night in the fridge then reheat fully before serving. If the soup separates after thawing, re-blend to mix it back up.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1 cup (225g)Amount Per Serving: Calories: 141Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 3g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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