Tomato Soup Recipe with Basil

This tomato soup recipe gets its richness from heavy cream and butter. Slightly healthier versions of this classic soup exist, but only the real stuff offers the right flavor and taste. Serve this soup with a side salad or a piece of crusty bread.

Recipe for Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients You Will Need:
4 tomatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups tomato juice
1 bunch of fresh basil
1 cup heavy whipping cream
½ cup butter
Pinch salt
Pinch ground black pepper

Take a stock pot over medium heat, and add the tomatoes and tomato juice. Simmer the tomato mixture for about 30 to 35 minutes. Next, you are going to puree the mixture along with the basil leaves. Be careful when pureeing, as it can get messy and even dangerous with hot liquid.

Return the tomatoes and basil to the stock pot. Now you can stir in your heavy cream and butter. Add the salt and pepper for flavor, and continue to stir the soup. Let it simmer until the butter melts, and give it one last stir before serving.

Variations
Try making your creamy tomato basil soup with some extra ingredients. Take 2 cups of chicken broth, 1 large chopped shallot, ½ whole diced onion, 3 cloves of sliced garlic and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, and add them to your ingredients list above. This time, start by heating your vegetable oil, garlic, shallots and onion in a stock pot. Then stir in the tomatoes and chicken broth. After that, you'll want to puree the mixture with the basil. Bring the mixture back to the stock pot, and stir in the heavy cream and butter.

If you want to make this a roasted tomato basil soup, try roasting ripe plum tomatoes in the oven at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes. Then use the roasted tomatoes in either recipe above.