Sarra Barefoot Contessa roasted tomato basil soup is a smooth, rich soup made with oven-roasted plum tomatoes, canned plum tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic, thyme, and chicken stock. The roasting takes 45 minutes at 400F (200C), followed by a 40-minute simmer, so plan about 1 hour 40 minutes from start to finish. It serves 6 to 8 and works hot or cold.
This recipe comes from Ina Garten’s very first cookbook, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (1999). Ina calls it “the perfect tomato soup” and says “it is delicious all year ’round because roasting the tomatoes gives them a rich ‘summer’ tomato flavor.” What makes her version different from most tomato soups is that she uses both roasted fresh plum tomatoes and canned plum tomatoes together, so you get caramelized depth from the oven and a bright tomato backbone from the can.
The 45-minute roast is the whole reason this soup works. That time in a hot oven drives out moisture and concentrates the natural sugars in the fresh tomatoes, so even bland winter plum tomatoes end up tasting sweet and deep. Skip the roast and just simmer everything on the stovetop and you lose that caramelized flavor entirely, which is the one thing that separates this soup from every basic tomato soup recipe on the internet.
Barefoot Contessa Roasted Tomato Basil Soup Recipe
Course: SoupsCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy8
servings15
minutes1
hour15
minutes210
kcalIna Garten developed this recipe for her specialty food store in the Hamptons, and it became one of her most-requested soups. Roasting the fresh tomatoes first is the trick that gives it year-round depth, while four cups of fresh basil keep it bright. Serve it hot with Parmesan croutons or chilled with a dollop of crème fraîche.
Ingredients
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3 lb (1.4kg) ripe plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
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1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (90ml) good olive oil, divided
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1 tablespoon kosher salt
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1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
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2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
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6 garlic cloves, minced
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2 tablespoons unsalted butter
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1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
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1 (28 oz / 794g) can plum tomatoes with their juice
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4 cups (240ml packed) fresh basil leaves
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1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
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1 quart (960ml) chicken stock or water
Directions
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Roast the tomatoes: Preheat the oven to 400F (200C). Toss the halved plum tomatoes with 1/4 cup olive oil, the salt, and pepper. Spread cut-side up in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes, until soft and slightly charred at the edges.
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Sauté the aromatics: In a large stockpot over medium heat, cook the onions and garlic in the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, the butter, and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes, until the onions start to brown.
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Combine and simmer: Add the canned tomatoes with their juice, basil, thyme, and chicken stock to the pot. Scrape the roasted tomatoes into the pot, including every drop of liquid from the baking sheet. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes.
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Puree the soup: Pass the soup through a food mill fitted with the coarsest blade. This removes skins and seeds while keeping the full-bodied texture. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
- Serve: Ladle hot with fresh basil chiffonade on top, or chill and serve cold with a dollop of crème fraîche.
FAQs
Why does Ina use both roasted and canned tomatoes?
Each type of tomato does a different job. The roasted fresh plum tomatoes bring caramelized sweetness and concentrated flavor from 45 minutes in a hot oven. The canned plum tomatoes add bright acidity and a liquid tomato backbone that keeps the soup from tasting too heavy.
Together they create a layered tomato flavor that neither one delivers alone. Canned-only soups taste flat. Roasted-only soups can taste too sweet without enough acidity to balance them out.
Can you use a blender instead of a food mill?
You can, but the texture changes. A food mill catches the skins and seeds while keeping the soup slightly rustic and thick. A blender processes everything, including the skins, which can make the soup slightly bitter and the color a bit dull.
If you don’t own a food mill, a blender works as a backup. Just strain the blended soup through a coarse sieve afterward to catch the skin fragments. A food processor will also work, though it won’t get the soup as smooth as a blender does.
How is this different from Ina’s other tomato soups?
Ina has at least three tomato soups across her cookbooks, and they’re all built differently. Her Easy Tomato Soup in Foolproof uses crushed San Marzano tomatoes with saffron, orzo, and heavy cream. Her Creamy Tomato Bisque in Modern Comfort Food adds milk, heavy cream, shallots, and leeks with a hint of saffron.
This Roasted Tomato Basil Soup from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook is the lightest of the three because it uses no cream at all. The richness comes entirely from roasting the tomatoes and from the butter used to sauté the aromatics. That makes it the best choice when you want clean tomato flavor without heaviness.
Does this soup freeze well?
It freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. Let it cool completely, then store in airtight containers with about an inch of headspace because it expands as it freezes.
Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat gently over medium-low heat. The texture holds up well because there’s no cream or dairy in the soup to separate. Add a small splash of chicken stock if it thickens too much after thawing, and finish with fresh basil right before serving since the frozen basil flavor fades.
What should you serve with roasted tomato basil soup?
Ina pairs her Parmesan croutons with this soup in the same cookbook: thin baguette slices brushed with olive oil, topped with shredded Parmesan, and baked at 400F (200C) until browned. They’re crisp, salty, and soak up the soup without falling apart.
A grilled cheese sandwich is the other classic match. Ina’s Cheddar and Chutney Grilled Cheese from Modern Comfort Food was actually inspired by this pairing. Keep the rest of the meal simple since the soup already has four cups of fresh basil and roasted tomatoes doing the heavy lifting.
