Tomato Cheese Soup
Submitted by nehpets
Tomato cheese soup made with oven-roasted tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, fresh herbs, and cream cheese stirred in for a velvety, rich finish.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
1 hrsREADY
1 hrsA tomato soup that goes well beyond the can. This version roasts the tomatoes with celery, garlic, and red bell pepper in the oven first, building a concentrated sweetness you just can’t get from stovetop-only cooking.
While the tomatoes roast, mushrooms and onion get sauteed in butter until soft, then flour goes in to thicken things up. Beef stock (veal stock if you can get it) forms the base, seasoned with basil, rosemary, and thyme. Once the roasted tomato mixture joins the pot, everything simmers together for 30 minutes so those flavors really meld.
The finishing move is cream cheese blended smooth and stirred into the hot soup. It adds a tangy richness without the heaviness of heavy cream, and the texture turns silky.
Pro Tips
- Blend the cream cheese in a food processor before adding. Dropping cold chunks directly into hot soup creates lumps that are tough to dissolve.
- Use the tomato juices from the can. They carry concentrated flavor and help build the broth.
- A pinch of sugar in the soup isn’t for sweetness. It tames the acidity of the tomatoes and rounds out the flavor.
Variations
- Grilled cheese dippers: Serve with grilled cheese cut into strips for dunking.
- Spicy version: Add a diced jalapeno to the roasting pan with the tomatoes for gentle heat throughout.
Ingredients
Directions
Place the tomatoes, with juice, in a buttered oven-proof baking dish .
Add the celery, garlic and red pepper and cover and bake in a 325℉ (160℃) oven for 25 minutes.
Sauté the mushrooms and onion in the second batch of butter in a large stock pot for about 8 minutes.
While stirring, slowly add the flour and sugar, blending until mixture is very smooth.
Add the stock, basil, rosemary and thyme, stirring until soup comes to a boil.
Add the contents of the baked tomato pan from the oven and bring to a boil.
Cover and simmer the soup for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a food processor, blend the cream cheese, salt and pepper until smooth.
Slowly stir the cream cheese into the soup.
Garnish with chopped parsley.
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