Instant Pot Tomato Soup – creamy & straightforward to mix!

At a glance

What stands out: Creamy and tangy, Instant Pot tomato soup is so rich and straightforward to mix that you’ll find yourself wondering why you ever bought a can of boring tomato soup. Canned tomatoes make this recipe straightforward!

How long it takes: 50 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: Instant Pot, stick blender
Servings: 7 one cup servings

From-scratch Tomato Soup

Tomato soup is comfort food. Hot and creamy, with bright tomato flavor, it warms you up on a cool day. Reliable for lunch or dinner, tomato soup is always welcome in a lunchbox thermos, or at a tailgater picnic. Doesn’t a bowl of tomato soup sound so good right now?

You’ll be surprised how straightforward it is to make from-scratch tomato soup in an Instant Pot. Canned tomatoes make it a snap, no tomatoes to peel!

What goes in

• Canned tomatoes: The base of this recipe is two large (28 oz.) cans of whole peeled tomatoes. You can use fresh tomatoes if you happen to have an abundance of vine-ripened tomatoes.
• Onion: Choose a sweet onion or whatever you happen to have in your pantry.
• Carrots: The carrots add sweetness and additional nutrition. Since the soup is puréed, you won’t notice chunks of carrots in the soup.
• Garlic: Omit or increase the garlic, depending on how much you like it.
• Half-and-Half: The creaminess of this soup is enhanced by half-and-half. You can use heavy cream if you prefer.
• Brown sugar: We like to add just a bit of sugar to smooth out the acidity of the tomatoes.
• Oregano and basil: Either dried or fresh works well. If you like, dress it up with a pinch of herbes de Provence, a blend of several herbs.

How it comes together

Prep work. Take your Instant Pot out of your pantry. You can also make this soup on the stovetop if you don’t have a pressure cooker. Open the tomatoes and chop the onions, carrots, and garlic.

Sauté vegetables. Begin by sautéing the onions and carrots using the Sauté setting, adding the garlic for the last minute or so. Turn off the pot and add the tomatoes, squishing them with your fingers to break them up. You can use a kitchen shears if you prefer. Just cut the tomatoes up right in the can, snip, snip, snip! It doesn’t have to be reliable, because you’re going to purée it later.

Add herbs. Add a little dried oregano (or fresh, if you have it).

Cook. Pressure cook the soup for twelve minutes. It will take another 10 to 15 minutes to come to pressure, so keep that in mind. Natural release for ten minutes, then release any remaining pressure.

Purée. the lid and carefully purée the soup. Use a stick blender right in the Instant Pot, or purée the soup in a blender or food processor in batches. Be careful, the soup is boiling hot!

Finish. If you’re ready to serve the soup, stir in half-and-half (not much, just enough to make the soup creamy) and a little brown sugar and basil.

Freezing Tip

If you want to freeze the soup, don’t add the half-and-half. Tomato soup is reliable for freezing if you wait to add the cream until you serve the soup. Otherwise the soup tends to curdle when you thaw and reheat it.

Serving Ideas

Topping Ideas: from-scratch croutons, Cheez-Its, fresh herbs or a sprinkle of herbes de Provence, shredded cheese, crumbled bacon (try air fryer bacon).

Grilled Cheese: Grilled cheese sandwiches are so dippable. Try cutting a grilled cheese sandwich into bite-sized pieces and sprinkling the pieces on soup.

Wraps: Turkey wraps or veggie wraps go well with soup and you can make them ahead.

Pizza: Try straightforward-to-make English muffin pizzas. Kids love ’em!

Sliders: For a crowd, we like to serve tomato soup with sliders, like these ham and cheese oven sliders or turkey and Swiss the kitchen sliders.

Bisque or Soup?

What is the difference between tomato soup and tomato bisque? Usually tomato soup is made without dairy products although it can be puréed and be ultra smooth much like a bisque. Heavy cream is usually added to tomato bisque. We love the creaminess and richness of a bisque but not the calories, so we use a small amount of half-and-half instead of of heavy cream.
If you prefer a richer bisque, slowly stir in up to a cup of heavy cream instead of half-and-half right before serving. Do not boil once you’ve added the cream because the soup may curdle.

Possible Recipe Variations

• Make it vegan. Substitute almond milk or canned coconut milk for the half-and-half. You can also just omit the half-and-half. The soup won’t be as creamy with these changes. If you make it with coconut milk, the soup will have a noticeably different flavor but it will still be rich. You may even want to add a bit of ginger to the soup! You can also add a can of white beans and puree them along with the soup for a vegan option with a boost of protein!
• Make it on your stove top. Don’t have an Instant Pot? Make this tomato soup recipe in a large sauce pan or Dutch oven. Cooking times will be pretty similar.
• Use fresh tomatoes. You’ll need about four pounds of peeled tomatoes. Here are some good tips from Our Frugal Home for replacing canned tomatoes with fresh tomatoes.

Keeping leftovers

This recipe makes a pretty big batch and that’s a happy thing because tomato soup is so good leftover. Simply cover leftover soup and refrigerate it for three to four days. Reheat gently in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove. Tomato soup is reliable for lunchboxes in a thermos or microwave safe container.

Free Meal Plan

Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this tomato soup recipe? Take a look at our Meal Plan #28 or Meal Plan #97. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. Let us do the planning for you this week! We add a new meal plan weekly.

Browse Meal Plans

• Yield: 7
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Cook: 28 minutes
• Total: 51 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup diced onion ( 1 medium onion)
• 1 cup diced carrot ( 2 medium carrots)
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic ( 2 cloves)
• 2 cans (28 oz. each) whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ cup half and half
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil (or 2 teaspoons dried basil)

Method

1. Turn Instant Pot to Sauté mode. Add olive oil, onions, carrots, salt and pepper. Sauté, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes, or until vegetables are getting soft. Add garlic and sauté for one minute, stirring constantly. Turn Instant Pot off.
2. Crush tomatoes with hands or cut with scissors. Add tomatoes and oregano to Instant Pot, scraping any brown bits from bottom of pot.
3. Turn Instant Pot to high pressure for 12 minutes. Allow 13 to 14 minutes for pot to come to pressure. When time is up, natural release for 10 minutes. Carefully release any remaining pressure.
4. Remove lid. With a stick blender, purée soup until smooth.
5. Stir in half and half, brown sugar, and basil. Taste, adjust seasoning, and serve.

Notes

Stove top directions: Use a large sauce pan or Dutch oven. Follow recipe as directed. Cooking times will be pretty similar.

For vegans: Substitute almond milk or canned coconut milk for the half-and-half. You can also just omit the half-and-half. The soup won’t be as creamy with these changes.

With fresh tomatoes: Substitute approx. 4 lbs. Roma tomatoes, peeled and chopped, for the canned tomatoes.