Homemade Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Soup
I love this rich, creamy Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Soup when the temperatures begin to drop and you find yourself wanting to wrap yourself in a soul comforting recipe.
This soup is easy to put together and all the heavy lifting gets done by using the slow cooker.
Homemade Tomato Basil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, with the juice
- 1 cup onions, finely chopped
- 1 cup celery, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 cups half and half
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Add diced tomatoes, onions, celery, tomato paste, chicken broth, oregano, and basil to the crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.
About 30 minutes before the soup is ready, prepare a roux by melting the butter over medium-low heat in a skillet and whisking in the flour. Whisk constantly for about 10 minutes or until the roux turns golden brown. Slowly add the vegetables from the crock pot to the roux, a cup at a time. Whisk together until smooth then add the roux mixture back to the crock pot.
Stir in the Parmesan cheese, half and half, and salt and pepper. Stir well then cover and cook on low for another 30 minutes.
Pour soup into blender (you may need to do this in batches, depending on how big your blender is)
to get out all the clumps and puree until smooth.
Serve with grilled cheese sandwich wedges.
I’ve made it several different ways, but this time I chose a variety of diced tomatoes. I liked the extra boost of flavor that the Basil, Garlic & Oregano option provided and I think this round is my favorite to date. The recipe already has basil and oregano in it, so it just helps to enhance it.
Funny story about why I chose Hunt’s. Let’s face it, when you’re in the store there are lots of different brands to choose from and you may find yourself saying “it’s just diced tomatoes, does it really matter”? I’m not here to debate the differences, but while watching television there was a commercial for Hunt’s tomato sauce that came on and mentioned the fact that what makes them different is that they peel the diced, whole, and stewed tomatoes with FlashSteam® instead of chemicals, which means no chemical by-products go back into the earth. The entire commercial is dreamy. It’s very farm to table inspired and as I was grabbing my cans of tomatoes, it resonated and swayed my decision.
You could, of course use fresh tomatoes for this recipe as well.
Delicious on its own, I’m serving it with finger sandwich style grilled cheese sandwiches. Basically, make some grilled cheese sandwiches, then cut away the edges and slice into thirds. Makes them portable and perfect for dipping!
It also makes them perfect to include in my new Picnics, Potlucks & Porch Parties book!
Seriously can’t wait to share more with you about all the fun stuff contained in it. It’s not your average cookbook and I couldn’t be more thrilled.
Do you have a go-to easy dinner comfort soup you like to make during the Fall months?
