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Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

Hello Villagers.
Fall means a time of weather changes, thankfulness, and a coziness that can only be found in the form of soup. I love soups, especially ones that can be thrown in a crockpot and practically forgotten until dinner. This creamy tomato basil soup is incredibly easy to make and extremely versatile. You can serve it alone for a light meal or add a grilled cheese sandwich for comfort food. You can even make a giant batch and freeze it for later. I like to freeze it in 1 to 2-cup portions for easy lunches. While I tend to make this in the fall using canned tomatoes, it is also great in the summer when tomatoes are in season. It’s just hard to convince the kids that hot soup is a good idea when they’re sweaty from the Texas heat.
Tomato Basil Soup Ingredients
Begin by throwing all of the ingredients, except the milk, into a 7-qt crockpot. Now, one ingredient that is not pictured above is 2 cups of broth. I like my soup thicker, so I typically omit this ingredient. But if you prefer a thinner soup, add it in at the beginning. You can use chicken broth or vegetable if you’d like a vegetarian version. Allow this to cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours.
The next step is to blend the soup to get it’s wonderful creamy texture. When I first started making this soup, I would use a blender or food processor and it was incredibly messy. Then, a family member introduced me to the amazing world of immersion blenders. Folks, if you don’t have one of these handy gadgets, I HIGHLY recommend one. What used to take a long time and created a huge mess, now takes a few minutes and the blade of the blender just gets thrown in the dishwasher. It. Is. Awesome.
Once you’ve blended the soup, it’s time to temper the milk. Tempering is a simple process that heats the cold milk slowly to prevent it from curdling in the hot soup. Place the milk in a large bowl. Slowly add some of the soup, a little at a time. Make sure to stir the mixture. Continue adding small portions of soup until the milk is the same temperature as the contents in the crockpot. Add the milk/soup mixture back into the crockpot. Stir or use the immersion blender to blend everything together.
Serve hot and enjoy!
Tomato Basil Soup
Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients

  • 2-28 ounce cans diced tomatoes
  • 2-28 ounce cans crushed tomatoes
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp minced garlic
  • 4 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 2 cups milk or heavy cream
  • Optional: 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth

Instructions

  1. Place all ingredients except milk into 7-qt crockpot. For a thinner soup, include the optional broth
  2. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours.
  3. Using an immersion blender, blend the contents of the crockpot until smooth. You can also use a blender or food processor.
  4. Temper the milk.
  5. This is a process that allows you to slowly heat the milk, preventing it from curdling.
  6. Place milk in a bowl and slowly add a small portion of the hot soup.
  7. Do this, stirring as you go, until the milk is roughly the temperature of the soup.
  8. Then add the contents of the bowl back into the crockpot.
  9. Using the immersion blender, blend the soup until all of the milk is even throughout.
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Jessica Barnes, PhD, RDN, LD

Dr. Jessica Barnes received her PhD in nutrition from Texas Woman's University. Her research focused on food preference development and creating materials to help preschoolers become familiar with healthy foods. She has worked with families and communities as a clinical and community Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.

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