One of the great joys in life is a bowl of delicious Tomato Bisque packed with a rich tomato flavor. Now, I’m not talking about the canned variety of tomato soup that we all grew up on. I’m talking about a silky-smooth, creamy tomato soup that will have you moaning with every spoonful.
And the good news is you can have this on your family’s dinner table in an hour.
I do have to warn you, that once your friends and family taste this bisque there’s no turning back to the canned variety of tomato soup. But the good news is, my Tomato Bisque is easy to make and freezes well so make up a big batch and freeze some for later! This is definitely one of my favorite soups.
Make a few grilled cheese sandwiches to go along with the bisque and you’ll have the perfect comfort food.
Ingredients
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make our Tomato Bisque. In chef speak we call that the Mise en Place, or everything in its place.
This is a good practice to get into whenever you cook. Not only does it speed up the process but it ensures you have everything you need to make the dish.
It’s a short list of ingredients. Canned tomatoes ( I use San Marzano), vegetable broth or chicken broth, cheddar cheese, cream, chopped onions, chopped celery, flour, butter, salt, black pepper and sugar (optional).
You can also add a little grated romano or parmesan cheese to the soup.
Soups are really easy to make with almost no rules or essential ingredients. In the old days, soups were made out of scraps and foods we wanted to make of use of before they went bad. I think this is where the true kitchen artisans showed their skills making nothing into something delicious.
The problem we run into these days is making something out of what’s on hand is having everyone love it so much that they want you to make it again. That my friends is why we have recipes.
How do I make tomato bisque?
The first step in creating my Tomato Bisque is how I start most cream soups.
- Add the butter to a large pot.
- As the butter melts, add the chopped onions and celery.
- After sauteing the onions and celery for about 5 minutes, add the flour to make a roux. *You can use olive oil to make the roux, but the soup won’t be as rich.
A roux (pronounced ROO) is an important part of many soups and sauces. In this soup, the roux is used as a thickener and a way to make the soup smooth and velvety. A roux helps with consistency and texture and can turn a lackluster dish into a culinary masterpiece.
Adding hot stock to the roux creates a Veloute. This alone could be called a poor man’s cream soup. The addition of cream or milk adds body to the soup, making a hybrid type of bechamel sauce, which is how I like to make my cream soups.
There is actually very little cream or milk in most of my creamed soups. The cream changes the texture, color, and mouthfeel. But using too much can detract from the overall flavor and mouthfeel, so don’t overdo the heavy whipping cream!
After the stock has been fully incorporated into the roux, you can add the other ingredients to the veloute.
Chef Dennis Tip:
Use a rubber spatula to make sure you get in all the corners of the pot to release any roux that may be stuck in the pan.
Once the veloute is ready, add in the tomatoes and seasonings. Mix well and simmer for about 30 minutes.
You can use fresh tomatoes to make this delicious creamy tomato soup, but I would suggest just using San Marzano tomatoes and skip the extra work.
Use an immersion blender or a traditional blender to puree the soup until smooth. It’s an easy way to make smooth, creamy soups.
You can also use a traditional blender or food processor to puree the soup.
The next step is straining the bits and pieces of celery, onions and tomato out of the soup so it’s smooth and creamy. There really wasn’t much left after the immersion blender did its thing.
The last step in creating this ah-mazingly delicious Tomato Bisque is adding the cream and the cheese.
What you end up with is an incredibly flavorful Tomato Bisque. Its rich flavor and velvety smooth texture will make a tomato soup lover out of anyone and will soon become a family favorite. You’ll never reach for that red and white can again!
I like to garnish my tomato bisque with shredded cheddar and chopped fresh basil.
Recipe FAQ’s
No, you don’t. If you don’t mind a few chunks in the soup it’s perfectly acceptable not to strain the bisque.
No, you don’t. I like the way it mellows out the tomato flavor and the added cheese flavor is always a good thing.
Tomato soup is usually made with either vegetable or chicken stock. Tomato bisque is made by adding cream or whole milk. The dairy is what makes it thicker and creamier, which gives it the defining traits of a bisque.
Croutons, fresh herbs, dried basil, toasted nuts, sour cream, poached egg, or additional shredded cheese can be used to enhance the flavor of the bisque.
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Tomato Bisque
Ingredients
- 1 cup celery small dice
- 1 cup onions small dice
- ¼ lb unsalted butter 8 tablespoons (1 stick)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock if you prefer)
- 56 oz whole plum tomatoes including juice (canned) San Marzano if possible (2 cans)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoon sea salt add more to taste.
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese *add more if you like a cheesier soup
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a 4-quart saucepan. Add celery and onions.
- Allow the onions and celery to cook for a few minutes until they turn semi-translucent.
- Add the flour to the pan to make a roux.
- Let the roux mixture cook for 5-7 minutes over low heat (the flour should begin to smell a little like bread).Don't let the roux get dark or burn.
- Heat the stock in another saucepan.
- Add the stock to the roux, using a wire whip, and mix well.
- Add the tomatoes and seasonings and allow to simmer for 15- 20 minutes.
- If you have an immersion blender after the bisque has simmered, use your immersion blender to puree as much of the product as possible. You can also transfer it to a food processor or blender, just be very careful with the hot bisque.
- After you have either used an immersion blender or food processor, strain your bisque to remove all the bits and pieces of celery, onions, and tomatoes.
- Return the bisque to the pot and add the heavy cream and fold in the shredded cheddar.
- At this time if the bisque appears to thick you can either add more vegetable stock, milk, or just plain water.
- Taste the soup and re-season if necessary, then allow the soup to simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Tb says
Perfect one! Everyone loved, and my family is very finicky in food
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thanks for letting me know everyone enjoyed the bisque!
Aaren says
I made this soup and it was amazing! However, it makes a lot and my husband doesn’t like tomato 🍅 soup. Can this be frozen?
Chef Dennis Littley says
Absolutley. I usually make extra so I can freeze it. I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my bisque and sorry your husbands not a fan, but that means more for you!
Leah says
Just made this soup for a wedding reception with grilled cheese toasts. Simply delicious. I would like to know if this soup freezes well? Would be great to make in advance.
Chef Dennis Littley says
It freezes very well. I usually make a large batch and freeze the rest in portions for later.
Susan Dion in Los Angeles says
My friend, I enjoy this bisque frequently because of it’s rich flavor, it’s so easy, and the ingredients are staples that are always on hand in my kitchen. I do add two ingredients that I personally love and are from an unforgettable tomato bisque that I was served in a Santa Monica restaurant so many years ago that it may predate the city’s infamous pier. To taste – rosemary and marjoram.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my bisque recipe Susan. And I love hearing about my friends adjusting the recipe to their taste preference.
Chloe says
This is so delicious!!! I only had beef bone broth but it still came out extremely yummy. I also added a red bell pepper with the celery and onion, which made it better. This is the best tomato soup, so warm and hearty.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the bisque, and beef broth works well, it just gives it a heartier flavor which is not a bad thing.
judy says
I made this soup an it is DELICIOUS! Family & friends want More!
very easy to make !
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my tomato bisque recipe. It’s one of my favorite soups to make and to eat!
Kitty W says
I made this exactly as described. Delicious soup with simple ingredients and simple cooking. The taste was perfect. Thank you.
Chef Dennis Littley says
You’re welcome and I’m very happy to hear you enjoyed my tomato bisque!
chris says
Excellent. Made it exactly according to your instructions and it came out perfectly. I hadn’t added the cream until serving because I expected to freeze several cups for future reference, but after eating the first bowl, I realized that the rest of it will be gone very shortly, and will never make it to storage. I’ll double the batch next time!
Chef Dennis Littley says
You made my day with your comment Chris! And I understand about not having any leftovers, it is a pretty delicious soup!
Belinda Vasquez says
Hi Chef Dennis,
Curious on serving size. I see you have 8servings. Wondering if it is by the cup? Does this recipe make 2quarts of soup?
Chef Dennis Littley says
The recipe makes a little over 3 quarts. Servings should be about 12 oz.
Sarah says
Thanks for the recipe. I will be making it soon! One question- the recipe says 48oz can of tomatoes but I can only find 28oz cans. Is that a typo? I am just trying to get the right proportion of tomatoes to the rest. Thank you!
Chef Dennis Littley says
I am sorry for the confusion, its 56 ounces, so you would use two cans.
Janizia says
I am not a tomato soup fan, I grew up in a tropical country and there we don’t eat tomato soups. As a curiosity I decide to try this recipe, after a coworker told me about bisque tomato soup, and oh my Lord I love it, I am glad I did it. This recipe is delicious, I made it and I will make again and again, is so easy and so good. Thank you very much for this recipe chef Dennis.
Chef Dennis Littley says
Wow, thats quite a compliment! I’m really happy to hear that you enjoyed my tomato soup recipe. Its been a family favorite for a very long time!
Heidi says
This soup is so delicious! I’m making another batch for the winter freezer stash. I didn’t strain it, and it had a wonderfully rich consistency. I like my tomato bisque with tid bits of tomato, so I held some out and smashed them at the end. Love this recipe!
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed the soup. I like bits in mine too.
Sandee Smith says
Well I did mine backwards. I made my soup before I researched. While mine is good I knew I must have skipped something. It’s been years since I made it. So while the taste is there it was a little grainy. I forgot to saute the onion and celery. I had given them a rough chop and dumped them in the blender along with the canned tomatoes. I pureed it and put it in my cooker. I then added another can of tomatoes because I like bits of tomato in my soup. I also added basil along with my salt, pepper, and a tsp. of sugar and about 2 Tbls. of butter and a little half and half. The taste is great I just need to saute first.
Virginia Ann says
Hello Chef Littley,
I just made this recipe. I diced my onion and celery really fine, in hopes that I wouldn’t have to strain it (it worked) there are very small pieces here and there but overall it did not affect the quality of the recipe, if one doesn’t mind some pieces. I am a vegetarian so I used a vegetable broth. This is a delicious and relatively easy recipe to make. I will be sharing the link.
I made grilled cheese to serve with it.
Delicious, thank you.
Courtney says
Made this a couple of weeks ago for the first time, my father in law loved it. He’s been repeatedly asking me to make it again.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my tomato bisque. Its one of my favorite soups.