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 to Make Tomato Bisque
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.
I use my favorite 6 qt. Copper Core 5-ply All-Clad pot for this soup. It’s classified as a roaster and is a great pan for use in your kitchen!
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.
This is my recommended wire whisk if you need one for your kitchen.
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.
Using an immersion blender or a traditional blender puree the soup until smooth. It’s an easy way to make smooth creamy soups.
I absolutely love my Waring Professional Immersion Blender. I have had two less powerful household units that both burned out. This professional immersion blender has been going strong for 5 years already and shows no signs of slowing up.
When you take into account how much I spent on the two that broke down this immersion blender is not really that expensive, and its a kitchen tool you’ll come to depend on. 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 all can be used to enhance the flavor of the bisque.
More recipes you’ll love!
Restaurant Style 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)
- 6 cups whole plum tomatoes including juice (canned) San Marzano if possible
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp sea salt add more to taste.
- ½ tsp 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!
Adrienne Hobbs
I’ve been looking for the “right” tomato bisque recipe for years. This is it! It’s amazing. Sometimes, I caramelize slices of onions and add instead of dicing onions and emulsifying them. My kids like it best your way, though. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Mandi
I made this for my Aunt yesterday and she is a picky eater, she said it is the best soup she has ever had. Followed the recipe exactly as written, it was delicious!
Sara
Awesome tomato bisque!!! This is probably one of the best soups I’ve ever made. My husband even asked for more!!! Thank you!!!
Michelle Kelly
Do you include the juice from the canned tomatoes?
Chef Dennis Littley
yes you do
David
Wife says BEST tomato bisque she has ever had!
Amy Liu Dong
Oh my goodness. This soup was so good and tasty. The perfect dish to make for this cold weather. Thank you!
Jan Nesse
Recipe is perfect. I used Parmesan instead of cheddar. Love the flavors.
Richele Clark
My emulsion blender is currently in storage… so I pureed the onions and celery in my Ninja, before cooking in the butter… same with the san Marzano tomatoes. It was perfect with a sourdough grilled cheese.
Linda
So creamy and delicious! Love the flavors combo and how perfect it is for fall weather
Audrey
Turned out great.
Michelle
THIS is exactly what I’ve been looking for, it was delicious! Thank you so so much!
Angela
You are right, I may never go back to canned tomato soup again after making this bisque. The texture and flavor are amazing. Delicious!
Robin
This soup was amazing! Thank you for sharing your recipes!
I will definitely double the recipe next time!
Lynn
Can this soup be frozen after the cheese and cream are added?
Chef Dennis Littley
yes it can. You may need to thin it out when you reheat the soup.
Linda
So darn delicious, I can not believe I made it myself! I truly did not in ant to share any of the soup, but guilt took over and my family now calls me CL for Chef Linda
Do I really have to tell them it was your recipe?
Chef Dennis Littley
LOL…. no you don’t just keep coming back and find more recipes to amaze them with!
Deb
I hope to make this soon. My favorite tomato bisque i discovered in a restaurant located in an antique store. It is out of business now, and I have been wanting to find a recipe that was as good as the one they served. They added sliced mushrooms to their bisque, which I thought was unusual, but it was very good! I hope I like your recipe just as much!
Naomi LaForte
Yellow cheddar or white cheddar?
Alex
My family loved it! The only change I had to make was to add basil since I did not use San Marzano tomatoes which contain basil. This recipe will be added to our dinner rotation.
Peggy Wright
I have made your bisque several times and love it! However you might want to correct the amount of butter in the recipe… you have it listed as a 1/4 pound of butter instead of tablespoons.
Michelle Lowe
Made this soup. For first time tonight with grilled cheese will never eat can tomato soup again it was so good.
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m happy to hear you enjoy my tomato soup, Michelle, it is delicious!