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.
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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!
Carly says
Can I freeze this? It’s sooo good and we are full already….
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my tomato bisque, and yes it freezes really well. I usually make a double batch and free it for later.
Emma says
I just wanted to let you know my friend and I made your tomato bisque yesterday for his birthday and it was some of the best we have ever had. Thanks for sharing!
Brian says
I loved this recipe the first time I made it, but it didn’t have enough oomph for my liking. The second time I made it, I added 1/4 cup of Frank’s RedHot hot sauce. Magnifique! Now it’s perfect for a cold winters day. Served with toasted ciabatta cut into 1-1/2” halved slices and nothing is better. I top mine with just a little shredded Asiago and fresh chopped basil. Thanks for the great recipe!!!
Chef Dennis Littley says
It’s one of favorite soups and I’m happy to hear you were able to adjust the recipe to your taste preference.
Sutton says
This might be the first review I have left on a recipe, and I have one word for you…PHENOMENAL!
Followed the steps exactly and truly this is some of the best bisque I’ve ever had – easily the best soup I have ever made. Thank you for this AMAZING recipe.
Making this again tonight, something yummy to always have in the fridge.
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thats what I like to hear! I love tomato bisque and I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the soup.
Bill Bass Jr says
Loved the recipe. I used only one 28 oz can of San Marzano peeled tomatoes (because that’s what I had) but it came out just fine and the family really enjoyed it, scraped the bottom of the soup pot, nary a scrap left.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my tomato bisque, its one of my all time favorite soups.
Da says
Would be helpful if you included the amounts of ingredients and a ingredient page.
Chef Dennis Littley says
Every recipe includes a recipe card with all the ingredients and instructions. It’s at the bottom of the post. If you found the comment section, you went right by it.
Heidi says
Outstanding! Such amazing flavor and incredibly easy. I puréed the onions and celery, but I just squished the tomatoes. I like my tomato bisque chunky. The cheese was a nice addition too. Great recipe Dennis!
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed the bisque! It’s one of my favorite soups.
Mona says
The addition of cheese was a new one for me, and we loved it!
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m glad you enjoyed the soup! With all the years I have enjoyed tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches, the addition of cheese seemed like a good idea to me.
arderr says
Delicious overall flavor and not too complicated, but I followed recipe exactly and it was a little too salty, even for a salt lover like me.
Kathie King says
I used salted butter and skipped the salt entirely. It may not have salty enough for some, but then you can add to taste.
Kathie King says
I am not known for my culinary abilities. I had my friends coming for brunch and wanted to use the last of the tomatoes from my garden. I used your recipe (substituting fresh tomatoes for canned). It was super easy and everyone RAVED about the bisque. So much so, that everyone had 2 bowls and the rest of the food went relatively untouched! Thank you for this easy/delicious recipe.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the soup and helped up your culinary abilities! I bet it was really good with the fresh tomatoes.
Linda says
Just plain delicious!
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thank you! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the bisque!
M&M says
Been making a simpler version of this just for my lunch, but will include these fine ingredients next time. Tomato soup is so fantastic.
Surabhi kulkarni says
Your roux was a game changer! It makes the soup so smooth and creamyy! I have already made this recipe once, and will definitely be repeating
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my bisque. The roux can be used to make many of your favorite cream soups.
Jean D. says
I’ve made this recipe 3 times already and seriously my family can’t get enough. Heaven on a spoon! 5 star all the way.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m very happy to hear you enjoyed my tomato bisque, It’s one of my favorite soups!
Winnifred says
I wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your recipes.
One of my favorites is the Tomato Bisque.
Delicious!! I did have problems with the cheese, I found that it did not melt completely. It could be due to my not straining the bisque bc I love all of those little pieces of tomato, etc.
I doubled the recipe for my friend’s church and it was so popular that I was scraping the crock pot bc I had run out!
Please continue to create your wonderful recipes.