Recipes › Soups & cozy meals› Roasted tomato and bread soup with basil oil
Soups & cozy meals · Easy · Serves 4

Roasted tomato and bread soup with basil oil

A late-summer tomato soup that gets its body from a thick slice of day-old sourdough blended right in. Roasted tomatoes, garlic, basil oil, no cream.

Anna Lind Harper
by Anna Lind Harper
Tested twice · Published 2026-06-07
A wide cream-speckled stoneware bowl of deep red roasted tomato soup on a white marble counter, the surface drizzled with bright green basil oil in slow swirls, topped with a small handful of crispy torn sourdough croutons, fresh basil leaves, freshly grated parmesan, a pinch of flaky sea salt, and cracked black pepper. Beside the bowl: a small clear glass jar of more basil oil, a wooden cutting board with a half-loaf of crusty sourdough, a small bunch of fresh basil, and a folded striped cream-and-blue linen tea towel. Soft late-afternoon kitchen light.
Prep
10 min
Cook
40 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
easy

This is the soup I make in late August, when the tomatoes at the farmers' market are heavy and slightly cracked at the seams and twice as flavorful as anything I could buy in February. The whole thing is built on a small Italian trick: a thick slice of stale sourdough goes into the blender with the roasted tomatoes, and the bread thickens the soup so it's silky and substantial without a single splash of cream.

Roasting the tomatoes is the part that doesn't get skipped. Forty minutes at 400 degrees concentrates everything; what you blend at the end is essentially a tomato that has decided to be the best version of itself. A bright basil oil drizzled on top at the bowl is the small extra step that turns this into something I would order at a restaurant.

“A late-summer tomato soup with no cream and no shortcuts. Roasted tomatoes, blended bread, bright basil oil, a real dinner.”
Why this one earns a weeknight

What you'll love about it

  • 01No cream. The body comes from blended sourdough, an Italian trick that turns a thin tomato soup into a substantial bowl.
  • 02Roasted tomatoes are non-negotiable. Forty minutes at 400 degrees turns ordinary tomatoes into the best version of themselves.
  • 03The basil oil at the bowl is the small extra step that turns this from soup-from-a-can-good into something restaurant-good.
  • 04Vegetarian without effort. Pair with grilled cheese for a Sunday dinner that costs about $4 and tastes like more.
A parchment-lined half-sheet pan straight from the oven on a white marble counter, holding deeply roasted tomato halves (deeply collapsed, slightly blackened at the edges, with concentrated juices pooled in the center), thick onion slices that have taken on golden caramelization, and whole softened garlic cloves. The tomatoes are still steaming gently. A small wisp of steam rises from the pan.
Forty minutes at 400 degrees. The tomatoes should look slightly burnt at the edges; that's where the flavor concentrates.
Ingredients

For the soup

  • 2½ lbripe tomatoes, cored and halved (heirloom, vine, or roma; a mix is great)
  • 1medium yellow onion, halved and sliced thick
  • 6garlic cloves, peeled, kept whole
  • 3 Tbspolive oil
  • 1 tspkosher salt
  • ½ tspblack pepper
  • 1 tspsugar
  • 2 cupslow-sodium vegetable broth
  • 2 cupstorn day-old sourdough or country bread
  • 1 Tbspred wine vinegar

For the basil oil

  • 1 cupfresh basil leaves, loosely packed
  • ½ cupolive oil
  • ¼ tspkosher salt

For serving

  • 1 cupextra torn sourdough, for croutons
  • 2 Tbspolive oil, for the croutons
  • freshly grated parmesan
  • fresh basil leaves
  • flaky salt and cracked black pepper
Method

How I make it

  1. 01
    Roast the tomatoes.
    Preheat the oven to 400°F. On a large parchment-lined sheet pan, toss the tomato halves, onion slices, and garlic cloves with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and sugar. Spread in a single layer, tomato halves cut-side up. Roast for 40 minutes, until the tomatoes are deeply collapsed and slightly blackened at the edges and the garlic is soft.
  2. 02
    Make the basil oil while it roasts.
    Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Blanch the basil leaves for 5 seconds, then transfer immediately to a bowl of ice water (this keeps the color bright green). Drain and squeeze dry. Blend with the olive oil and salt until smooth. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer if you want it perfectly clear; otherwise use it as is.
  3. 03
    Make the croutons.
    While the tomatoes finish, heat the 2 Tbsp olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the torn sourdough pieces and cook 4 to 5 minutes, tossing often, until deeply golden and crisp on the outside but still slightly chewy at the center. Salt lightly. Set aside.
  4. 04
    Blend everything.
    Pull the sheet pan from the oven. Carefully transfer all the roasted vegetables and their juices to a blender or a large pot. Add the broth, the torn day-old bread, and the red wine vinegar. Blend on high until completely smooth, 60 to 90 seconds (work in batches if needed; never fill a blender more than two-thirds full with hot ingredients). Taste; adjust salt.
  5. 05
    Serve and finish.
    Pour into 4 wide bowls. Drizzle each generously with the basil oil (let it pool in slow swirls on the surface; it shouldn't be stirred in). Top with the crispy croutons, a generous scatter of grated parmesan, a few torn basil leaves, a pinch of flaky salt, and a crack of black pepper. Serve immediately while warm.
    A pair of hands in a sage green cardigan over a fitted white tee at three-quarter sleeve length holding a small spoon and drizzling bright green basil oil over a bowl of deep red tomato bread soup on a white marble counter. The basil oil falls in a thin stream from the spoon, creating a fresh green swirl on the deep red surface. The bowl already has crispy croutons and grated parmesan on top. A small clear glass jar of more basil oil sits at the upper edge of the frame, with a folded striped cream-and-blue linen tea towel and a small bunch of fresh basil at the side.
    Drizzle the basil oil at the bowl, not in the pot. Stirred in, it darkens; pooled on top, it stays bright green and tastes of summer.
Macro close-up of the surface of a bowl of roasted tomato bread soup: a deep red velvety surface drizzled with bright green basil oil in slow swirling lines, topped with three small crispy torn sourdough croutons (deeply golden, crusty), a fresh whole basil leaf, a generous grating of parmesan flakes, a flake of flaky salt, and visible cracks of black pepper. The cream-speckled stoneware bowl edge softly visible at the corners.
A note from Anna

Don't peel the tomatoes. The skins blend into the soup and give it body. The same goes for the onion (slice it thick so it doesn't burn) and the garlic (leave the cloves whole; they soften in the oven and blend in clean). The day-old sourdough is the trick; fresh bread doesn't have the same body when blended. If your bread is super fresh, toast it lightly in the oven before tearing.

What to serve with it

Round out the table.

  • ·01
    A grilled cheese
    The classic pairing. Sharp cheddar or gruyère on sourdough.
  • ·02
    A simple green salad
    Arugula or butter lettuce with vinaigrette.
  • ·03
    A glass of crisp white
    Or a small pour of dry sherry, which is what my grandmother would have done.
Storage & reheating

Keeping the leftovers good.

Fridge: Keeps for 4 days in a sealed container. Reheats beautifully.

Reheat: Gently in a pot over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. The croutons should always be added at the bowl, never reheated with the soup.

Make ahead: Make a big batch on a Sunday afternoon. The flavors get better overnight. The basil oil also keeps in the fridge for a week.

Freezer: Freezes well for up to 2 months. Add the basil oil and croutons fresh on serving.

Recipe card

Roasted tomato and bread soup with basil oil

A late-summer tomato soup that gets its body from a thick slice of day-old sourdough blended right in. Roasted tomatoes, garlic, basil oil, no cream.

Prep
10 min
Cook
40 min
Serves
4
Total
50 min
Ingredients
  • 2½ lb ripe tomatoes, cored and halved (heirloom, vine, or roma; a mix is great)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, halved and sliced thick
  • 6 garlic cloves, peeled, kept whole
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 2 cups torn day-old sourdough or country bread
  • 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • ¼ tsp kosher salt
  • 1 cup extra torn sourdough, for croutons
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil, for the croutons
  • freshly grated parmesan
  • fresh basil leaves
  • flaky salt and cracked black pepper
Method (short version)
  1. 01Roast the tomatoes.
  2. 02Make the basil oil while it roasts.
  3. 03Make the croutons.
  4. 04Blend everything.
  5. 05Serve and finish.

Nutrition information is an estimate. See full nutrition disclaimer.

If you liked this

More from the weeknight table.

A wide cream-speckled stoneware bowl of brothy white bean and kale stew with tender cannellini beans, wilted lacinato kale, soft diced carrots, and a generous swirl of golden crispy garlic oil with little crispy garlic chips on top. A grated dusting of parmesan, a crack of black pepper, and a flake of flaky salt finish the bowl. A torn piece of crusty sourdough sits on a small wooden cutting board beside the bowl, with a folded striped cream-and-blue linen tea towel and a small jar of more crispy garlic oil on a white marble counter.
new
Soup35 min
White bean and kale stew with crispy garlic oil
A weeknight stew of white beans and kale finished with a slow drizzle of crispy garlic oil. Brothy, savory, healthy-ish, and the kind of dinner that just needs a piece of crusty bread.
A large oval cream-speckled stoneware platter on a white marble counter holding four slices of grilled sourdough bread topped with thick juicy slices of ripe red and yellow heirloom tomatoes, generous pillows of torn burrata cheese with creamy centers spilling slightly, scattered fresh basil leaves of various sizes, a generous drizzle of green-gold olive oil pooling at the edges, flaky sea salt flakes, and cracked black pepper. A small clear glass cruet of more olive oil, a small dish of flaky salt, a halved lemon, and a folded striped cream-and-blue linen tea towel sit beside the platter. Soft summer afternoon light from the kitchen window.
new
Lunch18 min
Tomato burrata salad with basil and grilled bread
Peak-summer tomatoes, torn burrata, fresh basil, and slices of grilled sourdough rubbed with garlic. Twenty minutes of assembly and you've got the kind of lunch that needs nothing else.