Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons
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Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons is a classic soup and sandwich, made simple with just a few ingredients. This is a perfect weeknight meal, and can easily be doubled!
Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches were a staple in our house pre-kids. I made a lot of it in the early days. But my idea of Tomato Soup was opening up a can of Campbell’s Tomato Soup and adding some milk. Zap it in the microwave and wa-laaa. Dinner is served.
This recipe is ALMOST as easy. But SO much better. Trust me.
Tomato Soup Ingredients:
Here’s what you’ll need when you go grocery shopping. I’m guessing you may have all of these items already!
- Fresh produce: onion, garlic, fresh basil (optional).
- Canned goods: crushed tomatoes and chicken broth.
- Spices: salt, pepper, dried basil, and sugar.
- Milk products: half and half, cream, or milk.
Grilled Cheese Ingredients:
- sourdough bread
- butter
- smoked gouda (or another type of cheese)
Tips for making epic tomato soup and grilled cheese:
- To make this soup creamy, you will need to puree the ingredients with an immersion blender
. There may be tiny bits of onion, but you don’t want big chunks. If you want it to be completely creamy (with no bits), use a blender. - If you want a sweeter soup, use more sugar. Two teaspoons is not very much, so feel free to add more.
- You can make this lighter by using milk instead of half and half. Or make it richer with heavy cream.
- Use a panini maker to make “pretty” grilled cheese. You will get those nice dark grill marks that is necessary for great presentation – if you are a food blogger like me.
- Double this recipe for a larger group.
This really is a simple soup to make. I like to think of it as a base recipe, because it’s not super sweet or creamy. So please make this your own and add more or less, according to what you like.
Enjoy!
Make this soup recipe next: Mexican Roasted Corn Chowder
Please let know if you try this recipe. Be sure to comment and leave a review on the blog so I can see what you think. You can also like my Facebook Page, follow me on Pinterest, and catch me on Instagram.
xoxo ~Sue
Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion – diced
- 2 cloves garlic – diced
- 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups chicken broth – lower sodium
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- salt and pepper – to taste
- 3/4 cup half and half – or milk
- fresh basil – for serving
- extra swirl of half and half – for serving
For the grilled cheese croutons:
- 4 slices sourdough bread
- 2 Tablespoon butter
- 4 slices smoked gouda cheese – or any cheese you like
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan on medium high heat, add olive oil. Then add onion and sauté until onions are soft. Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
- Add crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, salt and pepper, dried basil, and sugar. Let simmer for about 15 – 20 minutes.
- Take pot and place on countertop or in sink. Using immersion blender, and puree soup until creamy. There will still be small bits of onion. If you use a blender, those bits will be gone.
- Return pot to stove, add half and half and simmer another 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Meanwhile, make grilled cheese croutons. Butter sourdough bread and put butter side down in pan (or panini maker). Put cheese on top, followed by remaining slices of bread. Cook until warm.
- Slice grilled cheese into croutons. Serve soup with croutons, fresh basil, and a swirl of half and half.
Notes
- If you want a sweeter soup, use more sugar. Two teaspoons is not very much, so feel free to add more.
- You can make this lighter by using milk instead of half and half. Or make it richer with heavy cream.
- Double this recipe for a larger group.
Made this tonight for my family. They requested tomato soup and grilled cheese, so I said, “why, yes, I remember seeing a Sue Bee Homemaker post on just this!” Looked it up and there it was…super easy and super good! Admittedly, my family of all boys is easy to please, but the soup was perfect and WAY BETTER THAN A CAN! I used the half and half which seemed perfect for the creamy finish but not too heavy.
Hi Becky! I’m so glad you tried the tomato soup! Thanks so much for your feedback. 🙂
I love this Tomato Soup and this recipe exceeds the standard! I love it and it reminds me of the soup that my Mom used to make!
It’s an oldie but a goodie. 🙂
Hi Sue, or is it Suebee?, this would be a great addition to the tomato theme over at Food on Friday (which is on right now). Each month there are 3 different themes plus a Potluck – so you should always be able to share something. If you would like to join in the fun on a regular basis please schedule a reminder for the second Friday of each month (NZ time). Cheers from Carole’s Chatter
This looks so good, I think I need to make some this week!
I hope you try it Melanie!!
This is PURE COMFORT FOOD! Looks fantastic, especially on a cold day like today!
I could dive in that bowl of soup right now. The cheese melting on top of the soup makes me want a big spoon so i could slurp some up. I think this is comfort food in a bowl!
Thank you Cynthia!!
This is a good looking bowl of soup. 🙂 Perfectly warm and comforting on a cold day. Beautiful photos!
Thank you Kimberly!! 🙂
This looks so yummy and cozy. Perfect for the recent cold front. 🙂
Visited your blog few days back and today again. For some strange reason there was an issue with commenting. So, here is just my two cent. The tomato soup is something we all like and your recipe does not appear to take too long preparation time (20-25 minutes is quite legit). We’ll try it out someday. And the pictures are itself mouth-watering.
Yes, this soup is very easy to prepare. And delicious! Thanks for stopping by!
This soup is gorgeous and way better than the canned stuff! We just got a foot of snow yesterday so thinking I need to make this soup for dinner tonight 😉 Beautiful pics too!
Hope you enjoy it! Stay warm, Karrie!
How all does not like soup? Personally I do like. The recipe looks mouth-watering. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Hope it tastes as good!
I love soup! Almost all soups, but the tomato soup is a favorite of mine. This looks fabulous, especially with the grilled croutons! I can’t wait to try it!
Thanks Elaine! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂