Homemade Tomato Soup | Easy Tomato Soup Recipe | A Clean Bake (2024)

FAQs

Why do you add baking soda to homemade tomato soup? ›

The complex flavor and creamy yet very slightly grainy texture make this soup particularly enticing. And the combination of baking soda and sugar completely eliminates the tomatoes' acidity, allowing their rich flavor to shine through.

Add a can of diced tomatoes, a bit of cream, and torn fresh basil leaves. Swirl some red wine vinegar into the soup and serve with a stack of mozzarella and fresh basil leaves on a toasted baguette. Add a drizzle of pesto (homemade or store bought) and finish with toasted pine nuts and croutons.

The standard direction for a can of condensed Tomato Soup is to put the condensed soup in a saucepan, fill the can with water, add the water to the pan, stir, and heat just to the point of simmer. BUT. It's MUCH better with Milk, which makes it a creamy tomato soup, a bit more like a tomato bisque.

Add flour or cornflour

Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes to allow the starch granules to burst to thicken, and to cook out any flour flavour.

I recommend fresh basil for optimal flavor. Shred your basil so it's in fine strands that easily blend into the soup. Sugar. Adding sugar doesn't make this soup sweet; instead, it counteracts the acidity of the tomatoes and is essential for a balanced flavor.

For the most intense tomato flavor, include a couple tablespoons of tomato paste. To get the most out of it, add it to the pan when aromatics like onion and garlic are softened, but before adding the tomatoes. Let the paste cook, stirring frequently, for a few minutes, or until it starts to darken in color.

You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute. For the best results, never add flour or cornstarch directly to your soup. If you do, it will clump up on top. Instead, ladle a small amount of broth into a separate bowl and let it cool.

Well, if you really want to amp up the taste of your tomatoes, cream of tartar is your answer. Yes, there are other ways to make your tomatoes taste even better and increase the acidity. There is lemon, vinegar, or my personal favorite, balsamic.

Stir some hot soup liquid into cold dairy product to temper it, then add to the soup. Do not boil the soup after adding any dairy product, especially cheese. Add acid to the milk instead of milk into the acid. This is especially important for tomato soup.

Can I use water instead of broth in tomato soup? ›

How to Make Homemade Tomato Soup. To make this extra easy tomato soup, add butter, onion, a large can of tomatoes, and water to a large pot. (I usually use water in this soup, but stock or broth work, too).

For a creamier result, add milk in place of water. VERSATILE STAPLE: It's excellent as is, you can add your favorite ingredients to make this soup your own or you can use as a base to one of your signature creations.

This tip comes from food science. Add a small spoonful of sugar to enhance the natural sweetness of the tomatoes. Season with salt in all of the steps (starting with the sauteed onions). This ensures your tomato soup is never bland.

Tomato soup can be a bit thin, especially with the addition of cream at the end of cooking, so flour is added to the sautéing aromatics to thicken the soup.

To thwart the curdling tendency, changing procedures will render a smooth tomato soup. Heat the tomato mixture and cream separately, then slowly add tomatoes to the cream near the end of the cooking process. Once mixed, heat the mixture gently to 180 degrees. Do not boil.

Adding baking soda to a soup raises the pH and contributes sodium ions, both of which make the pectin that holds many vegetables' cell walls together break down faster. The result? Restaurant-level creaminess.

If your tomato sauce is too acidic and verging on bitter, turn to baking soda, not sugar. Yes, sugar might make the sauce taste better, but good old baking soda is an alkaline that will help balance the excess acid. A little pinch should do the trick.

And adding a ½ teaspoon of baking soda to simmering carrots or broccoli for pureed soups helps the vegetables break down quickly and create restaurant-level creaminess.

Gardeners will want to keep a little baking soda on hand when they're putting in their tomato plants in spring because sprinkling some of this ingredient into the soil can prevent certain kinds of produce from tasting dull and gives your tomatoes a boost of sweetness come harvest time.