The Easiest Tomato Basil Bisque

I swear I use so many canned Food Lion tomatoes they should start sponsoring me. For those of you that may not know, Food Lion is my local convenience store, it’s a few minutes down the road from my house so it’s easy for me to pop in and pick up fresh produce and groceries for dinner. The one thing I constantly keep stocked at home are canned tomatoes. You guys can judge me if you want but now a days who has time to sit there and peel fresh tomatoes to make soup? Not me! I’m a busy person! I have so many things to do on any given day I need ease and convenience. 

This recipe is probably the easiest tomato basil bisque I’ve ever made and it’s simply delicious! You pretty much chop a couple of things, throw it in a pot and then blend it up. That’s it! How easy does that sound? 

The ingredients are simple: canned tomatoes, onion, basil, garlic and a bit of cream. So I like to use a combination of crushed tomatoes and petite diced tomatoes. This allows me to have a smooth base with a little bit of chunk for a more rustic feel, now of course if you like it all smooth feel free to leave out the diced tomatoes and replace them with more crushed tomatoes. 

Start by dicing your onion and mincing your garlic. Now if that sounds too complicated or you don’t know what that means just chop it up as best as you can, you’re going to blend it later anyway. In a medium pot over medium-high heat add a bit of olive oil or other cooking oil. Sauté your onions until translucent then add your garlic and cook for about a minute. At this point I like to add my black pepper and a pinch of salt. Pour in your crushed and diced tomatoes then raise the heat to boil and reduce heat to medium low, toss in some torn basil leaves and let cook for about 30 minutes. 

Now bring out your trusty or in my case my used and abused immersion blender. Insert it nice and gently then have at it and give it a few pulses until you get your desired consistency. I like mine to have a little bit of chunks of tomato left so I only pulse a couple of times. If you like it smoother blend it until smooth. Adjust your seasoning with salt and pepper and serve in a big bowl. If you want it even creamier add a drizzle of heavy cream to the finished soup otherwise you can enjoy your deliciously easy vegan tomato basil bisque. 

Tomato Basil Bisque

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/2 onion, diced

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced 

1 (28oz can) crushed tomatoes

1 (14oz can) petite diced tomatoes

6-8 basil leaves, torn

Salt and pepper

Optional: 1/4 cup heavy cream 

In a medium sized pot over medium-high heat add about 1tbsp of olive oil. 

Sauté onions for 2-3 minutes until translucent. 

Add minced garlic cloves and cook for about a minute. Season with salt and pepper.

Slowly pour in cans of diced tomatoes and crushed tomatoes.

Gently tear apart basil leaves and add to soup mixture. Raise the heat to medium-high until boiling and reduce heat to medium low and cook uncovered for 30 minutes.

Using an immersion blender blend soup until smooth. Adjust seasoning and serve in large bowl with fresh basil and a drizzle of heavy cream.