Chunky tomato soup with fresh basil is a hearty and comforting soup recipe perfect for any time of year! This dairy-free tomato soup recipe is clean and easy to make.
A note about this soup: It’s simple, makes a HUGE batch (so feel free to scale it down) and it’s just the ticket if you’re like me and are still reconciling your three bowls of ice cream and six beers from the weekend.
There is no cream or milk in the soup, which makes it very acidic. In order to cut the acid, you can add sugar but as an alternative, I added baking soda. The rule of thumb is about ¼ teaspoon baking soda per 6 tomatoes to cut acid. Just for your knowledge.
Recipe Adapted from Jovial Food’s Homemade Tomato Soup Recipe
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Chunky Tomato Basil Soup
Easy tomato soup with basil is a hearty, delicious side dish or light entrée, perfect for serving guests.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 yellow onions, chopped
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 2.5 ounces fresh basil leaves, chopped (or 1.5 teaspoons dried basil)
- 3 28- ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes, including juices/puree
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- sea salt, I added no salt
- Grated Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- In a large pot, sauté the onion in the olive oil over medium heat until browned, about 10 to 12 minutes
- Add the garlic and sauté another 3 minutes
- While onion and garlic are sautéing, open your canned tomatoes and dice the whole tomatoes.
- Add the diced tomatoes and juices/tomato puree to the pot with the sauteed onion and garlic.
- Add the vegetable stock, chopped basil and butter. Stir until butter is melted and incorporated.
- Add the baking soda. This will cause the soup to bubble up quite a bit, so make sure your pot is big enough to hold a little momentary soup fizz. The bubbles/fizz will die down after a few seconds of stirring.
- Bring pot to a full boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes.
- Optional: You can blend part or all of this soup for a smoother consistency, though I like it chunky.
- Serve with grated parmesan on top. Seriously. It’s the bomb!
Nutrition Information
Yield 10 Serving Size 1 of 10Amount Per Serving Calories 170Total Fat 6gUnsaturated Fat 0gCarbohydrates 25gFiber 5gSugar 19gProtein 5g
Patty Laure
Thursday 23rd of February 2023
Why baking soda to your soup?
Julia
Sunday 26th of February 2023
Hi Patty! It cuts some of the acidity from the tomatoes :)
Lynz
Wednesday 23rd of November 2022
Can I use sugar instead of baking soda as I don’t have any baking soda? If so how much sugar? Thanks!
Julia
Wednesday 23rd of November 2022
Hi Lynz! You can use sugar! I would add it to your personal taste. I'd start with 1 tablespoon and adjust up from there if I felt it needed it. Hope you enjoy! xoxo
Wendy
Sunday 22nd of August 2021
I didn’t follow the recipe completely, as I only wanted a small amount for the two of us. It was a definite hit! I’ll be making this again.
Julia
Monday 23rd of August 2021
I'm so happy to hear it, Wendy! Thanks so much for the sweet note! xoxo
Jeannie
Tuesday 20th of July 2021
Instead of sugar to cut the acidity, try a square of baking chocolate, the bitter kind with no sugar. Use this with any tomato sauce or soup.
Julia
Thursday 22nd of July 2021
Oooh, I LOVE that idea! Thanks so much for the suggestion! xoxoxo
Heidi
Sunday 29th of March 2020
Do you have any idea how to convert this recipe to make in an Instant Pot?