Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup

Behold: Creamy, cheesy, and cozy homemade vegan tomato soup! This simple blended soup recipe is an easy and healthy vegetarian dinner or make-ahead lunch that can be made from either fresh tomatoes or canned tomatoes and other simple ingredients. Dairy-free cream of tomato soup is freezer-friendly, perfect for meal prep, and has a rich creamy texture you have to taste to believe.

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I loooove a good creamy, cheesy tomato soup, and back in the vegetarian days of my early 20s, it was my personal favorite!

When I went vegan in 2014, I realized all my favorite tomato soups had one thing in common: They were loaded with cream and parmesan (go figure!). So, I’ve always wanted to make the best dairy-free recipe for a creamy tomato soup. 

This is that great recipe, friends! It’s full of flavor with a rich texture and that notable tangy parmesan zip, brought to you by our favorite game-changing ingredient: miso paste!

This vegan tomato soup was created back in March of 2020, at the start of the stay-at-home order here in Philadelphia. We made it with whatever was in our kitchen that week, and it was so good we made it about 50 times again after that – SUPER pantry staples friendly!

I asked T if he thought this vegan tomato soup could be made with fresh tomatoes, and it turns out it totally can! So, we’ve included instructions for both below.

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Easy Vegan Tomato Soup Ingredients

Here are the healthy ingredients you’ll need to make this tomato bisque along with some notes to make sure you get the best flavor results! The full recipe with ingredient amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

Carrots: I like to add some carrots to my tomato soup to get the extra veggies, and it’s a great trick for those veggie-phobic kids or partners out there. It also adds a subtle sweetness to the soup that T and I really enjoy. You can also try this trick with red bell pepper!

Onion: Yellow onion preferably, but white onion would work. Red onion, on the other hand, would not! 

Garlic: If you don’t have fresh garlic, feel free to sub minced garlic. I usually do ½ – 1 Tbsp minced garlic per garlic clove for which the recipe calls.

Sea Salt: To bring all the flavors together! 

Basil: We used dried basil when we originally created this recipe, but feel free to replace it with fresh minced basil! That’s what we’re doing now that summer is here. When subbing fresh basil, I double the amount at least. 

Ground Black Pepper – There can never be enough ground black pepper in my soup! We add some directly to the soup and a healthy pinch to the bowl before serving. 

Vegan Chicken Bouillon Powder: We used our homemade bouillon powder which is a total game-changer when it comes to flavoring soups like this. If you have a store-bought bouillon you prefer to use, go for it. To sub bouillon cubes, use 3. If you’re using bouillon paste, use 3 Tbsp. 

Tomato Paste: I definitely recommend the canned version of this stuff! I tried to make homemade tomato paste once. It was weird.

​Diced Tomatoes: We used canned diced or crushed tomatoes when we originally made this recipe, but if you have some fresh tomatoes you want to use up, you can! You will just need to remove the skins and seed your tomatoes first. See the section below for more info on how to sub fresh ingredients here.

Vegan Butter Options

Vegan Butter: Use whatever brand of vegan butter you like. There are SO many awesome ones out there these days. Our favorite vegan butter right now is the Plant Butter sticks from Country Crock. They are EVERYWHERE too, so check your local grocery store! 

Vegan Butter Substitutions: You can sub olive oil or refined coconut oil if you don’t have vegan butter. To keep this oil-free, sautee the veg in some vegetable broth.

Vegan Heavy Cream Options for Creamy Texture

Dairy-Free Heavy Cream: Make sure the one you buy is both unsweetened and unflavored (leave the vanilla flavored coffee creamers out of this!). We LOVE the new dairy-free whipping cream from Silk or the non-dairy half n half by Califia. 

Pantry Options for Vegan Heavy Cream:

If you’re looking for a pantry option for vegan cream, you can use full-fat canned coconut milk or coconut cream. The flavor will be a bit different though.

Depending on the brand of coconut milk you use, you may run the risk of a slight coconut flavor. To avoid this, make sure you get a coconut milk that has no sugar and no ingredients other than the coconut. 

If you want something with more of a neutral flavor, try making your own dairy-free cashew cream by blending ½ cup raw cashews with 1 cup of hot water in a Vitamix or other high-powered blender until smooth. If you can’t do cashews, sunflower seeds would work too!

Miso Paste Options for Tangy Cheesy Taste

White Miso Paste: This is what adds that tangy aged parmesan taste to your tomato soup!

This stuff is revolutionary when it comes to reaching optimal vegan cheesy-ness. It’s optional if you’re not after that taste, but this “secret ingredient” takes the cheesy tomato flavor to another level. 

Miso Paste Substitutions: You can sub vegan parmesan cheese for the miso paste. We like the vegan parm by Go Veggie.

If you want to go the homemade route, you can sub our Vegan Cheese Seasoning! And while you have that out, there’s nothing like a big piece of fresh garlic bread with a bowl of tomato soup!

How to Make Healthy Homemade Tomato Soup with Fresh Tomatoes

For best results when using whole tomatoes, T suggests using deep red tomatoes like Roma, Redvine, Plum and the like, but ultimately, any tomato should work. 

Use a small paring knife to remove the stem and slice an X in the bottom of each tomato. Add them to a pot of boiling water for just 1 minute. 

Then, carefully remove each tomato with a slotted spoon and dip them in an ice bath. You only have to dip each tomato in the ice bath for a few seconds, and the skin will start to peel off like a charm. 

From there, just scoop out the seeds, dice up your tomatoes and measure them out. We’ve found the 2 28-oz cans we use here can be replaced with 6 cups of diced tomatoes. And if you don’t have that many tomatoes but still want to try to use them up, try using ½ fresh tomatoes and ½ canned tomatoes.

Keep in mind though, if you’re using fresh tomatoes, you may need to add more liquid to your soup to thin it out. If you get to the end and notice your soup is a little on the thick side, that’s probably why. 

How to Make Vegan Tomato Soup

Step One: Prep

I like to be prepared with my veggies chopped ahead of time. (AKA – I ask T to chop them for me because I am admittedly awful at it.) 

But if you’re like me and struggle with the knife skills, don’t worry. Your veggies don’t have to be perfectly chopped for this recipe because we’ll be blending the whole thing!

Step Two: Sauté The Veggies

You’ll start by melting the vegan butter in a large soup pot on medium high heat. 

Add the chopped carrots, onion, and garlic and stir everything until it’s nice and coated. Then, sprinkle in the salt, basil, and black pepper and stir again. Saute for 5-7 minutes or until the onions and garlic are slightly browned and fragrant.

Step Three: Boil + Blend

From here, you’ll add the water, bouillon, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste. Stir, cover the pot, and bring the whole mixture to a boil. 

Once it’s boiling, turn to low heat and keep it covered while you let everything simmer for about 10 minutes. During these 10 minutes, you want to be sure you’re stopping to stir the soup often. 

That’s super important, you’re not making tomato sauce! And be sure to scrape the bottom really well when you stir so the soup doesn’t scald.

Finally, you’ll remove the soup from heat and use an immersion blender to puree everything. 

If you don’t have a hand-held immersion blender (They’re actually SUPER handy; we use our immersion blender almost every day!), you can also puree this soup in batches in your high speed blender or heat-proof food processor. 

BE CAREFUL if you are new to blending hot liquids though. Use small batches depending on the size of your blender, and blend on low.

Step Four: Let the flavors mingle.

To finish the soup, you’ll stir in the dairy-free cream and the optional miso paste. Cover and let it sit for 5-10 minutes for the flavors to mingle. 

That step is KEY to get the most flavor out of your soup, my friends. But, it is always the hardest part! 

And understandably so, especially because this soup (and by proxy, your entire house) is going to smell mouth-wateringly AWESOME.

How to Serve Vegan Tomato Soup

This is my favorite soup, especially when you’re looking for a healthy meal on a cold day.

What to Serve with Tomato Soup 

Serve this dairy-free tomato soup hot with vegan grilled cheese sandwich! 

We like using Violife cheddar slices for the best classic vegan grilled cheese. But this soup is also amazing served with our “fancier” grilled cheese recipes, like a vegan caprese grilled cheese or a vegan feta grilled cheese! 

Or, for an even easier option that can bake while the soup cooks, serve this vegan tomato soup over or alongside a big baked potato!

Topping Ideas

And speaking of our vegan feta, we love to crumble that stuff atop this soup. That’s what you see in these photos! It is heaaaaven. 

Our air fryer croutons would be another great topping option. 

You could also add some fresh minced basil or other fresh herbs and red pepper flakes.

How to Store Leftover Blender Tomato Soup

Cool the soup to room temperature before refrigerating. 

Store your vegan tomato soup leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or the freezer for up to 6 weeks. 

This soup freezes SO well, making it perfect for meal prep! We love to freeze in our 2-Cup Souper Cubes.

More Creamy Soup Recipes:

• Healthy Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup
• Creamy Vegan Spinach Soup
• Vegan Beer Cheese Soup
• Spicy Pumpkin Soup
• Vegan and Vegetarian Potato Soup Recipe

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We hope you enjoy this soup recipe as much as we enjoyed creating it. And we REALLY hope it helps to bring you some warmth and cozy comfort no matter what season it is. Until next time!