Tomato Soup

Updated Nov. 9, 2023

Tomato Soup
Craig Lee for The New York Times
Total Time
About 1½ hours
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
1¼ hours
Rating
5(8,216)
Comments
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This recipe, adapted from Ted's Bulletin, an upscale comfort food diner in Washington, makes a simple yet satisfying soup. A generous swirl of half and half adds richness, and the unexpected addition of honey lends a subtle, earthy sweetness. Just add grilled cheese. —Jennifer Steinhauer

Featured in: Junk Food Is a Source of Comfort on Capitol Hill

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings
  • ½pound butter
  • 1pound onions (about 3 medium), cut into ¼-inch dice
  • ½cup all-purpose flour
  • 4(28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
  • cups chicken broth
  • ¼cup sugar
  • 1tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1teaspoon celery salt
  • ¾teaspoon pepper
  • ¾cup half-and-half
  • 2tablespoons honey
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

403 calories; 27 grams fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 38 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 25 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 819 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 20 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Add flour and stir until mixture is slightly thickened and pale gold, about 3 minutes; do not allow to brown.

  3. Step 3

    Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, chicken broth, sugar, salt, celery salt and pepper. Raise heat to medium until the liquid bubbles, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot frequently.

  4. Step 4

    Stir in half-and-half and honey. Remove from heat and purée using a hand blender, or allow to cool until no longer steaming and purée in batches in a stand blender. Return to medium heat just until heated through. Serve hot.

Ratings

5 out of 5
8,216 user ratings
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Comments

If you cook a few diced carrots along with the onions and tomatoes, you'll likely not need the sugar or the honey, as they will sweeten the soup perfectly. They will puree nicely with the rest of the ingredients.

Great recipe and well appreciated. Living in Italy, I adjust as follows: Reduce butter by half in favor of olive oil. Reduce sugar by half. Replace celery salt with a short stick of celery during sauté of onions. Replace half n half with whole milk. Serve it with grilled ham n cheese sandwiches and a salad.

To thicken without using flour, cook a cup of diced potato with the soup. When it's puréed you won't taste the potato. This also allows you to cut back a bit on the sugar as there is natural sweetness in the potato.

Made almost as written but incorporated some feedback. I added a carrot and celery after the onion had been cooking. Only used 1/2 of the flour as I ran out and skipped the sugar and honey. It is a stunning soup but certainly only need to make 1/2 batch next time. Incredible recipe!

Made exactly as written except had shallots on hand instead of onions. Simply stellar and probably the best tomato soup I've ever had. We made it two days later for company.

This was very delicious. I cooked the onions for about half an hour with a bit of water with the lid on, until lightly brown and sweet. I used whole milk instead of half-half and water instead of chicken broth (wasn't feeling like it). Was extremely delicious.

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Credits

Adapted from Ted’s Bulletin, Washington

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