Easy Tomato Soup
Published
Published
A super simple and Easy Tomato Soup loaded with golden onions, tiny pasta, and a bit of cream delivering bold wonderful flavor. Perfect for dinner or lunch on its own or with a grilled cheese sandwich!
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItThis post may contain affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we genuinely love.
5 STAR REVIEWS
Best Tomato Soup Recipe
My husband and I were born only two days apart, so my sister hosts an incredible combo birthday brunch for us every year. Without fail, there is always something new that I devour, which leaves me pleading for the recipe. This tomato soup recipe is one of them. She served it to us over 10 years ago and it’s been my go-to ever since; it’s so simple and delicious and is now the only version I ever make.
A few things that make this tomato soup stand out from other tomato soups is it’s loaded with sweet onion, which cook down until golden and somewhat caramelized, tiny pasta is included which gives it great texture and thickness, and a little heavy cream is added, so each spoonful is luscious!
Helpful Tips & Variations
- Sweet onions. Onions are a big component of this recipe. They sauté until starting to caramelize. Don’t leave them out or the soup just won’t be the same.
- Low sodium chicken stock or broth. Use a good quality store bought brand or use my homemade chicken stock recipe.
- Canned crushed tomatoes. Sometimes I use plain and other times I use fire roasted, which doesn’t make it spicy, it just gives the soup even more depth of flavor. You need a big 28 ounce can. Some brands are chunkier, and some are closer to a puree. Ideally, you want a consistency right in between. I like the Cento and Muir Glen brands.
- Acini di pepe pasta. This is my favorite little itty bitty pasta! I use this in so many dishes. It plumps up and looks a little like tapioca. If you can’t find it, orzo is a good replacement.
- Heavy cream. You can omit this, but I highly recommend you add it in. It truly finishes off the soup and takes it from 10 to 15. Half-n-half would be ok instead. If you can’t have dairy at all, use some canned coconut milk.
- Spices. Don’t skimp here on the salt and pepper; you need them or the soup will be bland. I never add other spices to this soup, but you can. Oregano and/or thyme would work great. Fresh chopped basil at the end is also nice.
- Large pinch of saffron threads (optional). I never want to spend the money on this, but if you’re up for it, saffron is a really nice addition to this soup.
Easy Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 medium sweet onions, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock, (or broth)
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- Large pinch of saffron threads, (optional)
- ½ tablespoon coarse salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup Acini di Pepe pasta, (see note)
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- In a large pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in the chicken stock, crushed tomatoes, saffron (if using), and salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, and add in the tiny pasta. Reduce heat slightly but still bubbling and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occassionaly.
- Stir in the cream, return the soup to a very gentle simmer and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the pasta is tender.
- Remove from the heat.
- At this point it's ready to serve, but you could cover the pot and let rest for about 10 minutes, which allows the pasta to plump up even more.
- Serve hot soup with croutons, oyster crackers, popovers, or a grilled cheese sandwich.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Did you make this? Leave a rating below!How To Make Easy Tomato Soup Step By Step
Gather your ingredients.
In a large pot, warm 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add 2 medium finely diced sweet onions and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Add 3 cloves minced garlic and cook until fragrant.
Stir in 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock, 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes, large pinch saffron (optional), ½ tablespoon coarse salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
Bring the soup to a boil, add in ½ cup dry Acini di Pepe pasta, reduce heat slightly but still bubbling, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in ½ cup heavy cream, return the soup to a very gentle simmer and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat. (At this point it’s ready to serve, or you can cover the pot and let rest for about 10 minutes, which will allow the pasta to plump up even more.)
Serve hot soup with croutons, oyster crackers, popovers, or a grilled cheese sandwich.
What to Eat with Tomato Soup
Because of the tiny pasta, this soup is pretty filling, but I almost always serve it with Popovers (these make me weep! SO GOOD!), Garlic Bread (so easy! I make it and store it in the freezer), or a Grilled Cheese Sandwich (THE BEST!!) You could also top with croutons or oyster crackers. And you can’t go wrong with a nice green side salad for a soup and salad combo.
Proper Storage
Allow this soup to cool (but no more than 2 hours at room temperature, because of the cream), then transfer to an airtight container. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Note: the pasta will continue to soak up the broth. You can add a little chicken stock to thin it out when heating it up, if desired. (I do not recommend freezing this soup. The pasta expands and then becomes mushy when thawed and reheated. Plus, the heavy cream tends to separate and leaves an unappealing taste.)
More Soup Recipes:
- Hungarian Mushroom Soup
- French Onion Soup
- Chile Relleno Soup
- Zuppa Toscana
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Avgolemono Soup
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
My Easy Tomato Soup recipe was originally published 1/7/13. It was retested and republished to be better than ever 2/24/26.
This soup was so good! Didn’t change a thing. Never used acini di pepe before but will now use it in place of pastina when I make soups that call for small pasta. This is definitely a keeper!
Whole family really liked it! Served with Toasted ham and cheese sandwiches. An easy to make, keeper recipe.
Your soup is absolutely delicious! Followed the recipe as written and is sure is good!! Thank you!!
I made this soup and devoured two bowls in no time flat! Grilled cheese dipped in, and yummmmmmmm! I did add some brown sugar to tone down the tang a bit. I also used my immersion blender (before the pasta was added) to make it smooth for my daughter, who just had her wisdom teeth pulled, and used orzo for the pasta. My kids (17 & 20) approved and loved it too! This is going in the “Did you get this recipe from Amy?” rotation. I’ve never been able to cook. No, for real, like each time I made dinner, we had a backup plan on where to go in case it didn’t work out. I even started a Facebook page called “I Am Not a Cook” to play off my last name of Nixon, so I could get on the show Worst Cooks in America. I recently got laid off from my job, so CFA can no longer be the “go-to” because eating at home is way more affordable and much better for you. I have been rescued by Amy’s amazing recipes, and I’m scoring extra Mom points!!
Made this 2 nights ago
Wasn’t quite as easy as it sounds, but well worth the extra effort. My fault that I didn’t use a really big pot. I can’t emphasize enough that you need a LARGE pot.
It was so good, that just the soup was our dinner ( with a few crackers)
I LOVE this soup!!! What do you think about using pre—cooked rice instead of pasta?
Amy, this looks so good! It’s frigid cold here in New Hampshire so I’m making it tonight. I have someone that has a gluten allergy so I have to have the Acini di Pepe pasta served on the side. Will this affect the integrity of the recipe? How should I keep the pasta from sticking together? It looks so delicious with the pasta in it. Any suggestions appreciated! Thank you!
Hi Sandy! It will greatly affect the recipe by not including the pasta. It’s a main component and soaks up the flavor of the broth as it cooks in the soup and also serves as a thickener. I’m sorry!
My husband and I loved this tomato soup! It was very tasty… I used orzo pasta and added some basil and thyme instead of the saffron. I will be making this soup again soon:)
Delicious! Creamy and tastey and just the right amount of pasta.
So tasty and different than any other tomato soup I’ve tried. It’s one of my favorites now. Thanks for sharing!
I made a half recipe of this a few days ago, primarily for my mother who had a tender mouth due to some recent dental work. It is a delicious soup, and Mom has had it for lunch the past three days!
I didn’t have any crushed tomatoes, so I roasted some grape tomatoes & a Roma that I had on hand, peeled & chopped them, and added 8 ounces of tomato sauce. I used Orzo pasta, and added one tablespoon of nutritional yeast for additional protein.
My family has “Soup Night” the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving, making two or three soups, depending on how many we are feeding. This soup became an immediate candidate for this year’s Soup Night – high praise, indeed!
We make this recipe several times a year, sooooo good
I made this for lunch with the suggested grilled cheese. We both really enjoyed it and we both had seconds! My husband LOVES tomato soup and he thought this was amazing! We will be keeping this recipe! Also, we decided next time we will add an extra small 14 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes! Thanks for the great recipe!
Yum !
This was a perfect soup.
I used coconut milk because it’s all we had. This was delicious! I used basil and thyme instead of saffron.
Thank you for such simple and delicious recipes. I also feel like I can slightly alter them as needed.
My family loved it!
This soup was beyond delicious. I sub 1/4 tsp of turmeric and 1/2 tsp of paprika for the saffron. Thank you for such a great recipe.
This was delicious! I did add a little fresh basil to it. I cannot wait to make it again. I have a friend. Who is having surgery next week and I will make it for her.
Hi Amy. Made this soup last night and it was a HUGE hit! I didn’t have the saffron threads but used basil and thyme as spices which were delish! I did cook the pasta (orzo) separately for the purist who did not want pasta in his tomatoe soup! I highly recommend doing this. By keeping them separate you can refrigerate the leftovers without having the noodles continue to expand in the soup. I knew this would be good after making your AMAZING French onion soup!!! Thanks for another great recipe!
My family loves this! I added some spice and blend the soup before adding the pasta
Really hearty tomato soup!
This is excellent and quick! I like to keep to the initial recipe for the first time, but I didn’t have saffron and couldn’t resist adding some grated pecorino romano cheese. Glad we have leftovers!
We enjoy a good tomato soup with a grilled cheese. This was very flavorful and easy. My family enjoyed it, so I will make this again!
This tomato soup recipe is a huge hit in my family. I double and share with co-workers. I swap out the crushed tomatoes for crushed San Marzano tomatoes.
I have made this soup many times. Very easy and flavorful. I usually add about 1/2 stick of butter and some basil, but either way, this soup is a winner. It is my quick go to soup. Thanks for sharing this.
So good! We are empty nesters and, I always make enough soup to freeze in individual portions. For this (and all soups) I freeze the pasta separately from the soup and add the cream And thawed pasta when heating up. This is so good!
This soup has become a staple in our house! I make it at least once a month. I almost always have everything on hand and it’s so easy. It replaced my go-to tomato soup recipe of years.
So good! We are empty nesters and, I always make enough soup to freeze in individual portions. For this (and all soups) I freeze the pasta separately from the soup and add the cream And thawed pasta when heating up. This is so good!
This was a delicious twist on tomato soup with the pasta. Every bite got better and better. Loved it so much.
This was amaaaazing!
SOOOO!! Good. I didn’t have have saffron or Pepe pasta. i used orzo pasta pasta instead (i always have that) As i cook for 1 i cut the recipe in 1/2 That was my biggest Mistake I have no left overs for later.
Sooooo good! I tried this recipe and loved it. The next time I did roast 5 Roma tomatoes and added it and even more delicious. Thanks for the great recipe.
Most favorite recipe! Repeated requests for this from family.
This soup is the bomb! It’s so easy to make rendering great results. I didn’t feel like spending $14 for a tiny amount of saffron threads. I have a ton of Sazon Goya con cilantro y achiote seasoning packets on hand. I decided to throw in one packet and omitted the salt. It was delicious! I will substitute orzo as a pasta next time around.
Delicious soup!! Thanks for the recipe.
This was really good. I ended up doubling it as I had homemade stock to use up. I also added shredded zucchini as I had to use them up to. I blended it smooth so my picky eater would try it. It needed a little brightness so I added some red wine vinegar. I mean this as a compliment but it almost reminded me of a grown up spaghttios. Will make this regularly going forward!
I used half’n half instead of heavy cream and it came out fine. I also added a pinch of baking soda and tablespoon of sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. I didn’t have saffron. Overall, very tasty and I would make it again!
Hi,
What can I use instead of cream? I eat dairy free.
Thanks!
This soup was delicious. Best tomato soup ever and perfect for a cold winter day. Such a simple recipe. I could not find the pasta mentioned in our grocery stores, so used a pasta called Ditali. Will definitely be adding this soup to my go to soup recipes.
This was delightful. It’s my favorite tomato soup recipe. I’m going to make the garlic bread next time.
Really great recipe. I used couscous but changed nothing else. Will definitely make again and again. Lol Thank you.
Wow. Best tomato soup I’ve ever had. So simple yet so much flavor. Who would have thought that onions caramelizing and tiny pasta would make such a difference???
I love making tomato soup. This is a lovely simple recipe. Perfect for light lunch or dinner.
Delicious
This was so easy and so good. Just what I needed today. Served with crusty garlic bread for dipping. I did use the saffron.
Delish! I blended with an immersion blender and added basil and Parmesan
I’ve made this soup so many times…I tried a different one a few weeks back and my kids asked “where’s THE tomato soup?” Lol. I’m done. This is the only one I will make now.
I sub half and half for the heavy cream and it was still creamy and wonderful!
I only made the soup, since I was serving it with panini, but it was delicious! I like tomato soup, but I find that I get tired of it after a few spoonfuls. The pasta in this recipe made it more interesting, and the saffron added a nice extra flavor. I couldn’t find acini di pepe at my grocery store, so I used fideo instead (short cut spaghetti). It worked well. I will definitely make this again!
Hey, I was just wondering how the soup does for leftovers. Does sitting make the pasta swell and mushy?
Hi Katie – my family loves this soup the next day! The pasta is fine.
I’ve never been fond of tomato soup, but I’m rethinking that with this recipe. I love fresh tomatoes and grilled tomatoes, otherwise I have to be “in the mood.” {smile}
Yum!!!
This recipe IS IT. My new favorite way to serve tomato soup.