Well hello fall! In honor of the recent change in season I cooked up a batch of tomato soup, but not just any tomato soup. This Roasted Tomato Soup recipe takes the delicious and familiar flavors of tomato soup to the next level. Slow roasting the tomatoes in the oven before adding them to the soup pot intensifies their flavor and increases their sweetness. It’s a simple trick that really elevates this soup, making it stand out from the crowd. It makes this comfort food even more comfortable. Is that even possible? Allow me to convince you with a steaming bowl of this luscious and flavorful soup.
For extra flavor and additional crunch, and well, just because they are delicious, I added some cheesy crunchy chickpeas to the top of this soup. They provide that satisfying crunch, and who doesn’t love a little cheddar cheese flavor with their tomato soup. Those two are a match made in heaven. The crunchy chickpeas are optional of course, a little basil works just as well as a garnish. And, though I am a lover of all things toppings and garnishes (you should see me at a fro-yo joint – my cup is 90% toppings and 10% sorbet) this soup has so much flavor that it will be just fine without.
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This recipe calls for slow roasting the tomatoes before adding them to the soup. This quick trick helps to intensify the tomato flavor and bring out their natural sweetness!
Ingredients
- For the soup:
- 5 lbs assorted tomatoes (, any mix will do)
- 1 bulb of garlic
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 medium white or yellow onion (, diced)
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 (15)oz can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon sucanat sugar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- For the Chickpea Croutons:
- 1 (15)oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- Salt
Instructions
- For the Soup: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Quarter or half the tomatoes depending on their size and place them on a baking sheet that has been coated with cooking spray. Cut of the top of the garlic bulb, exposing the heads of the individual cloves. Wrap in foil and place on the baking tray with the tomatoes. Roast for 45 minutes until the tomatoes are caramelized and have shrunk in size.
- Heat the oil over medium heat in a medium sized stock pot or Dutch oven. Once the oil is heated, about 1 minute, add in the diced onion. Cook over medium head until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the roasted tomatoes and squeeze in the roasted garlic. The cloves should slide right out once you give the bulb a squeeze. Add in the Italian seasoning and cook for 1-2 minutes until you can smell the herbs.
- Add in the vegetable stock, tomato sauce, nutritional yeast, and sugar. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook at a simmer for 20-30 minutes until the flavors have intensified and the soup has thickened up a bit. Season with salt and pepper.
- Allow the soup to cool for a few minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup to achieve a silky smooth texture. If you don’t have an immersion blender, a food processor will work too. Bring the soup back to a simmer and then ladle into bowls. Top with cheesy chickpea croutons, if desired, and serve.
- For the Chickpea Croutons: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking tray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Spread the rinsed chickpea croutons out on a clean kitchen towel. Rub a second kitchen towel over the chickpeas to dry them off. You will begin to see some of the skins come off.
- For extra crispy chickpea croutons rub each chickpea against the towel to remove the skin. I take the towel in one hand and rub the chickpea in a pinching motion and the skin pops right off. Discard the skins. Dry off the chickpeas one more time to remove the moisture that was trapped under the skin. If you are in a hurry you can skip this step. Your chickpeas will still turn out, they just wont be quite as crispy as if you removed the skins.
- Add the dried chickpeas to a bowl. Add in the olive oil and toss to coat. Add in the mustard, nutritional yeast, and salt. Toss one more time and spread the chickpeas out on the baking tray in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes. Stir the chickpeas around on the tray and bake for another 20 minutes or until the chickpeas are browned and crunchy.
This looks so delicious! I never would have thought of chickpea croutons, can’t wait to try it!
Thank you! You will have to let me know what you think once you give it a try :)