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Creamy vegan tomato soup instantly takes me back to my childhood. A big bowl with a grilled cheese sandwich was my ideal lunch on a rainy day. My friend Lindsey told me she sneaks in fresh zucchini and carrots to hers and I had to give it a shot. It was phenomenal with the additional vegetables, which is why I’m sharing it with you.
Vegan Tomato Soup Ingredients
Wondering how this vegan tomato soup version compares to traditional heavy cream-based tomato soups? Let’s take a look at the vegan-friendly ingredients I’m using in this recipe:
- Avocado Oil: A heart-healthy fat perfect for sautéing, avocado oil adds smooth richness while keeping the soup dairy-free. You can swap for olive oil or coconut oil, if you prefer.
- Yellow Onion: Packed with antioxidants, onions not only bring a savory foundation to the soup but also offer numerous health benefits, like supporting heart health and fighting inflammation.
- Carrots: Add natural sweetness and a vibrant color to the soup while loaded with beta-carotene.
- Celery: This versatile veggie adds a hint of earthiness and a satisfying crunch, balancing out the flavors of the tomato and other ingredients.
- Garlic: Rich in antioxidants, garlic not only adds a robust, aromatic flavor but also supports immune function and heart health.
- Zucchini: With a mild flavor and creamy texture, zucchini blends seamlessly into the soup, providing nutrients like fiber that help thicken the soup.
- Vegetable Stock: Opt for low-sodium vegetable stock or vegetable broth for the best flavor. It forms the base of the soup, adding richness and depth to every spoonful. I can even show you how to make vegetable stock.
- Diced Tomatoes: The key ingredient, diced tomatoes bring a burst of tangy, bold flavor. Tomatoes are also packed with vitamins and lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that supports skin and heart health. You can also use fire-roasted tomatoes, which I did in my Fire-Roasted Tomato Soup recipe or roast cherry tomatoes in the oven to make from scratch.
- Italian Seasoning: A blend of classic herbs like oregano and basil, Italian seasoning enhances the soup’s flavors with fragrant, earthy notes. Add in red pepper flakes and black pepper if you like spiciness.
- Cashew Cream: A vegan-friendly alternative to heavy cream, cashew cream provides a luscious, creamy texture and additional protein without any added dairy.
- Fresh Basil Leaves: A vibrant and aromatic finishing touch, fresh basil complements the tomatoes and enhances the overall flavor of the dish.
How to Make Vegan Tomato Soup
This one-pot vegan soup recipe can be made in 45 minutes with a few basic steps. To speed up the process, you can buy onions, carrots and celery pre-diced. Follow along for step by step instructions to make this:
- Heat some avocado oil over medium heat in a stock pot. Mix in some diced onion and add a touch of salt for flavor.
- Stir frequently while cooking for 7 minutes, or until the onions show signs of softening.
- Add in sliced carrots and celery and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then stir minced garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant.
- Mix in chopped zucchini and cook until it starts to become tender. Since you are going to puree your tomato soup, no need to peel the zucchini.
- Stir in the vegetable stock, diced tomatoes, and your Italian herbs.
- Bring just to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables become very soft and tender.
- Puree the soup using an immersion blender. If you’ve got a regular blender with a heat-safe container, you can puree the soup with that, just make sure you work in batches to avoid a soup explosion in your kitchen!
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish with your choice of toppings (I like to add in cashew cream, fresh basil or vegan parmesan cheese sprinkle).
How to Store Vegan Tomato Soup
After cooling the soup fully, pour into 2-cup Souper Cubes or your fav freezer safe containers (leaving room for expansion) and freeze. When ready to enjoy, reheat the cubes in microwave or stove top.
What to Serve with Vegan Tomato Soup
The right side dish can turn a soup into a truly satisfying meal. The follow ideas pair beautiful with my vegan tomato soup:
- Crusty Bread or Garlic Toast: Great for soaking up the soup’s flavors.
- Green Salad: Adds freshness and a crispy texture. Try my lemon arugula salad for a tasty crunch.
- Avocado Toast or Croutons: Adds creamy or crunchy toppings for extra texture.
- Vegan Quesadilla or Vegan Grilled Cheese: A satisfying, hearty option for the cheese lovers.
- Stuffed Sweet Potato: A comforting side with natural sweetness. My Loaded Sweet Potato is always a winner.
Common Questions
Traditional tomato soup contains dairy in the form of cream or milk. A vegan tomato soup recipe swaps dairy for coconut milk or cashews to create a super creamy soup. I like to puree once everything is cooked through, then add a dollop of cashew cream (or vegan sour cream) to bump up the cream factor.
It can be! If you’re choosing a canned soup, read the ingredients… canned soup companies love sneaking in additives, preservatives and dyes to their soups. If you want to control what goes into your soup, then make it at home. My tomato soup recipe is loaded with a variety of vegetables yet is still super creamy and flavored like the tomato soup of my childhood.
I use Muir Glen brand diced tomatoes. They are organic and taste great! If you use fresh tomatoes I recommend using brandywine. They’ve got the best flavor for tomato soup.
More Vegan Soup Recipe Ideas
These vegan soup recipes are high in flavor and veggies, making them extra filling. Grab an insulated water bottle or thermos to enjoy any of these on the go:
- Gazpacho Soup: A tomato-based soup that’s best enjoyed cold.
- Vegan Pumpkin Soup: A creamy delight perfect for Autumn gatherings.
- Carrot Ginger Soup: Insanely flavorful, this soup is a great lunch option.
- Roasted Red Pepper Soup: The roasted peppers are an extra step but totally worth the flavor.
- Blended Vegetable Soup: Perfect for sick days, busy days or days where you just need some nourishing comfort.
Let me know in the comments how this vegan tomato soup turned out for you. It’s a Hansard family favorite recipe— I hope it can be on regular rotation for you, too!
Vegan Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- ⅛ tsp sea salt
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced
- 1 ribs celery chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 zucchini sliced
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 2 cups diced tomatoes undrained
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
Toppings
- ½ cup Cashew Cream
- fresh basil
Instructions
- Warm oil over medium-high heat in stock pot. Add onion and season with a little salt. Cook, stirring often, for 7 minutes or until the onion starts to soften.
- Add carrots and celery and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the zucchini and cook for a few minutes, until it starts to soften.
- Stir in vegetable stock, tomatoes, and Italian herbs. Bring just to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are very soft and tender.
- Remove soup from heat then blend using an immersion blender to puree soup. If you prefer it chunky, blend less.
- Season to taste with more salt and pepper, if needed. Serve with your choice of toppings.
Equipment
Notes
- Fire-roasted tomatoes (canned) gives this dish a rich, robust flavor that I am obsessed with.
- Feel free to spice this soup up with red pepper flakes, paprika, or fresh chopped chili peppers.
- You can use olive oil or coconut oil in place of avocado oil.
- If you have a blender that is heat-safe, then you can use a regular blender over an immersion blender. If your blender container is not heat safe, then allow your cooked soup to cool down before adding to the blender in batches to blend. If you want to serve after blending, reheat to eating temp after pureed.
- To keep this soup nut-free swap out the cashew cream topping for a dairy-free sour cream of your choice.
My husband loves Tomato soups and he said this is his favorite! I think the other vegetables gave it a nice flavor, it sorta reminded me of a v8 juice. Definitely a keeper to make again.
Yayy! Glad we made your husbands “favorites” list and you think this ones a keeper, Ronda!
Another tasty soup! I loved that it still tasted like tomato soup even with the other veggies added.
Definitely not your average Tomato soup, yet is still tasty!
Another yummy soup! Yes it doesn’t only consist of tomatoes, but the other veggies give it flavor and body. And the tomatoes are still the main players in terms of flavor. Added my favorite Italian spices and also blended in more Basil. Cashew Cream takes it to the next level. This will definitely go in the rotation. Thanks for all the interesting recipes.
I definitely think the other veggies give it flavor and body too, Daria!
I’m not going to rate it because I am not a tomato soup fan, so it would not be fair to rate something low when I knew coming in it wasn’t my favorite type of soup. However, I wanted to to give a fair shake to each of the soups in the challenge. You never know. Maybe this would have been the one that converted me.
So, with all of the veggies it doesn’t really taste like tomato soup as much as a veggie soup to me. Not my favorite, but then again I didn’t expect it to be. I think I’m going to use it as a pasta sauce and make a zucchini lasagna with it.
Great idea to use it as a pasta sauce, let me know how it turns out!
The soup is supposed to be a tomato soup….it is more like a vegetable soup. My husband thought it was great, but it really should be called a vegetable soup. In following the directions the vegetables were not soft enough to be able to puree the vegetables thoroughly with my immersion blender. Had I put it in the vitamix it would have pureed. it had a good flavor, but once again not the traditional tomato soup.
Thanks for the feedback, Krya!
Love a bowl of creamy tomato soup. Adding starchy carrots makes it more filling!
Hi Yayoi! You’re so right, carrots definitely help make a simple tomato soup more filling!
Very good. I added sun-dried tomatoes after blending it and some roasted red peppers as well as some fresh basil, thyme and parsley.
Awesome ideas on both the sun-dried tomatoes and red peppers! Delish!
Loved the creaminess of this soup. I blending this in my Vitamix for creamy perfection. I did not make the cashew cream, but did add chopped basil as a topping. I would add fresh basil to the blender next time I make this soup, as basil adds to the flavor.
Very nice flavour! I roasted garden tomatoes, onions and garlic to use. I didn’t use cashew cream but it is very good without. I will make this again.
The cashew cream is definitely not needed, yet adds a little extra flavor! Glad you’ll be making this one again, Gwenda!
excellant–i cut recipe in half for i’m one person and a full recipe is to much.. for tomatoes i measured out 1 cup and the rest i included with the stock measurment worked well. i did use yogurt instead of cashew cream. inhances flavor of soup.
More of a puréed vegetable soup instead of tomatoe. The flavor was nice, but not as a tomato soup.
Thanks for your feedback, Caitlin! So glad you like the flavor of this one!
Soup is delicious. Cashew cream added wonderful touch. Easy to make. I used both leeks and onions. I made 3 times the batch so I could share. I’m glad I did. Simply delicious.
Hi Janie! So glad you tried this with the cashew cream, it definitely is a nice touch.
So creamy and delicious! I made the cashew cream as well, and the flavor was better than expected! Will definitely be making this again!
So glad you made the cashew cream too, Lori! Excellent addition for sure.
Love! Used up my tomato harvest.
Home-grown tomatoes are awesome for this one!
This was a great way to use up the tons of tomatoes from my garden! I used my garden tomatoes and roasted them instead of using canned diced tomatoes. Delicious!
Hi Becky! Home-grown tomatoes.. yum!!
Day 5 was the best yet! Lots of flavor. Thick and creamy. Yum!
Hi K.B.! This one is perfect for cooler fall weather, can’t wait to make it and enjoy in the Autumn!