Easy tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons

This Easy Tomato Soup Recipe is perfect all year round and the Grilled Cheese Croutons are such a fun addition! 

Heads up! This Easy Tomato Soup Recipe was first published in February 2013. Photographs were updated October 2018. 

When I got my October Food Network Magazine the cover recipe was for tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons. As soon as Tim saw it, he said, “Oooh, make that.”

In October I was still unable to eat wheat or dairy, but I had every intention of making it as soon as I could.  It’s been a full two months that I’ve been off of the restricted diet and I’m just now getting around to making it.  That shows you just how behind on life I am.

Although life with young kids keeps me busy, it isn’t the regular things that has me behind.  Sure, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and other household management tasks take up a lot of my time, but it’s really the whole house-building process that is stealing all the extra time I might otherwise have.

This is actually the second house we’ve built, but the process this time is much, much different. The first house was from a production builder and most of our finishes were chosen for us, and other things we only had a few finishes to choose from. This time we have unlimited choices, which means everything from lighting to flooring has taken a ton of time to research and choose.

Don’t get me wrong.  Although time-consuming and at times stressful, I’ve loved the process and am so grateful to have this opportunity to really customize our space.  We hope this will be our “forever home”, so we’ve really tried to take our time and make solid choices.

I’m rambling a bit, but now you know why most weeks I only manage to squeak out one new post.  My stats show that I have a lot of new readers, so I thought I’d mention that I do usually show my face around here a little more often. Figuratively, anyway.

So back to this tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons.  Although I was inspired by Ina’s recipe, this really isn’t anything like hers.  Her tomato soup had orzo and cream and was flavored with saffron.  I wanted to take mine in a lighter direction so I didn’t use orzo or cream and went with a more traditional basil flavor.  For her sandwich she used gruyere cheese, and I opted for sharp cheddar.  Between the saffron and gruyere, I thought that would just be too pricey for an everyday meal.

Although a little lighter and less expensive, my version is just as comforting.  I’ve always loved dipping my grilled cheese into tomato soup, so cubing it into croutons just makes sense.

The tomato soup comes together quickly, and this made a lovely lunch for us this weekend.  Winter might not be my favorite season, but I do love the comforting soups that go along with it. Enjoy this easy Tomato Soup recipe, friends!

The Best Easy Tomato Soup Recipe

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Easy tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons

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• Author: Maryea Flaherty | Happy Healthy Mama
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: serves 4 - 6 1x

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Description

An easy tomato soup recipe with grilled cheese croutons that everyone LOVES!

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

for the soup

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock (I used chicken)
• 1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

for the croutons

• 4 slices good-quality sour dough bread
• 1–2 tablespoons butter
• 4 ounces sliced sharp cheddar cheese

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Instructions

For the soup

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook on medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.  Add the garlic and cook one more minute.
2. Stir in the stock, tomatoes, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and 1 teaspoon basil. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Remove the soup from the heat.  Transfer the soup, in batches if necessary, to a blender and blend until smooth  (or use an immersion blender).  Return soup to the pot.

For the grilled cheese croutons

1. Preheat a skillet over medium heat.
2. Generously butter one side of a slice of bread. Place bread butter-side-down onto skillet bottom and add 1-2 slices of cheese. Butter a second slice of bread on one side and place butter-side-up on top of sandwich. Grill until lightly browned and flip over; continue grilling until cheese is melted. Repeat with remaining 2 slices of bread, butter and slices of cheese.
3. Cut the grilled cheese sandwiches into 1-inch cubes and serve in the bowls of soup. Enjoy!

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Category: Soup
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 of 4 servings
• Calories: 291
• Sugar: 7.75g
• Sodium: 1220mg
• Fat: 11.5g
• Carbohydrates: 39.3g
• Protein: 9.3g

If you love healthy soup recipes, check out this Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup  or this Vegetable Soup Recipe or this Vegan Mushroom Soup!

If you make this Easy Tomato Soup Recipe, or any Happy Healthy Mama recipe, I would LOVE to see it! Please take a pic and share it on Instagram or the Happy Healthy Mama Facebook page and tag me @happyhealthymama ?

Also, if you try it, would you mind rating the recipe? It’s VERY helpful for me and other readers if the recipes have ratings and reviews. I appreciate you!

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