It was few weeks ago when there was a threat of frost that I plucked all the green tomatoes off the vines to ripen on a sunny windowsill. They are ripe and I'm full up with beautiful fresh tomatoes -- and just in time for soup season and that blast of Arctic air rolled into town overnight! This hearty blended roasted tomato soup takes on a creamy texture with the addition of white beans and is finished with the depth of flavor from aged balsamic vinegar.
Add in grated Parmesan cheese for a hint of nutty richness and just the right amount of umami. Not only is this roasted tomato and white bean soup the perfect comfort food for this time of year, it is gluten free, and can also be adapted for vegetarian and vegan diets.
This roasted tomato soup calls for fresh plum or San Marzano tomatoes, which are readily available at the market or grocery store, but easy enough to skip the first few steps and substitute canned fire roasted tomatoes instead.
I keep telling myself that I'm going to pull back on the number of tomato plants I grow annually. And if I ever actually follow through, the only tomato plants remaining will be the prized San Marzano tomatoes. With thinner skin, fewer seeds and more flesh, and sweeter flavor, they are ideal for cooking, canning and freezing. I love reaching into the back of the freezer to pull out one of the 2 lb. bags of San Marzano's in the middle of January!
(While Plum or Roma tomatoes are a close second with their compact flesh and lower water content, they tend to be slightly smaller with thicker skin -- and not as sweet.)
The Savory Tart loves her garden and loves her tomatoes. In addition to this roasted tomato soup, there are several other tomato-forward soup recipes @thesavorytart.com:
- Cold Tomato Soup with Grated Manchego and Aioli
- Smoky Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Basil Soup
- Creamy Roasted Tomato and Parmesan Soup
- Pinto Bean Soup with Ham and Andouille
Now the question is what to cook with the other nine pounds of ripening tomatoes on the windowsill?
Jump to RecipeIngredients
Use a clear shot of the ingredients for this recipe, prepped, and labeled if necessary. Add a paragraph of content describing why these ingredients were chosen. Insert the ingredients into the list below, omitting quantities.
- fresh plum or San Marzano tomatoes
- garlic cloves
- extra-virgin olive oil
- yellow onion
- carrots
- red pepper flakes
- chicken stock or broth
- cannellini or great northern beans
- fresh thyme sprigs
- bay leaves
- balsamic vinegar
- shredded Parmesan cheese
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
Jump to RecipeInstructions
I used fresh tomatoes from the garden. To streamline preparation, skip roasting the tomatoes and substitute two cans of diced fire roasted tomatoes and add two tablespoons of tomato paste when adding the red pepper flakes.
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes, and garlic cloves on a foil lined baking sheet. Drizzle with ⅓ cup of olive oil. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until starting to caramelize.
Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until starting to caramelize.
In a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté onion and carrots in 2 tablespoons olive oil, until onions start to caramelize, about 12 minutes.
Add red pepper flakes and cook for one minute.
Remove roasted tomatoes and garlic from the oven and transfer to the stock pot with the onions.
Add white beans.
Add chicken stock, thyme sprigs and bay leaves
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer until liquid has reduced, about 30 minutes.
Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs from the soup. (The leaves may fall off the sprigs. That is o.k.) Using a blender, food processor or immersion blender, puree the soup until blended and smooth.
Return soup to low heat, add balsamic vinegar and Parmesan cheese stirring until incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Hint: For a more rustic and chunkier soup, blend partially to desired consistency. A immersion blender will blend to a coarse blend. For the smoothest soup with the consistency of a "creamy" soup, use a high speed blender or food processor.
I prefer this soup thick, but it can easily be thinned to your preference by simply adding broth in ½ cup increments during the last step.
Substitutions
- Canned Tomatoes - Instead of fresh plum or San Marzano tomatoes, skip the step of roasting fresh tomatoes and use two 15 oz. cans of diced fire roasted tomatoes and add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste when adding the red pepper flakes.
- Cannellini Beans - Great Northern beans are slightly smaller than cannellini beans and can be interchanged here. Canned butter beans are also a perfect substitute.
- Make it Vegetarian - Use vegetable stock/broth instead of chicken broth
- Make it Vegan - Use vegetable stock/broth instead of chicken broth and omit the Parmesan cheese. Add some additional balsamic vinegar to taste.
- Gluten Free -- This is naturally gluten free. Just make sure to double check labels.
Variations
- Extra Creamy - Add a ½ cup heavy cream or half-and-half after adding the balsamic and Parmesan
- Rosemary - Instead of the thyme, add two 3" sprigs of rosemary during simmering.
- Basil - This will be lovely with basil. Add ⅓ to ½ cup of chopped basil during the blending process
- Extra "Tomato-ey" - For extra tomato goodness and a touch of umami, add ⅓ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes at the same time you add the beans. Use the tomato marinating oil to saute the onions and carrots
- Ricotta and Lemon - Whisk the zest from half a lemon, 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice with a ¾ cup ricotta cheese. Serve the soup in bowls topped with a dollop of lemony ricotta!
- Make it Smoky - Add 1 teaspoon of sweet smoked paprika when you add the red pepper flakes.
- Make it Spicy - Increase the red pepper flakes to 1 teaspoon. Or, add hot sauce, such as Tabasco to taste during the last step
Equipment
- baking sheet
- aluminum foil
- soup pot or Dutch oven
- immersion blender, blender or food processor
Storage
Store soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
This soup is excellent for freezing and will can be frozen in an airtight container in the freezer for up to four months.
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🍽️ Recipe
Roasted Tomato and White Bean Soup with Parmesan and Thyme
Equipment
- soup pot or dutch oven
- baking sheet
- immersion blender, blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh plum or San Marzano tomatoes* cut in half*
- 4 cloves garlic
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil + 2 tablespoons
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 2 carrots peeled and chopped
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 cups chicken stock or broth
- 2 15- ounce can cannellini or great northern beans drained and rinsed
- 5 thyme sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ⅓ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes, and garlic cloves on a foil lined baking sheet. Drizzle with ⅓ cup of olive oil. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until starting to caramelize.
- In a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté onion and carrots in 2 tablespoons olive oil, until onions start to caramelize, about 12 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and cook for one minute.
- Remove roasted tomatoes and garlic from the oven and transfer to the stock pot with the onions. Add chicken stock, beans, bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer until liquid has reduced, about 30 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs from the soup. (The leaves may fall off the sprigs. That is o.k.) Using a blender, food processor or immersion blender, puree the soup until blended and smooth. Return soup to low heat, add balsamic vinegar and Parmesan cheese stirring until incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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