Zupas Tomato Basil Soup Recipe — Salt & Baker (2024)

Home » Recipes » Soup » Zupas Tomato Basil Soup

by Whitney //October 14, 2021

This Zupas tomato basil soup is a deliciously creamy tomato soup with your favorite complement flavors of garlic, basil and oregano. This soup tastes just like the soup at Zupas and will be a big hit for dinner!

If you love Italian soup recipes like I do, be sure to check out my creamy tomato tortellini soup, my copycat zuppa toscana, and my lasagna soup recipes!

Why This Recipe Works

• Creamy. This tomato basil soup recipe is thick and creamy! I’m not a big fan of brothy tomato soups. Thankfully this recipe produces the best creamy tomato soup every time!
• Tastes just like Zupas! If you’ve had the pleasure of trying Zupas’ tomato basil soup, then you know just how good it is! Good news is you can now make it from your own kitchen with this easy recipe.
• The flavors are perfect. Thanks to the basil pesto and the flavor-packed goodness that is — and letting the soup cook in the the crockpot for a few hours — this tomato basil soup really has the best flavor out there. It’s all about simmering the flavors together that really bring them out and make it as good as it is.

Ingredients

• Stewed Tomatoes: Canned stewed tomatoes is what I use. They are the large tomatoes in juice, as you can see pictured above.
• Heavy Cream: The heavy cream gives the soup a nice, thick and creamy texture. You’re welcome to use half and half if you are looking for a lighter soup.
• Celery and Onion: Traditional tomato sauces in Italy are usually made with sauteed celery and onion, so adding it here is another way we are getting that classic Italian flavor in this soup dish.
• Basil Pesto: Using basil pesto is a great (and easy) way to get a bunch of flavor in this soup, since pesto has things like basil, garlic, parmesan, pine nuts, etc.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and then add the onion and celery. Cook until the veggies are soft — about 8 minutes.

2. Transfer the veggies to a crockpot/slow cooker and add the basil pesto, canned stewed tomatoes, oregano, and sugar to the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.

3. Transfer everything from the slow cooker to a blender and blend until smooth. Return the soup to the slow cooker and cook on low or high for another hour.(*see recipe notes)

4. Stir in the heavy cream 15 minutes prior to serving (keep the crockpot on low for those 15 minutes to warm the cream).

5. Serve alongside my grilled tomato mozzarella pesto sandwich, Italian sausage stuffed mushrooms or broccoli Caesar salad.

Recipe Tips

Additions: You can add cooked orzo pasta to the soup if you’d like.

Substitutions: Instead of using canned stewed tomatoes, you can use my oven-roasted tomatoes recipe. For the pesto, use my homemade basil pesto recipe or my favorite go-to one at the store is Costco’s pesto.

Slow cooker:I use my smaller sized slow cooker (about 2 qts) for this recipe and it fits perfectly.

Blending:Be careful and use caution when blending any hot liquids and ingredients! Always follow your equipments instructions included in the manual. When I puree my soup, I use my Vitamix which has a small circular opening that I can remove from the lid. This allows hot air to escape (which is important because you don’t want all of that hot air to get trapped and then suddenly remove the lid and the hot liquid sprays on you or your kitchen). I hold several paper towels in a hot-glove-covered-hand that is gently placed over top of the circular hole of the lid. The paper towel prevents the hot soup from splattering on me while allowing some of the hot air to escape as I’m mixing.*Once you have pureed the soup, you can place it back into the crock pot and immediately stir the heavy cream into the mixture. You don’t have to cook it for another hour (it just allows for more time to let the ingredients simmer together).You can also use an immersion blender if you prefer.

Storing:store leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-6 days.

Freezing:I don’t recommend freezing cream. It’s challenging to freeze cream and reheat it without curdling. If you’re wanting to freeze this recipe, make it but don’t stir the cream into the full batch. Add it to individual servings. Freeze any leftovers (that don’t have cream) for up to 3-4 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat in a crock pot or in a pot on the stove. Once it’s warmed, stir in the heavy cream and serve.

FAQs

More Delicious Soup Recipes

• Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup
• Ham and Corn Chowder
• White Chicken Chili
• Easy Taco Soup
• Potato Pepper Jack Soup

Did you make this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Click here to leave a rating and review, or scroll below the recipe card and do so there.

Stay up-to-date by following us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.

published on October 14, 2021 // 2 Comments

Posted in: Fall, Main Dishes, Soup, Winter