There is nothing better for a cold, wet day than a piping hot bowl of soup. I love creamy soup but don’t do diary, so I’m always on the lookout for options that are healthy and dairy free. This recipe for tomato soup yields a super rich, creamy, delicious bisque. The perfect end for a long day.

This recipe doesn’t include any dairy. If you wanted it even creamier, you could add some homemade cashew cream. We have a nut allergy in our house so I don’t add it when I know the kids will also be eating this. If you don’t and you’d like to try it out, making your own is super simple. Take 2 cups cashews and place them in a glass bowl and cover entirely with water. Place them in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, they should be plump and most of the water will have been absorbed. Rinse them thoroughly. Transfer them to a blender, add about 1/4c of water and blend. You will have a thick, rich cream that can be folded into soups. If you prefer your cream a bit thinner, simply add water while mixing to the consistency you prefer. This is not a low fat option, but it does add the perfect amount of creaminess to soups if you’re looking for a simple dairy-free solution. Now on to the tomato soup recipe.

Ingredients

1/4c extra-virgin olive oil

3/4c chopped white onion

1/3c chopped carrot

1/3c chopped celery

6 large crushed garlic cloves

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 fifteen ounce cans unsalted fire-roasted tomatoes

1c vegetable broth

3/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic, carrot and celery and saute and until the onion is golden, about 5 minutes.
Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
Add tomatoes and broth and bring to a simmer.
Add salt and cook for six minutes. If you are going to add cashew cream, you would add it here and fold gently into the mixture.
Place 1/4 of the mixture in blender. Remove the center piece from the blender lid so heat can escape. Place lid on blender. Cover the lid with a kitchen towel so that when you turn on the blender, no soup escapes through the opening. Blend until smooth.
Repeat step 5 until you have blended all of the tomato mixture.
I will sometimes pour the blended mixture through a sieve to make sure it’s been processed enough and that no chunks remain. Otherwise, I repeat the blender process one additional time to ensure the soup is super smooth and creamy.

Nutrition Information

326 calories, Fat 20g, Protein 9g, Carbs 28g

Adapted from Cooking Light