I’m married to a man who would actually – no joke – be happy to have soup for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Every day. He lords it.
So one recent Saturday morning when we were deciding what fun things to do with our day, he says “I know! Let’s have soup for lunch AND dinner!”
Wild!!
OK, so then he requests tomato soup for lunch… boooring.
Or so I thought…
I’m more of a fan of creamy soups so I decided to go for a creamy tomato soup with basil.
I pulled out a bunch of ingredients from my fridge and just went for it… and oh my, I was blown away by how freakin’ delicious this plant-based, creamy tomato basil soup turned out!
This is definitely going to be a new addition to our rotation of “regular” meals!
Which Tomatoes Are Best For Soup?
Really any tomatoes will work, but if you can get some sweet cherry tomatoes then you’re in for a real treat 😉
Just make sure you leave your tomatoes whole when roasting or air-frying them, no matter what size they are. This is so that you don’t lose too much of their lovely juices.
Why Roast the Veggies?
Roasting – or the speedier version of air-frying – the onion, garlic, capsicum (pepper) and tomatoes before simmering and blending the soup, really is the magic trick.
It gives the veggies a depth of flavour that makes all the difference in this rich and creamy tomato basil soup!
Ideally you want to see some nice “charred bits” like below:
How to Make Vegan Soup Creamy?
There are a few different ways to give a plant based soup that creaminess that is usually achieved with dairy-based pouring or cooking cream.
For this recipe, I’ve used pre-soaked cashews and plant milk, with the option of using canned coconut milk for even more creaminess. There is more than enough flavour in this soup to hide any ‘coconutty’ taste.
If just using plant milk, you can always add a few extra drizzles of olive oil before blending the soup. This will give it that little bit extra silkiness.
The recipe serves two as a meal (you can stodge it up with some garlic toast on the side), or four as a starter or side dish.
You’re going to LOVE it!
x
Plant based, gluten free and bursting with flavour!
- 1 small brown onion
- 400 grams fresh tomatoes
- 1 medium red capsicum (red pepper)
- 2 cloves fresh garlic
- 1.5 cups fresh basil leaves (loosely packed)
- 3/4 cup raw cashews
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup plant milk (or canned coconut milk for extra creaminess)
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp salt (or more to taste)
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Place the cashews in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside to soak for 1 hour.
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If you don't have an air-fryer, preheat oven to 200ºC fan-forced (390ºF).
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Roughly chop the onion and capsium into large chunks of 3-4cm.
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Place the whole tomatoes, the chopped onion and capsicum and the garlic cloves into a large mixing bowl and drizzle with the olive oil and 1/2 tsp of the salt.
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Tip them onto a baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, OR air fry for 15 mins on 200ºC if you have an air fryer.
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Add the roasted veg, plus all remaining ingredients to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.
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Remove from heat then use an immersion blender (or pour into a regular blender) to blend the soup to a smooth consistency.
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Garnish with some fresh basil leaves and serve immediately. Yum!
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This was just perfect!
Glad you liked it!