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| Photo by Clair Buys/BYU Magazine |
2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
1 tsp dried oregano or 1 T fresh oregano
1 T dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil
4 cups chicken broth
½ bay leaf
½ cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese
½ cup butter
2 cups half and half, warmed
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1. Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to a large slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.
3. About 30 minutes before serving prepare a roux. Melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add flour. Stir constantly with a whisk for 5-7 minutes. Slowly stir in 1 cup hot soup. Add another 3 cups and stir until smooth. Add all back into the slow cooker. Stir and add the Parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt and pepper. Add additional basil and oregano if needed (the slow cooker does a number on spices and they get bland over time, so don't be afraid to always season to taste at the end).
4. Cover and cook on LOW for another 30 minutes or so until ready to serve.
Review:
So it's starting to be spring and soup season is about over, but add this recipe to try someday when it's cold because it is delicious! This is a recipe from my family cookbook and I just adapted it to the slow cooker. It turned out great. I brought it to a church dinner and it was completely gone, so I'm thinking that means it was good. It is very creamy and rich. If you wanted to make it a bit healthier, you could leave out the half and half and put skim milk or evaporated milk in. I've tried that before and it has turned out fine...just not as rich and fattening. I give this recipe 5 stars.
365 days of slow cooking
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34 COMMENTS (click here to comment):
I'm totally going to have to try this in the slow cooker - I have made it the original way that the family cookbook says and it is sooo good. I've wondered about using milk though - good to know it works! :)
This was awesome at the releif society dinner! I was looking for the website and glad that Chandie had it on her blog
We had this for dinner tonight and we loved it. I make the tomato basil soup out of the Ivory Favorites cookbook all the time so this was a fun variation of one of our fav. meals. Thanks!!
This is delicious! I've tried different tomato basil soup recipes but this is my favorite. Thanks for sharing!
I had this again last night and I used whole milk instead of half and half. Just as good, and not as many calories.
Ok, I loved loved loved this soup. I had some questions though.
I had an issue with the Parmesan getting rubbery and sticking to the spoon. I wonder if I could leave it out (just sprinkle on top).
Or maybe it was the brand (it was a quality brand name).
Or could I replace with cheddar?
Or shoud I use a stick blender to incorporate it more or add it during the flour/butter mixture?
I definately will use less cheese and milk instead of half & half. I added some leek and some fresh tomato.
It could be made into a thicker dip for bread or chips. It could get some heat with peppers. You could add mixed vegetables.
Lots of possiblities...but am I brave enough to experiment? That's the question. I hate throwing food out or wasting it. But I'm inspired to try out some variations.
- Janet
This is my adaptation of the recipe so that I could use my surplus of tomatoes, freeze just the base, and make the soup later.
I didn't use canned tomatoes (you will have to add salt to taste at the end because the canned tomatoes have salt in them) but used fresh so I used a lot more than the cans.
I used about 6 cups blended fresh tomatoes ( at this point I removed all but 1 cup of the tomatoes to make room in the blender for the other veggies). I added the 1 cup celery, 1 cup onion, 1 cup carrots, 2 cloves garlic(the garlic is a must!), the basil and the seasonings except the bay leaves. I tripled the recipe and it filled a large oval crockpot. I added the bay leaves and let that cook all day or you can cook it for a few hours in a pot on the stove if you're home. After it cooled I measured 4 cups and put into quart sized freezer bags. this is my tomato basil soup base.
When you are making the soup, Thaw the bag, add 2 cans or 4 cups chicken broth, heat soup to simmer, in another pot combine the 1/2 cup melted butter and 1/2 cup flour to make a rue and wisk in the hot soup one cup at a time. Then wisk in 2 cups of warmed half and half (or whole milk) and add parmesan,( I cut this to 3/4 cup). We served it with french bread for dipping. Yum!
This is a delicious soup recipe. I always like using a hand blender on my soups, so that would be my only change to the recipe. Also, a trick for reducing the fat is to use fat-free half and half, which is just as creamy but with no additional fat. Since I like using real butter in my recipes, using the fat free half and half really helps to control the fat content.
Just made this tonight after seeing it in the BYU alumni magazine and loved it. It's only my second crockpot recipe ever and I'm in love with how easy it was and how yummy it turned out!
Would you mind if I posted in on my recipe blog (with a big link back to you of course)?
Absolutely love this soup, we tried first last year when my little sister saw it in the BYU alumni magazine--my family loves it!
When I think tomatoes and basil and Parmesan I think garlic. So for the last hour I added a whole peeled garlic clove that I will remove when it is time to serve. I also decided to emulsify the soup for a smoother texture. I am very excited to try it! Hope it tastes as good as it smells.
mmmm...I bet the garlic will be awesome. And for a creamy texture blending it would work great. I prefer the chunkiness. Let me know how it turns out.
I made this a couple days ago and my family loved it!!! Thank you!
I made the soup and actually pureed the tomato mix once it was cooked. By far one of the best tomato soup recipes I've ever had. AMAZING!
Karen- The garlic was perfect in it! Just gave it a little bit of garlic flavor since I took the clove out at the end. I am sure it tastes great without it but we like to eat garlic in everything! The family LOVED IT! So glad I found the recipe on Pinterest!
Thanks
I like garlic a lot too...I'm going to add it in next time. thanks for the tip.
Hi Karen,
I am gluten-free-- is there anything you'd suggest as a sub for the flour?
Thank you!
Dana
could you use rice flour or something like that?
Im gluten free as well, I was going to try it with coconut flour!
This is ABSOLUTELY delicious. I think, however, you need a better picture. The one you have doesn't do this soup justice.
I wonder if I could make this with vegetable broth instead
This Soup looks so GOOOOOD!
I have a question......
Would It be o.k. to use Vegetable Broth instead?????????
I'm a Vegetarian. Thanks!
yes, you could use the veggie broth and I'm sure it would turn out just fine. Make sure to salt and pepper and season to taste at the end. Let me know how you like it.
Delish!
I'm gonna make this monday night and my family will love me. Making yummy food is another way to show your love.
For low carb, DON'T add rice flour in place of all purpose. Use almond or coconut flour. I think almond would be better since this is a savory soup but do your adjusting. Rice is CARB LOADED.
This is the BEST soup! I have made it ... well, i'm making it right now & I believe it is the 4th time. In a very short period! My in-laws are coming today. We had a dinner party last weekend & i served it then too. Always a hit. SO SO GOOD! :) Thanks!
I made this last night. I used fat free half and half to make it lighter. I also used a hand blender to hide all of the veggies from my picky hubby :) I didn't have any problems with the cheese. I used the grated kind of added just a little at a time stirring it in well before adding more. Will be making this again!
Has anyone tried to make this soup in a regular cooking pot(not a slow cooker)? I do not own a slow cooker right now (I am living in another country so my US electronics do not work), but wasn't sure what the times for cooking would be???
I LOVE THIS RECIPE!!! I blogged about it here: http://sweatlikemambo.com/2012/01/25/inspiration-silverlake-and-the-de-flowering-of-my-crockpot/. Thank you so much for sharing. This was my first crockpot recipe EVER, and I am sold now!
Anyone know about how many calories per cup this has in it?
This is the BEST SOUP EVER!!!! Yum, Yum Yum!!! 5 STARS and then some!
Ohmygoodnessgracious, I just found this recipe through Pinterest and I cannot wait to make it!! I will be paying you homage on my blog with this soup very soon! Thanks! ~ Lauren with From Everyday To Gourmet
Just wondered if you used fresh grated parmesan or the parmesan cheese powder?
I used fresh and though the soup is tasty, it's a bit of a chewy, stringy mess!
Thanks!
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