We Tried Chrissy Teigen’s Favorite Tomato Soup Recipe
Updated: May 04, 2023
Chrissy Teigen makes tomato soup that's inspired by a recipe from a legendary cook—Ina Garten!
Tomato soup is a cold-weather classic. Whether pairing it with a gooey grilled cheese, or eating a bowl to warm up after a long day, there are plenty of reasons to keep a solid recipe on hand.
Chrissy Teigen has been making—and posting about—this classic crowd-pleaser for years. Each time she posts, Chrissy mentions that she’s using the one and only Ina Garten’s recipe for Tomato Basil Soup. See what else Ina loves to cook—and eat!
View this post on InstagramIna Garten’s tomato basil soup. One of my favorites in the world. Google it!
The recipe from Chrissy’s first cookbook, Cravings, definitely shows what she learned from the Barefoot Contessa, her soup inspiration. (We’re inspired by Ina Garten, too.)
Chrissy Teigen’s famous tomato soup recipe
For the tomatoes:
- 4 pounds ripe tomatoes
- ¼ extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the soup:
- 3 herb sprigs
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning
Initial thoughts
Chrissy’s recipe is very similar to Ina’s, but where Ina’s soup is made from half canned, half fresh-roasted tomatoes, Chrissy opts for 100% fresh-roasted tomatoes in Cravings.
One of my favorite things about this recipe is that Chrissy isn’t super specific when it comes to what kind of tomato you need. She says, “Roma, plum, vine-ripened, whatever” in the ingredients list, which is a relief when your grocery store only carries one or two type of tomatoes. Yes, there is a time and place for every tomato, but in this case, you just want the ripest, best-looking ones on the shelf!
Getting started
To get started, you need to half and core your 4 lbs. of tomatoes, which is a lot of chopping time. (Here’s what kind of cutting board to use.) Then lay them out, cut side up on a baking sheet, cover with oil, salt and pepper and roast in a 450° F oven for about 30 minutes.
You want the skin to have a little caramelized/blackened color but not too much. This is definitely the most work-intensive step.
Once the tomatoes are roasted, add them to a sauce pot with onion and garlic that have been softened. Using a spoon, you simply break up the tomatoes and then cover them with the broth and a bundle of fresh herbs.
Finishing up
After simmering for 40-ish minutes it’s time to remove the herb bundle and puree the tomato mixture into the final soup. Chrissy suggests using a blender, but I used my immersion blender to avoid the extra step of clean up. (Here’s everything to consider when buying this versatile kitchen tool.)
The recipe instructions say to blend until mostly smooth and “a few chunks remain.” I wasn’t happy with the way the soup separated when it wasn’t fully puréed, because parts were still watery when there were a few leftover tomato chunks. So, I puréed the entire batch.
The big reveal
The soup looks great! It has more of a red-orange color instead of the standard bright red canned tomato look. I like how it looks fully puréed and topped with the fresh-cracked black pepper that Chrissy suggests.
I have to admit, I didn’t like this recipe as much as Chrissy’s No-Cheese Cheesy Scrambled Eggs. You get a lot of pure-tomato flavor which is nice, but it falls flat because there isn’t much of an herbal flavor to complement or enhance it. I ended up topping mine with a little fresh basil for some freshness. Next time I make it, I will up the garlic a few cloves for an extra layer of flavor. If you don’t feel like cooking, then here are the best canned tomato soups.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsV2J0CnH7p/
When I first took a bite I thought, “This would be a great dipping soup,” because it needs something else to make it feel like a meal. So, I’ll be serving the rest of my batch with some garlic bread or a grilled cheese sandwich.
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