Soup is such a great thing to make on a Sunday. You can have it for dinner, then have the leftovers for lunch during the week. And since I have had WAY too much cake this past week (too many birthdays at this time of year in our family!) I decided tonight was a good night to have a light dinner. I was trying to find this recipe that I had seen for easy tomato soup and I couldn’t find it, so I figured I’d have to wing it. And it’s not bad – so I thought I’d share it (I know it’s pretty close to the recipe I had used before). And as a little twist – I added light coconut milk to it instead of  half & half or evaporated milk. It’s delicious – makes it a little more exotic. (and apologies for the not so great photo…)

Why am I bothering to make my own tomato soup? Well, I don’t know about you if you’ve ever read the Campbell’s Tomato Soup label but when I did I was blown away. It has always been my favorite of their soups – and now I realize why. They were sucking me in with CORN SYRUP without me realizing it! No wonder I liked it so much – it was like a can of tomato candy! (OK – actually that sounds gross but you get the idea). Ugh.  So I looked for a healthier but still yummy alternative. I have posted a recipe before that’s perfect in the summer with fresh tomatoes (it’s delicious!) but it’s far too time consuming for a quick dinner. So enter canned tomatoes.  Let me know if you try this – I’d love your feedback (or if you made any tweaks to it). Also – after I made tonight’s soup, I found this recipe from Cooking Light. It sounds really good – kind of halfway between what I made tonight and the roasted fresh recipe that I shared this summer. You roast canned tomatoes as the base. Yum! I will have to try that one next.

Here’s my Kristin’s Easy Tomato Soup recipe:

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• One 28oz can of crushed tomatoes (I used San Marzano tomatoes)
• 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth (less if you want thicker soup – you can play around with the amount)
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk OR half & half OR light coconut milk (optional – to make “cream of tomato”. I love it with coconut milk – it gives it a whole new flavor )
• Salt & pepper to taste

To make the soup, in a medium saucepan saute the onion in the olive oil until translucent (don’t brown). Add the crushed garlic and saute 1 minute. Add the can of tomatoes, the tomato paste, the broth, brown sugar and basil. Stir to combine then simmer for 20-30 minutes until thickened. Blend either in batches (carefully!) in the blender, or use a stick blender until the consistency you prefer (chunky or smooth). Add salt and pepper to taste. If you would like to make the soup creamy, blend in the evaporated milk, half & half or coconut milk, if using, before serving.

It is surprisingly fresh and flavorful, and really only takes about 15 minutes of actual prep time.

As a total side note: RIP to my trusty Braun Stick Blender, circa 1991. Yep really – I had it that long. My college roommates gave it to me when I graduated. I just noticed tonight that it has a big crack in it. But boy was that thing made well – it has been around for many many sauces and soups. I guess that means I have an excuse to get a new one, though!