Creamy Tomato Bisque – A Cozy and comforting soup made with fresh tomatoes, herbs, garnished with cream and served with crunchy croutons makes a perfect lunch! Serve with a crispy, gooey grilled cheese sandwich and I would call it a treat!
First 2-weeks of September took us from extreme heat to a week of cold rainy days. The good part is that we get to stay indoors a lot more and enjoy our favorite soups and chilies. Perfect way to huddle up with the family and enjoy some soul warming foods.
I am pretty sure most of you have a favorite restaurant that serves the best Tomato Bisque. For me it is a restaurant called Yard House in New York. I look forward to my hot comforting bowl of soup each time I go there. And this here, is my healthy take on the delicious restaurant inspired Tomato bisque soup!
What is a Bisque?
Bisque is a soup made with vegetables or seafood, that is pureed with addition of cream to get a smooth, velvety texture. More often made with Seafood, I love this fresh and satisfying vegetarian Creamy Tomato Bisque with some crunchy garlic croutons dunked in.
Tomato Bisque is often made using canned tomatoes and is a great option when tomatoes are not in season. I personally love making this soup with vine-grown tomatoes and fish herbs like parsley, basil and oregano. But yes definitely can use canned tomatoes to make this creamy tomato bisque.
Tomato Bisque Variations:
- Vegan – Use Cashew cream instead of heavy cream. To make cashew cream simply blend 1/2 cup cashews with 1/2 cup of water until smooth. To make it nut-free and dairy free use unsweetened coconut cream. I love Trader Joe’s canned coconut cream.
- Use Canned Tomatoes – Yes! They work equally well. Especially when tomatoes are not in season.
- Dried herbs – You can substitute freeze dried herbs for the fresh by reducing the quantity in half.
Step by step Creamy tomato bisque recipe in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker:
- Set the Instant Pot to sauté mode and heat oil. Add onion, celery, garlic, carrots, tomatoes, oregano, basil and parsley cook for a minute until fragrant. Add broth and salt. Mix well. Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to sealing. Note: I use the Better Than Bouillon Organic Vegetable Base to make the broth. Set the Instant Pot to Manual/Pressure Cook for 8 minutes. Followed by quick release or NPR (photos 1 – 4).
- Open the Instant Pot, and carefully puree the soup using an immersion blender. Set the Instant Pot to sauté mode. Stir in honey, cream and pepper. Bring to a gentle boil (photos 5 – 6).
- Laddle into bowls, sprinkle some cayenne pepper for an extra kick. Enjoy hot with crunchy croutons.
Do you enjoy soups? Here are some easy and delicious soup ideas:
- Vegetarian Pasta e Fagioli
- Vegetarian French Onion Soup
- Instant Pot Easy Lasagna Soup
- EASY chicken noodle Soup
- Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Chicken Coriander Soup
- Low Carb Chicken Mulligatawny Soup
- Vegan Coconut Curry Noodle Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
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A cozy and comforting soup made with fresh tomatoes, herbs and cream served with crunchy croutons for a perfect lunch
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 1/2 cup celery sliced
- 1 cup carrots peeled and sliced
- 3 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
- 6 tomatoes 2 pounds , quartered or 1 28 oz can of peeled tomatoes
- 1-1/2 cup reduced-sodium broth Note: I use the Better Than Bouillon Organic Vegetable Base
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon honey optional
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Set the Instant Pot to saute mode and heat oil. Add onion, celery, garlic, carrots, tomatoes, oregano, basil and parsley cook for a minute until fragrant.
Add broth and salt. Mix well. Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to sealing.
Set the Instant Pot to Manual/Pressure Cook for 8 minutes. Followed by quick release or NPR.
Open the Instant Pot, and carefully puree the soup using an immersion blender.
Set the Instant Pot to Saute mode. Stir in honey, cream and pepper. Laddle into bowls, sprinkle some cayenne pepper for an extra kick. Enjoy hot with crunchy croutons.
Recipe Video
- Vegan variation : Substitute heavy cream with coconut cream, cashew cream or corn slurry (2 tablespoons corn starch mixed in 1/4 cup of water
- You can use dried herbs instead of fresh in this recipe. Just reduce the quantity of herbs in half.
Update – Recently I tested this soup using the Instant Pot ACE blender. Dumped all the ingredients and the soup was ready to be enjoyed!
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 1/2 cup celery sliced
- 1 cup carrots peeled and sliced
- 3 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
- 6 to matoes 2 pounds quartered or 1 28 oz can of peeled tomatoes
- 1-1/2 cup reduced-sodium broth Note: I use the Better Than Bouillon Organic Vegetable Base
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon honey optional
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- 1/2 cup cashews
Add all the Ingredients to the Instant Pot ACE blender. Press the soup button 2 times.
Laddle into bowls, sprinkle some cayenne pepper for an extra kick. Enjoy hot with crunchy croutons.
You can use dried herbs instead of fresh in this recipe. Just reduce the quantity of herbs in half.
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Author: Archana
Hey there! I am a techie turned recipe developer, cooking instructor, and food blogger. I love food and enjoy developing easy and healthy recipes for busy lifestyles. I live in New Jersey with my husband and two sons.
Sucha says
Easy to make and very tasty soup. Thanks for all the additional information.
Archana says
Thank you!!
Payal says
The video shows you’re adding tomato paste at the end but the recipe doesn’t state to add it anywhere. Should we add it and if so how much and when? Thanks in advance and I look forward to making this!
Archana says
Hi Payal, so tomato paste is optional. It adds a nice vibrant red color to the soup. But if you do not have it then skip.
Bethany says
I was wondering if this recipe could be doubled in a 6 quart instant pot? I really want to make it but I need to serve more then 4 people. Thank you so much for your help.
Archana says
Hi Bethany, yes you can double this recipe in a 6 QT Instant Pot. Happy Thanksgiving!
Darina says
Thank you for a wonderful recipe .
Made it this evening and it was delicious.
I never thought I could make tomato bisque soup but your recipe made it possible.
Appreciate you details and suggestions
Sundari says
Can you skip the broth?
Archana says
yes! Add water instead and adjust salt to taste.
Zachary says
I have my instant pot, but I don’t have an immersion blender. I do have a food processor though. Could I use that?
Archana says
yes! Food processor or blender works.
Heather says
I made this for five people to taste test (I had never used an InstantPot before!) Everyone was super impressed by the flavors- so fresh and perfect. And these are some real foodies! My only problem was not being able to get the creamy texture. Is it possible I did not let the vegetables get soft enough? Maybe my immersion stick just wasn’t strong enough?
And when I use the 28oz can of peeled tomatoes, am I supposed to add in the sauce that’s in the can, or rinse them off first?
Thank you!!
Archana says
Thank you for the sweet feedback. I would say its the immersion blender. You can also increase the cook time by 2 to 3 minutes so the cook very soft. And entire can of tomatoes, no need to rinse.
Sue says
I want to double this, but when I put 8 servings in the recipe box instead of 4, the amount of canned tomatoes doesn’t double. I am assuming I would use 2 28oz cans correct? Thanks
Archana says
yes! San Marzano tomatoes work great
Amy says
Do you have a recipe for the the garlic croutons?
Archana says
Hi Amy, I don’t, I buy them from Trader Joe’s
Joline says
Perfect for a cooler evening. Got rid of some ingredients and had a lovely supper. I used some parmesan whisps as some crackers and it was exactly what I wanted. 7 year old gobbled up the soup.
Archana says
Yum! Makes me happy with the kiddos approve it too 🙂
J Gibson says
When you say manual/pressure cook, is that low pressure or high pressure?
Archana says
High pressure