Creamy Tomato Bisque is a cozy and comforting soup made with fresh tomatoes, herbs, garnished with cream. Serve with crunchy croutons or with a crispy, gooey grilled cheese sandwich for a perfect vegetarian meal that is ready in under 30 minutes!
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 here is my healthy take on the delicious restaurant-inspired Tomato bisque soup!
Bisque
So what is bisque? Bisque is a soup made with vegetables or seafood, that is pureed with the addition of cream to get a smooth, velvety texture. More often made with Seafood, I love this fresh and satisfying Creamy Vegetarian Tomato Bisque with 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. Although, canned tomatoes can also be used in this recipe instead of fresh.
Variations
- Vegan - use Cashew cream instead of heavy cream. To make cashew cream simply blend ½ cup of cashews with ½ 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
- Canned Tomatoes - work equally well in this soup, especially when tomatoes are not in season
- Dried herbs - substitute freeze-dried herbs for the fresh ones by reducing the quantity by half
Steps
Here is my EASY step by step recipe using Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
Step 1: 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 a quick-release or NPR (photos 1 - 4).
Step 2: 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).
Step 3: Ladle into bowls and sprinkle some cayenne pepper for an extra kick. Enjoy hot with crunchy croutons.
Serving
For a light, lunch serves this soup with crunchy croutons. I also love to serve tomato soup with a toasty cheese sandwich for a filling meal. A bowl of this hot soup with a delicious side salad also makes for a perfect meal.
Storing
Refrigerate any leftovers for 3 to 5 days in an airtight container. You can also freeze the soup for longer shelf life.
Do you enjoy soups? Here are some easy and delicious vegetarian soup ideas:
- Pasta e Fagioli
- Vegetarian French Onion Soup
- Low Carb Mulligatawny Soup
- Coconut Curry Noodle Soup
- Lemon coriander soup
- Butternut soup
- Miso Ramen Soup
Recipe
Recipe
Creamy Tomato Bisque
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup onion diced
- ½ 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
- 1½ cup low sodium broth Note: I use the Better Than Bouillon Organic Vegetable Base
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon honey optional
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- 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.
- Pressure Cook for 8 minutes. Followed by quick release or natural pressure release.
- 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.
Video
Notes
- Vegan - use Cashew cream instead of heavy cream. To make cashew cream simply blend ½ cup cashews with ½ 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
- Canned Tomatoes - work equally well in this soup, especially when tomatoes are not in season
- Dried herbs - substitute freeze-dried herbs for the fresh by reducing the quantity in half
Nutrition
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jess says
LOVE! This looks incredible. Tomato soup and grilled cheese are my favorites during the colder months 🙂
Archana says
Thank you Jess!
Laura says
Great recipe Archana - and lovely photos. I didn't realise a bisque could be vegetarian - I always associated it with seafood.
Shalika says
Hi Archana, I have successfully tried so many of your recipes. You are awesome! In this recipe, which hand blender do you use? I got one, but returned it coz it did not blend well if I was making small quantity.
Archana says
Hi Shalika, I have a cuisinart and have the link for ty model in the post for this recipe. Check it out. I have it for many years and works great
Chhavi says
Hi Archana, this recipe is amazing ! My toddler, my parents and my husband all enjoyed this soup. So healthy and so yummy! This one is a keeper !
Heartiest congratulations on authoring your new book ! Wish you many, many more to come !
Archana says
Than you Chhavi! So happy to hear this. Enjoy and thank you for your wishes.
Chhavi says
Archana, such a big fan of your recipes that I just pre-ordered my copy of your book.
Keep them coming !:-)
Archana says
Thank you! Appreciate your support 🙂
Aparna says
Excellent recipe....my nine year old said it's better than the La Madeleine tomato basil soup.Thank you for putting together an amazing collection of recipes! I have tried quite a few of them and they are all keepers !
Archana says
Thank you Aparna!
Amy Skalet says
Can this be made ahead of time and heated up later? Thanks!
Archana says
Yes!
Jennifer says
This tomato bisque recipe was amazing! I would agree with a previous commenter that it’s better than La Madeleine’s tomato’s bisque! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Archana says
Thank you for the feedback 🙂
Margot says
My husband said this was the best meal I’ve ever made! A big compliment since we both love to cook.
I just got my instant pot and I’ve been blindly searching around online for recipes. So glad I found your site.
Archana says
Thank you! thank you!!
Shyama says
Will this taste equally good without better than bouillon reduced sodium veg base.coz I have to make this tomorrow and couldn't find that anywhere in store and how much should u use ordinary broth for 15 ppl.
Archana says
Yes you can use any broth, just reduce the salt and add it later if needed
Jim says
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I have made it twice (once for home and the other for work). It is my favorite tomato soup.
Archana says
Awesome!! Thank you for the feedback
Neiha says
Gave this a try as I had some overripe tomatoes to use up (and I'm a sucker for a good tomato soup). Came out great! My 2 year old twins loved it and keep asking me to make more.
Archana says
Thank you for the feedback. So glad your kiddos enjoyed it!
Siri says
Can we add water instead of the broth?
Archana says
Yes!
Siri says
Tried with water instead of broth.It came out great.My kids loved it too.
Thanks!
Archana says
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback. So glad that your kids enjoyed it too
Laurie says
Do I need to skin the tomatoes first? Mailing it tonight
Archana says
Hi Laurie,
No need to remove skin from the tomatoes. Enjoy!
James J Griffin says
Really excellent take on a basic bisque. My wife loved it! This is definitely going in the "Dad makes dinner" rotation. Never would have thought about the sugar.
Archana says
Thank you
Deepa says
Hi Archana,
My 11-month old loves this soup! She can be a bit of a picky eater. I think she really loves the flavor of the herbs. I’m wondering if you can suggest any other variations with vegetables either subbed or added in. I would love a way to adapt this recipe somehow to introduce more veggies to my picky eater!
Archana says
Aww so sweet! Thank you for your feedback. Try the Pasta Fagioli Soup. I think she will enjoy the textures and flavors
Brandi says
Can this soup be made and frozen? I have a ton of fresh garden tomatoes and love a good soup in the winter!
Archana says
Yes! This soup freezes well
Dhanya says
Hi Archana,
Is it okay to use a 28 oz. can of pureed tomatoes for this recipe or do you think the flavor will be too rich?
Thanks for your help!
Archana says
Hi Dhanya, you can try with 28 oz peeled canned tomatoes. I think purée will be too much. Or reduce the quantity.
Jen says
This looks amazing. If I am using fresh tomatoes, any idea on how many cups of chopped?
Archana says
5 to 6 cups chopped tomatoes.
Deepa says
Hi Archana
Would you freeze this with the heavy cream or omit the cream before freezing and add it upon reheating?
Archana says
Hi Deepa, if you are freezing the soup, leave the heavy cream out. Then add it when you reheat. Hope you enjoyed the flavors of this soup.
Deepa says
Thanks! This soup is on constant rotation at home since both my daughters like it. I also use it as pasta sauce (without the cream) or a base for lasagna. Works great!