Meatless Monday Challenge

Creamy Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup with Parmesan

on January 3, 2024
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This Creamy Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup is a Marley's Menu Instagram favorite, and for good reason! The real roasted tomatoes, garlic, shallots, and thyme bring such depth of flavor, and the simple roasting and peeling method makes for the smoothest texture!
Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup with Croutons and Basil

Looking for a cozy and flavorful soup to warm your bones? This Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup is full of flavor from real vegetables that are roasted, peeled, blended and boiled down to give you the smoothest, creamiest consistency.

With simple whole ingredients and a super simple method, this soup is as easy to whip up as it is to slurp down! Beautifully balanced between savory, earthy, and subtle sweetness, this will quickly become a favorite creamy plant-forward soup recipe!

In this recipe, you will learn how to prep shallots and garlic for roasting, how to easily peel roasted tomatoes for the smoothest tomato soup, and how to get the creamiest texture by thickening the soup on the stove.

You’ll also learn how to tailor the soup to your taste and balance out a too-bitter soup if need be.

Close up of bowl of Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup cropped.

As an environmental scientist, I’m constantly looking for delicious and filling ways to reduce my consumption of foods that have a higher impact on our environment. This means I love creating meatless meals that are both flavorful and satisfying.

Green tip: Industrial meat production has a huge impact on the environment, especially because of the amount of land it takes to sustain and its high amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing your meat consumption is one great way to reduce your ecological footprint.

Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup Ingredients


Here’s everything you need:

  • Tomatoes. Both on the vine and grape to roast and blend into the soup.
  • Shallot.
  • Garlic.
  • Thyme.
  • Salt & pepper.
  • Olive oil.
  • Parmesan cheese. Or nutritional yeast.
  • Cream or half & half. Or coconut cream for a dairy free option.
All ingredients for Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup - tomatoes, pepper, garlic, thyme, Parmesan cheese, salt, shallot, olive oil, grape tomatoes

Tomato Garlic Soup Tips and Tricks


How to Prep Your Shallots and Garlic for Roasting

The tomatoes and thyme will roast whole, but the shallots and garlic need to be prepped before adding to your baking sheet for roasting.

No worries—it’s super simple! Lay your heads of garlic on their side on your cutting board. Use a sharp knife to chop off about 1/2 inch off the top.

This will allow the olive oil, salt, and pepper to permeate the skin and will also give you an opening to easily squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skins to add to your soup.

As for the shallots, simply slice them in half lengthwise and remove their outer, paper-thin layers. You can save the garlic and shallot scraps to make your own veggie broth or compost them!

Shallot sliced lengthwise and tops cut off the heads of garlic to roast.
Chop the top off the garlic heads and slice the shallots in half lengthwise and discard their peels.

Add the Vegetables to a Baking Sheet with Salt and Pepper

Place the prepped garlic and shallots on a baking sheet with the rinsed and dried tomatoes on the vine, grape tomatoes, and thyme.

Add the olive oil, salt and pepper to all of the vegetables. It doesn’t have to be perfectly evenly distributed but try your best to make sure the veggies are coated in olive oil to aid in their roasting.

Then, roast the veggies on the top rack in your oven preheated to 425°F for 30-35 minutes. The skin on the tomatoes will get wrinkly and you may seem some browning on the shallot and/or garlic.

Tomatoes, shallot, garlic, and thyme lined up on a baking sheet to roast.
Add the prepped shallots and garlic, both types of tomatoes, and thyme to a baking sheet.
Adding salt, pepper, and olive oil to vegetables to roast for soup.
Add the salt, pepper, and olive oil and roast on the top rack at 425°F for 30-35 minutes.

Blend the Soup Until Smooth

When you’re done roasting, set everything aside to cool until it’s safe to handle. The shallots and grape tomatoes can go directly into the blender, but the garlic, vine tomatoes, and thyme require a little prep at this point for a super smooth veggie-packed soup.

When the garlic is cool enough to handle, use two hands to squeeze the garlic cloves out of their peels and into the blender. With a little bit of pressure, they should easily slip out of the opening you created before roasting it.

Roasting the tomatoes on the vine also makes them super easy to peel. Pluck them off the vine and easily peel off and discard the outer layer of the tomatoes.

I like to do this right over the blender. The tomatoes are super juicy and as you peel, you may loose some of that juice. Peeling them over the blender means that juice goes right into the soup.

As for the thyme, simply hold the stalk on one end over the blender. With your free hand, pinch the thyme with your thumb and pointer finger and run it down stem. This will cause the thyme leaves to fall right off the stem and into the blender.

Add the Parmesan to the blender with everything else and blend on high until completely smooth.

Squeezing roasted garlic out of peel into blender.
Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of the peel and add to the blender with the grape tomatoes and shallots.
Peeling vine ripe tomatoes and adding them to a blender.
Peel the vine tomatoes over the blender and discard the skins. Add the thyme leaves and Parmesan and blend until smooth.

Simmer the Soup to Thicken and Add the Cream

Once blended, pour the soup into a large pot over medium heat to thicken and reduce. Depending on the amount of juice in your tomatoes, this will take anywhere from 10-20 minutes,

Keep it over medium heat, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the bottom and burn. You are aiming for most of the liquid to cook off, so you’re left with a consistency close to tomato paste.

Once thickened, turn off the heat and stir in the cream. Taste the soup. Add more salt and pepper as needed. If the soup tastes too bitter, balance the acidity with some honey.

Adding blended roasted tomato and garlic soup to a pot to simmer and thicken.
Add the soup to a large pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until nice and thick.
Adding cream to roasted garlic tomato soup.
Turn off the heat and stir in the cream.

Serving Roasted Tomato Soup with Garlic

I love serving up this soup with some shaved Parmesan, fresh basil, and croutons. If you’re looking for an easy and foolproof homemade crouton recipe, check out the croutons in my Tuna Caesar Salad!

It’s hearty enough to be a meal all on its own, but is also a great pairing for the following:

Overhead image of two bowls of Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup garnished with shaved Parmesan, croutons, and basil.

How to Properly Store and Reheat Tomato Soup

In an airtight container, this creamy tomato soup will last up to 5 days. You can also freeze leftovers for up to 6 months.

To reheat, thaw if frozen, and then reheat in the microwave or on the stove. I find the stovetop method works best as it allows you to stir more frequently.

If you do want to microwave it, do so in 1-minute intervals, stirring in between, until thoroughly heated.

Green tip: Of the billions of tons of food wasted annually, 50% of food waste happens at home. Reduce your contribution to food waste by properly storing and consuming leftovers.

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What Makes this Garlicky Tomato Soup Awesome?


  • It’s made from whole roastd vegetables.
  • It uses simple and delicious ingredients.
  • The texture! So incredibly creamy.

If you’re loving this Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup and want more delicious veggie-packed homemade soups, check out this Creamy Wild Rice Soup and Orzo Soup with Seasonal Vegetables.

Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup with Croutons and Basil

Creamy Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup with Parmesan

5 from 2 votes
Marley Goldin
Print Save Rate
This Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup has the creamiest texture and deep flavors from real roasted tomatoes, garlic, shallots, and thyme. Simple ingredients, simple to make, and always delicious!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 10 whole tomatoes on the vine
  • 1 pint grape tomatoes
  • 1 large shallot
  • 2 heads garlic
  • 4 sprigs thyme
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup heavy cream or half & half
  • 2 teaspoon honey (see notes*)
Shop Ingredients on Jupiter

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 425°F.
  • Wash and dry your tomatoes. Slice the shallots in half lengthwise and remove the outer layer. Chop the top off the garlic. Add the clean tomatoes, prepped shallots and garlic, and thyme to a large baking sheet and coat with olive oil, salt and pepper.
  • Roast on the top rack for 30-35 minutes until the garlic is tender and the skin on the tomatoes is wrinkly.
  • Allow to cool for about 10 minutes so it is safe to handle the veggies and herbs.
  • Peel the tomatoes on the vine, squeeze the garlic cloves out of the skin, and strip the thyme from the stem. Add to a blender or food processor with the grape tomatoes, roasted shallots, and Parmesan cheese and blend until smooth.
  • Transfer to a large pot over medium heat to reheat and thicken. Stir occasionally and heat until almost all the liquid is released, and it is close in texture to tomato paste. Turn the heat off and stir in the half and half (or cream). Taste the soup. If it’s bitter, add up to 2 teaspoons of honey to taste to balance out the acidity.
  • Garnish with extra Parmesan and fresh basil (optional) and enjoy! Try pairing with Havarti grilled cheese for an epic meal!

Pro Tips

  • If you like a little spice in your soup, crushed red pepper is a great addition!
  • In the soup pictured, I served it up with some homemade croutons. You can find the recipe in this Tuna Caesar Salad!
  • It’s hard to beat a good bowl of soup! Check out my most delicious selection of hearty soup recipes!

Share This Recipe

Course Appetizers, Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine American
Diet Vegetarian
Keyword Roasted Tomatoes, Soup, Soup with Seasonal Vegetables, Tomato Garlic Soup, Vegetarian Soup
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