A steamy bowl of silky tomato soup inspires fond childhood memories, especially when you’re dipping a grilled cheese sandwich into it. But now that you’re an adult, that from-a-can soup has lost most of its charm. It’s often tinny, one-dimensional, and just falls flat.
Cooking Tips
How to Turn Canned Tomatoes into the Tomato-iest Soup
Make the tomato soup of your childhood, but way better.
By Published Aug. 31, 2022
What if you could give your nostalgic favorite an upgrade with a little brown sugar?
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Once you try this recipe for the Ultimate Cream of Tomato Soup, you may never buy tomato soup from a can again. The deep tomatoey flavor is made possible by roasting and caramelizing. Think: sun-dried tomatoes but better (and sweeter, too).
Oven-roasting draws out the moisture from the tomatoes, enhancing their flavors. The brown sugar takes it a step further, adding caramelized complexity. Once golden brown and fully cooked down, they’ll serve as the base for a truly stellar soup.
Here’s how to get the most flavorful tomatoes for the ultimate tomato soup.
Oven-Roasted Caramelized Tomatoes
Total Time: 30 minutes
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line jelly-roll pan or rimmed cookie sheet with foil.
- Spread two 28-ounce cans of drained and seeded tomatoes in a single layer on foil, and sprinkle evenly with 1½ tablespoons of dark brown sugar.
- Bake until all liquid has evaporated and tomatoes begin to color, about 30 minutes.
- Let tomatoes cool slightly, then peel them off the foil.
- Transfer to a small bowl and set aside to use them in the soup.
Watch Bridget Lancaster prepare this delicious tomato soup.