It’s the middle of winter and it’s cold. COLD. One of the only things that make winter bearable is looking forward to some warm, comforting, creamy soup on blustery, snowy days. This Winter Tomato Bisque soup is one of my favorites because it comes together quickly in a high-speed blender (less than 6 minutes) or just a little longer on the stovetop (about 15 minutes, or the time it takes to make the perfect accompaniment, grilled cheese!). It utilizes canned tomatoes, either home-canned or store-bought, and just a few other staple ingredients.
It’s been a LONG, long time since I’ve had a canned soup. Way too often commercially canned soups are filled with all kinds of chemicals and nasties. I don’t do nasties and I don’t want you to either. Even if you’re “not a cook,” this soup is for beginners. Everything goes into a pot, gets heated then blended. Top it with some creamy yogurt and fresh-ground pepper and you’re good to go.
Options. Options are good! You have them here. I’m currently doing the Trim Healthy Mama program and learning about separating your body’s fuel sources. It’s helping me lose weight after YEARS of frustration and disappointment. If you’d like to check them out, start here with the Plan Book. If you’re not interested, the recipe is written both ways using natural sugar too.
Notes:
• This recipe also works well with fresh tomatoes. Use the same amount by weight, 28 oz. of fresh tomatoes, chopped, and you will likely have to cook them a little longer if you use the stove-top method. The blender method works the same and shouldn’t take any longer to “cook” the soup.
• To keep this a THM – E meal, you will need to choose the sugar-free, low fat, high protein options such as using a calorie-free sweetener and fat-free Greek yogurt. You will also need to use an E or FP bread for your croutons should you choose to use them. The THM cookbook has a great recipe for those.
• If you’re not doing the THM program, feel free to use the honey option and whatever croutons you love. This recipe also goes great with grilled cheese, like your mama used to make.
So, let’s get to this recipe!
- 1 28 oz. can of stewed tomatoes
- 1 small onion
- 2 tsp. garlic, minced
- 1 Tbls. honey (or calorie-free sweetener of choice if doing THM)
- ½ tsp. dried oregano
- ½ tsp. dried thyme
- 1 tsp. salt
- pepper to taste
- ¼-1/2 cup heavy cream OR ½ cup greek yogurt (if using yogurt, increase sweetener to 2 Tbls.) Using greek yogurt would make this a Trim Healthy Mama E-meal.
- IN A HIGH SPEED BLENDER:
- Place all ingredients except cream/yogurt in blender and blend on soup mode until finished.
- Add cream or yogurt and blend on manual for another 10 seconds on low.
- Serve with drizzled cream or yogurt and croutons, if desired.
- ON THE STOVETOP:
- Place all ingredients, except cream or yogurt, in a saucepan and cook until onions are tender, about 10 minutes at a simmer.
- Using an immersion blender (or blending in batches in a countertop blender), blend until smooth.
- Add cream or yogurt and blend well.
- Serve with drizzled cream or yogurt and croutons, if desired.