Creamy and Easy Tomato Bisque (Soup) Recipe / Video

This simple and easy tomato bisque soup recipe is creamy, fast, affordable and delicious.

White bowl with black rim of red tomato bisque soup on a wood rectangle plate. Grilled cheese sandwich cut in half diagonally on the side.

The ingredients for this easy tomato bisque recipe are so simple that you might think it's too good to be true but, it's one of my favorite recipes!

There are only 5 ingredients in this easy tomato soup recipe: butter, salt, can of whole tomatoes, heavy whipping cream, and onions.

What To Eat With Easy Tomato Soup / Bisque

This easy tomato bisque recipe would go great with a grilled cheese sandwich. Other ideas are:

Buttery Toast
Add a little macaroni (shout out to my mom)
Serve it over a heaping bowl of spaghetti with some Parmesan or other cheese
Favorite green salad to make it a wee healthier.
A side of peas to make for an easy and fast dinner with some added veggies.

Comfort food to the max and a staple soup in our house. Add a little fresh basil to this creamy tomato bisque if you've got it.

Raw Ingredients for Tomato Bisque: Whole peeled canned tomatoes, heavy whipping cream, black pepper, salt, onions, and butter. — *Ingredients for Tomato Bisque: Whole peeled canned tomatoes, heavy whipping cream, black pepper, salt, onions, and butter.*

What is the difference between bisque and soup?

Bisque is a traditional French soup made out of shellfish (crab, lobster, shrimp). It also incorporates heavy cream. Nowadays, bisque is any smooth cream based soup.

Soup is generally made with a broth base instead of heavy whipping cream. So tomato soup would be less creamy and less thick.

Silver stockpot of unblended chunky tomato soup with a large spoon on a white plate in the background. — *Unblended but cooked Tomato Bisque. Blender and half and half next.*

Dairy and Non Dairy Alternatives for Simple Tomato Bisque

Why is heavy whipping cream used instead of milk or half and half in soups or bisques? It's because the fat content is so high that it prevents the bisque from curdling when cooking. It also freezes and defrosts better.

In a pinch, use a lighter dairy alternative for this easy tomato bisque recipe. It will not be as rich, and it may separate/curdle when cooking but it will still be good.

TIP: Vegans can use soy or coconut creamer instead of heavy whipping cream and a non-dairy substitute instead of butter for homemade tomato bisque.

Side view of 2 bowls of red soup with spoons sticking out. Big pot of red soup with large ladle next to them. 2 napkins.

Easy Tomato Bisque Soup Recipe FAQS:

What makes a creamy tomato bisque?

Bisque is traditionally a thick creamy seafood soup. In general, bisque is thicker and is also made with a milk product. Heavy whipping cream does two things: makes all bisque / soup thicker and also makes it creamy and silky.

Why did my tomato bisque separate / curdle?

Mostly the reason would be that milk or light cream was used instead of heavy whipping cream. The lower the fat content = the higher the possibilities of milk curdling, so use heavy whipping cream. But also, it could be because the heat was too high when adding the cream. Try lowering or removing the tomato soup from the heat and then stirring in the cream.

How can I make canned tomato bisque better?

First, just make it yourself with this super easy tomato bisque recipe! Try adding heavy whipping cream to a canned tomato bisque if it doesn't taste good as is.

White bowl with black rim of red tomato bisque soup on a wood rectangle plate. Grilled cheese sandwich cut in half diagonally on the side. Top view. — *Serve with buttery toast or a grilled cheese sandwich.*

Easy Creamy Tomato Bisque

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EatSimpleFood.com

This creamy and simple tomato bisque (soup) recipe is extremely easy, fast, affordable and delicious. The ingredients are so simple that you might think it's too good to be true. TRUST!

Author: beckie
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 6
Category: Soup
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: International
Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

3 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup (~ 1 small) onion, diced
56 ounces (2 cans) WHOLE canned Tomatoes with juices
⅔ cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Bring a pot to medium high heat and add butter and onions.
Reduce heat to medium low and cook covered until onions are soft and translucent (not brown or caramelized) ~ 7 minutes.
Add whole canned tomatoes with juices and salt.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer covered ~ 30 minutes.
Remove from heat and Immersion blend (you can also food process or put it in the blender).
Mix in heavy cream. Rewarm soup on low if needed.
Add salt to taste. Add cream to taste if you want it richer and more velvety.
Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches or buttery toast. The grilled cheese in the pictures is a mixture of a bunch of left over cheese that we had including blue cheese (YUM!). Happy Eating! Beckie

Notes

Why is heavy whipping cream used instead of milk or half and half in soups or bisques? It's because the fat content is so high that it prevents it from curdling when cooking. It also freezes and defrosts better.
In a pinch, use a lighter dairy. It will not be as rich and it may separate/curdle when cooking but it will still be good.
Vegans can use soy or coconut creamer instead of heavy whipping cream and a non-dairy substitute instead of butter.

Things In My Kitchen:

Immersion blender - affordable, fast, and has little clean up.
Professional blender - I love my low profile Vitamix blender but this Ninja is almost as good and tons cheaper.

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Serving Suggestion

Serve this creamy and easy Tomato Bisque recipe with something that has a little more bulk to round out your meal like Latkas , fried bread, or roasted butternut squash, or you can pair it with something completely different like pickled shrimp (YES!! 2 of my favs together!).