There comes a point every tomato season when the kitchen counter disappears beneath a mountain of ripe tomatoes. The cherry tomatoes are overflowing from bowls, the slicers are coming in faster than you can eat them, and even after giving bags away to friends and neighbors, there always seem to be a few dozen more waiting in the garden.
That’s when this tomato bisque makes its annual appearance.
Creamy without being too heavy and bursting with fresh tomato flavor, it’s another one of my favorite ways to celebrate the harvest. Pair it with a cheesy toast topper, and you’ve got the kind of meal that feels equally at home on a cool autumn evening or after a long day spent in the garden. Best of all, this recipe works with almost any tomato variety, making it a wonderful way to use up those slightly imperfect fruits that are still packed with flavor.
What is the Difference Between Tomato Bisque and Tomato Soup?
Let’s not mince words. It’s the cream. Standard tomato soup is pure tomatoes, or sometimes it has added chicken broth or water. It can be either smooth or chunky, depending upon your preference. Tomato bisque on the other hand, is richer and creamier, relying on cream or milk. And it is completely blended to a velvety perfection.
Why Garden Tomatoes Make the Best Bisque
But as much as cream is a key component and differentiator, the secret to an exceptional tomato bisque isn’t the cream—it’s great tomatoes.
Homegrown tomatoes have a sweetness and depth of flavor that’s difficult to find in store-bought varieties. Paste tomatoes like Roma or San Marzano create a rich, velvety soup, while heirlooms such as Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Mortgage Lifter, or German Johnson add incredible flavor and complexity. A mix of different tomatoes often produces the most flavorful results.
If your tomatoes are especially sweet, you may not need any added sugar at all. If they’re particularly acidic, a small pinch of sugar can help balance the soup.
Ingredients
For the Tomato Bisque
- 3 pounds ripe garden tomatoes, or however many you have. This recipe is forgiving.
- 4 cloves garlic, whole
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ – a half cup heavy cream (or milk, to your own taste)
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or 1 tablespoon dried basil)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Optional pinch of sugar if needed
For the Cheesy Toast Topper
- 4 thick slices of sourdough, baguette or rustic country bread
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- Fresh cracked black pepper
Step 1: Roast the Tomatoes
Preheat your oven to 425°F.
Halve the tomatoes. Spread the tomatoes face down with the garlic on a jellyroll pan or deep-sided baking pan. Drizzle generously with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Roast for 30–35 minutes, until the tomatoes have softened and begun to caramelize around the edges. Once roasting is complete, you should be able to pull the skin off the tomatoes very easily.
The key benefit of roasting the tomatoes is that it concentrates the natural sugars and gives the soup an incredible depth of flavor.
- Tip: This roasting method for removing skin works best for smooth round tomatoes. It will work for pleated or ruffled tomatoes, but may take a bit more work. Sometimes the skin clings at the stem end of the tomato, and a kitchen snipper is handy to keep nearby. Small bits of skin will get blended into the soup in the next step, so it is not necessary to get everything off. In fact, some people prepare this soup by blending some skin in; which is also perfectly acceptable.
- Note: Because the tomatoes have not been run through a sieve or a mill, there will be seeds in the finished bisque. If you prefer no seeds, just run the tomatoes through a sieve after the roasting and before the blending.
Step 2: Blend the Soup
Transfer the roasted tomatoes and garlic to a large pot. Reserve the tomato water on the side.
Add the thyme and basil.
Using an immersion blender—or carefully working in batches with a countertop blender—blend until completely smooth. If more liquid is needed, add in some of the tomato liquid that you reserved on the side, but bisque is most often served quite thick.
Return to gentle heat and stir in the heavy cream (or milk) a quarter cup at a time. If you added extra tomatoes, add extra cream. Note that if using milk, you may wish to use a bit more for a more creamy consistency.
Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and, if necessary, a pinch of sugar.
Allow the bisque to simmer gently for another 10 minutes or so prior to transferring to an oven-safe baking dish
Step 3: Make the Cheesy Toast Topper
While the soup simmers, combine the Mozzarella, Parmesan, garlic powder, chives, parsley, and black pepper in a bowl.
Switch the oven to broil. Lightly rub olive oil and garlic one side of each half of the rustic bread or baguette. Place on a baking sheet and place under the broiler for 1-2 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown.
Place the baguette on the top of the bisque in the oven-safe baking dish. Lay the baguette directly across the bowl so the center soaks up the soup while the edges stay wonderfully crisp. Top everything with the cheese mixture generously over the top.
Bake under the broiler for a couple of minutes, watching carefully, until the cheese is bubbling and beautifully golden.
Need This Soup Faster? Try This Cheat:
Instead of roasting the vegetables, just put your raw tomatoes, cubed and cored, into a blender or food processor along with the cream. Blend until smooth. Transfer to your pot and add the spices. Cook for ten minutes before transferring to the oven safe bowl.
Prepare the cheesy bread as per step 3 above.
Variations
This recipe is wonderfully adaptable depending on what’s growing in your garden.
Try adding:
- Roasted red peppers
- Roasted carrots for extra sweetness
- Roasted Onion
- A pinch of smoked paprika or chipotle
- Fresh oregano or rosemary for a more rustic flavor
You could even stir in a handful of fresh spinach just before blending for an extra serving of greens.
A Taste of Tomato Season
Every gardener has a favorite way to celebrate tomato season. Some make salsa. Others preserve pasta sauce, pizza sauce, or tomato chutney. This recipe is a nice alternative to the standards.
There’s something deeply satisfying about walking into the garden with an empty basket and returning with everything needed for dinner. Tomatoes, basil, thyme, chives, parsley—and if your chickens have been busy, perhaps even a few fresh eggs for a custard dessert afterward.
So the next time your tomato plants are producing faster than you can slice them for sandwiches, skip the grocery store. Pull out a pot instead, toast up a little cheesy bread, and enjoy one of the simplest—and most delicious—ways to savor the very best of the garden.
