Tomato soup is one of those dishes that you can either make with very few ingredients or lots of ingredients and it tastes just as good either way. For a flavor profile I once hated, I find myself making tomato soup quite a lot. It’s just so comforting to have a pot of soup simmering on the stove once the weather starts to get chilly and – much like many of you – I almost always have at least the basic ingredients for tomato soup on hand.
Now, don’t be alarmed by the amount of ingredients in this recipe – I wanted to see just how much different flavors impacted a simple dish. I’ve marked the ingredients I think are optional in the recipe card below! This is also a great recipe for improvisation so don’t take it too seriously – add things you think you’ll enjoy. Let me know in the comments what you end up adding into your soup.
P.S. any tomato soup – no matter the ingredients, tastes best with a grilled cheese 😉 For the ultimate crispy bread, spread a light coating of mayo on the outside of the bread. Trust me, it’s a game changer.

Pantry Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Large shallot, finely chopped
- 6 smoked mussels optional
- 4 Ounces chopped pancetta
- 1 Sprig rosemary optional
- 1.5 – 2.5 Cups Chardonnay
- 1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 24 ounce jar of tomato purée
- 60 Cloves fresh garlic optional – you can use less
- 1 Handful fresh basil, torn
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Chop shallot and mussels and sautée with olive oil in heavy bottomed pot
- Once shallots have turned translucent, add in the pancetta and continue to cook
- Before the pancetta gets too crispy, deglaze the pan with ~1 cup of the Chardonnay
- Add in crushed tomatoes and tomato purée and stir to combine, put on low heat and bring to a simmer
- Remove skins from garlic but keep the cloves whole. I like to do this by putting the cloves in a bowl, topping that bowl with another bowl and shaking really hard until the skins fall off.
- Check in on the tomato soup – if the mixture seems thick, add in more wine to thin it out. You may have to repeat this as the soup cooks.
- Place all the garlic cloves in the pot along with the basil and rosemary, stir to combine and cover with a lid. You’ll cook this on low for around 2 hours.
- Throughout those two hours, I do recommend checking on the soup and thinning out when needed.
- Once the garlic is soft enough to whisk into the soup, use an immersion blender to get the mixture smooth.
- Serve with you favorite grilled cheese and enjoy!