If you haven't ordered the Tomato Basil Soup from Cafe Zupas, you're seriously missing out! It's so much more than just tomato soup. It's got a light texture and the flavor has so much depth. It's so good I'll even eat it in the middle of summer. When it's 100+ degrees outside. And I'm pregnant. That should tell you just how amazing it is!
I scoured the internet trying to find a recipe that sounded similar and failed. Then I came across another Zupas copycat recipe, but it needed a lot of work- I read it and had so many questions! (That and it made about 32 gallons of soup!) So I got to work and came up with this recipe, which is a much easier and smaller version. I hope you'll try it- serve it with grilled cheese on a cool Fall day. Yum.
Tomato Basil Soup {Cafe Zupas Copycat Version}
Adapted from It's The Life's Recipe here
- 1 1/4 cup Pesto sauce {see recipe below if you want to make your own. Costco's is delish!}
- 5 1/2 cups diced/ stewed tomatoes - three 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2/3 cup diced onion
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 3/4 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp sugar (cuts down on acidity)
- 1 1/3 cup cream or 1 12-oz can evaporated milk
My garden is exploding with tomatoes, so I used fresh. This is not a fast way to make this soup, however! If you do want to use fresh, you'll need to peel and slice them properly. I show you how to do this step-by-step here, when I give my marinara sauce recipe.
Pesto Sauce Recipe~ blend together until smooth:
- 2/3 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/3 cup slivered almonds
- 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3/4 tsp salt
Directions:
Set crockpot on high so that it can begin warming up while you assemble the soup. If you don't want to use a crockpot, feel free to use a saucepan instead.
Wash and slice vegetables.
In a frying pan (or just use the saucepan if you're not using a crockpot) melt butter over medium-high heat.
Add in onion and celery. Cook until vegetables soften, about 5-8 minutes.
Transfer to the crockpot and add in all remaining ingredients, except the cream. At this point the soup doesn't look very pretty. Don't worry- it will cook down and all the veggies will meld together. Soon your house will smell amazing!
Crockpot: Cook on high 6-7 hours total
Saucepan on stove: Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to low. Simmer for about 2 hours total.
After soup has cooked for most of the time, I then use an immersion blender to get rid of the remaining chunks of vegetables. Cafe Zupas' soup is served with some pieces of veggies, but I prefer to blend mine smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can transfer the soup a few cups at a time to your regular blender. I've done this before- it's not as daunting as it sounds!
After it's smooth, return to pot and cook for the remaining time~ I generally blend it about an hour before serving. Just before serving add the cream or milk.
Top with fresh Parmesan cheese and ENJOY!
Soup doesn't look very pretty at this point, huh?! Don't worry...
Blend it until smooth and it turns a lovely reddish orange color.
