Delicious and Creamy, Instant Pot Tomato Basil Soup is a Fam Favorite paired with a Grilled Cheese Sandwich and you have comfort in a bowl plus a sammie to dip into it.
My Favorite Soup Recipe from Cafe Zupas too. It's thick, creamy and oh so good. It's really comfort in a bowl.
If you live anywhere close to a Cafe Zupas then you are familiar with their Fresh Tomato Basil Soup. This soup is packed full of rich flavor, with the added Pesto Sauce it’s absolutely delicious.
I’m not a huge tomato fan, however, I will inhale Tomato Basil Soup because it’s just that good!
Plus I love to dunk a good Grilled Cheese Sandwich into this rich and thick Tomato Basil Soup. Oh, a little slice of heaven especially in the cold wintry months. YUM!
Instant Pot Tomato Soup
Cooking with a Pressure Cooker or an Instant Pot can seem tricky, until you get the hang of it. I'm here to help you step by step so you can enjoy a delicious bowl of soup in no time.
This Fresh Tomato Basil Copy Cat Recipe is traditionally done in a crock pot but I love the added convenience of using the Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker.
How to Make Instant Pot Tomato Soup
I like to heat my Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot on Saute until it reads "Hot". Then I will add my butter to melt.
You can of course use Olive Oil if you prefer. Now add your diced onions and celery and allow those to saute for a few minutes.
Okay, I'll get specific for you so you don't have to read my mind. Let these veggies saute for 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally.
Your onions will begin to sweat and the celery will soften. This all good! Now, turn your Instant Pot off. You don't need any more heat from the bottom.
Go ahead and dump the remaining ingredients into your pot. You read that right, just dump them all right in.
Well, except the cream. Save the cream for the end. Add your stewed tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pesto sauce right in. Give a quick Stir just for good measure.
Super important to note, you need to add water! There are natural thin liquid juices in the stewed tomatoes but we don't want to get a burn notice on your Instant Pot.
So add some additional water. It's that simple!
At this point, the Tomato Soup looks like a mess of colors and not overly attractive either. It’s thick and chunky with tomatoes, and doesn’t look that appetizing.
But trust me here, it will be delicious when it’s all done.
Now close your lid, make sure your pressure valve is closed too and set your Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot on Manual Pressure Cook for 5 minutes.
You should also allow for a 5 minute Natural Release (NR). When the cook process is complete all those wonderful flavors will have cooked together into a bite of heaven.
Blend Tomato Basil Soup
You've opened up your Instant Pot lid and can smell the Instant Pot Tomato Soup, your stomach is growling to dive in. But as true with life, all good things must wait! haha.. okay, only a few minutes.
Use an Immersion Blender right in your pot to blend the tomato soup smooth.
All the sudden the chunkiness is gone and a beautiful tomato red color emerges. Oh it Cool!
Now, go ahead and add that cream. The final ingredient to make this Instant Pot Tomato Soup perfect. With a quick blend your Tomato Soup is complete.
The soup is piping hot, so adding the cool cream will only help it so you don’t burn your tongue when you impatiently grab your first spoonful! Trust me. It’s hot!
Soup! Oh so Good!
Did I mention I just love Tomato Soup? Well, at this point you will love it too. Even my picky eater loves Tomato Soup (shock) and he even said it was "pretty good".
That's a compliment from a teenager in case you missed it.
When you make Tomato Soup, you need a good grilled cheese sandwich. So do yourself a favor and make my Oven Baked Grilled Cheese. You can bake up all you need at once so everyone can eat together. Genius if you ask me!
Of course my favorite part is dunking a thick and cheesy grilled cheese into a bowl of Fresh Tomato Soup. Talk about comfort food at it's best!
Of course there are many options of what kind of tomatoes you can you. I prefer to use an Italian Stewed Tomato. It's quick and easy and doesn't require any chopping.
I love a good soup and a creamy soup is even better. This recipe calls for heavy cream and when added to the pureed vegetables this Tomato Basil Soup is the creamiest texture of all.
Don't worry. Do you have a blender? Well, use your blender to puree and blend this soup. BUT, word of caution. As you add the hot soup to your blender, make sure to leave a way for the steam to escape, of you will have a Mt. St Hellens Eruption on your hands. Trust me.
Tomato Basil Soup is easily made in advance or even to meal prep. The soup will last 5 days when properly refrigerated. However you can also freeze Instant Pot Tomato Soup as well. To reheat a single portion use a microwave or for larger portions heat on medium/low heat until desired temperature is reached.
As a general rule, dairy doesn't not freeze well. However because this soup is all pureed together Creamy Tomato Soup does freeze very well. I like to package in single servings and take to work!
This soup will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Of course keep it in a sealed container.
How to Freeze Creamy Tomato Soup?
- Allow Creamy Tomato Soup to cool before freezing. This an be done by storing in refrigerator for a few hours.
- Package in freezer containers. I like to use Freezer Zip-loc bags and store laying flat. Quart size works well for single servings.
- Freeze Tomato Soup for up to 3 months
- Reheating your soup is easy, pull out a frozen package and throw in your refrigerator over night. Then heat on the stove or in the microwave.
Dress up your Tomato Soup with a garnish!
- Add Parmesan Cheese Slices
- Sour Cream
- Fresh Basil
- Toasted Croutons
- Your favorite Crackers
Quick Tip:
You can purchase Pesto sauce to use in this recipe. There is no need to make it from scratch. However, it’s also super easy to make it yourself if you want to.
For those that are interested, here is the quick recipe and video.
Fresh Pesto Recipe:
- 1 cup Fresh Basil
- ⅓ Cup Almonds (Slivered or Whole)
- ⅓ Cup Fresh Parmesan Cheese
- 2 Clove crushed Garlic
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ Cup Olive Oil
Blend in a food processor. Blend until smooth, or leave a little texture like I have.
Don't stop here! More Delicious Soup Recipes!
- Split Pea Soup
- Chicken Taco Soup
- White Chicken Chili
- Chicken Chili Verde
- Taco Soup
- Chicken Corn Chowder
- Beef Stew
- Chicken Cordon Bleu Soup
Bread Recipes for Dipping!
Save and Pin for Later
Tomato Basil Soup (Cafe Zupas Copy Cat Recipe) in the Instant Pot
Ingredients
Tomato Basil Soup
- 4 14.5 oz Cans Italian Stewed Tomato
- 1 Cup Pesto Sauce - *Make Fresh or from a Jar
- 3 Tbs Butter
- 3 Stalks Celery - Diced
- ¾ Cup Onion - Diced
- 2 Tbs Sugar - *This will help cut acidity
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ½ Cup Whipping Cream
- ½ Cup water - *Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker only
Fresh Pesto
- 1 Cup Fresh Basil - Washed and remove stems
- ⅓ Cup Fresh Parmesan - I do a heaping ⅓ cup
- ⅓ Cup Almonds - Whole or Slivered
- 2 teaspoon garlic
- ½ Cup olive oil
Instructions
Tomato Basil Soup
- In a sauce pan over medium/high heat, melt butter. Add Celery and Onion. Saute' until tender. Set aside. 3 Tbs Butter, 3 Stalks Celery, ¾ Cup Onion
- In an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker put Italian Stewed Tomatoes, Pesto Sauce, Sugar, Salt, and Celery/Onion mixture. Add ½ cup of water or chicken broth. This is to add enough extra liquid so your ingredients don't burn in your Instant Pot. If cooking in a Crock Pot, do not add extra water. Give a quick stir. 4 14.5 oz Cans Italian Stewed Tomato, 1 Cup Pesto Sauce, ½ Cup water, 2 Tbs Sugar, ½ teaspoon Salt.
- Secure the lid. Check to make sure the pressure value is closed. Set Instant Pot to Manual and cook for 5 minutes. It will take a few minutes for the pressure cooker to heat up and seal. Then it will cook for 5 minutes. Do a quick release to release pressure.
- Use an Immersion Blender to blend soup to a smooth consistency. Mine is never smooth because my pesto sauce is still a little chunky which is like. Just blend up as much as you like. If you do not have an immersion blender, you can remove soup and put it in a blender a little at a time. It's super simple and no big deal. Either way works just fine.
- Add whipping cream and blend or stir to combine. Serve hot with fresh Parmesan. Oh so good! 1 ½ Cup Whipping Cream
Pesto Sauce
- In a Food Processor, place Basil, Almonds, Fresh Parmesan, Garlic, and Olive Oil. Blend to combine to desire smoothness. Set aside. (Pesto can be used in a variety of recipes. Added to Alfredo sauce to make a creamy Alfredo too)
Nutrition Disclaimer
All nutrition values are approximate and calculated by a plugin and are provided as a courtesy. Adding or subtracting ingredients will change the nutritional value.
Stephanie
I have made several Tomato Basil soup recipes, looking to replicate Zupas amazing soup. All have failed miserably until this recipe. I made the homemade pesto as instructed and this soup is SO GOOD. Thank you! I no longer need to get a job at Zupas to sneak the recipe!!
Devour Dinner
Hahaha.... this made me smile Stephanie! I love a good tomato basil soup and this one never fails. Here is a tip!!! You can freeze the soup in freezer bags and enjoy another day. I freeze in single servings for a quick lunch. Delicious!
Amy
Perfectly balanced flavors! Yet another wonderful recipe, Rebecca.
Devour Dinner
Hi Amy! Thanks for a wonderful review. We love love making this soup. So cozy and tasty.
Rachel
This looks delicious!! Can this be made in a crock pot or only in an instant pot?
Devour Dinner
Hi Rachel, This recipe could be made in the crock pot but I have never tested it. I would assume you would want to cook it for 3-4 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low.
Sara
This is a great zupas copy cat recipe. I’ve made tomato soup before and it never turned out like I’d was hoping until now. The only thing i changed was I used my fresh garden tomato’s- I roasted them in the oven with fresh basil and garlic and used some of the juice instead of water. Turned out soooo good. The pesto adds the best flavor! I’ll be making this again and again! Thank you!
Bill
I have seen this made a number of times. My boys decided they wanted Tomato soup and grilled cheese for dinner tonight. With my wife out of town, I asked do you want caned soup or the real thing. They both had disappointed looks when I mentioned canned so I decided I would give it a shot. So glad I did. This is so easy to make and 100 times better than canned.
Laura Weston
My kids are incredibly picky and LOVED THIS!! I didn’t add the cream until it was in the bowl so I could have oat milk with mine. Such a hit and was so easy to prepare. I’m so lazy I didn’t sauté the veggies. Just added it all in the pot with the butter and turned out great.
Devour Dinner
So glad to hear this great review Laura!
Dee Dee
I'm making this for the second time tonight. It's absolutely amazing. I substituted Swerve for the sugar and used Delallo pesto since I had it on hand. So easy and tastes like you spent hours making it. You will never eat canned tomato soup again. Along with grilled cheese it's like a warm hug.
Devour Dinner
Thanks for the glowing 5 Star Review. I couldn't agree more.
Meredith
I'm still new-ish to the IP so I tend to stick to the same recipes. But I couldn't resist attempting this recipe. It was so easy, and so flavorful. I was unsure how I would feel about the pesto, but it added an earthy flavor that was so good. Added my grilled cheese croutons and it was superb. FYI, really, any blender works - my 5yr broke my immersion and my big blender is missing so I used my bullet in small batches. Don't sweat it!
Marcia
I made this to take on a recent camping trip and I have to say it was AMAZING! My husband couldn't get enough of it and I'm making again today for next week's camping trip. The weather is starting to cool off here in Northern Wisconsin, so this is perfect. I had homemade pesto in the freezer from last year's basil crop, so used that as well. Thank you so much for this recipe! It's a keeper and will be a staple for us this winter!
PS-I didn't change a thing...
Sheila Latta
A great recipe that is quick and so yummy. If you don't have time to make the pesto, the premade works great too. This does make a lot for the standard recipe, but it freezes well so you can put some up for the next time if you have a smaller family or adjust the recipe down right here with the recipe calculator on the website. This is a keeper recipe we will use again.
Julie
This soup was easy to make and excellent. I did ad just a little half and half and about a 1/2 tsp of sugar. It was my first attempt at homemade tomato soup and bought more ingredients to make it again 2 days later. love it!
Kate
Made this tonight with some adjustments - instead of making buying / pesto first... I put ALL the non-dairy ingredients for both the soup and the pesto in the instant pot (after frying onions & celery) ... Cooked, by the time it's done cooking, the almonds are soft enough for the immersion blender to handle. Instead of heavy cream I blended in greek yogurt. I omitted the parm cheese from the pot and just topped serving bowls with that and a little dried basil. It was amazing!
I love the nutty taste in tomato soup! My fav place that closed a few years ago that made a tomato-basil-pinenut soup that was my FAV - and this is the closest I've ever come to getting that flavor back! Thanks!
Emily
Love the comment about throwing all the pesto ingredients in the pot instead of using food processor! The less dirty dishes the better.
I will keep tweaking the recipe as the almond texture was a little more noticeable than I would like, but my immersion blender did the best job it could.
The flavor is excellent hot out of the pot, and I'm hoping it develops more with time.
If you’re gluten free and are missing the grilled cheese, try dipping nachos instead.
I also would love to make this with home grown tomatoes! Thank-you.
Karen K
This soup is terrific. I've been trying to find a recipe to make tomato basil soup similar to that sold at Costco and I have now found that recipe. I used Italian diced tomatoes rather than stewed, and half 'n half rather than whipping cream (since I had that in the fridge). This recipe was so easy and very good. (I also used the Costco pre-made refrigerated pesto.)
Devour Dinner
Hi Karen! Thanks for the raving review. I will also use jarred Pesto from time to time and you can certainly substitute half and half for heavy cream too. Even my picky eater loves this recipe, it's so so good!
Marilyn McDonough
Easy to make and delicious. I made with grilled cheese.
Devour Dinner
Oh a Grilled Cheese is a must have with this soup!
Bailey
I have never liked soup, so when I tried this soup at Zupas I was so shocked by how much I LOVED it. We used to live 5 minutes away from a Zupas, but are now an hour away which means the gas to get there and back on top of buying a whole bunch of just this soup isn’t super realistic. This recipe is a PERFECT replica, I have started to double it so I can freeze some for days I am craving it. If you are wanting to freeze it, you can add the cream before you put it in the freezer, it defrosts perfectly. I will add that I do put a little less water in the instant pot with mine because when I do the full amount, it does seem just slightly too watered down.
Jenny
I loooove Cafe Zupas tomato basil soup! If I wanted to make this in the crockpot, would I sauté my onion and celery first and then dump everything in together? And how long would everything have to cook for in the crockpot before I blend it?
Devour Dinner
Hi Jenny! YES! You can make this soup in a Crock Pot. Go ahead and saute up the onions and celery and then throw those into your Crock Pot. Follow the directions like you would with the Pressure Cooker, except cook in your crock pot. This could be cooked on low for 3-4 hours and then finish with adding the cream and blending until smooth. It's delicious!
Jenny
THANK YOU!!! So excited to try this!
Mindy
I tried 2 other cafe zupas.copycat tomato soup recipes that were abysmal and had almost given up when I found this recipe. absolutely delicious!!! served these up with some grilled cheese and was loved by all.
Devour Dinner
Hey Mindy! This review makes me smile so BIG! Thank you. We love this recipe. Even my picky eater goes for a bowl w/ grilled cheese sandwiches because it's just that good! So happy you found a recipe you love. Thanks for the great review
Denise N.
I’m confused. In your blog description it states to pressure cook for 15 minutes but in the actual recipe it states 5 minutes. I LOVE Tomato Basil Soup but which one is right?
Devour Dinner
Hi Denise! Sorry for the confusion. It cooks for 5 minutes. I've updated the post for better clarity.
Natalie
Hi! I love this soup and the recipe is great! Just a quick question. I’d like to freeze it to prepare for the upcoming arrival of our second baby and I’m wondering if you’d recommend cooking it then freezing it or freezing it first and then thawing and dumping into the instant pot? I would obviously wait to add the cream regardless, just wondering if you had experience freezing this soup.
Devour Dinner
Hi Natalie! Congrats on the new little one coming. Smart thinking to prepare a few meals ahead. This would be a recipe that very little work would be done prior. You can easily freeze the onions and celery so you have those ready and also having prepared pesto sauce or just having it in a jar works too. The rest of the recipe is literally almost dump and go. It would be an excellent meal for when the baby comes with just a few simple preparations before hand. If you wish to make up the entire soup, it will freeze well, just add the cream when you are ready to heat it up!
Katie | Hospitable Homemaker
Total comfort food! This looks so good! Thanks for sharing!
Renee
Wow! You made this look so simple and delicious!
Devour Dinner
Thank you! I try to show recipes that are easy to make yet full of flavor. As a busy mom, I find myself needing more time in my day and this is one way I achieve that!
Marcia Socwell
I made this to take on a recent camping trip and I have to say it was AMAZING! My husband couldn't get enough of it and I'm making again today for next week's camping trip. The weather is starting to cool off here in Northern Wisconsin, so this is perfect. I had homemade pesto in the freezer from last year's basil crop, so used that as well. Thank you so much for this recipe! It's a keeper and will be a staple for us this winter!
PS-I didn't change a thing...
Erin Haugerud
Wow this looks so amazing!!
Jacklyn
I'm thinking it's about time I get an instant pot! I keep seeing all these mouth watering recipes and feel like I'm missing out! Haha
Devour Dinner
Instant Pots are wonderful, they take some time to get used to. And all these recipes can be made in the crock pot. It just takes longer. So you can still enjoy these great recipes!
Seppy
tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich is one of my FAVOURITE things to eat!!!! Have you tried making it with non-dairy alternative?
Seppy | http://www.elleisforlove.com
Devour Dinner
I love Tomato Soup with a good Grilled Cheese too! Make sure to look for my Baked Grilled Cheese Recipe. It's wonderful. I have not tried to make this soup with a non-dairy alternative. But I can tell you, That I will eat a bowl of this without even adding the cream and love it. Of course the Pesto Sauce has some dairy in it. You could definitely make this will alternatives and it would still be wonderful.
Kylee
Wondering what I could use as a replacement for the cream that's dairy free? I'm thinking coconut milk or cream but should I do the same measurement? Any thoughts?
Felicia @ The Starving Chef
Been such a deary day here - this is perfect to cure the snowy blues!
Devour Dinner
It's a perfect recipe for that!
mel
I love making tomato soup! Can't wait to try this recipe out! Thank you 🙂
Devour Dinner
Hope you like it too!
Ayanna @ 21FlavorsofSplendor
Yummy!The pop of flavor with the pesto sounds amazing.
Devour Dinner
The pesto add so much, I love the texture it adds for sure.
andy
I love my Instant Pot and am continually on the prowl for new recipes. Pinned this one! Thanks for the recipe!
Devour Dinner
Be sure to keep watching as we will be posting new Instant Pot Recipes weekly! So glad you enjoyed it.
Kristi
This sounds delicious! I love creamy tomato soup and haven't found a recipe for it yet. This one looks so easy. I can't wait to try it.
Devour Dinner
As a busy mom, I thrive on recipes I can do quickly with ingredients that I typically have. This one fits the bill as it's easy and goes together quickly. Love it!
Lyndsey
this soup looks absolutely amazing! We love our Instant Pot!
Devour Dinner
We love our Instant Pot too. 🙂
Gabby
Ooh I love tomato basil soup! I never thought to use whipping cream, that’s so smart!
Devour Dinner
Whipping cream really adds to the flavor and texture. So delicious
Gina
Yum! I love to make soup, especially in the winter! This looks delicious!!
Devour Dinner
It is so delicious and among my favorites for sure! I hope you try it!
Abby Darlington
Yum!! Tomato Soup and Turkey Panini's are my staple comfort food in the winter! Definitely need to grab one of these instant pots so I can try out your recipe-and make my life a lot easier I'm sure!
Devour Dinner
I agree! You can make this in the crock pot too! No need to go out and buy any new appliance.