Simple Homemade Tomato Soup

• servings: 4 servings
• active time: 10 minutes
• total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

4 slices bacon, cut into small pieces

2 carrots, chopped

half of a yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon flour

4 cups chicken broth (more to thin out the soup at the end as needed)

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

one 28-ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes

2 tablespoons cream (optional – to add at the end as desired)

kosher salt to taste (I like 1-2 teaspoons)

Directions

Cook Bacon

Fry the bacon in a large soup pot over medium low heat until bacon starts to get crispy and browned, about 5-8 minutes.

Add Veggies

Add the carrots, onion, and garlic to the bacon in the pan; sauté for 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are very aromatic and tender.

Add Tomato Paste and Flour

Add the tomato paste – stir for a few minutes until you can see/smell the tomato paste starting to brown and caramelize. Add the flour and stir for a minute or so.

Crush Your Tomatoes

Pour the tomatoes and their juice into a bowl and crush them with your hands.

Cook Everything Together

Add the crushed tomatoes, broth, thyme, and bay leaf to the soup pot. Simmer for 30 minutes. Puree in batches and return to the pot. Add cream if you want. Season with salt.

Nutrition

• Calories: 156
• Total Fat: 5.1 g
• Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 16.4 mg
• Sodium: 1581.9 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 21.6 g
• Dietary Fiber: 3.5 g
• Total Sugars: 10.9 g
• Protein: 8.4 g