This Healthy Homemade Tomato Bisque Recipe is one you’ll want to make over and over. You’ll think that you are in a fancy restaurant when you dig into this homemade bisque.
Homemade tomato bisque
As a matter of fact, this recipe is from a fancy restaurant. Savories European Bistro was an upscale restaurant in my hometown and MaryJo received the recipe from a co-worker at the bank where they worked. I’m not sure if she figured out the tomato bisque recipe herself, or was given the recipe by the owners of Savories. All I know is that this is super flavorful and the ingredients in it are perfect.
The bisque tastes slightly sweet because it contains a bit of honey. Combine that sweetness with the distinct flavor of dill and oregano and this becomes no ordinary tomato soup.
Ingredients
There’s a good amount of butter, for richness, and a little onion, dill weed, and oregano. A small amount of flour is used for thickening because there’s quite a bit of liquid in the recipe. Canned San Marzano tomatoes are used and a 28 ounce can will have 6 or 7 skinless tomatoes. These will need to be broken up slightly and I find it’s easiest to use a pair of kitchen shears to cut them into pieces. An immersion blender will do the job too.
Next, add a small can of chicken broth, which is around 2 cups, (or make 2 cups of broth from Better Than Bouillon, roasted chicken base). 12 ounces of V-8 juice is added for a little more tomato flavor. Finally, add honey, for a pleasant sweetness to go with the tomatoes, heavy cream, and some fresh chopped Italian parsley. These ingredients make a great tasting bisque.
Finish the bisque by pureeing in a blender to make it smooth.
To Serve
You can serve this homemade tomato bisque as your main dish with some good bread. Or, it would be perfect as a first course in a smaller portion. Just store the leftovers in the refrigerator or freeze for later.
Since it is essentially a fancy tomato soup, it goes perfectly with grilled cheese sandwiches.
Spoon it up, drizzle a little cream on top and garnish with parsley or fresh dill. For an excellent accompaniment to this, make some Cheesy Italian Dunkers. The two are fabulous together.
Healthy Homemade Tomato Bisque Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 small yellow onion , chopped small, 3/4 cup
- 1 stick butter , 8 tbsp
- 1 tsp dried dill weed
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes, chopped
- 2 cups chicken broth (I use Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base)
- 12 oz. V-8 juice , or vegetable juice
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus additional for garnish
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Saute onions with butter, dill, and oregano in a 4 qt. saucepan until onions are softened.
- Add flour, cook and stir for 2 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, chicken stock, and V-8, whisking in gradually to prevent lumping. Add chopped parsley, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Next, use a blender to puree the bisque. This is best done in 2 batches. Place the first batch in a bowl when finished, then puree the remaining soup. (An immersion blender will work also). When finished, return the bisque to the saucepan and reheat, then stir in the honey and cream.
- Serve hot and garnish with a drizzle of cream, and chopped parsley or fresh dill if desired.
Notes
- This recipe makes approximately 2 quarts, (64 ounces), of bisque.
- Be careful when blending hot liquid. It's best to remove the blender's fill cap from the cover and use a towel to cover the fill hole to allow any steam and pressure to release.
- My blender took about 1 minute to puree each batch on low speed.
- Store leftovers in a covered bowl or jar in the refrigerator up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
More soup recipes to take a look at:
Great soup! We made it for dinner tonight but subbed in coconut oil instead of butter and oat milk in place of cream because we’re dairy free. It was great! So creamy and just wonderful flavor combos! Thanks!
Glad you liked it Karen and that the substitutions worked so well for you.
Excellent!! Quick and easy, with simple ingredients.
This looks great! Happy to see no Basil in it. Seems like everyone else add it.
This recipe is delicious! I’ve made it numerous times since discovering it this past year. Thank you!
Thanks Kari…it really is my favorite homemade soup too.
This recipe looks really really good, has anyone tried to make it a little lighter?
Hey Marilyn,
You could probably reduce the butter to 4 to 6 tbsp and use half and half, not heavy cream, and the taste will still be excellent. The dill and oregano flavors make this bisque really nice.
Making this for dinner tonight! Yum!
It is really good Amy.