Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup
This Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup is creamy and comforting. It’s chock full of fresh veggies and cooks in your slow cooker all day long. This is one of my tried and true favorites soups and my family literally licks their bowls.
SLOW COOKER TOMATO BASIL SOUP
Who knew that the Roomba was the pet my kids always wanted? My husband surprised me with it for Christmas last year. If you don’t know what a Roomba is, it’s a flat black circular machine that roams around your house cleaning the floors. It even has a dock where it returns to once it’s finished. Supposedly it remembers where it’s been in your house so that it doesn’t retrace it tracks, but I’m not too sold on that. My kids follow it around and try to tell it what to do. It’s also has been quite useful to make crazy videos. Stick your phone on top of it and let it record you while you and your family hover over it. Hours of fun.
I guess I was expecting a magical machine – like a housecleaner packed into a little disk. I do admit my house might be a little much for the Roomba. Today I couldn’t find it anywhere. I had sent it off to clean while I was at the gym and it was nowhere to be found when I got home. I looked under couches, under tables,…nothing. I imagined that it was in a corner full of Legos somewhere rocking back and forth mumbling. Then I wondered if it had an S.O.S. button that it could trigger on itself if it felt like it was being abused.
Just when I had given up I checked the bathroom, whose door happened to be closed. Somehow that little sucker had gotten in there and closed the door behind him. Can he teach my boys to do that?
While the Roomba was cleaning today, I made this Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup. I thought it was fantastic. I’ve had a lot of soups like this, but this one is my favorite by far.
You can lighten this soup up by replacing the half and half with milk. Don’t feel too bad because the soup is packed with veggies. I used my mini food processor to chop them all up quickly. It doesn’t really matter if you do it by hand, it will just take longer. I ended up blending the entire soup in the end so it didn’t really matter how fine the vegetables were. I wanted a creamy texture but the original recipe does not call for blending. I might try it the chunky way next time to see if I like it, but this way was so good that I might have a hard time convincing myself. We started adding a small scoop of cooked orzo pasta to each bowl before serving just like Cafe Zupas does.
If you don’t have a slow cooker you can also do this on the stove top. Head over to 365 Days of Slow Cooking for directions on that.
OTHER SOUP RECIPES:
- Cauliflower Soup
- Creamy Potato Soup
- Easy Tomato Soup
- Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup
- Panera’s Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Zuppa Toscana Soup
- Egg Drop Soup
Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup
Ingredients
- 2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
- 1 cup finely diced celery
- 1 cup finely diced carrots
- 1 cup finely diced onions
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 Tablespoon fresh oregano
- 1/4 cup fresh basil
- 4 cups chicken broth
- ½ bay leaf
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup flour
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups half and half, warmed (substitute milk for less calories)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- optional cooked orzo pasta
Instructions
- Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, oregano, basil, chicken broth and bay leaf to a large slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft. At this point I added all of the vegetables to a blender and blended until smooth. If you have a hand immersion blender that would work great. If you prefer a chunkier texture you can leave it as is or even blend just some of it. Return blended veggies back to the slow cooker.
- About 30 minutes before serving prepare the roux. Melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add the flour. Stir roux constantly with a whisk for 5-7 minutes. Slowly whisk in 1 cup hot soup. Add another 1-2 cups and stir until smooth. Add all back into the slow cooker. Stir and add the Parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt and pepper.
- Cover and cook on LOW for another 30 minutes or so. You can leave slow cooker on warm until ready to serve. Serve with warm rolls and a green salad. Add a spoonful of orzo to each soup bowl just like they do in the restaurants if desired.
LOVE this soup. I have made it dozens of times over the years. I generally do 3 or 4 cans of tomatoes, and   lighter milk works totally fine. I add a red bell pepper sometimes and   I like adding chicken! Delish!
Thank you!
Does this soup freeze well?
Yes it does
This was really good. I agree with another reviewer and would have liked just a little more kick of tomato flavor so next time I make it I will add a bit of tomato paste. Otherwise, this was absolutely YUM! The basil really makes it. I served it with orzo and a bit of fresh basil as a garnish. Even my hubby enjoyed it. I will for sure make this again.
Does it freeze well?
Thanks!
Yes it freezes great.
I love this recipe! Very yummy! I used 1/4 C. cornstarch instead of 1/2C. flour because you can cut down carbs by half that way ( I’m diabetic) and also almond milk since I had that on hand. Very good! It would be good with spinach to even add more veggies!
( You need to add in the recipe to take out the bay leaf before blending the soup)
Thank you!
The consistency of this soup was great, but it was disappointingly lacking in tomato flavor. It was a nice creamy cheese soup rather than the tomato i wanted to accompany my grilled cheese. I think it needs 1-2 TB of tomato paste, perhaps, to kick it up a bit. I’d try it again with that addition.Â
Sorry you feel that way.
This is one of our favorite soups ever! Â Even those in my family who don’t like “tomato soup” love this. Â I’m in WW so cut the butter, flour and cheese in half. Â Also used fat free half and half. Â Still, this soup was rich and delicious and by using the immersion blender, as smooth and creamy as you like. Â I leave it a little chunky to make it feel more like a meal than just a soup. Â
So glad you liked it!
This is an excellent recipe.. during this lockdown, I have to use Ingredients  that I have on hand. I was out of chicken, and so I used vegetable. I made croutons out of homemade bread. I have simplified our meals, so I had the soup, croutons, and peaches that were canned in their own juice. It was a wonderful meal.
Sounds delicious!
I absolutely LOVE this soup! I use a can of fire roasted tomatoes and a can of basil, garlic and onion tomatoes. Also, I make grilled cheese with gouda cheese and cook it on the George Forman, then cut them into little squares (think croutons) and put them in my bowl of soup! DELICIOUS!!!!
How many does this serve please?
This serves about 8.
This soup was AMAZING! And I ate it all myself over three days. I will make the again and again.
Barbara
It’s a good one!