CopycatSpices
Copycat Panera Creamy Tomato Soup
Panera's creamy tomato soup is velvety smooth, perfectly balanced between sweet and tangy, and designed for dunking their bread bowls and grilled cheese.
copycat · panera · casual-dining · soup
🕑Prep10 min
🍳Cook25 min
⏱Total35 min
🍽Serves6
⭐DifficultyEasy
Ingredients
- 2 cans (28 oz each) whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chiffonade
Instructions
- 1.Saute the aromatics. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- 2.Add the tomatoes. Pour in the canned tomatoes with their juices, crushing them by hand as you add them. Stir in the tomato paste and broth.
- 3.Simmer the soup. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the sugar, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- 4.Blend until smooth. Using an immersion blender (or transferring to a regular blender in batches), blend the soup until completely smooth and velvety. Be careful with hot liquids.
- 5.Add the cream. Return the soup to the pot if blended separately. Stir in the heavy cream and heat gently for 2-3 minutes. Don't boil after adding the cream.
- 6.Serve and garnish. Ladle into bowls, garnish with fresh basil chiffonade and a drizzle of cream if desired. Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches for the full Panera experience.
Copycat Panera Creamy Tomato Soup
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Panera’s creamy tomato soup is the soup that goes with everything. It’s the default choice when you order a bread bowl, the natural pairing for their grilled cheese, and the reason people keep coming back to Panera even when they tell themselves they’re going to try something new. It’s smooth, creamy, and perfectly balanced between the natural sweetness of tomatoes and a gentle tanginess.
The secret is San Marzano tomatoes. These Italian plum tomatoes are sweeter, less acidic, and have more flesh than regular canned tomatoes. They’re the difference between a tomato soup that tastes bright and smooth versus one that tastes tinny and sharp.
Tomato Soup Excellence
- San Marzano tomatoes are worth it. They cost a dollar or two more than regular canned tomatoes, but the flavor difference is dramatic. They’re naturally sweeter and less acidic, which means you need less sugar to balance the soup.
- A tablespoon of sugar isn’t sweet. It’s there to counteract the natural acidity of tomatoes, not to make the soup sweet. Without it, the soup tastes sharp and one-note.
- Blend thoroughly. Panera’s version is silky smooth with zero chunks. Blend longer than you think you need to. Any remaining pieces of tomato or onion break the texture.
Panera Pricing
A bowl of tomato soup at Panera costs about $7-8, or $9-10 in a bread bowl. This recipe makes six bowls for about $8 total — roughly $1.33 per serving. Pair it with a homemade grilled cheese for a complete Panera-style lunch under $3.
