Creamy Tomato Soup Grilled Cheese (Printable)

Velvety tomato soup matched with golden grilled cheese dippers for a cozy meal experience.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Creamy Tomato Soup

01 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
02 - 1 medium yellow onion, diced
03 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
04 - 1 carrot, peeled and diced
05 - 2 cans (14 ounces each) crushed tomatoes
06 - 2 cups vegetable broth
07 - 1 teaspoon sugar
08 - 1 teaspoon dried basil
09 - 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
10 - 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
11 - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
12 - 1/2 cup heavy cream
13 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

→ Grilled Cheese Dippers

14 - 8 slices sandwich bread
15 - 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
16 - 8 slices cheddar cheese or a blend of cheddar and mozzarella

# How To Make It:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add diced onion, minced garlic, and diced carrot. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
02 - Add crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, sugar, dried basil, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
03 - Remove pot from heat. Puree the mixture with an immersion blender until smooth, or carefully blend in batches using a countertop blender.
04 - Stir in heavy cream and unsalted butter. Return to low heat and warm through, adjusting seasoning as needed.
05 - Spread softened butter on one side of each bread slice. Assemble sandwiches with cheese slices between two bread slices, buttered sides facing out.
06 - Heat a skillet over medium heat. Cook sandwiches until golden brown and cheese fully melts, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side.
07 - Remove sandwiches from skillet and allow to cool for 1 minute. Cut each sandwich into strips for dipping.
08 - Ladle hot tomato soup into bowls and serve alongside the grilled cheese dippers.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • Ready in under an hour with ingredients you probably already have hiding in your pantry.
  • The heavy cream transforms canned tomatoes into something that tastes like you spent all day making it.
  • Dunking grilled cheese strips into hot soup brings back that kid-like joy of comfort food.
02 -
  • Don't add the cream while the soup is boiling or it can break and look curdled, even though the flavor will still be fine.
  • Tasting the soup before you finish it is the only way to know if it needs more salt, because it's always different depending on your broth and tomatoes.
  • The bread matters more than you think, so use something sturdy enough to hold up to dunking without falling apart.
03 -
  • Butter the bread generously and don't rush the grilling, because that's what gets you golden brown instead of pale.
  • A pinch of sugar in tomato soup isn't cheating, it's the trick that professional cooks use to make canned tomatoes sing.

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