Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons
Silky puréed tomato soup built on crushed tomatoes, cannellini beans, sweet carrot, and fresh basil, crowned with crisp cubes of grilled cheddar sandwich that soften into the bowl as you eat.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
This is a weeknight comfort lunch that leans grown-up: a smooth, deeply savory tomato soup with crunchy melted-cheese croutons instead of a whole sandwich on the side. It is a good fit for anyone who wants the nostalgia of tomato soup and grilled cheese in a single bowl, and for cooks feeding a mixed table, since the soup is mild and the crisp croutons make it feel like a treat for both kids and adults.
Cannellini beans and a little carrot go straight into the tomato base. The beans give the soup body and a velvety, almost creamy texture without needing much dairy, while the carrot and a brief sauté of onion and garlic round off the natural acidity of the tomatoes so the soup tastes balanced rather than sharp. Puréeing everything smooth, then finishing with milk and fresh basil, keeps the flavor bright and the texture silky.
Contrast comes at you from every angle: warm and cool, smooth and crunchy, mild and sharp. The beans and whole grain bread bring plenty of fiber and staying power, the cheddar and milk add protein and a rich savory note, and the tomatoes and basil keep it fresh instead of heavy. It eats like a full meal on its own, filling without leaving you sluggish.
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups crushed tomatoes
- 1 2/3 cups shredded cheddar
- 4 slices whole grain bread
- 2 1/4 cups cannellini beans, drained
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 3/4 cup milk
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup fresh basil
Instructions
- Prep the vegetables: Peel and chop the onion into a rough dice. Peel the carrots and chop them into small pieces so they soften quickly. Peel and mince the garlic. Tear or roughly chop the fresh basil and set it aside for blending.
- Build the base: Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook, stirring now and then, until the onion turns translucent and the carrots begin to soften, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, so it does not brown or turn bitter.
- Simmer the soup: Drain and rinse the cannellini beans. Add the crushed tomatoes and beans to the pot, then pour in enough water to make a loose, ladle-able soup. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, until the carrots are completely tender when pierced with a fork and the flavors have come together.
- Blend until smooth: Pour in the milk and add the basil. Purée the soup until completely smooth, either with an immersion blender right in the pot or in batches in a countertop blender with the lid vented to let steam escape. Taste, then season lightly if it needs it. Keep the soup warm over low heat.
- Grill the cheese: Divide the shredded cheddar between half of the bread slices, top with the remaining slices, and press gently to form sandwiches. Brush the outsides lightly with olive oil, then cook in a skillet over medium heat until golden brown on the underside, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook the second side until golden and the cheese has fully melted, about 3 minutes more.
- Cut and serve: Transfer the grilled cheese to a cutting board and let it set for a minute so the cheese firms slightly, then cut into bite-size cubes. Ladle the hot soup into bowls and float the grilled cheese croutons on top just before serving so they stay crisp.
Variations
- Roasted red pepper: Add drained jarred roasted red peppers to the pot before blending for a sweeter, smokier tomato base with a little more color.
- Warm and spicy: Stir a pinch of red pepper flakes or a spoonful of harissa into the sautéed onions to give the finished soup a gentle background heat.
- Extra creamy: Replace the milk with heavy cream when blending for a richer, more luxurious body; this adds more dairy.
- Sharper croutons: Swap the cheddar in the sandwiches for gruyère for a nuttier, more assertive melted cheese; this keeps the croutons dairy-rich.
- Herb-pesto finish: Swirl a spoonful of basil pesto into each bowl at the table for a fresh, garlicky lift; this adds nuts and dairy.
Storage & Leftovers
Store the soup and the croutons separately. The soup keeps in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Keep the grilled cheese croutons in their own container, since they lose their crunch once they sit in liquid, and plan to crisp them fresh.
Reheat the soup gently in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring often, and add a splash of water or milk to loosen it if it has thickened in the fridge. Avoid a hard boil, which can dull the fresh basil flavor. Re-crisp the croutons in a dry skillet or a warm oven for a few minutes so they regain their crunch before floating them on top.
To get ahead, make the soup base through blending up to a few days in advance and refrigerate it, or freeze it flat in a bag for up to three months. Grill the cheese and cut the croutons fresh the day you serve, since that is the step that takes only minutes and gives the best texture.
Notes & Tips
- Choose good crushed tomatoes: Because the tomatoes carry the whole soup, pick a brand with no added seasoning so you control the salt and can taste the fruit itself. San Marzano-style tomatoes tend to be sweeter and less acidic.
- Beans are your creaminess: Rinse the cannellini beans well before adding them; it washes away the starchy canning liquid that can taste flat and helps the blended soup taste clean and fresh.
- Blend for real silkiness: For the smoothest texture, blend a full minute longer than you think you need, and if you want it restaurant-smooth, pass the puréed soup through a fine sieve to catch any tomato skins or bean bits.
- Shred your own cheese: Blocks of cheddar you shred yourself melt more smoothly than pre-shredded bags, which are coated with anti-caking starch that can make the crouton centers a little grainy.
- Adjust the seasoning at the end: Tomatoes vary in acidity, so taste after blending; if it tastes too sharp, a small pinch of salt or a moment more simmering softens it, and a little torn basil at the table brightens each bowl.
- Serve croutons at the last second: Float the grilled cheese cubes on just before the soup reaches the table so they stay crunchy on top and turn pleasantly soft underneath rather than going soggy all the way through.
Nutrition & Mindful Eating
- The tomatoes, the white beans and the blended base work together here. The tomatoes bring the acidity and the depth, the beans smooth everything into a soup with real body, and the milk and olive oil round the edges so each spoonful lands soft rather than sharp.
- Cooked tomatoes give the soup its color and its sweet-tart backbone, and a long simmer with olive oil is exactly the condition under which the lycopene in them becomes easiest for your body to take up.
- White beans go into the blender along with everything else, which is where the velvety texture comes from, and they carry the fiber and plant protein that make a bowl of soup eat like an actual lunch.
- Onion, carrot and garlic soften in the oil before anything else goes in, and that slow start is where the sweetness underneath the tomatoes comes from. The onion and garlic also feed the bacteria in your gut on the way through.
- The croutons are the reason to make this. Whole wheat bread and cheddar griddled until the crust crackles and the cheese pulls, then cut into cubes so they sit on the surface and go soft at the edges while staying crisp in the middle.
- As you eat, let the smell of basil and warm tomato reach you before the first spoonful, and alternate soup with crouton slowly enough that you notice the bowl doing its work rather than finishing it standing over the stove.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this soup without a blender?
You can, though the texture will be more rustic. Mash the cooked beans and softened carrots against the side of the pot with a potato masher or the back of a spoon, then stir in the milk and finely chopped basil. It will be chunkier but still thick and comforting.
My soup tastes too acidic. How do I fix it?
Acidity comes from the tomatoes and varies by brand. Let it simmer a few minutes longer to mellow, make sure you have blended in the carrots and onion which add natural sweetness, and add a small pinch more salt, which tames the sharpness. Adjust a little at a time and taste as you go.
How do I keep the croutons from getting soggy?
Grill the cheese, cut it into cubes, and add them to the bowls only at the very last moment before serving. If you are serving in stages, keep the cubes on a rack in a warm oven and add them per bowl rather than into the whole pot.
Can I use dried beans instead of canned?
Yes. Soak dried cannellini beans overnight, then simmer them in unsalted water until completely tender before using, usually about an hour, and drain them well. Use them in place of the canned beans; they blend into an especially smooth, creamy soup.