Instant Pot Fresh Tomato Basil Soup is the most delicious way to use up your summer bounty of garden fresh tomatoes and basil! We love the fresh, rich flavor of this pressure cooker tomato basil soup. Add some crispy croutons and you will have a healthy, tasty meal! You can roast your tomatoes and garlic together first for even more sweet tomato flavor in this Instant Pot tomato basil soup!
Instant Pot Fresh Tomato Basil Soup
When we were in New Orleans a couple years ago we went to a little hole in the wall restaurant near our hotel for a quick dinner. There were 14 of us, and only one waitress in the entire restaurant. I felt bad for her.
I wasn’t all that hungry so I ordered a bowl of tomato soup. I don’t know what I was expecting, but wow! It was the most delicious bowl of tomato soup I had ever eaten!
I set out to try and recreate that flavor using my garden fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, and my Instant Pot®. It was pretty easy, and I came up with two ways to make it.
I had a mixture of tomatoes from my garden. This is my end of season crop, along with the fresh basil I had planted with the tomatoes.
The first version of my Instant Pot Fresh Tomato Basil Soup recipe is my favorite. It involves roasting the tomatoes and a head of garlic together before the pressure cooking. The tomatoes get sweeter, and the roasted garlic is richer and sweeter as well. If you have the extra hour, I highly recommend it!
The second version of my Instant Pot Fresh Tomato Basil Soup recipe is to add the chopped tomatoes to the sautéd onions and garlic, which you do in the pressure cooker on the Sauté setting. It’s easier, and you will still get a delicious tomato basil soup. You will cook this version a little longer so the skins have more cook time to get soft.
Both versions of Instant Pot Fresh Tomato Basil Soup yield a delicious soup. The roasted tomatoes & garlic are my favorite, but I’ll take either one!
You Might Also Like These Instant Pot Soup Recipes
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Instant Pot Fresh Tomato Basil Soup is the most delicious way to use up your summer bounty of garden fresh tomatoes and basil! We love the fresh, rich flavor of this pressure cooker tomato basil soup. Add some crispy croutons and you will have a healthy, tasty meal!
- 4 lbs Fresh Tomatoes, (roasted or fresh) cut in half
- 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp Olive Oil, divided
- 4 tsp Kosher Salt, divided
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- 7 cloves Garlic, (roasted or fresh) chopped
- 2 cups Onion, chopped (about 2 med onions)
- 1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 sprig Rosemary
- 1 tsp Fresh Thyme Leaves
- 1 cup packed Fresh Basil Leaves
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 1 1/2 cups Chicken Broth, low sodium
- 1 Parmesan Rind (optional)
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Heat oven to 400° F.
Slice the tomatoes in half and lay skin side down on a baking sheet.
If you want to roast your garlic, cut the top off of a head of garlic bulb and set it on the baking sheet with the tomatoes.
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Pour the 1/4 cup of olive oil and 3 tsp Kosher salt over the tomatoes. Toss to coat all of the tomatoes and the garlic bulb (if roasting garlic).
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Roast in oven for 40-50 minutes. Then remove from oven and set aside (keep it all on the baking sheet).
If you roasted the garlic, remove the roasted cloves from the bulb and set aside so they are ready to add to the soup.
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Turn on the pot's Sauté setting. When it is hot, add the remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil and the butter. Add in the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent.
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Add the garlic (roasted or fresh), and red pepper flakes. Stir and sauté for about 30 seconds.
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Add the tomatoes (and all of the juices from the pan, if roasted), the remaining 1 tsp salt, rosemary, thyme, and basil leaves, pepper, chicken broth and parmesan rind, if using. Stir.
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Put the lid on the pot and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position. Turn off the Sauté setting and press the Pressure Cook button or dial, then the +/- button or dial to select 8 minutes (if using roasted tomatoes), or 20 minutes if using fresh.
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When the cook cycle is finished, turn the pot off so it doesn't enter the Warming cycle. Let the pot sit undisturbed for 15-25 minutes to naturally release the pressure. Then turn the steam release knob to the Venting position to manually release the remaining steam/pressure.
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Open the lid and gently stir the soup. Remove parmesan rind, if using. Use an immersion blender to smooth the soup, but not too much, unless you want a completely smooth texture.
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Taste and adjust salt, if needed.
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Serve hot with some crisp croutons, extra fresh basil leaves, parmesan, or sour cream.
RESOURCES TO MAKE Instant Pot Fresh Tomato Basil Soup recipe and more
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Anna
My family loved this!! So much so that they asked me to make it into a sauce for pasta/pizza/just about everything 😆
K
I made this as directed. My husband and I loved it!!! Worth the extra time to roast the tomatoes and garlic. The only problem I used all my fresh basil. Can I use dried Basil next time?
Crystal G
We really enjoyed this recipe, but it turned out way too salty. I added some pepper and couple cups of half & half to make a creamy tomato soup and cut the salt. I would start with 1-2 tsp salt total and add more at the end if needed next time.
Brittany
I have never bought nor seen a parmesan rind before (I usually buy preshredded parmesan). So do they just sell this in the deli? Also, how much parmesan rind do I add? Can the rind be reused? Thanks for helping a newbie out!
Sandy
The rind is part of the chunk of parmesan that you buy. You will need to find an outer section piece. If you are unsure, ask the person working there to help you. The rind only needs to be a few inches long. I have never reused one.
Fen
This recipe is amazing! Made it last night and it’s the best thing to have come out of my instant pot. We made some sourdough croutons with garlic olive oil and shredded some parmesan on top and it was perfect.
Nancy
I made this soup and liked it but I’m all out of fresh basil. Does it work as well with dried basil, and if so, how much would you use?
Sandy
You can use dried basil. About 2 tsp.
Teri W.
Best tomato basil soup ever! I made it with roasted Roma tomatoes and I love the kick from the red pepper flakes. The recipe was easy to adjust for my 3 quart mini.. This is a definite keeper!