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Instant Pot Tomato Soup is rich, creamy, and super delicious. Enjoy this silky-smooth soup made with fresh tomatoes right at home in under 40 minutes. It’s quick, easy, and gluten-free!
Looking for more vegetable soup recipes? Try my broccoli cheese soup, this homemade cream of mushroom soup, or this creamy Instant Pot butternut squash soup.
Why You’ll Love This Instant Pot Tomato Soup Recipe
There’s no need to visit an expensive restaurant to enjoy creamy tomato soup when you can make it in your Instant Pot in under 40 minutes! While this soup recipe tastes extra rich and indulgent, it’s packed with freshness from ripe tomatoes and basil. Here are more reasons to love it:
- Rich and creamy. This tomato bisque combines juicy tomatoes and veggies with fresh basil and a touch of cream. It’s richer and creamier than your classic tomato soup, and super cozy.
- Quick. This soup cooks in minutes in the pressure cooker and tastes like it’s simmered all day. Get cozy with a hot bowl in under 40 minutes.
- Vegetarian. I love gluten-free soup recipes like my chicken and dumpling soup, but when it comes to Meatless Monday, nothing beats a bowl of creamy vegetarian tomato soup.
- Versatile. Pair this soup with a gooey grilled cheese or a light side salad. Both are easy to prepare while this Instant Pot tomato soup is cooking!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Below is a short overview of the ingredients you’ll need to make this Instant Pot tomato soup. Scroll down to the recipe card for a printable list of ingredients.
- Butter – For sauteeing the veggies. Butter adds richness, but you can use olive oil if you prefer.
- Fresh Tomatoes – Cut them into quarters. Since everything is pureed, there’s no need to remove the cores, but you can if you prefer to.
- Vegetables – Onion, celery, and carrots, roughly chopped.
- Garlic – Finely minced. You can adapt the number of cloves to taste.
- Vegetable Broth – I make this recipe vegetarian with vegetable stock or broth. Chicken stock works, too, if that’s what you have.
- Seasonings – Crushed red chili flakes (you can omit these if you prefer a milder soup), dried oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Fresh Basil – Fresh herbs add freshness to the tomatoes.
- Heavy Cream – Added at the end to make the tomato soup creamy. You can substitute heavy cream with coconut milk or Greek yogurt if you prefer. Substitutes may affect the flavor slightly.
- Honey – A touch of sweetness balances out the acidity of the tomatoes. You can also use a bit of sugar.
How to Make Instant Pot Tomato Soup
The exact cooking time will depend on how long it takes your Instant Pot to come to pressure, but overall the soup should be done from start to finish in under 40 minutes, including the prep time. Let’s get started. Scroll to the recipe card for printable recipe instructions.
- Saute the vegetables. With the Instant Pot set to saute, melt butter and then add the chopped onion and garlic. Saute for a couple of minutes until the garlic becomes fragrant. Next, add in the chopped carrots and celery, followed by the tomatoes.
- Cook. Add the vegetable stock and stir in the salt, black pepper, chili flakes, oregano, and basil. Pressure cook the ingredients for 8 minutes, then perform a quick release.
- Puree the soup. Puree the soup using an immersion blender. Or, let it cool slightly and then transfer it to a regular blender and blend in batches until it becomes smooth. Make sure there’s an opening for the hot steam to escape.
- Make it creamy. Return the Instant Pot to the Saute function, and stir in the cream and honey. Let the soup heat through and just barely simmer, but don’t let it fully boil. Then, cancel the Saute function, dish up, and enjoy!
- The 6-quart Instant Pot Duo is crazy popular for a ton of reasons. It’s the right size for most people’s needs, has plenty of functions without being more than necessary, and it is under $100.
- An immersion blender is a handy kitchen tool and safer for blending hot liquids than using a blender.
- That being said, a simple Oster blender will do the trick for this soup.
Tips for Success
These are my final tips for the best homemade tomato soup:
- Roughly chop the veggies. Everything can be roughly chopped since it’s all getting pureed in the end. Don’t spend too much time on the prep.
- Don’t use an airtight blender. An immersion blender works best since you can puree the soup right in the pot. Watch out for hot splatters. If you use a regular blender or food processor, let the soup cool slightly, and then puree it in batches. Pulse slowly at first, stopping periodically to allow the steam to escape.
- Don’t boil the soup. After you add the cream, let the soup warm through but don’t let it come to a full boil. Overheating can make the cream curdle.
- Take it to go. While the soup is hot, pour it into a thermos to take to work or send to school in a lunchbox. I also love these CorningWare soup mugs with a vented lid that you can pop in the microwave.
What to Serve With Tomato Soup
We love to dunk soft gluten free breadsticks or garlicky Texas toast into bowls of hot and steamy Instant Pot tomato soup. Sometimes, I’ll serve this soup in gluten free bread bowls, a la Panera. Garnish your soup with additional cream, fresh basil leaves or pesto, grated parmesan, and more toppings, like crispy prosciutto or cooked bacon. Try these polenta croutons for a bit of crunch!
There isn’t a more classic combination than serving tomato soup with grilled cheese or a fresh Italian wedge salad or chicken Caesar salad. For a heartier meal, serve this soup with stuffed peppers or homemade meatloaf.
How to Store and Reheat Tomato Soup
- Refrigerate. Store your Instant Pot tomato soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat. Warm the soup gently in a saucepan over medium-low heat on the stove. You can also microwave it in a microwave-safe container until it is hot, stirring every 20-30 seconds. Avoid boiling or the cream will curdle.
- Freeze. Let the soup cool completely and freeze it in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
More Easy Soup Recipes
- Creamy Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Thai Curry Butternut Squash Soup
- Chicken Corn Chowder
- Creamy Vegetable Soup
Instant Pot Creamy Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 5 medium tomatoes, quartered
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- ½ cup chopped carrots
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp red chili flakes or more to taste
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp honey
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot on the Saute function, let it heat up. Add butter and let it melt, then add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes until the garlic becomes fragrant.
- Add in the chopped carrots and celery. Sauté it for a few seconds.
- Next, add in the tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes become a little soft.
- Add the vegetable stock followed by salt, black pepper, chili flakes, oregano, and basil. Mix well.
- Select Cancel to stop the Saute function. Close the lid and make sure valve is in sealing position. Select Pressure Cook on High or select Manual (depending on your model of Instant Pot) and set the timer for 8 minutes.
- Once the pressure-cooking cycle is over, quick release the pressure by opening the vent. Select Cancel to end the cycle.
- Carefully open the lid and puree the soup using an immersion blender; or you can let it cool slightly and then transfer it in batches to a regular blender and blend until it becomes smooth, being careful to allow the steam to escape.
- Set the Instant Pot on the Saute function and stir in the cream and honey. Let it just barely come to a bubble, but don't let it fully boil. Once done cancel the Saute function.
- Serve hot garnished with fresh basil, drops of cream, and chili flakes (optional).
I’ll definitely give this a try! Looks really delicious! I am dairy free due to inflammation, so I’m thinking about using full fat coconut milk. Have you had any feedback from anyone who has used that in place of the heavy cream?
I have not heard of anyone who has tried that. I am sure it is great for the texture, but I don’t know how it affects the flavor.
Holy chili flakes, my mouth was on FIRE! I thought a tsp of chili flakes for 4 serving was a lot, and I was right. I’m no wimp when it comes to spicy food, but it was nearly inedible — I would halve the chili flakes and maybe the black pepper too. Otherwise, quite tasty.
Thank you for the feedback. I will note that.