Vegan Tomato Soup

This vegan tomato soup is made creamy with coconut milk and flavoured with curry spices, like cumin, ginger, and turmeric. It’s a great soup to make when you feel a cold coming on. Skip to the recipe →

This recipe was originally published in August 2015. It has been updated as of November 2019 with new photos and changes to make the recipe and text more informative and easier to follow.

Vegan Tomato Soup

This is one of my go-to recipes. Clearly, since it was first published over four years ago! Originally, the recipe called for about a kilo of fresh tomatoes, which makes sense, since it was published in August.

Since then, I mostly go for canned tomatoes, because I always have them on hand. It’s inspired by Indian tomato soup, with loads of spice and coconut milk for creaminess instead of heavy cream.

It’s a bit of a departure from the classic tomato basil soup, but I promise it’s a good one. I have been making it this long, after all.

A soup for cold and flu!

If you have a cold, you should eat this soup. I know many people swear by chicken noodle soup (or chickpea noodle soup!) when they’re sick, but that’s not so great for vegetarians. 

We make this every time one of us is sick – Graham swears by it, and it’s one of the few soup recipes he knows. It’s easy to eat, as it’s pureed but not thick, great for a sore throat.

The soup is packed with plenty of cold-fighting ingredients like garlic, ginger, and turmeric, and it always helps. The hot pepper will make you have to blow your nose a bunch, too. Let it flow. 

(The cayenne may also hurt your lips if they’re cracked, so go carefully. Fair warning.)

That being said, it’s not as though you need to be sick to have this soup. It’s a great pantry recipe, using just canned tomatoes and coconut milk, vegetable broth, and spices. 

Can I make it with fresh tomatoes?

As is, it’s a great healthy tomato soup that’s easy to make year round. If you want to use fresh tomatoes instead, try to leave them on the counter until they’re almost too ripe. The sweeter, the better. 

Use about 1 kilo / 2 pounds of tomatoes. Cut the fresh tomatoes into chunks and add them when you would the canned, then follow the recipe as written. It is a really lovely soup in late summer when tomatoes hit their peak.

You could also try adding a couple of slow roasted tomatoes before blending this up, for a bit more sweetness and concentrated tomato flavour. Serve it with a side of spelt naan or overnight bread (pictured) and some red lentil falafel to make a full meal. 

Or, just go with the classic, good old bread and soup. Even better, with grilled cheese sandwiches! I also sometimes blend some chickpeas, red lentils, or white beans into this creamy tomato soup to up the protein content – you don’t notice them – but if I’m really sick I prefer it as is.

What about other substitutions?

Since it’s such a basic recipe, with only five main ingredients outside of spices, I am hesitant to include my normal substitutions list. There are a few things you can switch up though.

Because I want to keep things really simple for a recipe I rely on mostly when I’m sick, I have only included a couple of main spices: turmeric, cumin, and fresh ginger. If you want to take it up a notch, add some coriander, cardamom, fenugreek, whatever spices you really love.

If you’re not vegan, heavy cream can be used in place of coconut milk, though the coconut adds a nice subtle sweetness that I recommend. I have made it with oat cream as well. It is an excellent vegan creamy tomato soup, you won’t miss the cream!

Lastly, as I mentioned above, you can blend in white beans or red lentils to up the protein levels without drastically changing the soup. I don’t love the texture this way and use the recipe more as a liquid than a true food source when I’m sick – just consuming absolute masses of it – but if you’re looking for a meal in a bowl, that’s a good way to go about it.

More great soup recipes:

A whole collection of cozy cold weather soup recipes
Roasted Tomato, Zucchini, and Eggplant Soup
Creamy Cauliflower Potato Soup
Kale, White Bean, and Lemon Soup
Carrot, Red Lentil, and Spinach Soup

Let’s connect! If you liked this recipe, make sure to leave a comment below, I love hearing from you! Tag me on instagram @occasionallyeggs and #occasionallyeggs so I can see what you’re making, and stay in touch via email, facebook, and pinterest.

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Yield: 6 people

Vegan Tomato Soup

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This vegan tomato soup is made creamy with coconut milk and flavoured with curry spices, like cumin, ginger, and turmeric. It's a great soup to make when you feel a cold coming on, or just when tomatoes are in season.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 thumb ginger, minced
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste)
• 800 ml / 27 oz. canned tomatoes
• 1 litre / 4 cups vegetable stock
• 400 ml / 13.5 oz. full-fat coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over low-medium heat.
2. Add the onion to the pan, stirring frequently for about 3 minutes, or until translucent. Add the ginger and garlic, and cook for another minute.
3. Stir through the cumin, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. Add the tomatoes and the vegetable stock. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Simmer for half an hour with the lid on, then add the coconut milk.
5. Puree until very smooth with a stick blender and taste for seasoning. Alternatively, cool slightly and then puree it in a heat safe blender. Serve hot.

Notes

• To make this with fresh tomatoes, sub in about 1 kilo / 2 pounds of fresh for canned.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1 bowl
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 177Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 6gUnsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 643mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 3g

This data is provided by a calculator and is a rough estimation of the nutritional information in this recipe.

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