Simple Vegan Tomato Soup
Feb 16, 2021, Updated Feb 22, 2023
Simple Vegan Tomato Soup made with basic pantry ingredients. This comforting soup will warm you up on a cold day! Make it in Instant pot or stove-top.
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Easy Vegan Tomato Soup made in the Instant Pot!
This simple soup made with basic ingredients will warm you up on a cold day.
Tomato Soup was one of the only 2-3 soups that I was aware as a kid, the other being sweet corn and mixed vegetables soup.
We always made quick tomato soup during winters and it was almost always made from that packet of Knorr soup, those were the days! Now, I don’t even remember the last time I made soup from a packet.
Making soups at home is so easy and not to mention when you use fresh ingredients, it’s so much healthier too, without any preservatives.
This easy vegan tomato soup is one soup that I make so often during winters. The reason is pretty simple- it needs basic ingredients and also I always have tomatoes in my kitchen!
Indian food especially the sabzis, dals and curries almost always involves tomatoes so there’s never a shortage of tomatoes in my home. So, whenever I am in a mood for soup, this tomato soup makes an appearance on my dining table.
It’s light and nice and makes a comforting meal especially on cold days.
This vegan tomato soup uses very few ingredients and no there’s no coconut milk to make it creamy. My husband doesn’t like the flavor of coconut milk in soups so he was relieved that for a change I didn’t add any to this soup (which I usually always end up doing)!
So, if you are not a fan of coconut milk in your soups like my husband, then this soup is for you!
The soup gets it’s creaminess from cashews, that’s enough to make the soup creamy without empowering the fresh flavor of tomatoes.
As the name suggests this is a “simple soup”, it doesn’t have many ingredients and it has a very simple flavor profile.
This Vegan Tomato Soup
✔is vegan and gluten-free.
✔made in the Instant pot.
✔makes a comforting meal.
✔made with readily available ingredients.
I think one of the main reasons I like this soup and make it so often is because of it’s simplicity.
Using the Instant Pot, this soup is a breeze to put together. There’s not much prep time either.
Ingredients
This soup recipe needs only a handful of ingredients!
Tomatoes: they are the main ingredient for this soup. Use nice fresh tomatoes, the sweeter the better it is. If the tomatoes are tart, you might need to add little more sugar to balance the flavors.
I would not recommend using canned tomatoes here, the fresh tomatoes work best.
Veggies: I use carrots and onions here. Both add flavor and the carrots also add to color and give the soup a little sweeter taste which I like. I also like adding garlic to this soup for flavor.
You can also add celery here if you want, I do add it sometimes and it works well.
Cashews: whole raw cashews help in making the soup creamy. If you don’t have cashews, almonds will also work well, just make sure to use unsalted and raw nuts.
And if using almonds, blanch them before using.
Seasoning: the seasonings for the soup are very simple, just salt, pepper (I like using both black pepper and white pepper), some sugar and cilantro.
You can also garnish the soup with fresh basil if you don’t like cilantro.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve this soup with some croutons- my favorite are garlic croutons!
To make it a more filling meal, you can serve the soup with a grilled cheese sandwich or you can also serve it with a side of salad or crackers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use vegetable broth in place of water?
Yes you may, that will add more flavor to the soup. However I like using water here because I feel the flavors of tomatoes is more pronounced this way.
Can I used canned tomatoes?
Technically you can, but I would suggest using fresh tomatoes here.
Can I make this soup on stove-top?
Yes, please see the recipe card below.
Method
Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot. Once it displays hot, add the oil and then add the bay leaf, garlic and onion. Cook 3 minutes, until the onions soften.
Then add the cashews, carrots and tomatoes. Give a quick stir and add salt, black pepper pepper. Then add water and close the lid.
Press the manual or pressure cook button and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes with the pressure valve in the sealing position.
Let the pressure release naturally or you can do a quick pressure release after 10 minutes.
Open the lid, remove the bay leaf and then remove the steel pot from the instant pot and let the contents of the soup cool down for 10 minutes and then transfer them to a blender (or you can use an immersion blender in which case you won’t need to transfer the contents to a separate blender).
Add white pepper powder, sugar (optional, if using) and blend the soup to a smooth consistency. Strain the soup if you want for a smoother soup (I don’t strain it).
Garnish this vegan tomato soup with cilantro and serve hot with a side of crackers or grilled cheese!
If you’ve tried this Vegan Tomato Soup Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
Vegan Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil 15 ml
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 large garlic cloves chopped
- 1 small onion chopped
- 12 cashews raw, unsalted
- 1 medium carrot 62 grams, chopped
- 3 large tomatoes 440 grams, quartered
- 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- 2 cups water 16 oz
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar optional, use if tomatoes are tart
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper powder
- cilantro to garnish
Instructions
- Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot. Once it displays hot, add the oil and then add the bay leaf, garlic and onion. Cook 3 minutes, until the onions soften.
- Then add the cashews, carrots and tomatoes. Give a quick stir and add salt, black pepper pepper. Then add water and close the lid.Press the manual or pressure cook button and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes with the pressure valve in the sealing position. Let the pressure release naturally or you can do a quick pressure release after 10 minutes.
- Open the lid, remove the bay leaf and then remove the steel pot from the instant pot and let the contents of the soup cool down for 10 minutes and then transfer them to a blender (or you can use an immersion blender in which case you won't need to transfer the contents to a separate blender).
- Add white pepper powder, sugar (optional, if using) and blend the soup to a smooth consistency. Strain the soup if you want for a smoother soup (I don't strain it). Garnish this vegan tomato soup with cilantro and serve hot with a side of crackers or grilled cheese!
Stove-top Instructions
- Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. Once hot, add bay leaf and then add the garlic and onions. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until onions are softened. Then add cashews, carrots and tomatoes and cook for 1 minute. Add water (more water needed than instant pot version since water will evaporate here), salt, pepper, stir and let it cook on medium heat for 20 minutes. You can cover the pan if you want. Then discard the bay leaf, add sugar (optional), white pepper powder and blend using either an immersion blender or transfer contents to a regular blender after it has cooled down for 10 minutes and then blend. Adjust consistency ti preference, garnish with cilantro and serve.
Notes
- You can use celery here too, I would use 1/2 of a rib of celery. You can also use beets here, will give it a beautiful color too.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did mean 2 garlic cloves or an entire garlic?
2 cloves of course, I will edit to make it clear
Great recipe thanks. I add 1/2 teaspoon of celery seeds to get the celery flavour without the hassle of buying a whole head of celery for 1/2 stick.
Also, I’m not vegan, and I have to say this is extra delicious with a swirl of cream.