This easy, creamy tomato soup is comfort food at its best. It's made with canned tomatoes to give you a hearty soup that's ready in less than an hour. Add some toasty sourdough grilled cheese sticks for dipping and you have the perfect cold-weather meal!
What's better than a nice warm bowl of soup on a crisp fall day? A nice warm bowl of soup with something gooey and cheesy to go with it! This easy tomato bisque is one of my favorites.
I love soup for lunch in the fall and winter! It warms me up on a cool, or cold day, and also fills me up. I'll often make a pot of soup on Sunday so I have it for quick meals during the week.
Ingredient Notes
- Canned tomatoes: Because it’s winter, I made this soup with only canned tomatoes. Use high-quality tomatoes for the best flavor. My preference is San Marzano tomatoes, which have a sweet, rich flavor and are low in acidity. You can find them at most major grocery stores.
- Dried basil and thyme: Due to longer cooking times I often use dried herbs in soups and stews. For a bit of extra flavor, you can sprinkle some freshly chopped thyme on top before serving.
- Chicken or vegetable broth: I normally use chicken as that's what I keep in my pantry but if you want a vegetarian soup vegetable broth works too.
- Heavy cream: I don't recommend substituting regular milk. You could use half & half in a pinch.
- Sourdough bread: I like the way sourdough gets nice crusty when toasted. You can substitute french bread or ciabatta
- Cheddar cheese: I use sharp or extra sharp cheddar, sliced from a block. Mild cheddar works too but the gruyere taste will be stronger.
- Gruyere cheese: Adds an extra nuttiness to the grilled cheese sticks
How to make tomato bisque
Since this recipe uses canned tomatoes, it's really as simple as combining all the ingredients and letting the soup simmer for about 30 minutes and then pureeing it.
- Make the base: The carrots, onions and garlic get sautéd first then the herbs are added and cooked until fragrant.
- Cook the soup: Next, add the tomatoes and broth. This mixture simmers for 30 minutes.
- Puree the soup: I prefer a soup that is more on the pureed side - especially when it comes to something like tomato soup. To make life easy, use an immersion blender to puree soup. It eliminates the possibility of a huge mess if you forget to cover up the opening when using a traditional blender. No one wants soup all over their kitchen! And yes, that HAS happened to me! After the soup finishes simmering, let it cool for a few minutes before you puree it.
- Make the grilled cheese: When I'm making grilled cheese I love to mix different cheeses. The cheddar and Gruyère blend together for a fantastic taste! Be sure to butter the bread all the way to the edges so they get nice and crisp, which makes the sticks easy to dip and extra crunchy on the edges. Toast the sandwiches in a pan over medium-low heat until the cheese is melted and the bread is crisp and golden brown.
Meal Prep Tips
One nice thing about soup is you can pretty much always make it ahead of time. You can make a big pot of this during your weekly meal prep and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
The grilled cheese is best made right before eating otherwise you lose that gooey, melted cheese factor. If for some strange reason you end up with leftover grilled cheese (this only happens to me when I'm photographing and make large quantities!), I've had pretty good luck reheating it in a toaster oven (280°F for about 10 minutes).
Serving Suggestions
Since you basically have a meal with the soup and grilled cheese you can really leave it at that. If you want some extra veggies, I'd serve this with a relatively simple salad, like this chopped kale salad, or this Pomegranate Arugula Winter Salad.
If you're not in the mood for grilled cheese, a nice hunk of toasted crusty bread is also great for dipping in the soup.
More Soup Recipes
If you love homemade soup, try this Creamy Butternut Squash Soup or this Tuscan White Bean Soup with Sausage + Kale recipe next.
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Easy Tomato Bisque with Grilled Cheese Sticks
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup diced carrot, about 1 medium carrot
- ⅔ cup diced onion
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 28 oz can whole tomatoes, undrained
- 8 oz chicken or vegetable broth
- ½ teaspoon cooking sherry
- 4 tablespoon heavy cream or half & half
For the grilled cheese:
- 1 ½ tablespoon Brummel & Brown or other soft butter
- 4 slices sourdough bread
- 2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, thinly sliced
- 1 ounce Gruyère or swiss cheese, thinly sliced
Instructions
To make the soup:
- Heat oil over medium-high heat in a medium dutch oven or saucepan. Add carrot and sauté for 1 minute; add onion and sauté for an additional minute. Add garlic, basil and thyme; cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add tomatoes, with juice from the can, and broth. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until fairly smooth. Stir in sherry and cream. Keep warm until ready to serve.
To make the grilled cheese:
- Heat a medium non-stick pan over medium heat.
- Butter one side of each slice of bread. Place two slices in the pan, butter side down. Top with cheddar and Gruyère. Place an additional slice of bread on top, butter side facing up.
- Cook for 4 minutes per side, or until crisp and golden brown. Remove from pan and let cool for a minute or two.
- Using a serrated knife, slice each sandwich into sticks. Serve immediately with warm tomato bisque,
This post was originally published in November 2015. It was updated in December 2025 with some new information and photos. No changes were made to the original recipe.
Ludmilla
This rich, creamy bisque has a wonderful old-fashioned flavor... I love that!! Looks delicious!
Erin @ Thanks for Cookin'!
Oh this soup looks great. I tried to use an immersion blender but the soup was made with roasted cherry tomatoes...the skins didn't blend so well. I'm for sure yet this recipe next time!!
FoodieGirlChicago
Thanks Erin - I hope you enjoy it.
Dee
It's in the 70's here, but that's our fall, and it's perfect for soup. My husband loves grilled cheese, so I have to make this. It looks wonderful!
FoodieGirlChicago
I'm jealous that 70s is your fall weather! Hope you enjoy the soup and grilled cheese.
Germaine
Good wholesome simple ingredients pulled together into a soothing comforting meal....thanks
Wajeeha
This looks divine...I love tomato soup but have never had bisque before...definitely going to try this out!
Revathi Palani
Looks so warm and comforting. I would happily steal couple of those cheese sticks right from my monitor 😉
FoodieGirlChicago
Thanks Revathi!
Elaine @ Dishes Delish
Tomato soup/bisque reminds me of childhood. I definitely like my tomato soup to be pureed! Your photos are gorgeous and this bisque looks fabulous!!
Betty Davies | Slow The Cook Down
You had me at cheesesticks! This is perfect food as the days start to get cooler!
Andrea Howe
I love tomato soup and this looks and sounds so easy and comforting. Definitely making it this weekend while we have a little cold spell here in california
Connie E Perry
Just wanted to drop by and say a big thank you for your Easy Tomato Bisque with
Hi Kathryn!
Just wanted to drop by and say a big thank you for your Easy Tomato Bisque with Grilled Cheese Sticks recipe! ???????? Made it last night, and it was a hit with everyone at the table. The bisque was so smooth, and those grilled cheese sticks were the perfect dunking companions.
Your instructions were easy to follow, and the result was fantastic. Planning to make it again soon! Thanks for sharing such a tasty dish.
Best,
Connie Perry
http://www.lovemyinstantpot.com
Connie E Perry
Hi Kathryn!
Just wanted to drop by and say a big thank you for your Easy Tomato Bisque with Grilled Cheese Sticks recipe! Made it last night, and it was a hit with everyone at the table. The bisque was so smooth, and those grilled cheese sticks were the perfect dunking companions.
Your instructions were easy to follow, and the result was fantastic. Planning to make it again soon! Thanks for sharing such a tasty dish.
Best,
Connie Perry
http://www.lovemyinstantpot.com
Kathryn Rudey
Hi Connie -
So glad you enjoyed it!