Grilled cheese and tomato soup is true end-of-summer comfort food, honey. Golden brown and tangy slices of sourdough sandwiching melty cheese served with a cozy bowl of tomato soup full of summer's best herbs and aromatics? It's absolutely swoon-worthy! Serve this as the perfect meal for this time of year!
This post was originally created in 2017, but has since been updated with clearer instructions, step-by-step photos, and more helpful content.
It's the end of summer, y'all. Is it me, or did this summer fly by? I'm left with a garden full of beautiful fresh and tons of herbs, and one of our neighbors dropped off so much sweet corn I'm not even sure what to do with it all!
What I do know, however, is that I'm savoring bowlfuls of creamy tomato soup and probably eating too many sourdough grilled cheese sandwiches for my own good right now. I'm literally dunking a corner of one into this soup as we speak, friend. That's how much I love this recipe!
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Jump to:
- End of Summer Roasted Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Sammies
- Quick History on Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
- Ingredients and Substitutions for this Recipe
- How to Make Homemade Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese
- Variations and Pro Tips
- Storage and Reheating
- Equipment I Used
- More Recipes for those Summer Tomatoes
- Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup Recipe
End of Summer Roasted Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Sammies
This dish is inspired by two tomato soups by Ina Garten, her roasted tomato basil soup and her tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons.
My little blend of those two is easy and perfect to feed the kiddos as they go back to school, or make ahead for your weekly meal plan! You need only a handful of ingredients, but one special ingredient that Ina adds I just couldn't resist once I tried it!
This soup is filled with robust and bold flavors, the sweet summer tomatoes roasted and charred with yellow onions, savory garlic and thyme infusing butter in our dutch oven with a pinch of saffron. It just takes one of my childhood favorites and gives it a little luxury.
And honey, don't shy away from that saffron. It has this earthy honey flavor that adds so much depth and dimension that takes this roasted tomato soup up so many levels.
Then of course, the grilled cheese sandwich's texture is what makes it absolutely perfect. The crispy crunch of a buttery sourdough with gooey, melty muenster and cheddar cheese inside? Be still my whole heart. It's addicting, y'all.
Quick History on Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
Tomato soup has been around for centuries, but our fabulous couple Grilled Cheese + Tomato Soup didn't get together until World War II, when rations and convenience products brought Campbell's canned tomato soup together with Kraft's melty singles cheese and the brand new, mass produced sliced bread. This easily made and cheap duo was a big hit with military families in the U.S. and quickly became mainstream after the war.
Ingredients and Substitutions for this Recipe
Full ingredients, measurements, and printable instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Fresh Tomatoes - I use roma tomatoes, but heirlooms are great, too.
- Yellow Onion and Garlic Cloves - a yellow or sweet onion work best here.
- Olive Oil and Unsalted Butter - the oil protects the butter from burning while we saute.
- Fresh Thyme and Fresh Basil - swap the thyme for oregano if you want.
- Canned Tomatoes - I used san marzano tomatoes, which are a type of roma tomato grown in Italy, they're sweeter and less acidic.
- Chicken Broth - you can swap this for vegetable stock.
- Saffron Strands - this is what takes our simple tomato soup and gives it a little luxury. Is it necessary, no. Buuut if you want that little Ina Garten touch, you're going to use that good saffron!
- Heavy Cream - This just adds even more richness, but I've made with soup without heavy cream plenty of times.
- Sourdough Loaf - this is my personal favorite! I still have a deep love for that Schlotzsky's kid's grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough. IYKYK.
- Cheeses - I used two, one for the meltiness (Muenster) and one for flavor (white cheddar). I think all grilled cheeses should be melty! Suggestions: provolone, colby jack, spicy pepperjack, sweet gouda, good ole American cheese. I don't suggest harder, aged cheeses that won't melt well, like parmesan cheese.
How to Make Homemade Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese
Step 1 | Roast those tomatoes and onions. Slice the tomatoes in half and quarter the onions then put them on a parchment lined sheet pan. They get a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, then throw them into the hot oven to roast for about 45 minutes.
Step 2 | Sauté the garlic, saffron, and thyme in a large dutch oven. You're infusing the oil and butter with that good flavor and it'll be the base of flavor that really incorporates into the very soul of the dish.
Step 3 | Add the roasted tomatoes and onions, the canned tomatoes, and the chicken broth to the pot. Give a stir to combine, put the lid on and let simmer-simmer for 30 minutes.
Step 4 | Make your grilled cheese sandwich just as the simmer time is coming to an end. Butter one side of each slice of bread from edge to edge and toast up that grilled cheese butter side down in a frying pan over medium heat until the sandwich is golden brown on both sides and the cheese has melted, about 2-3 minutes on each side.
Step 5 | Add the fresh basil leaves and puree the soup. Turn the heat off and use an immersion blender and blend until smooth. You can also do this in a regular blender or food processor, just be careful not to overfill it with the hot soup.
Step 6 | Serve the soup hot with the sandwich on the side. I personally like using half the sandwich as grilled cheese croutons and the other half for dunking!
Variations and Pro Tips
- Make the Soup Vegetarian or Vegan - don't use heavy cream or butter, keep to the olive oil instead. And use vegetable stock instead of the chicken broth.
- Add umami - a rind of parmesan cheese in your soup doesn't add any creaminess, instead it adds a uniquely rich, umami flavor. Remove the rind before you blend the soup.
- Real Saffron? - some places try to swindle people by selling fake saffron. These strands leak their dye easily on your fingers and in the pan so they're easy to identify. I buy my saffron from Zaran Saffron, a very reputable site for high-quality saffron. And though saffron is the most expensive spice in the world, you can buy a good amount of it (that'll last you a while!) for less than $20.
- Make those croutons by making the sandwich into cubes and putting them into the oven at 325 degrees F for about 15 minutes, until nicely crisp and crunchy.
Storage and Reheating
Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up 5 five days.
Reheat: Warm the soup in a saucepan over medium-low heat until warmed through or in the microwave in a bowl for 2 minutes or until hot.
Freezer: If you want this as a freezer soup, do NOT add the heavy cream. Dairy just doesn't do well in the freezer. Pour the soup into freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw in the fridge and reheat as above.
Equipment I Used
- A Large Pot - you need to use a non-reactive pot, so an enamel coated dutch oven is perfect here.
- An Immersion Blender - you can also make this recipe in a regular blender but be careful and don't overfill that blender. Hot liquids will blow the top off if it doesn't have enough room in that blender.
More Recipes for those Summer Tomatoes
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Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
- 6 roma tomatoes, cut in half length-wise
- 1 yellow onion, quartered
- ⅓ cup olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 pinch saffron strands
- 1 (28 oz) can San Marzano tomatoes, crushed
- 6 cups chicken broth, low sodium
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves, plus extra for garnish
- kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- heavy cream
Grilled Cheese Sandwich
- 2 slices sourdough bread
- 2 slices cheddar cheese
- 2 slices muenster cheese
- softened butter, for spreading
Instructions
Make the Tomato Soup
- Preheat your oven to 400℉.
- Place the halved tomatoes cut side up with the onions on a parchment baking sheet. Drizzle with ¼ cup of the olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper over the top. Roast for 40-50 minutes, until tomatoes are slumped looking, turning golden brown. Remove from the oven. Complete this before moving on to the next step.6 roma tomatoes, 1 yellow onion, ⅓ cup olive oil, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
- In a heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven over medium heat, sauté the minced garlic, fresh thyme, and saffron in the remaining olive oil and the butter for just a minute or two, stirring frequently. Garlic burns easily, so don't overcook it!2 tablespoon butter, 5 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, 1 pinch saffron strands, ⅓ cup olive oil
- Add the roasted tomatoes and onions with the accumulated juices to the pot along with the canned tomatoes and chicken broth. Let the soup simmer for 25-30 minutes, but add the basil 5 minutes before finishing the simmer time.1 (28 oz) can San Marzano tomatoes, 6 cups chicken broth, ½ cup fresh basil leaves
- TURN OFF THE HEAT BEFORE IMMERSION BLENDING! After you turn the heat off, use an immersion blender to carefully blend the tomato soup smooth. If you want a super-smooth soup, strain it through a fine sieve. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- Serve the soup in bowls with a drizzle of heavy cream for richness, a few fresh basil leaves for garnish, and the grilled cheese sandwich on the side. I like to cut mine in half and use the other half as croutons.heavy cream
Make the Grilled Cheese Sandwich
- Smooth the butter over one side of each slice of bread, then place one slice butter side-down into a hot skillet over medium heat. Top with the slices of cheese and the other bread slice, butter side up.softened butter, 2 slices sourdough bread
- Once the bread on the bottom is golden brown, flip the sandwich with a fish spatula to toast the other bread slice until golden brown. Repeat with however many sandwiches you are making.2 slices cheddar cheese, 2 slices muenster cheese
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