This vegan tomato soup recipe is high in protein and fibre and is naturally creamy with no added cream, making it the perfect cozy soup!
One of my favourite soups to enjoy is easily a classic creamy tomato soup. There’s something so nostalgic about enjoying tomato soup with some crackers or a side of grilled cheese. While my childhood favourite was to pop open a can of Campbells, most canned soup varieties are low in protein and fibre and loaded with excess salt.
So I set out to create my version of a nostalgic vegan tomato soup recipe that is high protein and fibre, creamy without any added cream, and with tons of added nutrition and way less sodium.
Table of contents
Why This Recipe Works
This vegan tomato soup recipe is literally as easy as one, two, three. All it takes is heating up a few freezer and pantry staples on the stove top, pureeing them together in a blender and voila! Done like dinner.
I love this vegan tomato soup recipe because not only does it taste like a classic tomato soup, but it is higher in protein thanks to the addition of cannellini beans and nutritional yeast. Its also super creamy and veggie packed from the butternut squash. And just like like that, one serving provides 15 grams of protein and 10 grams of fibre! Yes please.
Key Ingredients
Butternut Squash – Grab a pen and write this down because butternut squash is one of my favourite soup hacks to add extra creaminess and nutrition to any soup recipe! I use frozen butternut squash which makes it super easy to add into any soup, any time.
Tomato Sauce – To keep this recipe low sodium, make sure to look for low sodium tomato sauce that only lists tomatoes in the ingredients list.
Vegetable Broth – I use low-sodium vegetable broth to keep this recipe vegan friendly. But feel free to use a low-sodium chicken broth instead if you don’t need to make this soup vegan.
Cannellini Beans – Another one of my favourite soup hacks is adding cannellini beans for extra protein. Cannellini beans are very mild in flavour, so they don’t alter the taste at all while adding tons a protein AND fibre to the soup. (Pro tip: you can also add cannellini beans to smoothies and dips for an extra protein boost, as well)
Nutritional Yeast – I’m a bit obsessed with fortified nutritional yeast these days because it’s loaded with protein and vitamin B12, making it a vegan staple! And nothing beats the cheesy umami flavour it adds to recipes.
Maple Syrup – I always make sure to add a bit of sweetness to tomato based soups and sauces to balance the acidity from the tomatoes. If you don’t have maple syrup, you can add brown sugar instead.
Smoked Paprika – Smoked paprika with anything tomato-based is just meant to be in my books. This will give the soup a delicious smoky flavour, which I love. But feel free to skip out on this step if you are sensitive to spice.
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: Add the olive oil to a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until fragrant and softened, about 5 minutes.
Step 2: Add the butternut squash, tomato sauce, broth, beans, nutritional yeast, maple, paprika and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and allow to simmer for 15 minutes, until the beans and squash are very soft.
Step 3: Puree with a hand blender or transfer to a stand alone blender and puree until smooth. If you prefer a thinner soup, add more broth and season with additional salt and pepper, to taste.
Expert Tips
This recipe uses up a bunch of vegan staples like nutritional yeast, maple syrup and veggie broth. But if you don’t need to make this vegan and don’t really want to go out of your way to buy these specialty ingredients, you definitely don’t have to! You can substitute the nutritional yeast for cheese, use chicken broth or a bouillon cube, and add 1-2 teaspoons of sugar instead of maple syrup which will help to reduce the acidity from the tomato sauce.
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! Allow the soup to cool down before freezing by letting it sit for an hour or so, OR you can place the soup pot or container in an ice bath to speed the cooling process along. I also like to freeze soups in a freezer bag instead of containers because they’re easy to lay flat in the freezer which helps to free up space (especially if you’re like me and love to batch cook and freeze for later).
If you don’t have cannellini beans, chickpeas will work too! You can also use soy milk or extra nutritional yeast.
The soup is naturally gluten free when not topped with croutons. But otherwise, all my GF readers can certainly enjoy this soup.
If you want to make this vegan tomato soup recipe extra nostalgic, you can’t go wrong with some glorious grilled cheese on the side. Otherwise, you can add a side of store-bought or homemade bread (like this vegan cheesy soda bread, or this flax focaccia bread). It would also pair nicely with a lovely salad (like this Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad)
More Recipes You Might Like
Here are some more of my favourite cozy vegan soups on the blog!
- Bean & Frozen Vegetable Soup
- Lentil Butternut Squash Soup
- Broccoli White Bean Soup
- Creamy Mushroom Soup with Rosemary White Beans
- Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Parsnips
What are your favourite nostalgic soup recipes? Leave me a comment below with your thoughts!
Vegan Tomato Soup Recipe (with Extra Protein!!)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups frozen butternut squash
- 2 x 680 ml cans tomato sauce about 5 1/2 cups
- 1 cup no salt added vegetable broth
- 1 19 oz can no salt added white cannellini beans rinsed
- 2 tbsp fortified nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp Maple syrup or more to taste
- 1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika or more to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
- For serving optional:
- Basil
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Toasted pine nuts
- Croutons
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until fragrant and softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the butternut squash, tomato sauce, broth, beans, nutritional yeast, maple, paprika and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and allow to simmer for 15 minutes, until the beans and squash are very soft.
- Puree with a hand blender or transfer to a stand alone blender and puree until smooth. f you prefer a thinner soup, add more broth and season with additional salt and pepper, to taste.
- Garnish with basil, olive oil, pine nuts and croutons, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this vegan tomato soup? Let me know what you think!
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.
Claire says
Flavorful recipe and so easy! My partner and I are always looking for ways to boost protein in our vegan meals. We will definitely be making this regularly. Thanks Abbey!
Sara Siegmann says
best tomato soup i have ever had! the whole family loved it 🙂
Abbey Sharp says
so glad!!
Kaylyn Carlucci says
Super yummy and satisfying!!!
Susan Dubose says
I have to try this soup asap – I am feeling hungry just by looking at the beautiful pics! Great blog!
Abbey Sharp says
Thanks Susan!!