This vegan tomato bread soup is so simple to make! It’s a wonderful way to use up extra bread or tomatoes that you have on hand. The soup tastes of pure comfort—think of it as pizza soup!—especially if you top it with some plant-based parmesan cheese.

The first time I tried Marcella Hazan’s famous tomato sauce (using vegan butter), I had the same reaction that so many others have had: complete disbelief that anything so simple could taste so good.

For those of you who haven’t tried “Marcella sauce,” as it’s sometimes affectionately called, it’s made with only four ingredients: tomatoes, butter, onion, and salt.

You can use canned tomatoes in winter, but part of what makes it so good is the fact that slow-simmered, in-season tomatoes really don’t need much to make them taste great.

That’s what I was thinking about when I made this soup. They’re different recipes, to be sure. But the idea of allowing summer tomatoes to shine, without too much fussing or seasoning, is the same.

Besides the magic of tomato season and the fact of the soup having only six ingredients (olive oil, onion, garlic, tomatoes, salt, and bread—I’m not counting the water!), what makes the dish so special are the cubes of day-old or two-day-old sourdough.

They go into the soup a little dry, and they absorb and soften as the soup sits, turning the dish into a thick stew.

I like it this way: I let the bread absorb most of the liquid in my pot, leaving behind something hearty. But if you’d like to add less sourdough or more tomatoes, you’ll have a more soupy ratio of liquid and bread.

What consistency you choose will be up to you. The cozy, comforting, umami-rich flavor of the soup will be the same no matter what. Here’s the recipe.

4.23 from 9 votes

Cozy Vegan Tomato Bread Soup

Author – Gena Hamshaw

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Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (more for drizzling)
• 1 white or yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 large ripe beefsteak tomatoes, roughly chopped (substitute one 28- ounce / 800g can diced San Marzano tomatoes with their juices)
• 2 cups vegetable broth or water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 4-5 cups day-old country bread or sourdough, cubed (this is about half of a round boule, or roughly 8 ounces/225g)
• cashew parmesan cheese (for topping)

Instructions

• Heat the oil in a roomy pot over medium heat. Add the onions. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft and clear. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for another minute.
• Add the tomatoes, broth or water, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes.
• If you like, use an immersion blender to blend the soup partially. I like it to be mostly smooth with some juicy bits of tomato throughout. If you prefer a heartier, chunkier soup, skip this step.
• Add the bread to the soup. Bring the soup back to a simmer, and simmer, uncovered, for 5-10 more minutes, or until it's thickened. If the bread absorbs more liquid than you like, add a little water and stir. The bread will continue to soak up all the goodness and thicken up as it's stored.
• Transfer the soup to bowls. Top each portion generously with cashew parmesan cheese on top and an extra drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy.
• Leftover soup will keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge and can be frozen for up to 8 weeks.

It’s been a busy week so far, which has made it the perfect time for a recipe that’s all the better for being easy. I almost never make soup without some bread to dip in it; I guess I’ll call this multitasking.

Hope some of you enjoy this while tomatoes are still around. And hope you enjoy the rest of the week.

xo