Make the most of those fresh summer tomatoes by making this Instant Pot tomato soup that uses both fresh Roma tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. This delicious soup can be made with just five ingredients including water! Add heavy cream to make it a tomato bisque.
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Sometimes it's the simplest of ingredients coming together to form something really delicious.
Don't get me wrong I have plenty of recipes on this blog that have a long list of ingredients. All for good reasons and all to create dishes with depth of flavor.
For today's soup recipe we are keeping the list short but not shorting you on any of the flavor.
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🛒 Ingredients
Here is what you will need for this Instant Pot soup.
- 2 ½ lbs fresh Roma tomatoes
- 1 lb cherry tomatoes
- 1-2 small or medium carrots
- ½ cup water
- kosher salt to taste
I am using a combo of Roma and cherry tomatoes. Why? I want the Roma tomatoes for their meatiness and the cherry tomatoes for their sweetness. We will add more sweetness by putting in some carrots as well.
💡 Tip - If you can find some locally grown fresh San Marzano tomatoes I would use them in place of the Roma tomatoes.
You don't want beefsteak tomatoes for this. They are too watery. You will end up having to boil a lot of water off in the end. When picking cherry tomatoes I like to find one that are more meaty as well. Get orange tomatoes if you can. They are sweet and less acidic.
RELATED - How to Cut Acidity in Tomato Sauce
This soup is really about the quality of the tomatoes. It's about highlighting the best tasting in season tomatoes. This is what will make it a great soup, not just a good one. That means if you are buying tomatoes out of season then it won't be as good and you are actually better off using canned tomatoes.
Here are a couple option ingredients:
- Fresh herbs like basil, thyme, or oregano
- Bay leaf
- Black pepper
- Sautéed onions, garlic, or shallots (sauté them in the Instant Pot first before adding anything else)
- Pesto (homemade please!)
- Heavy cream
- Sour cream
- Buttermilk
- Oyster crackers
- Parmesan cheese
- Small pasta (like alphabet - cook i the soup when it's finished)
- Red pepper flakes
- Splash of balsamic vinegar
If you are going to add in pesto or any dairy do it at the end. Or even serve it at the table to your family or guests. My son just wanted the soup as it so he liked that I didn't add in those things to the whole batch.
🥛 If you add in ½ cup to ¾ cup of heavy cream then you would have a tomato bisque.
Instead of water you can always use vegetable broth or chicken broth to add even more flavor.
When fresh tomatoes aren't in season, I make a soup using tomato paste, combined with some pumpkin to add sweetness. Learn more about why adding pumpkin to tomato sauce is a great idea!
📋 Instructions
This soup comes together pretty fast. Start by cutting the Roma tomatoes into quarters if large, and halves if small. The cherry tomatoes cut in half. As for the carrots I just break them in half and throw them in the pot.
Then I add the kosher salt. I don't measure it I just liberally sprinkle it all over the tomatoes.
Next add ½ cup of water. You really don't need more than that. You just want enough water to get started and not get a burn notice. If you add too much water you will just be boiling it off in the end.
Set your Instant Pot to 15 minutes of high pressure. Allow for a natural release for 15 minutes. If it is still pressurized at that point then just manually release the rest of the steam.
This is the point in the recipe where some specialize equipment comes in handy. When the tomatoes are done cooking, I let them cool enough so I don't splatter myself with hot liquid, then hit it with my immersion blender. This smooths out the soup. The texture is perfect at this point. No reason to cook it any longer.
If you still want it thicker than hit the sauté button on your Instant Pot and simmer it until your desire consistence.
Don't have any immersion blender? You could also use a regular blender. Or you could run your soup through a food mill that will remove the skins and seeds. Again let the soup cool a bit before attempting.
RELATED - Should You Refrigerate Tomatoes?
👨🍳 What to Serve With
Now that you have your soup, what should you serve with it? Here are some ideas of what to serve besides a grilled cheese sandwich.
- Grilled sausage
- Homemade croutons
- Any type of sandwich
- Cesar Salad
- Baked potato
- White rice with butter and salt
- Homemade Texas Toast Garlic Bread
- Spinach salad with strawberries
- Mozzarella sticks
- Toasted ravioli
🍽️ More Recipes
Here are a few other things to make in your Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Fresh Tomato Soup with Cherry & Roma Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 2 ½ lbs fresh Roma tomatoes
- 1 lb cherry tomatoes
- 1-2 small or medium carrots
- ½ cup water
- kosher salt to taste
- heavy cream optional
- basil pesto optional
Instructions
- Quarter the Roma tomatoes. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
- Add the tomatoes to the Instant Pot with ½ cup of water. Liberally season with kosher salt. Break the carrot in half and add to the pot.
- Set the Instant Pot to 15 minutes of high pressure.
- Allow for natural release for 15 minutes. Release any additional pressure at that time.
- Serve up the soup. I like to add some basil pesto and heavy cream to the soup along with some oyster crackers or grilled cheese sandwiches.
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