Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Soup

A bowl of tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich on the side of the bowl.

Slow cooker creamy Tomato Basil Soup is a perfect dinner for a cold day. Learn how to prepare this delicious soup from start to finish with this tomato basil soup recipe with parmesan cheese that's easy to make with canned tomatoes, dried seasonings, and some fresh vegetables.

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword creamy tomato basil soup, creamy tomato soup, tomato basil soup

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 6

Total Time 6 15

Servings (1.25 cups each)

Calories 277kcal

Author Jessica - Together as Family

Ingredients

1 can (28 oz) petite diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup finely diced onion (about 1 medium onion)
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 cups half & half

Instructions

Spray the insert of the slow cooker with cooking spray.
Add in the canned diced tomatoes, celery, carrots, onion, basil, oregano, and chicken broth. Stir to combine and cover with the lid.
Cook on LOW heat for 6-7 hours.
Once done, use an immersion blender, or transfer the soup to a blender in batches, and blend until smooth (if wanted).
* If using a blender be sure and vent the lid so that the hot liquid does not explode everywhere.
When soup is done cooking and blended, prepare the roux.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, over medium-high heat, once melted add the flour, salt, and pepper and stir with a whisk for about 1 minute.
Slowly add in 3 cups of the hot soup from the slow cooker. Stir until it's thickened. This happens almost immediately. Add the thickened soup mixture back into the slow cooker and stir to combine.
Warm up the half & half milk in the microwave for 2 minutes. Add it to the tomato soup along with the shredded parmesan cheese.
Serve! Soup does really well on the 'warm' setting if needed.

Notes

Tip : Have the 3 cups of soup ready to go once you start making the roux because it will need to be added immediately once you have stirred the flour and melted butter for 1 minute.

Servings : Recipe yields about 10 cups of soup. The nutrition information is for 8 servings (1.25 cups each).

Onion : I suggest using either a yellow onion or white onion for this recipe. 1 medium sized onion will yield the 1 cup of chopped onion.

Chicken Broth : A 32 oz container equals 4 cups of broth. I strongly recommend using full salt chicken broth (rather than reduced-sodium) in this recipe.

Parmesan Cheese : Use freshly shredded parmesan cheese. I prefer to use a parmesan cheese wedge and then I shred it myself. You can also buy already shredded parmesan cheese. NOT the stuff in the bag as that has a coating on it to help it not clump together. It won't melt as nicely in this soup.

Half & Half : This is half milk + half cream and it's essential to this recipe. Don't try to substitute it with a lower fat milk. You need the fat and thickness of half and half.

Nutrition