This creamy tomato bisque recipe is a copycat recipe of the very popular tomato basil bisque from Nordstrom Cafe. Restaurant quality delicious and ready in close to 30 minutes. Served with delicious parmesan crostini on the side and you have the ultimate comforting meal!
This is creamy tomato bisque is a favorite at our house! In 2020 when everything shut down Nordstrom did a series of videos featuring a chef from one of their restaurants creating a couple of recipes. I love this soup so I made sure to take detailed notes and made it almost immediately. If you have not had a bowl, it is a must! It is the most comforting creamy bowl of soup. Topped with crusty parmesan crostini makes every spoonful beyond delicious!
Why You’ll Love This
It is a one pot wonder. Everything for this soup can be made start to finish using one pot. Less dishes and cleanup is a major bonus in my book.
This recipe uses canned tomatoes which cuts down on prep time and allows us to enjoy it all year round. Along with the canned tomatoes the majority of the ingredients are pantry staples.
Incredibly simple and easy to make. If you are making this creamy tomato bisque recipe for the first time it should take you under 45 minutes and is very simple and straightforward.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Creamy tomato bisque:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Onion
- Carrot
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Dried basil and fresh basil
- Plum tomatoes In juice (san marzano tomatoes or italian style plum tomatoes)
- Chicken stock
- Heavy cream
Parmesan Crostini:
- French baguette
- Unsalted butter
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Kosher salt
- Garlic powder
- Italian Flat leaf parsley
I will admit I made 2 minor tweaks to Nordstrom's recipe. The Nordstrom Cafe uses vegetable broth but I preferred the taste and added flavor of chicken broth but, if you prefer vegetable broth or are a vegetarian by all means use that. I also added 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar to balance out the acidy, if you would like you can leave that out. I will say it does create a nice balance.
Handy Equipment
- large pot or dutch oven
- immersion blender, blender, or food processor
- microplane grater
How To Make This Creamy Tomato Bisque Recipe Perfect Every Time
Quick tip: I find it handy to get out all my ingredients, having everything ready to go makes everything go quicker and smoother.
- Start by dicing up 8 oz of carrots and onion. You will want these finely diced and as uniform in shape as possible so they cook evenly.
- In a stock pot or dutch oven add olive oil and allow the olive oil to get nice and hot Once the oil is nice and hot turn the stove down to medium/high heat. Add the chopped onions and carrots. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes until they start to caramelize. Watch and stir every once in a while to make sure they don't burn.
- Once the onion and carrots have softened and started to caramelize add the salt, pepper, and dried basil. Saute for another minute so those flavors really develop.
- Add 56 oz of plum tomatoes with the juice and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Nordstrom uses San Marzano tomatoes and I do love the flavor they provide and so that is what I use. but if you have another brand of italian plum tomatoes you love use those. Cook down the tomatoes for another 1 to 2 minutes on medium/high heat and then add the chicken stock and turn the heat down to low and allow it to simmer away on low for 30 minutes.
- Once the soup has simmered for 30 minutes it is time to add heavy whipping cream. Stir to combine and add fresh basil leaves. Simply rip the leaves off the stem and add them into the pot.
- Blend the soup. If you have an immersion blender, that’s the easiest and quickest way to blend the soup because you can blend it right in the pot. A blender or food processor works great, too! Make sure you let the soup cool a bit before moving it into the blender! Carefully transfer the soup into a blender and pulse until it becomes smooth. You may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your blender.
- Garnish with some finely chopped fresh basil leaves and serve with parmesan crostini. Enjoy!
How to make Parmesan Crostini
I will say that my husband Jared is not the biggest homemade tomato soup guy but with the addition of the crostini, he raves about this soup. Raves. So, if you are thinking of making this without the crostini just do me a favor and try it just once. It seriously ups your game.
- Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a bowl add softened room temp butter, garlic powder, and salt. Mix together.
- Next add the chopped parsley and finely grated fresh parmesan cheese and fold to incorporate. (Quick note. Please use fresh parmesan cheese and not canned. The flavor, texture, quality, just everything about it is better. End of rant.)
- Take the baguette and cut diagonally into ⅜' thick slices, you should get about 25 slices out of 1 baguette.
- Spread about ½ tablespoon of parmesan spread over each baguette slice.
- Line baking sheet with pieces of the baguette and bake on the middle rack in the oven for 12-14 minutes.
Creamy Tomato Bisque: FAQS
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What is the difference between tomato soup and tomato bisque? Tomato soup is usually made with just vegetable or chicken stock, and it's a lot more liquid. Tomato bisque, on the other hand, is made with the addition of cream or whole milk, as that is what makes it thicker and creamier so that it can showcase the defining traits of a bisque.
- Can I use fresh tomatoes instead of canned? I have not tried this particular recipe with fresh tomatoes but yes you could. Use fresh, ripe tomatoes for the best flavor. I recommend using Roma tomatoes or plum tomatoes because they have a meaty texture with very few seeds and lower water content.
- How long does tomato bisque last for? Properly stored in an airtight container tomato bisque will last for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Storage and Reheating
- Place any leftover soup in a container and store in the refrigerator for up to four days. Reheat in the microwave or in a pot on the stove.
- You can also freeze the soup for up to four months. Pour the cooled soup into a freezer container and freeze for up to four months. Defrost and reheat before serving.
📖 Recipe
Creamy Tomato Bisque Recipe
This creamy tomato bisque recipe is a copycat recipe of the very popular tomato basil bisque from Nordstrom Cafe. Restaurant quality delicious and ready in close to 30 minutes. Served with delicious parmesan crostini on the side and you have the ultimate comforting meal!
Ingredients
Tomato Bisque
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups or 8 oz yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 cups or 8 oz carrot, finely chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoon dried basil
- 56 oz San marzano plum tomatoes in juice
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 16 oz heavy whipping cream
- ½ oz fresh basil leaves
Parmesan Crostini
- 1 french baguette, cut diagonally to get about 25 slices
- 5 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temp
- ½ cup packed or 3 oz parmesan cheese, freshly grated.
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon italian flat leaf parsley, chiffonade
Instructions
- In a stock pot or dutch oven and add ⅓ cup olive oil. Once the oil is nice and hot turn the stove down to medium/high heat.
- Add the chopped onions and carrots. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes until they start to caramelize. Watch and stir every once in a while to make sure they don't burn.
- Once the onion and carrots have softened and started to caramelize add the salt, pepper, and dried basil. Saute for another minute so those flavors really develop.
- Add 56 oz of plum tomatoes with the juice and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, this helps balance out the acidity. Nordstrom uses San Marzano tomatoes and I do love the flavor they provide and so that is what I use. but if you have another brand of italian plum tomatoes you love use those.
- Cook down the tomatoes for another 1 to 2 minutes on medium/high heat and then add the chicken stock and turn the heat down to low and allow it to simmer away on low for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the crostini.
- Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a bowl add softened room temp butter, garlic powder, and salt. Mix together.
- Next add the chopped parsley and finely grated fresh parmesan cheese and fold to incorporate.
- Take the baguette and cut diagonally into ⅜' thick slices, you should get about 25 slices out of 1 baguette.
- Spread about ½ tablespoon of parmesan spread over each baguette slice.
- Line baking sheet with pieces of the baguette and bake on the middle rack in the oven for 12-14 minutes.
- Back to soup!
- Once the soup has simmered for 30 minutes it is time to add heavy whipping cream and stir.
- Top with fresh basil leaves. Simply rip leaves off of the stem and add them in the pot.
- Puree the soup to get everything incorporated and achieve that silky texture. I use an immersion blender but if you do not have that you could also do this by putting the mixture in a blender or food processor. If using a blender you will need to do it in several batches.
- Garnish with some finely chopped fresh basil and serve with parmesan crostini. Enjoy!
Notes
Be careful when transferring hot soup to a blender or food processor. You may want to wait until soup has cooled down a bit to blend.
Place any leftover soup in a container and store in the refrigerator for up to four days. Reheat in the microwave or in a pot on the stove.
You can also freeze the soup for up to four months. Pour the cooled soup into a freezer container and freeze for up to four months. Defrost and reheat before serving.
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