Delicious creamy vegan Panera Bread tomato soup copycat recipe tastes better than the original! Easy to make in less than 30 minutes to a healthy bowl of comfort soup.
This delicious creamy tomato soup tastes just like the one you love at Panera Bread - minus the dairy! It’s so easy to make with pantry staples and comes together for a quick and healthy lunch or dinner in under 30 minutes. Served with a slice of bread or a salad it’s perfect!
Free from: wheat, gluten, dairy, casein, eggs, fish, shellfish, soy, sesame, peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, corn, celery, and more
Tomato soup is one of my favorite recipes of all time. I love how simple ingredients can come together and make a big bowl of comfort. And this copycat recipe might just be the perfect tomato soup recipe.
Enjoy it with grilled cheese sandwiches (vegan of course!), in a bread bowl, or with a side of some freshly made dairy free bread.
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Ingredients
One of the reasons this soup is perfect is how it uses simple ingredients from the pantry. You’ll need:
- Canned tomatoes - I love to use Cento tomatoes for their flavor but any large can of peeled tomatoes will work perfectly. If it's tomato season, you can totally use fresh tomatoes! One 28oz can is equal to about 10 or 12 fresh tomatoes, depending on their size.
- Stock - Your favorite brand of stock (or homemade for bonus points!). The soup at Panera uses chicken stock but we will use vegetable stock here.
- Olive Oil - To bring a richness to the soup as well as something to start the cooking process with.
- Shallots - In soups, I prefer to use shallots for their flavor. However, a sweet or yellow onion will also taste amazing and work just the same.
- Garlic - Can you make tomato soup without garlic? I don’t think so.
- Sugar - You need a little sugar to help balance the acidity of the tomatoes. I use white sugar but coconut sugar or date sugar would also be a great addition.
- Heavy Cream or Plant-based Milk - Use your favorite and see the note below. I always use soy or rice milk in my soup.
The Best Vegan Milk to Use
There are a couple of different dairy free milks that work in this recipe so you have options!
Coconut cream (or full fat coconut milk) will give you the richest and creamiest of soups thanks to its fat content. This will also give it a little coconut flavor but it is so delicious in the soup!
Soy cream, unflavored, is another rich and delicious option. This one will be less creamy so feel free to add a few more tablespoons until you achieve the desired color.
Other milks that you can use would be almond milk, oat cream, or even rice milk. These are a little thinner in consistency so again, more might be needed.
Instructions
The full instructions with measurements for all ingredients are in the recipe box below!
Start by placing the tomatoes, garlic, and shallots (or onion) into the food processor or blender. Alternatively, you can place them in your large pot and use an immersion blender. Give this a quick pulse until all the vegetables are smooth and combined.
Pour the tomato veggie mix into a large pot like a dutch oven, or other large soup pot. Add the oil, sugar, broth, oregano, paprika, and salt and pepper. Give this a good mix and bring it to a boil.
Allow the soup to simmer on low heat for at least 15 minutes. Make sure you stir this so it doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pot.
After simmering, remove the soup from the heat and pour in the cream that you are using as well as the fresh basil leaves. If you are using vegan parmesan cheese, now is the time to add this as well.
Place the soup back on the heat for a few minutes to come back up to a simmer.
That’s it!
Variations
This soup is pretty simple so you can spice it up a few different ways.
Make it spicy - Add some red pepper flakes or add a dash of hot sauce.
Make it cheesy - Add some vegan cheese on top of your bowl after cooking.
Make it richer - Add a tablespoon of tomato paste to deepen the flavors. It isn't necessary to do this as they don't at Panera, but I always add this spoonful to mine that I make at home.
How to Store
This soup keeps for up to 5 days in the fridge in a sealed container. You can freeze the soup after making it by pouring it into an airtight container and keeping frozen for up to 3 months. Allow it to thaw in the fridge or slowly heat on the stove top before serving after freezing.
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Recipe
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
- Large pot
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- mixing spoon
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 shallots chopped (swap yellow onion)
- 28 oz Tomatoes
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ cup cream of choice coconut, soy, oat, or rice milk all work wonderfully!
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 8 large basil leaves torn or chopped finely
- ⅓ cup vegan parmesan cheese optional
Instructions
- In the food processor or a blender, combine tomatoes, shallots, and garlic. Pulse until smooth and no lumps remain.
- In a large pot on the stove, place the tomato mixture as well as olive oil, stock, paprika, and sugar.
- Bring soup to a simmer and let boil on low for 15 minutes.
- Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the cream of choice and the fresh chopped basil leaves. If you are adding in parmesan cheese, now is the time to do so. Place back on the stove on low heat for 3 minutes.
- Done! Serve immediately for best taste.
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