Tomato and Bacon Soup

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One of the most famous food pairings is enjoying a beautiful Tomato Soup with a Grilled Cheese Sandwich. This recipe takes that concept and ramps it up significantly with the addition of bacon! There’s a saying in the food world that ‘everything is better with bacon’ and that statement couldn’t be truer with this recipe! This delicious Tomato and Bacon Soup is a warming and comforting meal that is super-simple to make at home

Making the best Tomato Soup is all about developing flavors

This recipe is very easy to make, and only a handful of ingredients are required. The key to success, like so many great dishes, is in developing flavors. For the best Tomato Soup, it is recommended to roast the Tomatoes

Roasting the Tomatoes brings out their absolute best flavor. Their natural sugars will be at the forefront of flavor as they slowly caramelize and char in the oven. Roasted Tomatoes will bring a rich, sweet flavor to the Soup while still maintaining their bright, zingy flavor

Along with the Tomatoes we like to add Onions and Red Bell Pepper / Capsicum to the roasting pan. The inclusion of these ingredients gives the Tomato Soup more depth of flavor, with both ingredients adding a touch of sweetness to the dish

To roast the Vegetables / Fruits (Tomato is ‘technically’ a Fruit remember!), simply place them on a roasting pan and drizzle generously with Olive Oil and season with Salt. Roast for about 45 minutes – 1 hour, turning halfway through. Once they are caramelized and golden brown with a slight char they will be done

We recommend peeling and cutting the Onion into quarters. This will ensure they cook evenly with the Tomatoes and Bell Peppers and allows more surface area of the Onions to get lovely and caramelized!

Once the Veggies are roasted it’s into the Blender!

Like most soups, our Tomato and Bacon Soup gets it creamy, silky texture by being blended until smooth. You can use either a Blender or a Food processor for this step. Just make sure you set it on high, and blend it long enough for all the Vegetables to turn smooth

In addition to the Fruit and Vegetables, we add about 1 cup of Chicken Broth. This not only helps the Soup to become velvety smooth, but it gives a beautiful creamy denseness to the dish. Chicken Broth has loaded with fat which helps to slightly thicken the Soup

We recommend heating up two cups of Chicken Broth when preparing the dish. You may not need to use it all, but depending on how the Soup goes, it’s always good to keep a little bit spare and add a little more if you like

If you want a super-smooth Soup, add two cups. For a slightly thicker consistency just stick to one. We always recommend making your own Homemade Chicken Broth as it tastes a million times better than the store bought stuff. You can check out our easy to prepare recipe here to make your own delicious Chicken Broth

Straining the Soup is optional, and not necessary

Once the Soup has been thoroughly blended it will still have little pieces in it. Items like the seeds from the Tomatoes and Bell Peppers, along with some skin that hasn’t completely blended through will show up. If you like you can strain the Soup through a fine sieve once it has blended

This step is optional, and quite frankly isn’t necessary. Home cooking is so much more about taste than style, and the flavor won’t change at all by straining the Soup. Personally, I prefer the Soup not to be strained, as those little bits here and there add a little bit of body and character to the dish!

We’ve held out long enough, it’s time for the Bacon!

I’m sure you’re wondering why there is a recipe called Tomato and Bacon Soup, and this far into the description there has been no mention of Bacon! Well, that’s all about to change! We utilize the Bacon in three different ways for this dish, so you’re sure to get your Bacon fix

Simply pan-fry the Bacon strips until the fat has rendered and they’ve turned crispy. This should take about 8 minutes or so, turning once, over medium heat. Once cooked, set the Bacon strips aside on a paper towel, but do not discard the fat!

Pour that liquid gold Bacon Fat into a large saucepan and then add the blended Soup ingredients. Heat the pan over low heat and add some seasoning (we just use Salt) along with Heavy Cream. Cook all of this down for about 15 – 20 minutes while stirring constantly. Don’t overheat the pot so the liquid boils, however. We just want the pot to be heating through so that Bacon Fat and Cream get nicely incorporated into the Soup

The cooked Bacon is then used as a garnish. You can decorate the Soup however you want with the Bacon. We diced up half of it to create Bacon Bits which we then sprinkled over the Soup once plated. The remaining Bacon we kept as strips and simply dunked them straight into the Soup. It gives a striking visual look, and lets people know that it’s a Bacon forward dish!

Finishing the Tomato Soup and serving

You can finish the Tomato and Bacon Soup by topping it with some garnishes. Nothing beats the classic combination of Croutons and Sour Cream. We’ve got a great recipe here for homemade Croutons which we recommend you check out

Now, a Tomato Soup isn’t ever complete unless it’s served with it’s best buddy – Grilled Cheese! This combination is classic, and tastes so good. You can make your grilled cheese however you like, using a sandwich press or in the frying pan

If you want to go all out, we recommend checking out our Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich recipe which uses slowly braised Beef Short Ribs. It’s so luxurious, and so good!

Tomato and Bacon Soup Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lbs. Vine Ripened Tomatoes (about 8 medium sized Tomatoes)
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 1 Yellow Onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 cup of Chicken Broth (recipe here)
• 1 tbsp. Olive Oil
• 8 Bacon Rashers
• 100ml. Heavy Cream
• Salt
• ½ cup Croutons (optional)
• 1 tbsp. Sour Cream (optional)
  
  

Equipment Needed: Blender or Food Processor

Instructions

1. Place the Tomatoes, Bell Pepper, and Onion on a large sheet pan. Drizzle with Olive Oil and 1 tsp. of Salt to coat well
2. Roast for 45 minutes – 1 hour in the oven at 400F until caramelized and the skin has blistered. Remove from oven and allow to cool, then peel and discard the skin of the Bell Pepper and Tomatoes
3. Place Fruit and Veg into a blender along with the Chicken Broth and blitz until smooth then pour into a large saucepan
4. Cook the Bacon in a large frying pan for 8 – 10 minutes over medium heat, turning once, until crispy. Remove the Bacon and set aside on a paper towel. Pour the rendered Bacon fat into the Soup
5. Add Heavy Cream and cook the Soup for 15 – 20 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally
6. Cut the Bacon into pieces (reserving a few whole pieces for presentation) and sprinkle over the Soup once you’ve plated it
7. Optional: Whip up your best Grilled Cheese Sandwich to pair with the Tomato and Bacon Soup! We’ve got an epic Grilled Cheese recipe here to check out
   
   

Recipe Notes

• You can strain the Soup once it has been blended if you desire. This is not necessary, but will achieve a smoother result
• When cooking the Soup on the stovetop, avoid heating it to a point that it will boil. Just a low cook is required to incorporate the Bacon Fat and Heavy Cream
  
  

When it comes to comfort food, there may not be any better dishes going that this delicious Tomato and Bacon Soup, complete with Grilled Cheese on the side! It’s a hearty and warming dish that’s perfect when it’s cool outside

Here are some more hearty and tasty recipes that we just know you’re going to love:

• Hearty Beef Stew
• Beer Battered Fish and Chips
• Sweet and Sour Red Curry with Chicken
• Full English Breakfast
  
  

Happy Cooking!