Tomato Bisque
I’d easily put this Tomato Bisque into my top 3 favorite soup recipes ever! It has an incredibly creamy, silky smooth texture, and rich tomato flavor. It’s fantastic on its own, or paired with Grilled Cheese or Brioche!

There are a million different kinds of soups that I love, like a classic French Onion Soup, Quick Chicken Noodle Soup, and Lasagna Soup, but some of them are quite a process to make, or require a long list of ingredients.
Not this one. This one checks off multiple boxes, being relatively quick, totally delicious, and make-ahead friendly.
Just a few days ago when my husband’s family was visiting, I made a big batch of this soup in advance and simply reheated it for dinner, and made a big tray of gruyere grilled cheese sandwiches to go with it. It’s always a hit, and a great recipe to rely on.
What’s Great About This Recipe
✅ You can use canned tomatoes – I certainly believe in the greatness of fresh food, but fresh tomatoes are not necessary here for amazing flavor. You’d be surprised how good the end result is, simply by using convenient canned tomatoes.
✅ Relatively quick – The soup can be made start to finish in 40 minutes, which is on the quicker side for soup, which is usually enhanced with a longer simmer time. But this bisque doesn’t need long to develop good flavor.
✅ Incredible flavor – This soup is all about the tomato, but we’ll add a few ingredients that really enhance the flavor, like bacon, and a base of onion and celery.
✅ Make-ahead friendly – This keeps beautifully in the fridge, and can be prepared in advance. Simply reheat on the stove or in the microwave before you want to serve it.

In true bisque style, this is a pureed cream-based soup. Sometimes creamy soups can be too heavy for me, but this one strikes the right balance of mellowing the acidity of the tomatoes, but still undoubtedly tasting like a tomato soup.
How to Make It Step by Step:
To start the flavor base, crisp up a few slices of chopped bacon in a large soup pot:

Why is the bacon important?
- The bacon fat gives a nice flavor to the soup.
- The crispy bacon makes for a great topper when we serve.
Remove the bacon bits from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the bacon fat behind.
Celery and onion form the flavor base
Add chopped celery, chopped onion, butter, and a pinch of salt to the pot:

Saute the vegetables for about 5 minutes, until softened.
Add flour to thicken
Next, add all-purpose flour:

Stir it in with the vegetables for about a minute, until smooth, to make a roux. This will thicken our soup later on.
Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, and seasoning
Next add canned diced tomatoes, chicken stock, a bay leaf, and some freshly cracked black pepper to the pot:

Simmer the soup for about 15 minutes, covered. This helps bloom the flavor in the pepper and bay leaf.
Add the richness
Finally, add heavy cream, which will enhance the flavor of the soup and give it a velvety texture:

Adding cream is really what makes this a bisque and not just a tomato soup.
Stir the cream in, then taste for seasoning. Usually I add a little more salt at this point.
Let the soup cool slightly, then blend in batches, until creamy and smooth:

Though immersion blenders are a little bit easier to use, I find they don’t blend as well as a traditional blender. I own a Blendtec (affiliate) and love it, but any traditional blender will do.
I like to pair the soup with a grilled cheese sandwich, or with crumbled bacon, croutons, and creme fraiche:

Butternut Squash Soup, Chicken Tortilla Soup, and Sausage and Kale Soup are some of my other favorite cozy soups. Enjoy!
The full recipe and a video are both below.
FAQ and Expert Tips:
Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, though I recommend trying to finish within 3 days for optimal flavor.
I find that soups with milk or cream don’t freeze well, because they get grainy. I don’t recommend it.
I like Drop Biscuits, Waffle Iron Grilled Cheese Sandwich, or Chicken Cordon Bleu Panini.
Technically a true bisque is made with a crustacean stock base (most people are familiar with lobster bisque), but the term bisque can more loosely refers to pureed soups that incorporate an ample amount of heavy cream.
I prefer to reheat in a saucepan on the stove over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, until hot. You may also use the microwave.
Did you enjoy the recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. Or, follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest!

Tomato Bisque
Ingredients
For the tomato bisque:
- 5 strips bacon chopped
- 2 tbsp butter (salted or unsalted)
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 28 oz can diced tomatoes (try to use a good quality organic brand)
- 1.5 cups high-quality chicken stock or broth (Imagine organic is my favorite)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- salt to taste
Pairing suggestions:
Instructions
- Heat a large soup pot over medium high heat and add the bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 5 minutes.
- Remove the bacon bits with a slotted spoon to a paper towel, leaving the bacon fat in the pan.
- Add the butter, onion, and celery, and season with a pinch of salt. Cook for 5 minutes, until softened.
- Add the flour and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute.
- Add the diced tomatoes, chicken stock, bay leaf, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer over low heat, and cook (covered) for 20 minutes, giving the bottom of the pan a good scrape every 5 minutes.
- Add the heavy cream, remove the bay leaf, then season the soup to taste with salt. Because chicken stocks can vary in salt content, it’s important to adjust it to your liking (I usually add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp more salt).
- Let the soup cool slightly, then blend the soup in batches, until silky smooth. Serve with the crumbled bacon on top, and any other desired toppings, like croutons, or a side of grilled cheese. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
Post updated in October 2020. Originally published July 2012.
39 Comments on “Tomato Bisque”
The soup looks wonderful! What can I substitute for the heavy cream as my son is lactose intolerant?
Honestly I would just leave it out. It’s quite a large amount (3/4 cup) but I’m not a fan of the typical substitutes (like, coconut would be weird). It won’t be creamy but will still be flavorful.
Hi Joanne. I’m a guy who loves to cook….but mostly outside….uh where there is a water hose available in case of uh…flare ups! I wanted to cook this for my new Bride because I knew she loved this soup. WE LOVE THIS RECIPE!! The soup came out great and she loved it! Your recipe was so easy to follow. It’s been about a week but I’m going to make it again tonight and pair it with some cajun boudin and saute vegtables. Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes!
DaveB.
Hi Dave, that’s great! Congratulations on your marriage. Glad you enjoyed the soup, happy cooking!
Great easy, flavorful soup, THANKS SO MUCH! Made this twice in one week! I subbed fire roasted diced tomatoes for even more flavor and skipped straining the soup, just shot the immersion blender in for a few because I like a bit of texture and it was amazing!
OMG! im fifteen and i made this for my family last night and eveyone loved it! my grandpa said it was a bit rich for him, but he still loved it with that crispy mouth watering bacon! i just subsribed to you on youtube and am starting to cook for my family again with the help of you! thank you so much! i love all of your food that you make and just love eating in general! this will be a huge step for me to take that will lead me to the future of doing what i love, COOKIN! Once again! keep up the videos! i love how you explain every step, it really helps me with cooking!
Hi Kayla, wow, super impressed with you! Glad the soup was a hit, and I think it’s great you cook for your family!
This soup looks amazing! I was just wondering though what could you use as an alternative to heavy cream?
Hi Anna, in this case you can just leave it out. It will still be delicious, it just adds to the texture and creaminess.
I just made this soup tonight and it was amazing. Thank you for giving such great directions on how to make it. It was very easy and came out perfect.
Hi Jeanne, I’m so happy to hear that! I have made this soup twice in the past week, actually. I love it too. It’s so flavorful and easy!
This was delicious! I took the bay leaf out before blending, added some dried basil, and used mozzarella instead of cheddar…. WOW! Delicious! Thank you!
Dixie, I have updated the recipe to specify removing the bay leaf, thanks for the reminder! I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup. I really love it too. Happy cooking!