Instant Pot Tomato Soup

This easy and quick instant pot tomato soup is perfect for a weeknight dinner or rainy night. It's made with a short list of ingredients including fresh basil and garlic, but packs a punch of flavor thanks to a couple of secret ingredients.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Variations & Substitutions
• Equipment
• Storage
• Recipe

Tomato soup is a favorite of many and something I like to make when the weather turns cold or rainy. Thanks to the instant pot, you can now whip up a bowl of tomato soup with mostly pantry ingredients in a fraction of the time.

For more Instant Pot recipes try Instant Pot Cilantro Chicken and Rice. It's a great recipe for meal prep and is a filling main dish.

Ingredients

This homemade tomato soup is made with simple ingredients:

• Onion - Any kind will work but I prefer yellow.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Fresh Garlic
• Canned, Diced Tomatoes - I highly recommend using at least one can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. It adds so much flavor!
• Fresh Tomato - Any type will do. Use one large tomato or 2 smaller Roma tomatoes (pictured here).
• Vegetable Broth or Stock - If you'd like to add protein to your soup, use a chicken stock or broth.
• Fresh Basil - If you can, use it!
• Kosher Salt
• Balsamic Vinegar - (Not pictured) Use to garnish the soup. This is optional but highly recommended.

See recipe card for specific amounts.

Instructions

Press the Sauté setting button on the Instant Pot. When the screen reads "hot" add the oil and onions to the bottom of the pot and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Then add the minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

Press "cancel" on the Instant Pot then add the rest of the ingredients. Close the lid and turn the release knob to "sealing". Press "manual" and select 15 minutes. Walk away and let the Instant Pot do its job!

When the timer goes off on the Instant Pot you can let pressure release naturally if you have time or manually release the rest of the pressure. When the remaining pressure is fully released, remove the lid.

If you own an immersion blender, carefully insert it into the soup in the Instant Pot and use it to puree the soup until smooth. Alternatively, carefully ladle soup into a blender and blend it in batches until smooth.

This step is optional as you can keep the soup chunky if you prefer.

Ladle soup into bowls then drizzle about ½ teaspoon of balsamic vinegar on top. This step is optional but I highly recommend it!

Variations & Substitutions

• Diced Tomatoes - I highly recommend you use at least one can of fire roasted diced tomatoes in this Instant Pot tomato soup. It adds great flavor. You can use all fire roasted (which I did in the pictures here) and it will have that great flavor as a strong note. It also causes black specks in the final soup, which you may or may not be OK with. If that is not your desired outcome, simply use unseasoned diced tomatoes.
• Fresh Tomatoes - Use any type you like and add more than the recipe calls for if you want to use up some tomatoes about to go bad. You can leave these out altogether if you don't have any.
• Fresh Basil - I highly recommend you use fresh basil but if you don't have any, replace it with 1-2 tablespoon of dried basil.
• Vegetable Stock - To up the protein content, use chicken stock or broth instead.
• Garlic - If you want soup with a rich garlic flavor, up the garlic cloves to 5+ or add a head of roasted garlic. Yum!
• My favorite way serve this healthy soup recipe is with a piece of crusty bread or a grilled cheese sandwich.

Equipment

An Instant Pot is helpful for making this easy Instant Pot Tomato Soup because it allows you a shorter cook time but still deep flavor. If you don't have an Instant Pot, you can easily make this on the stovetop with a dutch oven or soup pot. Follow the same directions until you get to cooking on manual in the IP. Instead, bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for at least 30 minutes.

The other helpful piece of equipment is an hand immersion blender. This is the kind of equipment I don't use often, but when I need it, I'm so glad I have it. It makes blending soup so easy. If you don't have one or want one, you'll just carefully ladle the soup into a blender and puree in batches. You do need to take precautions when blending a hot liquid so here's a great article on how to safely blend hot liquids.

Storage

This Instant Pot Tomato Soup is perfect for meal prepping ahead or taking to someone sick who needs a comforting meal. To store it, let the soup cool to a warm, but not hot temperature first. Then pour into a leak proof and airtight container. It will keep in the fridge for about 5 days.

I have not frozen this soup but I think it could be frozen successfully.

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Recipe

I hope you'll try this Instant Pot tomato soup recipe. For more simple recipe ideas, try:

• Easy Instant Pot Turkey Chili- perfect when you're craving hot soup.
• Shredded Chicken Enchiladas- the best way to use up leftover chicken.