Creamy Tomato Basil Soup (Vegan)

With the recent weather here in NJ being in the single digits, all I can think about is good ole’ soup. Soup is so warm, comforting, and chock-full of delicious ingredients. My favorite soup ever? Yeah, you guessed it, Creamy Tomato.

There’s just something about tomato soup and a nice grilled cheese that is so hard to deny. Sadly though, whenever I try to order it at a restaurant, it is almost alwaysssss 90% heavy cream, and 10% tomato. Though that makes it really delicious, my stomach can’t handle the dairy, so I always have to opt for something else. Because this is a frequent dilemma of mine, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

This soup tastes JUST like the real thing. Don’t be thrown off by the “vegan” label. Coconut milk is the best substitute for non-dairy recipes. It acts just like heavy cream, and no, you can’t taste the coconut one little bit. This recipe is seriously such a breeze. It takes about 30 minutes, and is a total of three steps. Okay i’m done convincing you, go warm up with this deliciousness!

Creamy Tomato Soup (Vegan)
Yields: about 6 cups

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 2 T minced garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped cabbage (or more onions or another vegetable)
• 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes (juice and all)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk (scrape the thick milk off the top of the can after it has been left in the fridge for the night. Discard off the remaining water or save for smoothies)
• 1 T dairy-free butter (I use Earth Balance) (optional)
• 2 T stevia (or sugar)
• 2 T basil leaves
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Sauté the first four ingredients in a frying pan until softened.
2. Then, throw them into the blender with all of the remaining ingredients. Puree the mixture until it is smooth, then pour the soup into a pot.
3. Bring it to a boil, then let simmer on low for 10 minutes. Once it is hot, you are ready to eat!

*As for dairy-free grilled cheese, I like “Daiya” cheddar style slices which you can purchase here.