Easy Creamy Tomato Soup

By the Gracious Vegan

Goodbye, Campbell’s! This recipe is no copycat. It soars beyond the canned brands. The cashews give it creaminess without overwhelming the tomatoes. Once you’ve made this, you’ll never want to go back.

Makes 6 servings (about 110 calories per serving)

Quick-soak the cashews. Pour boiling water over them, cover, and let them soak while you make the rest of the soup.

• 1/2 cup raw cashews (whole or pieces)

Separately, water-sauté these ingredients (start with 1/4 cup water) in a Dutch oven until soft, 5 minutes or more. (What is water-sauté?)

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1/2 medium onion, chopped

• 1.5 teaspoon dried basil, oregano or Italian seasoning

• 1 teaspoon salt

• Fresh ground black pepper

Add the next ingredients to the pot, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and boil gently, covered, for 10 minutes or until tomatoes are very soft. Remove from heat.

• 1 can (28 oz.) crushed or whole tomatoes

• 2 ounces (1/4 cup) tomato paste

• 1 cup vegetable broth or water

• 1 teaspoon maple syrup, agave nectar, or sugar (optional)

Now drain the cashews and rinse under cold water. Place them in a blender with water.

• 2 cups cold water

Blend on high for 30 seconds to 5 minutes until very smooth, so smooth that you can no longer detect any bits of cashews—they’ve dissolved.

If your blender is big enough for you to add the tomato mixture into the cashew mixture, do that and blend on low-medium until you achieve your desired smoothness. If your blender isn’t big enough, use an immersion blender to smooth out the tomato mixture, then stir in the blended cashews.

Check seasoning and serve.

Timing: Total time around 25 minutes (about 20 minutes hands-on time)

Gluten-free