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This creamy vegan tomato bisque is the ultimate comfort food! It’s one of the easiest soups to make for cold winter days or anytime you’re craving a bowl of hot soup. Made with minimal ingredients, anyone can whip up this homemade vegan tomato soup with coconut milk in under 30 minutes.
This delicious easy vegan tomato soup with a piece of homemade cornbread, vegan focaccia, or veggie wrap will transport you to warm creamy tomato-infused heaven. It’s the perfect lunch or light dinner in my book.
Add on a topping for the soup and pair it with different side dishes to create different combinations for meals with this easy soup recipe.
If you love easy soups, I think you will enjoy broccoli potato soup, zucchini soup, and corn chowder. They’re all a part of my regular meal rotation.
Why This Recipe Works
- Pantry staples: This vegan tomato bisque recipe relies on simple ingredients you can easily pick up at the grocery store or may already have on hand.
- Inexpensive vegan meal: Low-cost ingredients are all it takes to make a batch of this soup for the week. Combine it with sandwiches and salads for meals that won’t break the bank.
- Healthy: Tomatoes are packed with vitamin C and full of fiber for delicious gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan soup everyone will love.
- Tastes great: The most important thing and I am sure you and your family will love the savory tomato flavor of this hearty vegan soup.
Ingredients for Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup Recipe
The best vegan tomato soup with coconut milk is made using simple, easy-to-find ingredients.
- Olive oil: My go-to healthy oil for cooking soups and stews.
- Aromatics: Yellow onions and fresh garlic cloves add their flavors to the soup.
- Tomatoes: The star of the show!! Use any canned tomatoes to make vegan tomato soup with coconut milk. Feel free to use diced, pureed, or crushed tomatoes.
- Coconut milk: A dairy-free alternative that adds perfect creaminess but doesn’t contain any animal products. Make sure you use canned coconut milk.
- Brown sugar: Just a hint of sweetness to balance the acid in the tomato. You can swap it with agave nectar or any other vegan sweetener.
- Seasoning: Thyme, salt, and pepper give the soup its flavor. Fresh thyme is a great garnish for serving the soup.
Substitutions or Variations
- Want to use fresh tomatoes? If your summer garden is giving you more tomatoes than you can use, they’re perfect for this soup. Peel and chop the tomatoes and add to the pan with the onions and garlic that are partially cooked. You may need to cook the soup a bit longer. About four to five (1-pound) Roma tomatoes are equal to one 28-ounce can of tomatoes.
- Vegan tomato basil soup. Swap out the thyme for fresh basil.
- No coconut milk? Make a regular vegan tomato soup instead with vegetable broth.
How To Make Vegan Tomato Bisque
- 1) Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. When hot, add the chopped onion and garlic to the skillet. Saute lightly for 2 to 3 minutes.
- 2) Add the tomatoes and the remaining ingredients. Cover with a lid and simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes or until heated through and fragrant.
- 3) Use an immersion blender or transfer the soup to a blender and blend to desired creaminess.
- 4) Serve with a dollop of coconut milk on top and a sprinkle of thyme.
HINT: If using a traditional blender, be sure to let it cool first and transfer to the blender carefully to avoid burns.
Expert Tips
- Prefer chunky soup? Skip the blending.
- Add some toppings. Jazz up your bowl of soup with a little texture by adding some croutons, crushed crackers, sesame seeds, or sprouts over the top of your soup.
- Use canned coconut milk. Other plant-based milks will not provide the same ultra-creamy texture as coconut milk.
FAQs
The biggest difference between the two is the addition of cream. Bisque soups usually have some type of dairy added to give them a richer, creamier texture. In this vegan tomato soup, coconut milk adds this creaminess instead of dairy milk.
The traditional recipe of tomato bisque can be vegetarian if it is made with dairy milk and doesn’t contain any chicken broth, but it isn’t vegan. However, you can easily make it vegan by using plant-based milk to replace any dairy in the recipe. My favorite is coconut milk.
No, the flavors of the tomatoes and seasonings are strong enough to camouflage any coconut flavor the milk may contain. But canned coconut milk does mimic the creamy texture of heavy cream or whole milk really well.
How to Store
- Make ahead: Vegan creamy tomato soup is perfect to make ahead of time and use for meals during the week. You can store it in the refrigerator or freezer and use it as needed.
- Refrigerator: After cooling, store in the refrigerator for up to five days.
- Freezer: Transfer the cooled soup to airtight containers and store it in the freezer for up to three months.
- Reheat: If frozen, thaw first in the refrigerator overnight. Return the soup to a pan and cook over medium heat until heated through. You can also heat it in the microwave.
More Soup Recipes
Photos by Alfonso Revilla
Vegan Tomato Bisque with Thyme
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon of olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- 28 ounces of diced, crushed, or pureed tomatoes
- ½ cup of coconut milk from a can, more for garnish
- 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar (or agave nectar)
- ½ teaspoon of salt (or leave out if canned tomatoes are salted)
- ½ teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 teaspoon of fresh or dried thyme more for garnish
- 1 cup of water
Instructions
- In a medium pot, heat olive oil on medium-low heat, add chopped onion and garlic and saute lightly for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add tomatoes and all remaining ingredients. Simmer on medium heat, covered, for 10 minutes until heated through and fragrant.
- Serve as is (chunky) or blend to desired creaminess (recommended), using either an immersion blender or by transferring to a blender and pureeing in batches. If using a traditional blender, be sure to let it cool first.
- Serve with a dollop of coconut milk on top and a sprinkle of thyme.
Notes
- Prefer chunky soup? Skip the blending.
- Add some toppings. Jazz up your bowl of soup with a little texture by adding some croutons, crushed crackers, sesame seeds, or sprouts over the top of your soup.
- Use canned coconut milk. Other plant-based milk will not provide the same ultra-creamy texture as coconut milk.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Although plantbasedonabudget.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Plantbasedonabudget.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
okay, this photo looks GORGEOUS.
Alfonso is so talented!
I used 8 skinned & de-seeded fresh roma tomatoes instead of canned. I cooked the soup 15 minutes longer. I blended it with an immersion blender & served it with vegan garlic bread. Very tasty. A GREAT recipe. Thanks for sharing. 🍻
So glad you enjoyed it!
Such a cozy and yummy soup!
Gotta love the cozy soups!
Love it! So creamy and delicious!
Soooo creamy!
So creamy and nostalgic! The perfect tomato soup recipe!
Right?! So cozy and tasty!
Ooo this soup looks so creamy!
Nothing like a creamy warm soup to cozy up too!
So creamy!! Love this soup!