Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup

I know it seems odd for the words "creamy" and "vegan" to be in the same sentence, but this soup is truly luscious! It has all the hearty goodness of cream or milk without using any dairy. I am a bonafide cheese lover and I seriously did not miss the cheese in this soup. But, it WOULD be extra delicious with a grilled cheese to dip! I actually added some three-cheese tortellini into one portion and it was amazing. This soup is so comforting and rich, I think anyone would enjoy it. Whip it up tonight!

With tortellini added!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

6 cloves garlic, chopped

8 tomatoes, chopped

Salt & pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon thyme

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

2 cups vegetable broth (you can substitute chicken stock if not vegan)

2 cups tomato juice

2 cups almond milk

Directions

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat.

Add the onion, carrot, garlic, tomatoes, and salt and pepper. Saute until very brown and reduced, but not burned. This should take about 30 minutes.

Add the sugar, thyme, fennel, and one cup of broth. Bring to a slight boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and let the liquid reduce for about 15 minutes.

Add the rest of the broth, the juice and the almond milk. If it looks like you want more liquid, feel free to add in more tomato juice. Continue to simmer for another 15 minutes up to 2 hours. If you let it simmer for 2 hours, you will need to add more liquid periodically due to evaporation. This really concentrates the flavor so I highly recommend it if you have the time!

To get the creamiest consistency, I used an immersion blender to puree my soup. This can also be done in a regular blender in batches. Serve blended soup with crackers or toast and enjoy!!!

until next time,

xoxo