There is a bit of work to this recipe but I feel the results far outweigh the amount of work. A 20lb box of Roma Tomatoes at our local farmer’s market is about $15. Financially it makes sense to me. A little work late summer and a year’s worth of tomato soup on my shelves
There are many ways to strain the tomatoes, Previously, I used a cone-shaped colander and pressed the peels and seeds out that way. This works just fine for a few pints but for large batches, I use a VICTORIO Food Strainer and Sauce Maker. It saves an enormous amount of time and strains the tomatoes completely, I can and preserve often and I like to save time where I can.Â
After the tomatoes are strained, gently simmer the tomato puree until you reach your desired consistency. You are essentially evaporating the water from the tomatoes to make a thicker soup. After I reach my desired consistency I use my immersion blender one last time to make sure the soup is blended well before canning.
This recipe is made for pressure canning but you can freeze it as well. My All American Pressure Canner is amazing, I use it when I am canning large batches because it holds 31 pint jars and 20 quart jars. It is one of the simplest and safest canners to use but if the All American is too big then my next favorite canner is Presto Canner, simple basic, and affordable. If pressure canning makes you feel intimidated and nervous take a moment and read through our post about pressure canning basics for a refresher!
Better Than Campbell's Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 20 lb Fresh Tomatoes Washed, stemmed and halved.
- 2 large Onions Peeled and halved.
- 8 stalks Celery Chopped
- 6 teaspoons Sea Salt
- 20 leaves Fresh Basil
- 3/4 cup Organic Cane Sugar or Honey
- 2 teaspoons Lemon Pepper Black pepper is just as good
Instructions
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Add halved tomatoes to a large stock pot
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Add onion, celery, salt, pepper, and basil. Bring to a boil.
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Simmer for 20 mins, stirring regularly,
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Pour soup back into a pot. Simmer gently for an hour or until the desired thickness is achieved.
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Add sugar or honey and stir well with an immersion blender.
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Serve fresh or pressure can the soup for future use.
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For canning, pour into prepared jars, wipe rims clean with a clean cloth, add prepared lids and rings and pressure can according to your pressure canner's instructions. My All American Pressure Canner requires 12 lb of pressure for 25 minutes for pint jars.
Recipe Notes
Tips*
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- Freezing and then thawing the tomatoes helps drain off the extra liquid and reduces the simmer time.
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- For an extra flavor boost consider roasting the fresh tomatoes and onions first. This also reduces the natural liquid and may help naturally sweeten the tomatoes.
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- If you are having trouble or don't have the necessary time to reduce the tomatoes consider adding a natural sugar-free tomato paste to help thicken the final product, just make sure you gently simmer the paste and blend well.
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- Machines like the Vitamix E310 Explorian Blender eliminate the need for straining the vegetables, after simmering for 20 minutes, blend in batches until thoroughly pureed and then simmer until desired consistency is reached
My kids love this tomato soup. I usually cook down the soup until it is quite thick and add whole milk or creme fraiche to it after reheating it. Canning milk products are not recommended.
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