Creamy & Hearty Dairy-Free Tomato Basil Soup: A Vegan, Gluten-Free & Allergy-Friendly Recipe

Discover the ultimate comfort food with this incredibly thick, creamy, and flavorful dairy-free tomato basil soup recipe. Packed with wholesome vegetables and aromatic herbs, this soup delivers rich taste without any heavy cream. What truly sets it apart is a homemade, nut-free pesto that infuses every spoonful with an extra delicious kick. By cleverly combining both dried herbs and pureed fresh basil, this soup is anything but bland. It’s a truly versatile dish, completely free of dairy and entirely vegan, making it ideal for individuals with various dietary restrictions. Furthermore, it’s meticulously crafted to be free of gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanuts, and tree nuts, earning it a spot as a top-8-allergen-free meal! This warming, satisfying soup is precisely what you need to cozy up with on cold, winter nights.

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Why This Dairy-Free Tomato Basil Soup Recipe Will Become Your New Favorite

For years, I’ve been on a quest for the perfect tomato basil soup—one that isn’t overly acidic or bland. My inspiration often came from Zupas restaurant’s renowned tomato basil soup. However, with a family navigating significant food allergies, simply enjoying a restaurant version wasn’t an option. The secret to Zupas’ incredible flavor, I discovered, was the addition of pesto. This revelation ignited my mission: to create a Zupas tomato basil soup copycat that was not only dairy-free and vegan but also completely free of the top eight common allergens for my loved ones.

One common complaint I often hear about traditional tomato soup is that it can leave you feeling hungry. While a grilled cheese sandwich or a hearty side can certainly complete the meal, sometimes you just want your soup to be substantial enough on its own. Zupas offered another brilliant idea by allowing customers to add pasta to their tomato basil soup. This was a game-changer! Now, I consistently add a box of al dente gluten-free pasta to my soup (as you can see in the accompanying pictures), transforming it into a much heartier, more filling, and satisfying dinner. It’s a recommendation I make with full enthusiasm. However, if you’re a purist and prefer a smooth, comforting puree, this soup is equally delightful without the pasta.

My final goal for this recipe was to make it incredibly pantry-friendly. Access to fresh basil leaves and ripe, in-season tomatoes can be challenging, especially during the depths of winter. To address this, I’ve designed the recipe to utilize high-quality canned tomatoes and convenient pureed basil, readily available in most grocery stores. This ensures that even when fresh produce is scarce or looking a bit sad (a common occurrence for my own basil plant in winter!), you can still enjoy a burst of authentic, vibrant flavor.

Do You Need Vegetable Broth or Stock for This Tomato Soup?

Surprisingly, no! While many soup recipes heavily rely on vegetable broth or stock for their liquid base, my approach for this tomato basil soup prioritizes a naturally thick and rich texture. Instead of thin broth, we build a robust flavor foundation using fresh, aromatic vegetables like onion, carrots, and celery. These ingredients not only contribute depth and sweetness but also create a velvety body when pureed. If, after blending, you find the soup thicker than your personal preference, you always have the option to thin it down gradually with a little water, vegetable broth, or stock. For those who are not strictly vegan or vegetarian and can incorporate animal products, chicken broth or stock would also work beautifully.

Crafting the Perfect Vegan and Nut-Free Pesto for Your Soup

The secret to this tomato basil soup’s extraordinary flavor lies in its homemade pesto. Traditional pesto typically calls for fresh basil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, garlic, olive oil, and salt. To make this recipe suitable for dietary needs, I’ve made three strategic replacements to ensure it’s pantry-friendly, entirely nut-free, and vegan, without compromising on taste:

• Pureed Basil instead of Fresh: Instead of hunting for perfect fresh basil bunches, especially out of season, I opt for pureed basil. It delivers a powerful basil flavor concentrate that’s always on hand and easy to incorporate.
• Sunflower Seeds for Pine Nuts: Due to severe nut allergies in my home, pine nuts are replaced with unsalted pumpkin seeds (or sunflower seeds). These seeds provide a similar textural richness and subtle flavor that complements the basil without introducing allergens.
• Nutritional Yeast for Parmesan Cheese: To achieve that savory, umami “cheesy” depth without any dairy, nutritional yeast is the star. It’s a fantastic vegan alternative that adds complexity and a hint of tang.

In my initial recipe tests, I would prepare the pesto separately in a food processor. However, I soon realized this simply created more dishes to wash! Now, I find it much more efficient to add all the “pesto” ingredients directly into the soup pot along with the other ingredients to simmer. Since the entire soup gets pureed at the end anyway, all those wonderful flavors meld together perfectly. Of course, if you prefer the traditional method of making pesto separately, that’s perfectly fine too!

Achieving Dairy-Free and Vegan Perfection in This Tomato Basil Soup

This tomato basil soup is meticulously crafted to be both dairy-free and vegan, ensuring it’s inclusive for a wide range of dietary preferences and restrictions. The transformation from a traditional creamy tomato soup to a rich, plant-based delight is achieved through a few simple yet impactful ingredient swaps:

• Nutritional Yeast for Parmesan Cheese: As mentioned, nutritional yeast steps in to provide that savory, umami flavor profile typically associated with Parmesan, without any dairy.
• Full-Fat Coconut Milk for Heavy Cream: The secret to its luscious creaminess without dairy comes from full-fat canned coconut milk. It adds a luxurious texture and a subtle richness that enhances the soup without an overpowering coconut flavor.
• Vegan Butter for Dairy Butter: To sauté the aromatics and contribute to the soup’s overall richness, we use a high-quality vegan butter. This ensures a velvety mouthfeel right from the start.

These easy and effective substitutions work in harmony to create a soup that is wonderfully creamy, deeply flavorful, and incredibly satisfying, all while being completely free of animal products. If your diet permits milk or other animal products, feel free to substitute these vegan ingredients back to their regular counterparts using similar ratios.

Choosing the Best Gluten-Free Pasta for Your Hearty Tomato Basil Soup

As I touched upon earlier, I love incorporating al dente pasta into my finished soup to boost its heartiness and make it more filling. With a family of six and growing children, pureed soups, while delicious, sometimes feel a bit too much like a “warm smoothie” for them! Adding pasta makes it a much more substantial and appealing meal.

When it comes to gluten-free pasta, I’ve found that Jovial gluten-free pasta tends to hold up exceptionally well, even after sitting in the soup for a bit. Their fusilli spiral shape is particularly good at catching all the delicious soup. However, Barilla gluten-free pasta is also a reliable option that we’ve used many times, often at about half the price. Feel free to use your preferred brand and shape of gluten-free pasta. If you don’t require a gluten-free diet, regular wheat pasta works perfectly too! Both Jovial and Barilla gluten-free varieties are widely available, and I’ve often found them at Walmart, in addition to being linked on Amazon for convenience.

I have experimented with cooking the pasta directly in the soup, but I’ve learned that this approach often releases too much starch, making the soup more akin to a thick spaghetti sauce. Moreover, gluten-free pasta, in particular, can become mushy if overcooked or left in hot liquid for too long. For the best texture and consistency, I highly recommend boiling the pasta separately in its own pot until al dente. Then, simply add the drained pasta to the soup just before serving, after you’ve turned off the heat. This prevents it from sitting in the hot liquid longer than necessary, maintaining its perfect bite.

Of course, if you prefer to keep the soup simple and pureed, omitting the pasta is absolutely fine! It’s still wonderfully delicious on its own or paired with other delights like a vegan grilled cheese sandwich or homemade gluten-free croutons sprinkled on top.

Is This Tomato Basil Soup Recipe Truly Allergy-Friendly?

Absolutely! This tomato basil soup is meticulously designed to be highly allergy-friendly, making it a safe and delicious option for almost anyone. The recipe specifically avoids common allergens, containing no wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, fish, shellfish, peanuts, or tree nuts. This means it is not only completely vegan but also free of the top eight most common allergens, ensuring you can share this comforting soup with a wide array of friends and family, even those with significant dietary restrictions. If gluten isn’t a concern for you or your guests, you can easily substitute the gluten-free pasta for regular wheat-based pasta without any other modifications to the recipe.

Choosing the Best Dairy-Free and Vegan Butter

For a long time, Earth Balance vegan butter has been my go-to choice, and it consistently performs beautifully in this recipe. As the market for plant-based products expands, you’ll likely see various other vegan butter brands emerging, and most should be fairly interchangeable. If you or someone you’re cooking for also needs the soup to be soy-free, be sure to opt for Earth Balance’s specific soy-free version, or another brand that explicitly states “soy-free.” In the event that you cannot find a suitable or safe vegan butter, a simple substitution works: increase the olive oil from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup, completely omitting the vegan butter. This modification should yield excellent results without compromising flavor or texture.

What If You Can’t Have or Don’t Like Nutritional Yeast?

Nutritional yeast is truly a fantastic ingredient, offering a unique cheesy, umami flavor profile that’s invaluable in vegan cooking. However, I understand that some individuals may have dietary restrictions that prevent them from consuming yeast, or simply might not enjoy its distinctive taste. While it contributes a subtle depth to this soup, I honestly find it hard to pick out amidst the abundance of other rich flavors—the tomatoes, basil, garlic, and spices really shine. Therefore, if nutritional yeast is an issue for you, rest assured that you can comfortably omit it from the recipe. The soup will still be incredibly flavorful and creamy without it, just perhaps with a slightly less “cheesy” undertone.

A Note on Using Fresh Basil Purees

I’m a big proponent of using basil puree tubes in this recipe. They offer an intense burst of fresh basil flavor, which is particularly convenient when fresh basil leaves are either out of season, expensive, or simply looking a bit wilted at the grocery store. You’d think that all tubes of basil puree would simply contain basil and perhaps a few preservatives. However, I was genuinely surprised to discover that at least one brand I encountered actually contained hidden milk ingredients! This highlights the critical importance of checking ingredient labels diligently, especially when cooking for allergies. The brand I personally use and trust is a 2.8 oz tube of Aroma One Organics Basil Puree. (Unfortunately, it’s not readily available on Amazon, so I can’t provide a direct link. I typically find it in the baking aisle at Walmart.) Please always verify that any brand of basil puree you choose is safe for your specific dietary needs.

Selecting the Right Tomatoes for This Vegan Tomato Soup Recipe

One of the great advantages of using canned tomatoes for this vegan tomato soup is the sheer convenience and consistent flavor they offer. You don’t have to stress about choosing the perfect fresh variety like Roma, cherry, or heirloom tomatoes from your local market. The most crucial factor, regardless of the brand, is to select canned tomatoes that are already seasoned with basil, garlic, and oregano. This ensures that a foundational layer of rich flavor is built into every single step of the soup-making process, preventing it from ending up bland. Whether you choose whole, crushed, or diced tomatoes doesn’t fundamentally matter, as long as they contain those essential extra flavorings. Ultimately, you’ll be using an immersion blender or a standard blender to achieve a perfectly smooth and creamy consistency, so the initial size or shape of the tomatoes is not a concern.

Key Ingredients for This Creamy Dairy-Free Tomato Soup

The beauty of this recipe lies in its simplicity and reliance on accessible ingredients. Many of the fresh components are fridge staples for me—garlic, onion, celery, and carrots—meaning if you keep your refrigerator stocked, you’ll only need to grab a few additional pantry items. I make this soup so frequently that I strive to keep all these ingredients on hand around the clock. This makes it a perfect dish to whip up even on the coldest winter day, without needing an extra trip to the grocery store. I love recipes that allow me to utilize my pantry staples effectively!

• Olive oil
• Vegan butter (see post for options)
• Yellow onion, roughly chopped
• Celery stalks, roughly chopped
• Carrots, roughly chopped
• Minced garlic (freshly minced is best for flavor)
• Unsalted pumpkin seeds (or pine nuts if able to consume)
• Basil puree (2.8 oz tube, check for dairy-free certification)
• Nutritional yeast (for a cheesy, umami flavor)
• Sugar (to balance acidity)
• Salt (to taste)
• Dried oregano
• Dried basil
• Black pepper
• Red pepper flakes (optional, for a subtle kick)
• Canned diced tomatoes in basil, garlic, and oregano (undrained)
• Full-fat canned coconut milk (for creaminess)
• Bay leaf (for aromatic depth)
• Gluten-free short pasta or gluten-free croutons (if desired, or use regular pasta/croutons if not gluten-free)

Essential Tools Needed to Make This Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup

Gathering your tools before you start cooking can make the process smooth and enjoyable. Here’s what you’ll need to create this delicious creamy vegan tomato soup:

• Chef’s knife and cutting board: For efficiently chopping your fresh vegetables like onions, celery, and carrots. Sharp knives make prep work much safer and quicker.
• Measuring spoons and cups: To ensure accurate ingredient measurements, which is crucial for balancing the flavors and achieving the perfect consistency.
• Large pot or Dutch oven: A heavy-bottomed pot is ideal for sautéing your aromatics and simmering the soup evenly, preventing scorching.
• If adding pasta—large pot for making the pasta and colander for draining: Cooking pasta separately is key for optimal texture in this recipe, avoiding a starchy, overly thick soup.
• Immersion blender, or regular blender: An immersion blender allows you to puree the soup directly in the pot, minimizing cleanup. A good quality regular blender (like a Blendtec, as recommended) will also achieve a silky-smooth consistency in batches.
• Large wooden (or heat-safe) spoon: For stirring the soup while it simmers and preventing ingredients from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Storing and Enjoying Leftover Dairy-Free Tomato Soup

This dairy-free tomato basil soup is wonderful for meal prepping or enjoying as leftovers! Once the soup has fully cooled to room temperature, transfer any leftover soup into an airtight container. It will keep beautifully in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. For longer storage, this soup also freezes exceptionally well. Pour cooled soup into freezer-safe containers or bags, leaving a little headspace for expansion, and freeze for up to 2-3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw overnight in the refrigerator (if frozen) and reheat gently on the stovetop over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, or warm individual portions in the microwave until heated through. If the soup has thickened too much upon reheating, you can always thin it with a splash of vegetable broth or water to reach your desired consistency. If you added pasta to the original batch, be aware that frozen and reheated pasta might be softer; for best results, you might consider storing soup and pasta separately if you anticipate freezing.

Explore My Other Delicious Dairy-Free Soups!

Living in Idaho, I can tell you that soup becomes a daily essential during the colder months! My kitchen is constantly bubbling with new creations, and I firmly believe everyone should embrace the comforting power of a warm bowl. All of my soup recipes are thoughtfully crafted to be perfect for those following a dairy-free diet, and as with everything on my site, they are also gluten-free. If you only need a dairy-free option and don’t require gluten-free, you can easily substitute back to regular pasta or regular all-purpose flour (for thickening in other recipes) at a 1:1 ratio. I invite you to explore more of my hearty and wholesome dairy-free soup creations:

• Instant Pot Dairy Free Loaded Baked Potato Soup
• Instant Pot Gluten & Dairy Free Chicken, Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup
• Allergy Friendly Taco Soup
• Gluten & Dairy Free Thai Coconut Soup
• Potato & Sausage Soup
• Slow Cooker Green Enchilada Soup
• Slow Cooker Pizza Soup
• Gluten Free Vegan Minestrone
• Gluten Free Dairy Free Chicken and Rice Soup
• Dairy Free Crack Chicken Noodle Soup
• *Don’t forget I have an entire winter meal plan too!

Watch How to Make This Vegan Tomato Basil Soup! (Video Tutorial)

If you’re a visual learner, I’ve got you covered! I’ve created a quick and engaging TikTok video that succinctly demonstrates how to prepare this delicious vegan and gluten-free tomato basil soup. Watching this short tutorial will give you a fantastic overview of just how easy it is to bring this comforting dish to life in your own kitchen:

@allergyawesomeness Vegan tomato basil soup—gluten free too. The thing that makes it sing is the homemade pesto! #glutenfreesoup #glutenfreevegansoup #vegantomatobasil #vegansoup #allergyfriendly #nutfreepesto ♬ Swing Soon – Zero3 Music

Dairy Free Tomato Basil Soup (Vegan too!)

Yield:
8 servings

Prep Time:
10 minutes

Cook Time:
30 minutes

Total Time:
40 minutes

Thick, creamy, dairy free tomato basil soup is full of veggies and flavor. No need for heavy cream. And, a homemade pesto gives this tomato basil soup an extra delicious kick. Using both dried and pureed fresh basil, this soup is anything but bland. Using no dairy, and even being vegan, this soup will be great for anyone with dietary restrictions.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup vegan butter (see post)
• 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 1 and 1/2 tsp minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 1/3 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds* (see note)
• 1 tube of basil puree, 2.8 oz (see post)
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 and 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 and 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 3/4 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 3 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes in basil, garlic and oregano, undrained
• 1 can, full fat coconut milk
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 box, (12 oz) gluten free short pasta of choice (see above)

Instructions

In a large stock pot over medium heat, add your olive oil, butter and onions. Stir until onions are softened.

Add the celery, carrots, garlic, pumpkin seeds, basil puree, nutritional yeast, sugar, salt, oregano, basil, pepper, red pepper flakes, diced tomato cans, coconut milk and bay leaf. Stir.

Put a lid on and cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While waiting, in a separate pot, make your gluten-free pasta according to box directions for al dente. Drain the pasta and set aside.

When the soup has heated through, use an immersion blender, or a good quality blender in batches until everything is smooth. (I recommend a Blendtec.)

Pour back into the pan. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. If it’s too thick, you can thin it out with some safe vegetable broth.

Add the drained pasta to the soup, after you’ve turned the heat off. Stir and then serve. 

*If you’re not a person who likes to add pasta to this soup, another favorite option of mine is topping it with homemade dairy free herbed croutons!

Notes

I use pumpkin seeds because we have nut allergies at my house. If you can have pine nuts, then go ahead, or even walnuts will do. Do whatever is safe for you.

Check out my other soups. Or, my winter meal plan!

*Our allergies, while severe and that get re-tested yearly, are such that we can go strictly by what’s on the label. I do not call companies to see what things are derived from, or call manufacturers to see about potential cross contact. If your allergies require you to do so, please do your own homework. I cannot assure you of any ingredient’s safety, only you can do that. I simply share what works for our family

**If you are going to feed this to someone with food allergies, and you yourself do not have food allergies, I HIGHLY recommend having them check every single brand and ingredient you are using, to ensure they’re OK with each part of the recipe. And, to make sure you’ve talked to them about how to avoid cross contamination in your kitchen.

Adapted from: Tried and Tasty as well as Butter with a Side of Bread.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8
Serving Size: 1

Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 284Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 219mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 3gSugar: 3gProtein: 5g

DON’T FORGET TO PIN THIS DAIRY FREE TOMATO BASIL SOUP, SO YOU DON’T LOSE IT. WHILE THERE, CHECK OUT MY OTHER DIET SPECIFIC PINTEREST BOARDS.