My roasted tomato soup with smoked cheddar and mozzarella grilled cheese for dipping. Comfort food made properly, on the table in 35 minutes.
Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese
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Category
Lunch
Servings
4
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook time
25 minutes
This has to be comfort food at its best. I'm not usually a big fan of soups, but I can't say no to a creamy tomato soup with a grilled cheese toastie on the side. So for this recipe, we’re roasting the tomatoes first to concentrate their sweetness and bring out a bit of caramelisation, then blending everything down to a silky, rich soup. The grilled cheese uses two cheeses, melty mozzarella for the stretch and smoked cheddar for depth.
Ingredient Notes
Tomatoes: Use ripe, in-season tomatoes for the best flavour. Roma, vine-ripened or any deep-red variety work brilliantly. Avoid pale or out-of-season tomatoes, they don’t have the sugar or acidity to make a great soup. If you’re stuck mid-winter, two 400g tins of whole peeled tomatoes work fine, just skip the roast and add them straight to the saucepan.
Smoked cheddar: The smoky note is what makes this grilled cheese a step above a standard cheese toastie. Look for a properly smoked cheddar, not a smoke-flavoured one. Try the deli section or a good cheesemonger. If you can’t find it, regular sharp cheddar plus a tiny pinch of smoked paprika in the soup gets you somewhere close.
Mozzarella: Use block mozzarella, not fresh. Fresh mozzarella has too much moisture and will make the sandwich soggy. Block (sometimes called pizza mozzarella) melts evenly and gives you that signature stretchy pull when you tear the sandwich apart.
Equipment
Chopping board
Chef’s knife
Large oven tray
Large saucepan
Wooden spoon
Stick blender (or regular blender)
Medium frying pan
Spatula
Panini press or heavy pan (for pressing)
Box grater
Ingredients
- 1kg tomatoes, quartered
-
1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 100g butter
-
2 brown onions, finely sliced
-
pinch of salt and black pepper
- 5 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 cup (250ml) chicken stock
- 12 basil leaves
- 2 cups (200g) mozzarella, grated
-
2 cups (200g) smoked cheddar, grated
- 8 thick slices sourdough
Directions
Prep soup base
Preheat the oven to 180C fan forced (200C conventional).
Slice tomatoes in half lengthwise, before placing them on a tray with half of the olive oil drizzled over, top with a generous pinch of salt and a few cracks of pepper.
- Roast for 20 minutes.
Heat remaining oil and half the butter together in a large saucepan on medium heat.
Add the chopped onions and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, until softened.
- Add garlic, cook, stirring for ten minutes, (add following) until lightly caramelised.
Remove tomatoes from oven, transfer to saucepan (add following) with the onions.
- Deglaze oven tray with some of the stock to remove any tomato stuck to it.
- Add remaining stock to the saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring, for 5 minutes.
Prep the grilled cheese
While the soup is simmering, butter one side of each bread slice.
- Heat a medium frying pan on medium. Place a slice of bread, buttered side down in the pan.
- Top with 1/4 of the mozzarella and 1/4 of the cheddar.
- Top with another slice of bread, buttered side facing up.
- Press bread down with a protein press, cook for 1-2 minutes, until golden brown.
- Flip the grilled cheese over and cook the other side, pressed down, until golden brown and cheese melted.
- Transfer the grilled cheese to a tray to keep warm and repeat with remaining bread and cheese.
Blend soup and serve
Remove soup from the heat and carefully puree with a stick blender or bench top blender, with the basil leaves until smooth, approximately 1-2 minutes.
Serve your soup in a bowl, drizzle with some EVOO and garnish with a few basil leaves and serve alongside your grilled cheese. Enjoy!
Recipe notes
FAQs
Can I use canned tomatoes instead of fresh? You can, but you will lose a bit of the roasting flavour. Use two 400g tins of whole peeled tomatoes just skip the roasting step and add them straight into the pot after the garlic.
Can I make the soup ahead of time? Absolutely. The soup keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months. Just hold off on adding the basil until you're reheating as it keeps the flavour bright.
What’s the best way to reheat grilled cheese? Pop them in a hot pan or sandwich press for a couple of minutes to bring the crunch back—microwaving is a one-way ticket to soggy town.
Can I make this vegetarian? Yes, just swap the chicken stock for veggie stock and you’re all good.
Don’t have a stick blender? No worries. A regular blender will do the trick, just let the soup cool slightly first.
