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It doesn’t get more classic than a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup! Make a golden, perfectly crisp sandwich filled with melty cheese and served with a steaming bowl of homemade tomato soup.
Why You’ll Love This Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup Recipe
- Easy. This creamy tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich are so easy to make. You’ll only need a few simple ingredients and 30 minutes.
- Satisfying. Is there anything better than a crunchy golden sandwich filled with melty cheese? I think not. Add spoonfuls of hot tomato soup between bites and you’ve got yourself the perfect combo.
- Flavorful. The secret to this soup is the parmesan rind – it adds depth of flavor and is a great way to use up the rinds of the cheese. We usually buy the big wheels of parmesan at Costco, then I cut off the rinds and store them in the freezer to use later in recipes like this.
Watch How to Make It
Want to see how to make this classic combo start-to-finish? Check out my video:
What You’ll Need
Here’s a quick look at what you’ll need to make this satisfying dinner. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post for a printable list of ingredients.
For the Grilled Cheese Sandwich
- Sourdough bread: You can use regular sandwich bread too.
- Cheese: I recommend cheddar cheese and mozzarella for the perfect melty cheese-pull.
- Butter: Unsalted or salted.
For the Tomato Soup
- Butter: I use unsalted. Salted butter also works, just reduce the amount of salt you add in later.
- Onion & Garlic
- All Purpose Flour: To thicken up the soup.
- Vegetable Broth: I used low sodium broth for this soup but you can use whatever you have on hand and then adjust the amount of salt used separately in this recipe.
- Tomatoes: Crushed tomatoes* and tomato paste.
- Cream: I use heavy whipping cream, but you can also use milk.
- Seasoning: Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: 1 parmesan rind.
- Optional: Extra virgin olive oil or shredded parmesan cheese to garnish.
* During the summer I usually freeze roughly chopped tomatoes from the garden in mason jars. Two 16-oz mason jars full of frozen chopped tomatoes can also be used here. You can also use a similar amount of fresh tomatoes, see the Tips section below for more info on going this route.
How to Make Tomato Soup From Scratch
Let’s look at how to make your tomato soup from scratch. Below are step-by-step photos, and you can also check out the video above. Scroll to the bottom of this post for a printable recipe card.
- Cook onion and garlic Melt the butter, then add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add flour, broth, tomatoes & rind: Reduce heat to low and add the flour along with a splash of the broth, gently whisking constantly. Cook about 1 minute. Add the rest of the broth, the tomatoes, tomato paste and parmesan rind. Bring to a simmer and cook about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the soup has thickened a bit. Remove the parmesan rind. Turn off the heat.
- Blend the Soup: With an immersion blender, blend up the soup until everything is smooth and well combined. You can also use a standard blender, but be sure to vent the top of the blender so that pressure from the hot soup doesn’t build up and cause some of the soup to burst out of the blender.
- Add Heavy Cream: Once soup is well combined, return pot to stovetop over low heat. Stir in the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until heated through.
How to Make the Best Grilled Cheese
While your soup is cooking, make your grilled cheese sandwich. The instructions and ingredient list below are for one sandwich, so if you want to make more than one simply multiple the ingredients as needed.
- Butter the bread. Spread 2 tablespoons of softened butter one side of each piece of bread.
- Assemble grilled cheese. Place a slice of bread, buttered side down, in a skillet. Layer the cheese slices on top. Add the remaining piece of bread on top of the cheese, buttered side up.
- Cook. Over medium heat, cook your grilled cheese for about 2-3 minutes per side, covering the skillet with a tight fitting lid. Check the underside of your sandwich periodically. It is ready to flip when light golden brown.
- Serve. Your sandwich is ready when both sides are golden and the cheese is melty.
My cheese isn’t melting in the middle, what do I do? Remove the grilled cheese from the skillet and cut in in half diagonally to make sure the inside has melted. If it has not, place the cut slices back onto the skillet over low heat. Cover and cook until the cheese is melty, about 1 minute per side. The bread will be medium golden brown when the sandwich is done but should not be dark.
Tips for Success
- When using the immersion blender for your soup: Keep it submerged under the soup – trust me when I say that you do not want to clean up a tomato soup splatter. 🙂
- Experiment with herbs: Adding in some dried basil or other seasonings are a great way to make this recipe your own. I sometimes will add about 1/2 teaspoon of any of the following: dried basil, dried oregano, dried rosemary, dried thyme or dried sage. If you want to combine herbs, basil + oregano is a great combo. Similarly, rosemary + sage + thyme goes really well together. A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes is also very nice if you want a little kick.
- If using frozen garden tomatoes: The process of freezing roughly chopped garden tomatoes will have already broken down the cell walls of the tomatoes, making them easier to puree. But let your tomatoes defrost completely before using them in the soup. The best way to thaw frozen tomatoes is to put them in the fridge for at least 24 hours.
- If using fresh tomatoes: If you want to use fresh tomatoes, be sure to chop them finely. This way the immersion blender will be able to puree them well.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
Grilled cheese sandwiches are best eaten fresh, especially since they only take a few minutes to make. However, you can store extra tomato soup as follows:
- Fridge: Store soup in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for 4-5 days.
- Freezer: You can freeze tomato soup for about 3 months. I usually freeze soup in 16-oz mason jars with freezer safe BPA free lids. Be sure to leave at least 1-inch of room at the top of the jar so that the soup can expand in the freezer.
- To Reheat: Reheat soup in an appropriately sized pot on the stovetop until it reaches the desired temperature.
More Soup Recipes to Try
Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
Make a golden, crisp sandwich filled with melty cheese then serve it with a steaming bowl of homemade tomato soup.
Ingredients
For the Soup
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 3 cups vegetable broth, low sodium
- 1 28- oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 6- oz can tomato paste
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: 1 parmesan rind
- Optional: extra virgin olive oil or shredded parmesan cheese to garnish
For the Grilled Cheese Sandwich
- 2 slices sourdough bread
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 slices white cheddar cheese
- 2 slices mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Make the Soup
- Cook the onion and garlic. In a large pot melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and somewhat translucent. Add the garlic and cook until just fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add remaining ingredients and cook. Reduce heat to low and add the flour along with a splash of the broth, gently whisking constantly. Cook about 1 minute. Add the rest of the broth, the tomatoes, tomato paste and parmesan rind if using. Bring to a simmer and cook about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the soup has thickened a bit.
- Remove the parmesan rind. Turn off the heat.
- Blend. With an immersion blender, blend up the soup until everything is smooth and well combined. You can also use a standard blender, but be sure to vent the top of the blender so that pressure from the hot soup doesn't build up and cause some of the soup to burst out of the blender.
- Add cream and season to taste. Once soup is well combined, return pot to stovetop over low heat. Stir in the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until heated through.
- Add garnishes. Serve garnished with sprinkles of shredded parmesan cheese or with a small drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Make the Grilled Cheese Sandwich
- Butter the bread. Gently spread 2 tablespoons of softened butter one side of each piece of bread. Make sure you get an even coat of butter on the bread.
- Assemble grilled cheese. Place a slice of bread, buttered side down, in a skillet. Layer the cheese slices on top. Add the remaining piece of bread on top of the cheese, buttered side up.
- Cook. Over medium heat, cook your grilled cheese for about 2-3 minutes per side, covering the skillet with a tight fitting lid. Check the underside of your sandwich periodically. It is ready to flip when light golden brown.
- Make it melty. Remove the grilled cheese from the skillet and cut in in half diagonally to make sure the inside has melted. If it has not, place the cut slices back onto the skillet over medium-low heat. Cover and cook until the cheese is melty, about 1 minute per side. The bread will be medium golden brown when the sandwich is done but should not be dark.
- Dig in. Serve your grilled cheese sandwich with a steaming bowl of tomato soup.
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Notes
- Bread slices: Make sure your slices of bread are not too thick or the cheese will have a hard time melting.
- A note about amounts: The ingredient amounts listed above are for 1 sandwich, so if you want to make more than one simply multiply the amounts by the number of sandwiches you want to make.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bowl soup and sandwich | Calories: 440kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 1172mg | Potassium: 848mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 2053IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 216mg | Iron: 4mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as a courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Did you make this recipe?💖 I love hearing how my recipes came out for others! If you tried this recipe, please share a comment. 💖
I made this today and only sampled a spoonful or 9. Tastes really good. Will be even better tomorrow after marinating overnight in the fridge.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for coming back to share your thoughts, I really appreciate it. 🙂