Low-Fat Tomato and Basil Soup (2.1 g Fat, No Cream)

A tomato soup with 2.1 g of fat in a full serving, and no cream anywhere in it. Most tomato soup recipes reach for cream or butter at the end, because tinned tomatoes on their own taste thin and sharp. The fix here is not fat — it is a grated carrot, a teaspoon of sugar and twenty minutes with the lid off. This is one of three recipes given away free on this site.

Tomato and Basil Soup

Fat per serving 2.1 g · 118 kcal · Protein 4 g · Serves 4 · Prep 10 min · Cook 25 min

Ingredients

• 800 g / 28 oz tinned chopped tomatoes
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups / 480 ml vegetable stock, low sodium
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 1 tsp / 5 ml olive oil
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp / 4 g sugar
• ¼ cup / 8 g fresh basil, torn
• salt and black pepper

Method

1. Warm the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook 6–8 minutes until soft, stirring so nothing browns.
2. Add the garlic and oregano and cook 1 minute more.
3. Pour in the tomatoes and stock. Add the sugar, bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.
4. Blend until smooth with a stick blender. Stir in the basil, season, and serve.
5. Loosen with a little hot water if it thickens more than you like.

Note. The grated carrot is doing quiet work here — it takes the sharp edge off the tomatoes without cream or butter.

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Why it works without cream

Cream does two things in a tomato soup: it rounds off the acidity and it adds body. Both jobs can be done without it. The acidity is handled by the grated carrot and the single teaspoon of sugar — carrot brings its own sweetness and dissolves into the soup completely, so nothing tastes added. The twenty minutes of uncovered simmering does the rest: water leaves the pan, the tomato concentrates, and what was sharp becomes round. Body comes from the blended vegetable pulp itself. Blend longer than feels necessary; the texture keeps improving for a good thirty seconds after you think it is done.

If you are cooking for a sensitive gut

Tomatoes are acidic, and acid is the usual complaint during a flare-up or in the early weeks after gallbladder surgery. If that is your situation, hold the soup at a gentle simmer for a further ten minutes and skip the black pepper — both soften the edge. There is more on timing and portion size in the notes on a pancreatitis flare-up and the first weeks after gallbladder removal.

More free recipes: the three starter recipes · warm berry compote · the full twenty-recipe collection.

This page is information and education, not medical advice. Nutrition values are calculated estimates and vary with brands and portion sizes. If you are managing pancreatitis, gallbladder removal or another diagnosed condition, confirm your dietary limits with your healthcare team.