Creamy Tomato Basil Soup with Cheddar Walnut Crackers

I can’t think of anything better to do a cold, rainy fall afternoon than to curl up with a warm mug of creamy tomato soup (sans cream) and a handful of cheddar walnut crackers. Both recipes are amazing on their own, but together they’re perfect.

Some things can’t be rushed. Like, for example, my appreciation of tomato soup. Growing up, I HATED it. I thought it was pretty much the worst thing anyone could possibly want to eat. It was acidic and tinny and just… plain. No macaroni or chicken or chunks of carrot? Yawn.

But then, slowly, I started to get its allure. It started when I dipped a chicken Panini into the side of sauce that came with Shawn’s calzone. It was delicious – and the concept of dunking a grilled cheese into a bowl of tomato soup suddenly made sense.

For a while, that’s the only way I would eat it: however much soup my sandwich sopped up was as much as I would eat.

When I decided to make tomato soup from scratch a few years ago, everything changed. You can’t even compare a pot of good, homemade tomato soup to the stuff that comes out of a can. The homemade version is rich, creamy, and way less harsh.

For the best flavor, I use canned tomatoes. They’re more consistent than fresh ones and you don’t have to worry about removing the skins, which just makes life a lot easier. I also like to throw some tomato paste and sundried tomatoes into the pot. They might be unconventional, but they add a ton of depth to the flavor of the soup. Just before serving, I stir in a big spoon full of GO Veggie! Dairy Free Cream Cheese. I love how this cream cheese melts – it’s incredibly smooth. It’s a great alternative to cream, and it has four times more calcium than dairy cream cheese with less calories and fat. Plus, in addition to being dairy free it’s also gluten free and vegan. Win-win-win.

Of course, that whole lack of texture thing still gets to me. Tomato soup just needs… something. Croutons or a toasted sandwich work, but crispy cheddar walnut crackers are even better. It took me a while to get this recipe just right, but I finally did it. In fact, Shawn and I did a side-by-side taste test with our favorite store-bought cheese crackers and we both agreed that we liked mine better! Their flavor is so much deeper more complex. I use GO Veggie! Lactose Free Cheddar Shreds, which means they’re dairy free (so they don’t bother me), gluten free (so I can share with my friends!) and have 50% more calcium, nearly as much protein and half the fat of dairy shreds (so I can feel better about using cheese!).

 

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I created the recipes for Creamy Tomato Basil Soup and Cheddar Walnut Crackers for my client, GO Veggie! As always, all opinions are my own.