‘The Pioneer Woman’: Ree Drummond’s Classic Tomato Soup Recipe Has a Genius Topping Idea
Ree Drummond has stepped up the tomato soup game by adding a fun and delicious topping to the classic comfort food that’s totally genius. The Pioneer Woman star’s tomato soup recipe with parmesan croutons is so easy to make and is a great freezer meal idea.
Ree Drummond’s homemade tomato soup is a perfect freezer meal
Drummond demonstrated how to make her tomato soup with parmesan croutons recipe on an episode of The Pioneer Woman and explained how it’s a great make-ahead freezer meal. “Nothing makes me happier than having delicious batches of soup in the freezer all ready to pull out for lunch or dinner,” she explained. “I have a lot of soups that are very freezer friendly but probably my favorite is good old basic tomato soup.”
Drummond noted the recipe results in “a steaming bowl of fantastically flavorful tomato soup — and, to make it even more delicious, a crisp fried crouton with melted parmesan on top.”
She added chopped onions, carrots, and grated garlic to a pot with butter and olive oil and cooked everything for five minutes. Then The Pioneer Woman star stirred in tomato paste and cooked it for two to three minutes. She added three cans of whole tomatoes, chicken broth, water, and minced parsley, then brought the soup to a boil.
‘The Pioneer Woman’ star made easy croutons to top the soup
Drummond reduced the stovetop heat and allowed the soup to simmer with the lid on for 15 minutes. While the soup cooked, she sliced half a baguette to make the croutons, drizzled both sides with olive oil, and grated fresh parmesan cheese.
“I love any kind of bread with soup,” she explained. “You’ve got to have something to dip into the bowl and sop up all that deliciousness.”
She placed piles of grated parmesan in a nonstick skillet and topped each with a slice of baguette. Then she turned the heat to medium and, once the cheese melted, flipped the croutons to toast the other side.
After the soup finished simmering, Drummond used an immersion blender to break up the tomato chunks and vegetables. For a “little bit of decadence,” she added a small amount of heavy cream, then stirred in salt, pepper, and chopped basil leaves.
Drummond demonstrated how to freeze everything — placing the croutons in a ziplock bag and the soup into quart-sized freezer containers.
The full recipe is available on the Food Network website.
Fans give the recipe rave reviews
Drummond’s fans love her super simple soup, as the Food Network recipe has received many rave reviews. “I have never been a fan of tomato soup until now,” one fan commented. “This soup is so fragrant and full of flavor. My only modification is that I omitted the parsley and doubled up on the Basil. Basil +Tomatoes = a marriage made in culinary heaven.”
Another fan noted, “This is not only delicious but it is so easy to make. I used my own homemade chicken broth but other than that followed the recipe completely.”
Another person commented, “Made both the soup and the croutons for dinner tonight and both were excellent! The soup was super easy to make and tastes delicious with the fresh parsley and basil. The croutons were outstanding and had to make more as we ate the first batch before the soup was done!”
