It is no secret that my family loves Panera Bread and their soups. Several years ago I was determined to recreate their soups at home. I knew I could feed my whole family homemade soup, for less than the cost of one bowl at Panera, and not only that it would far healthier.
I knew it might take some work to recreate these soups at home, but I was pretty sure I could make something that was close to the real thing.
Over the last few years, I have successfully created a homemade version of Panera Bread’s broccoli cheese soup and Panera Bread’s potato soup. Both of which my family loves.
I recently decided to tackle an at home version of their tomato soup. I am so glad that I decided to try this one. We love the version I came up with.
I really wish I would have tried this one a long time ago. This was so easy and so good. Not only that this is a really frugal meal to serve. You can easily add bread and a salad and have a meal that everyone will enjoy.
I have had several readers ask me if I had a version of Panera’s tomato soup and I can finally say I do. And I think it is very close to the real thing.
Homemade Panera Bread Tomato Soup
A make at home version of a favorite soup.
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 cups of chicken broth or stock
- 4- 14 ounce cans of tomatoes
- ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese, this is the real stuff, not the stuff from a can
- ¼ cup asiago cheese, shredded or use an Italian cheese blend
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot heat olive oil and add onion. Reduce temperature and cook onions, stirring often until lightly browned and caramelized. This takes about 10-15 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add broth, tomatoes, and parmesan cheese and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Carefully puree the mixture in a blender or use an immersion blender. (I prefer the immersion blender, because hot liquid and blenders do not always mix well.)
- Return to heat and add asiago cheese and stir until melted.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with bread and enjoy!
Notes
If you are gluten-free be sure to read labels to make sure that your ingredients are gluten-free.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 181Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 1582mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 4gSugar: 10gProtein: 9g
Nutritional values are approximate and aren't always accurate.
Yum!
That looks and sounds fantastic, Lynn! I’m the lone tomato soup lover in my family though. Might have to make this for girlfriends or a support group meeting. 🙂 Thanks so much for figuring out the recipe!
Shirley
My husband is a manager at Panera and this is my favorite soup, so I can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks for recreating these! 🙂
@Evy, Now I will be curious how close you think it is. 🙂
Awesome! I can’t wait to try it!
THANK YOU!! I can’t wait to try your version. As one of those readers who asked for this recipe, I so appreciate your taking the time and effort to come up with it. 😀
@Chelsea, I hope you enjoy it! My husband and I ate at Panera recently and tried the tomato soup. Once we had it, I knew I had to try to recreate it. I am so glad that you and several others encouraged me to come up with a version of this. It is a new favorite in our house.
@Lynn, Glad to hear that my lazy neediness in asking you to do the work of coming up with the recipe helped you out, too, LOL!
Yummy!! My hubby was just asking me about making homemade tomatoe soup. I’ll have to try this.
I will have to try this…I love everything at Panera!
i’m trying this tonight!
Random thought… Could you rename this to Panera Bread’s tomato soup? I ask because your PB recipes inthe recipe index aren’t together. It would be more organized if your PB’s recipes had similar naming conventions. That’s all 🙂 PS- I’ll be trying this soon!
Allie
How many servings does this make?
It makes 6-8 servings depending on what you serve it with. It would serve more if you served it with bread, salad, etc. I hope that helps.
The only problem with this recipe is that Panera’s tomato soup is vegetarian, so it would not have chicken broth.
Hope you’re right on that, because there’s many soups deemed vegetarian at a few restaurants I’ve worked at in the past that all use chicken/beef stock and simply don’t feel the need to tell people. It’s like the whole taco bell sour cream having gelatin in it. Restaurants simply don’t care half the time.
any tips on adding vegetables for it to be similar to tomato vegetable soup?
Just wondering what type of tomatoes you use? This sounds so good! Just wondering if you used whole or crushed, diced?
Thanks,
Pam
I prefer diced tomatoes for this.
I can’t buy canned tomatoes. Any idea how I could do this with fresh tomatoes?
It might work with fresh tomatoes, but you would have to figure out the amounts because they cook down, get watery, etc. I think it would probably work, but would take some experimenting. Sorry I can’t help more.
I was afraid you might say that! I know we can find huge cans of tomato paste, so maybe there are huge cans of tomatoes that I just haven’t noticed before. All I know is that I’ve really been craving tomato soup!
Guess what I found in the import section of a grocery store tonight?!?! I found cans of diced tomatoes and they weren’t outrageously priced! Can’t want to try some tomato soup this week!
Do you think it’d be okay to substitute the chicken broth with vegetable broth? I LOVE tomato soup, but I don’t eat meat.
Yes, I think that would probably work fine.
Im excited to try these recipe. Im from Brazil and lived in Denver for 5 years. I havent got a chance to visit again and i loved going to panera bread. Too bad they dont have it here. Ill have to try this recipe!! Hope is as good as theirs!
I hope you enjoy it!
I have made this 3 times since I found your website! I make it just the way you have it written…it’s wonderful! My family loves it. Thanks for this great soup recipe…I’m making it tonight! I need to look at some of your other recipes!!!!!
Thank you so much. That is so nice and I am glad that you enjoy it. I love quick and easy recipes and love sharing them with others.
I’m making this again tomorrow…it is now a family favorite! What other soups do you make that are this good? I would love to try another…thanks!
Have you tried my copy cat potato soup or broccoli soup? Both are really good and are favorites in our house. https://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2009/09/my-version-of-panera-bread-broccoli-cheddar-soup.html
https://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2009/01/paneras-creamy-potato-soup.html
My daughter works at Panera. This is one of the ONLY things my other daughter (a vegetarian) can eat there. No chicken broth.
Do they use vegetable broth or do you know? This tastes really close, so I am just curious what they use instead.
Lynn, I love your website and I tried this soup, but didn’t like it. It didn’t have enough flavor for me and I love tomato soup. Any suggestions for what I could add to it to liven it up a little? Thanks so much!
Sorry you did not like it. If you like spice, I would say add your favorite hot sauce or spicy seasoning. You could also add an Italian type seasoning to this or just some basil, parsley, etc. I hope that helps.
Here’s my adapted version. It freezes well. I sauteed crushed red pepper, onion, garlic, then added chicken broth and water (veg broth would be fine) and simmered diced carrots and potatoes. Once soft I threw it all in the blender. Poured it back into the pan and added tomato sauce and tomato paste. Then added milk (used a pinch of baking soda). I’m sure I added pepper and spices like basil and parsley. Whatever I had on hand. If you don’t use too many potatoes and carrots it gives the soup thicker texture and deeper flavor. Add too many and it tastes like vegetable soup. I top mine with croutons and melted mozzarella. Yum.
Thanks for letting me know. I love your adaptions and I am glad to know it freezes well.
Thanks so much for posting this recipe! We just love it!! I grew up thinking tomato soup came from a can and there were no other options. A few years ago we eliminated most highly processed foods from our diet, but that canned tomato soup remained a sticking point for my teen daughter. I hated buying it and was determined to find something she would enjoy as much (that wasn’t cream based). Well, she loves this soup!! I am so happy I just had to say thank you, thank you, thank you!! I will definitely be trying your other “Panera” soup recipes!! =)
Thanks for letting me know. I am so glad your daughter and your family enjoyed it so much. I hope you enjoy the other panera soups as well.
Well, I don’t know what Panera you’ve gone to
to have their tomato soup because this is FAR
from their soup. HUGE disappointment. So
much for your website.
Thank you very much for trial and error taste testing. My family is all home sick and making this tonight. Greatly appreciate your site 🙂
I hope you enjoy it and I hope that they all feel better soon!