This Tomato Soup Hack Saved Me From a Mid-Week Grocery Run

Last week, fall weather finally fell, and along with wrapping myself in sweaters and admiring the changing leaves on my Brooklyn block, I was craving soup. Particularly tomato soup, and mostly because I had a fresh loaf of sourdough and a generous hunk of Jarlsberg cheese (cue Adrian Grenier in The Devil Wears Prada) hanging out in my kitchen. The grilled cheese plan was sorted, but the one thing I was missing? Actual tomato soup.

Sure, I could have opened my front door, run down the block to any one of my neighborhood’s fancy grocery stores, and picked up an artisanal blend of basil and nightshades—but did I mention it’s fall, and there’s a chill in the air? So instead, I opened my pantry cabinet doors and spotted a jar of Rao’s Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Sauce. And what is tomato soup but a thinned down tomato sauce anyway, right? I also found some vegetable stock in my pantry. This could work.

I did a few minutes of Googling to confirm my hunch—yes, tomato sauce is basically thick tomato soup—and I went to work. I poured the entire contents of the Rao’s jar into a saucepan and added a cup of vegetable stock, though I should mention that soup consistency is a personal decision, and I encourage you to follow your heart during this step. Then I added about half a cup of half-and-half we had in the fridge. Because the tomato sauce already had flavor, there wasn’t much more to add than salt and pepper—but my husband shredded some parmesan cheese over the top, and I had zero complaints. We warmed it up for about 10 minutes, the perfect amount of time to grill up some cheese sandwiches, and dinner was ready.

To recap:

1 24-oz can of tomato sauce

1 c (or so) of vegetable stock

1/2 c half-and-half

Shredded parmesan cheese to top

You can adjust the recipe however you like by adding garlic and basil, or swapping out dairy for oat milk or almond milk. I’d even want to try a version with another flavor sauce. The best part is, you can play around with the ingredients as much as you want, and if you’re lucky, never once have to leave the house.

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What are some of your favorite riffs on tomato soup? Share them in the comments below.