I didn’t plan on canning tomato soup but when my sister-in-love sent me this recipe I couldn’t resist picking up 25 pounds of tomatoes at the farmer’s market on Saturday and trying it. Sure glad I did because it’s delicious! It’s the freshest-tasting tomato soup I’ve ever had and couldn’t be easier to make.
Yield: 25 pounds of tomatoes gave me 21 pints of soup. Note that the recipe is for 4 pounds of tomatoes. I tripled the recipe and made two batches.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds fresh tomatoes coarsely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic coarsely chopped
- 10 basil leaves
Instructions
Combine ingredients and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Remove from heat and add 1 Tbsp. honey or 2 Tbsp. brown sugar (I used honey) and salt and pepper to taste (I used freshly ground black pepper and about a teaspoon of Kosher salt per 4 pounds of tomatoes. Personal preference.)
Let cool for a few minutes.
Blend in food processor or blender until smooth. I used the food processor for the first batch and it worked fine. On the second batch I used my immersion blender and that was quicker, easier, and blended better.
Ladle soup into hot jars, leaving 1 inch head space.
Adjust two-piece caps.
Process at 10 pounds pressure–pints 20 minutes, quarts 25 minutes. For my altitude here in Kamloops I need to process at 11 pounds pressure. You need to check the altitude for your location and adjust accordingly

My mother canned tomatoes every year but she never used basil or garlic. You are really making the most of the summer’s bounty.
This is a new way of preserving tomatoes for me this year, Marian. One of the jars didn’t seal and so we ate it for lunch the next day–it was so good!
I suspect you have many special recipes from your mom’s kitchen too. Treasures, aren’t they?!